A recent visit to Lake Wales to look in on my parents unexpectedly awakened nostalgia for yard work. You never could have convinced the teenage version of me wiping the sweat from my eyes under an August Central Florida sun that I would ever miss being on the business end of a lawnmower. In those … Continue reading Cuttin’ grass
Tag: Lance Elliott Wallace
My best side
About a year ago, my 14-year-old started this new and often annoying habit. He held his phone up to my forehead or chin while I was otherwise engaged, including driving, and snapped a picture. The resulting image gave him great joy as he giggled and shared it with a text group of his close friends. … Continue reading My best side
Let’s discuss: ‘Landon talks’
If you have spent more than five minutes around me in the past two weeks you’ve heard me go on and on about my latest Southern obsession – artist and social media influencer Landon Bryant. More specifically, his Instagram account “Landon Talks” has been my internet rabbit hole of choice. Shout out to Brian and … Continue reading Let’s discuss: ‘Landon talks’
Darling of ‘90s country still has it
Thank you, Spotify. As creepy as the encroachment of social media platforms' algorithms are, they do serve a purpose. About a month back, our family account on Spotify sent me an email notification that an artist I like would be performing in my area. To say I like the angelic-voiced-yet-somehow-still-underrated mainstay of ‘90s country music … Continue reading Darling of ‘90s country still has it
Summer curse
There’s no good time to get sick, but there are times that are worse than others. While our nation bakes under an extended heat wave, our family dedicated the final few days of our beach vacation to catching and spreading among ourselves a summer cold. Conditioned by the pandemic, we took Covid tests when we … Continue reading Summer curse
Vacation performance
My social media feeds this summer have been filled with friends and acquaintances taking amazing trips to beautiful and sometimes exotic locations, inspiring both envy and anticipation of my own family beach trip. Rather than resent these posts, I find them interesting. Honestly, my first reaction is “good for them!” But this week when our … Continue reading Vacation performance
Newfangled barbershops
The place where people go to get their haircut goes by many names: barber shop, beauty salon, hairdresser, beauty parlor, hair stylist, tonsorium. Whatever you call it, “getting your hair done” has succumbed to the forces of technology and modernization as almost all widely available personal services have. It’s not the same experience it once … Continue reading Newfangled barbershops
Happy Martyr’s Day
Representations of fatherhood abound in popular culture. From Goofball Dad to All-Powerful Patriarch, Nerdy Science Dad to Rugged Outdoorsman Dad and Cool Dad to Uptight Military Dad, the way fathers are depicted can easily devolve into cliche. Of all the father archetypes, I identify most closely with Martyr Dad. That’s my term for the long-suffering … Continue reading Happy Martyr’s Day
Summer jobs
In today’s New South Essays, an in-depth analysis of post-modern themes in contemporary Southern literature. But first, the jobs report… Monday, June 5, 2023, was a historic day for the Wallace household. All three offspring were gainfully employed. Now, back to literary blathering and self-important bloviating… Seriously, though, Monday was a big day. Barron, our … Continue reading Summer jobs
Canoe conversations
I am always seeking out ways to maneuver my offspring into meaningful conversations. I went into this parenting thing believing the lie that family dramas on TV sell (I’m looking at you Seventh Heaven) about deep conversations with your children happening once every 23 minutes only to discover that it’s really hard to find a … Continue reading Canoe conversations
New South Essays 