Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was laid to rest this week on Jan. 9, 2025, after passing away Dec. 29. Since he first began receiving hospice care in February of 2023, tributes, retrospectives, reminiscences, and all manner of eulogies have been posted and published. As a former journalist and resident of Georgia since 1992, I … Continue reading Three encounters with President Jimmy Carter
(This is the final installment in a series about my career's twists and turns. If you missed the previous three posts, I encourage you to go back and catch up: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Now, for the final chapter... so far:) When I left GTRI for Institute Communications at Georgia Tech, I … Continue reading Even better than expected – part 4
Note: This is the third in a series on the unexpected twists and turns of my career. If you didn’t see part 1, go back now and catch up on part one and part two. Transitions are never easy, especially when you believe you are following a calling. When I interviewed with CBF, then national … Continue reading Even better than expected – part 3
I’ve kicked around Georgia now for more than 21 years, almost half my life. In all that time, I had only been to Savannah twice. The third time was definitely a charm last weekend as Carla and I were able to parlay a work event Friday night into an excuse to leave the boys with … Continue reading A trip to Georgia’s oldest city to feel new again
Today marks the first anniversary of my joining Georgia Tech Research Institute as director of communications. I kept mentioning it to people all week because in some ways, I just couldn’t believe it. A year had flown by, and I have alternatingly felt like I have always worked at GTRI and it is my first … Continue reading One year and counting
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
When you try a different hair stylist or dental hygienist, don’t you feel a little bit like you’re cheating on the relationship? Since the mid-1990s I have been buying my running shoes at Phidippides, the first-ever specialty running store which opened in 1973 in Tallahassee, Fla., and now operates at Atlanta’s Ansley Mall. Even when … Continue reading My cheatin’ foot
When Barron and Harris piled into the back of the new Hyundai, eager to ride with Daddy after another great meal at Los Hermanos, they had no idea we weren’t following Carla home. We had already had a pretty good day. It was one of those rare days when Carla and Carlton still had preschool, … Continue reading An unexpected journey
Last Saturday Carlton and our family and friends celebrated his fourth birthday at The Little Gym in Snellville. Though Carlton only took classes there for six weeks, he often asks to go back. The birthday party was the perfect excuse. The folks at The Little Gym were organized, well-staffed, professional but personal, and they made … Continue reading Little gym, big gym
Apple released the iPhone 5 on Sept. 21, and unleashed mayhem on America’s roadways in the process. Warning: If the car in front of you suddenly stops in the middle of a busy thoroughfare, do not blame the driver. They are simply doing what Siri has told them to do. They have, according to Siri, … Continue reading Recalculating
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