Life presents us a dizzying array of choices on a daily basis. Invigorating to some and debilitating to others, probing our innermost desires to come up with a decision can be stressful. Or, it can be great fun. In recent weeks two forms of the same parlor game have been circling in the orbit of … Continue reading Games of choice
Sports happen all year round in different seasons, much like nature itself. When I was coming of age there were three distinct seasons that overlapped the traditional four equinox-related time periods. (I went into great detail to explain all the equinoxes in a previous post.) Those three seasons were Football, Basketball and Baseball. Barron's pure … Continue reading Who is your team?
If laughter is the best medicine, I may have a drug problem. In fact, it’s the only medicine I’ll take on the regular. As I age, I find humor to be the most reliable way to lift my mood and generally feel better. At least 226 of you who posted on my Facebook timeline already … Continue reading A Dusty Slay birthday
On April 3, 2025, I enticed Carla and our friend Heather to join me in violating the no. 1 rule of our influencer-driven, celebrity-obsessed culture: Never meet your heroes. Landon Bryant and his lovely wife, Kate, are the rare exception. We were among the first to arrive at Eagle Eye Books in Decatur that night … Continue reading Landon talks… to me
Snowmeggedon. Snowpocalypse. Winter Storm Van Helsing. Whatever you call it, snow has been falling across the South this year in quantities not seen in my neck of the woods in a decade. We had two rounds of it with winter storms striking Atlanta Jan. 10 and Jan. 21 bringing with it that wonderful mix of … Continue reading Snow without kids just isn’t as fun
A look back at the year that was in 2024 for New South Essays.
My two older sons and I failed in our first attempt to see the Atlanta Braves take on the San Diego Padres at Truist Park May 18 because of inclement weather, and we weren’t mad about it. The rainout doubled our fun. I had a jacket and we all had our umbrellas at the ready … Continue reading You win some, you lose some and sometimes it rains
My day job has been a relentless torrent of small talk the last few weeks. And it’s glorious. For an extrovert like me, good small talk is a renewable and infinite energy source. I readily admit I have the gift of gab, and I feed off of the social interchange. What I find so appealing … Continue reading Small talk
I recognize that we have just emerged from a festive season, but in my world, the holidays were just the warm up for some truly historic occasions. Last week we celebrated my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday, and my dad’s 80th is just around the corner. All of the forethought and planning that have gone into acknowledging … Continue reading Ain’t no party like an 80th birthday party
I believe it was William Shakespeare who first said, “Get thee to a Buc-ee’s,” in his 1603 groundbreaking work, “Hamlet.” And folks traveling the South’s major highways have been flocking to the always open convenience-store-on- steroids ever since. Much has been written and broadcasted about the chain of gas stations since Arch “Beaver” Aplin III … Continue reading Buc-ee’s is the fillin’ station of the New South
New South Essays 