I love you, too, Mama
In 1973, the year my little sister was born, country legend Tom T. Hall…
What Southern Folks Eat
I almost lost my Christmas spirit on a recent Friday when I ventured into the mall. There was so much noise, so many grumpy shoppers, and so few things that I actually wanted to buy. The only things …
A Southern twist of savory soups
“Only the pure in heart can make good soup,” Ludwig Van Beethoven is quoted as having said. I’m not sure whether that’s true or not, but I do believe that good soup is a heartening delight that is …
Pumpkin carving and chili nights
“Pumpkins, in October, as fat as the full moon, they sit on our doorstep at night and glow.” – Richelle E. Goodrich, author
Long ago in Ireland, people carved scary faces in …
Savoring blackberries from Panther Swamp
I grew up a few hundred feet from a swamp, specifically, from Panther Swamp. Our home was on St. Joe Beach, just off Georgia Avenue, and when we moved there in 1978, no one lived on the swamp side of …
Remembering The Fish House and Mr. Tall WhiteHair
“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain
When I was 18 years old, a proud new graduate of Port St. Joe High School, I got a job at the …
Remembering a fire on St. Joe Beach
Moving to Gulf County, Florida was an adventure for 9-year-old me. I think I’ve written it here before, but I will always remember mom rolling down the windows of our station wagon and inhaling …
Remembering the kind community of Gulf Sands
My grandparents moved to St. Joe Beach from St. Petersburg in the early 1970s when granddaddy retired from General Electric. He had bought some land on Ponce de Leon Street, as I’ve mentioned …
The skillet Gulf County humidity couldn’t destroy
It’s always interesting how an inanimate object can become an important representation to us of someone we loved, whether a friend or family member. For me, many of those kinds of special …
What Southern Folks Eat: My Christmas time machine
Christmas memories are among the most deeply ingrained in my mind because my parents always did their best to create magic for us each year. My sister and I grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, …