In the New South, we have so many choices on where to eat out, my Darling Beloved and I resort to the process of elimination, filtering by geography to narrow our voluminous choices. It goes something like this: Me: What do you want to go for dinner tonight? DB: I don’t care. You pick a … Continue reading Get thee to a ‘meat and three’
Since our middle son, Harris, began matriculating at Mercer University in our old stomping grounds of Macon, Ga., Carla and I have made several pilgrimages back to the scene of our courtship, marriage and early days as a family. Last Saturday, we made such a trip in the spring sunshine, enjoying a leisurely drive from … Continue reading Taking backroads
(In honor of Carla's birthday on Nov. 13, here's a reflection on our introduction and courtship.) My deepest and most profound season of happiness came in January of 1996. One Sunday night after church, I was introduced to a young woman who worked with the children in the nursery. The Sunday night crowd was always … Continue reading So glad she was born
I was blessed to know three of my four grandparents well. Minnie Ruth Elrod, my mom’s mother, whom we called Maw Maw, was always a part of my life. We had frequent visits with her when we all lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She eventually followed us to Lake Wales, Fla., and moved in … Continue reading Putting the ‘grand’ in grandparents
The joke about campus tours is that they’re all the same. This short video from College Humor captures it nicely. After taking two such tours this week with my middle son, Harris, I’ve concluded that, yes, touring campuses starts to feel like deja vu after a while, but if you’re paying attention, there’s a lot … Continue reading College visits produce anxiety, nostalgia
From my earliest days as a rookie features writer at The Macon Telegraph in 1992, I heard reporters talk about canoeing the Ocmulgee River and writing about it for the paper. I was young and foolish enough to attempt it. In the late summer of 1993 I began the ambitious project of paddling the entire … Continue reading River rescue
As a husband and father, many of the choices I make are inherently selfless because there are so many people for whom I am responsible. This is baked into the experience of middle age; it doesn’t even register with me as selfless. What stands out in my mind as one of the most selfless acts … Continue reading What I learned from being a ‘Big’
I hate moving. Moving is one of my least favorite activities because when you’re married to Carla, moving means painting. I hate painting. When we first got married we lived in an apartment with vaulted ceilings. Because of her need for color and beauty, she insisted we paint the rooms, forfeiting our security deposit and … Continue reading Four walls and a roof
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
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
New South Essays 