I believe every homeowner should be able to patch a hole in drywall, install a ceiling fan and stop a running toilet. If self-reliance and resourcefulness aren’t Southern traits I don’t know what are. My two-week battle with a running toilet tested my convictions in ways that both surprised and infuriated me. It all started … Continue reading Toilet trouble
Tag: Southern Living
New South Bracketology
There are times I pretend to be an expert: any discussion of running, life in the New South, Star Wars and fantasy football. There are other times when no amount of pretending can cover up glaring ignorance: parenting, relationships, basic plumbing and filling out NCAA tournament brackets. The mania that has swept the country during … Continue reading New South Bracketology
Method to my madness
Today marks the 52nd weekly post of New South Essays, and it’s high time I let you in on a little secret: I started this blog a year ago to capture your attention, entice you to engage with my writing and whet your appetite for my book. This journey began in 2006. Two years after … Continue reading Method to my madness
Southern sports showcase
Last weekend was a convergence of televised events that treated channel surfers with more than the usual amount of Southern accents. Unless you were under a rock you know that last weekend was the 54th running of the Daytona 500, the official start of the never-ending NASCAR season. What you may have overlooked was that … Continue reading Southern sports showcase
Connecting with the past
When we hit the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge from Charleston into Mount Pleasant the boys stopped watching Harry Potter on our minivan’s built-in DVD player. From the span over the Cooper River we could see the U.S.S. Yorktown, parked at Patriots Point. It would be our home for a night, and it was lit impressively, … Continue reading Connecting with the past
Another British Invasion
Like most trends in popular culture, Carla and I are late to the ball on the Emmy-award-winning “Downton Abbey.” After many friends and co-workers insisted we join the cult of Downton, we reluctantly re-subscribed to Netflix last weekend so we could go back and watch the first season of the early 20th century British family … Continue reading Another British Invasion
Love means never having to say ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’
The longer I am married, the less Valentine’s Day means to my relationship with my wife. I have learned that my wife operates by a simple but sometimes confusing philosophy: if everyone else is doing it, she wants no part of it. Therefore, if I come home on Valentine’s Day with a dozen red roses, … Continue reading Love means never having to say ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’
Working moms
Carla drove our white minivan down Oak Road toward Snellville as I sat in the passenger seat, dreading the cost of the repairs to our 11-year-old Volvo station wagon. Then she ventured to bring up a subject that interjects stress into all marriages. Revenue. Specifically, how we could increase our household income to be able to … Continue reading Working moms
The Power of Pine
For the last five years, I’ve spent one Saturday in January at a unique sporting event that induces anxiety, quickens the pulse and triggers a few tears. Of course I’m talking about the annual Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. This anachronistic competition is a throw-back to the days when kids made their own toys out of what … Continue reading The Power of Pine
A Minor Surgery
First thing Monday morning, Harris had his adenoids removed and tubes put in his ears. It was the very definition of a “minor surgery.” All went according to plan, and Harris returned to school on Wednesday. In fact, he perked up several hours after he returned home. If you have to have a surgery, this … Continue reading A Minor Surgery
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