This week Carla and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary with a Friday night dinner at Perry St. Chophouse in downtown Lawrenceville. Highly recommend, by the way. The happy couple for anniversary No. 26 at the Perry St. Chophouse in downtown Lawrenceville. The night out reminded me of one of the best anniversary dates of … Continue reading One of the best dates ever
Tag: the South
My greatest achievement in life
It's the end of another school year -- the senior year for my middle son Harris -- and I am once again sitting through awards ceremonies, concerts, performances and graduation events. When not doom scrolling on my phone in the more tedious moments of such rites of passage, I find myself reflecting on what all … Continue reading My greatest achievement in life
Where to find Real Nice Art
It goes without saying that you support your children’s endeavors, but when our oldest son, Barron, started doing sketches and watercolors of buildings on a commission basis for actual money, I was proud of his entrepreneurial spirit, amazed at his talent and hopeful for his future. As his spring semester at the University of Georgia … Continue reading Where to find Real Nice Art
What happens on spring break
Last week our family managed to take a three-day getaway during Gwinnett County Public Schools’ official spring break. We spent the rain-soaked time relaxing in a cabin in Highlands, N.C., where we escaped during the pandemic in 2021. This year we ate in restaurants, shopped in downtown Highlands and nearby Cashiers, grilled out, played games, … Continue reading What happens on spring break
The best cooks in my family
My family isn’t really a big food family. Sure, we eat together, and like all families, we have made good memories and had meaningful conversations over meals. And we have our share of good cooks. But in my mind, no one person wins the prize as “best cook” in our family. When he was younger, … Continue reading The best cooks in my family
Songs embedded in my earliest memories
I was listening to a special episode of the podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” during my Saturday walk a couple of weeks ago. The guest was 77-year-old Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young. I almost skipped it, but I’ve learned that anytime a podcast lands in my feed that I don’t think I’ll care much about, … Continue reading Songs embedded in my earliest memories
My greatest surprises
Genuine surprise strikes rarely. When the circumstance is good, we treasure the experience. When it is tragic, we spend a lifetime ridding ourselves of the impression it made on our psyche. I have been blessed to have more of the good and fewer of the traumatic. Here are some of the memorable and significant surprises … Continue reading My greatest surprises
ChatGPT South Essays
Unless you have withdrawn completely from society in the last few months, it has been impossible to avoid hearing about ChatGPT and artificial intelligence. In my day job I work in higher education, and there has been much hand wringing about what it will mean to education if students can go online and asked a … Continue reading ChatGPT South Essays
The talent I wish I had
Musical talent runs in my family. Mom plays piano and sings. Dad played trumpet and sang in the church choir. Both of my brothers play guitar, and Lee plays piano, saxophones of various shapes and sizes, leads choral singing and sings. My oldest son plays trumpet, drums, guitar and conducts marching bands. My middle son … Continue reading The talent I wish I had
Perfect happiness
Unusually warm February weather teased me with a taste of spring this week. The sun peaked out from behind the clouds, and I left my office and took a lap of the campus, basking in the warmth, smiling at the students and getting my blood flowing. It was bliss. Perfect happiness doesn’t exist, but my … Continue reading Perfect happiness
New South Essays 