Children need summer camp. Whether it is secular or religious, one week or several, day camp or residential, children need to participate in camp. I have no credentials to make this assertion. I am not a noted child psychologist or a Ph.D. in childhood development. I’m just a parent who has been to camp with … Continue reading A case for camp
Preachers
I am fascinated by preachers. It’s not a delusional, put-them-on-a pedestal kind of thing but more like a burning curiosity to understand what makes them tick. I’ve been thinking about preachers a lot lately. My brothers and my dad are preachers of one sort or another, and their recent transitions have been on my mind. … Continue reading Preachers
Dear Writer Lance: A Letter from Your Wife
Dear Writer Lance, One of the first things I loved about you--even before I knew I loved you--was your way with words. You see, back when I knew who you were and was dying for you to ask me out but you hadn't yet, I started subscribing to The Macon Telegraph. Now why would a never-cared-about-the-news-before college … Continue reading Dear Writer Lance: A Letter from Your Wife
Privacy in the New South
Wouldn't you hate to be the guy at the National Security Agency (NSA) reading all the lame Facebook posts trying to find evidence of terrorist activity or foreign espionage? OK, so it's probably not some guy analyzing petabytes of data over at the NSA, but still, it's got to be a thankless job. Even a … Continue reading Privacy in the New South
Words mean things
I used to work for a South Carolinian who issued colorful quips and witticisms the way most people speak casual greetings. One of Ben’s favorites was “Words mean things.” This week the Internet has been abuzz with the controversy surrounding the words used by Southern cooking diva Paula Deen. The brouhaha over Paula’s admission in a deposition that … Continue reading Words mean things
Flip flops and running shoes
What you pack for vacation says a lot about you. Vacation is that time of year when you are released from the bonds of work long enough for your true personality to emerge. Maybe it’s the only time all year you have real choices about how to spend your time. Maybe it’s when you discover there … Continue reading Flip flops and running shoes
A Father’s Wish
Last Saturday I had the opportunity to spend four uninterrupted hours in the car with my oldest son. There were certain topics I had decided ahead of time that I wanted to discuss with him to take advantage of this gift of time alone.We had no trouble talking about how he spent his week with … Continue reading A Father’s Wish
Wedding faux pas?
Weddings in the New South bring up all sorts of issues never before encountered in the history of weddings. Last weekend, Carla and I took our oldest son, Barron, to his first wedding -- the marriage of his youth minister, Matt Hester, and our friend Courtney Phillips. It was a beautiful and somewhat unorthodox ceremony and reception that … Continue reading Wedding faux pas?
Summertime blues
My innocent Facebook post on Tuesday sparked enough comments to let me know I struck a nerve. Here’s what I posted the morning after Memorial Day: “Remembering that as I return to work today, Carla is at work 24/7. Summer vacation for children means summer overtime for parents who stay at home full- or part-time.” … Continue reading Summertime blues
A new page
Did you miss me? For the first time since I started New South Essays in March 2011 I have hit a wall. Failing to post an essay three out of the last four weeks, I've succumbed to inertia, and it threatens my blogging endeavor. In addition to my absence from the blogosphere, I also have to admit that the quality … Continue reading A new page
New South Essays 