You can tell a lot about people by what you find lying around in their home. As was well documented in last week’s installment on lighting, (if you did not read that hilarious post, do yourself a favor and go back and do so now before proceeding. It’s OK, we’ll wait…) the gradual influx of … Continue reading Books, lip balm, reading glasses and toothpicks
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
On January 7, 2025, one of my longest and best friends will celebrate a milestone birthday. Words of appreciation have gone unspoken for too long. Today’s post attempts to rectify that. I met Robert I. Perkins Jr. in 1987. At the end of my junior year of high school, I interviewed for the high school … Continue reading Friends and milestones
A look back at the year that was in 2024 for New South Essays.
I spent Labor Day weekend with my folks in Lake Wales, Fla., and tried my best to complete as many projects as I could in three days. I don’t get down there as often as I should, and I mean no disrespect when I say this, they are at an age where they need assistance … Continue reading Projects and piddlin’
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Unless you have withdrawn completely from society in the last few months, it has been impossible to avoid hearing about ChatGPT and artificial intelligence.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
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
I have been drawn to writing as a creative activity since childhood. It started by inventing stories in my head. It grew into imitation when in the 7th grade I read William Faulkner’s 1942 short story “The Bear,” and I wrote my own story of a bear hunt gone awry. In the 8th grade, my … Continue reading Origins of a passion for writing
There are two times a year I evaluate the direction of my life: New Year’s and my birthday. New Year’s resolutions are somewhat cliché, but the start of a new calendar year is a natural time to take stock of your life, look at your goals and determine course corrections. My birthday falls nearly eight … Continue reading My semi-annual appraisal
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