I recently discovered a 24-year-old reality TV show, and I am obsessed. Streaming live for free on the internet since 2012, this show airs most days between 9 a.m. and noon from January to the first few days of April. Occasionally there are special episodes that run longer or even air at night, and there … Continue reading My new favorite reality TV show
Confrontations with the truth can be so startling it takes time to process the impact. We adopted Archibald “Archie” Wallace last February 5 from the Society of Humane Friends in Lawrenceville. They had received this beautiful parti poodle from a group of dogs rescued from a hoarding situation in Coweta County. (I documented this joyous … Continue reading Who wears the (under) pants in the family
Quick, how many age-related cliches can you quote? You’re only as old as you feel. Age is just a number. I’m having a senior moment. You’re not getting older, you're getting better. Or my personal favorite, the twist on this last one which was used by the “Keenagers” senior adult ministry at our church in … Continue reading Discovering a new way to measure age
Raise your hand if you’ve heard yourself respond to a question recently with an overly enthusiastic and unnecessarily mathematical “100%!” No one? Just me? Oh, there you go. I see your hand. When a simple "yes" isn't mathy enough for you, opt for a percentage. It's way cooler, and it's not a fraction. Yes, this … Continue reading Playing the percentages
It’s the first week of the year, and if you’re like me, it’s important to know now what the weather and moon phase will be on March 26. (That’s warm with scattered showers and first quarter on the way to waxing gibbous, by the way.) How did I know that with 88% certainty? The Old … Continue reading Preparing for 2026 with The Old Farmer’s Almanac
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but the Year of Our Lord 2025 is waning. With five days to go, we’ve reached that magical time of year between Christmas and New Year’s when the writers at all the media companies want to take some time off. So instead of covering actual news (they leave that … Continue reading The State of New South Essays 2025
I began identifying as a “journalist” as early as age 17, long before I actually started keeping a journal. As the high school columnist and summer intern for that bastion of Central Florida journalism, the now defunct Lake Wales Daily Highlander, I was the cubbiest of cub reporters, filling notepads with scribbled quotes from interviews, … Continue reading The ‘journal’ part of being a ‘journalist’
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
Remember when your cousins were your playmates, always close at hand or at least only a short drive away? In the New South, families are scattered across the country and even the world. It’s more likely you have cousins you have never met than cousins you see on the regular. I never lived in the … Continue reading Cousins
Theoretically, summer affords time to read. We have been programmed since childhood to make time to read during the summer to keep our minds sharp and to give our caregivers a moment’s peace. Publishers would certainly have us stock up for the summer, preying on our romantic notions of sitting waterside under an umbrella with … Continue reading My summer reading list
New South Essays 