Reflections of a Southern Yankee: Drive
Just a dirt road With trash on each side But I was Mario Andretti When daddy let me drive -Alan Jackson They say driving is an art form. If that’s the case, there are a lot of Jackson Pollocks behind the wheel these days. Just yesterday morning on my daily run past Baptist hospital, I […]
Reflections of a Southern Yankee: Screen Time
I am eight years old and sitting in a comfortable armchair downstairs in the den. It’s around 7:00 in the evening. The fading light through the window signals the end of another day. Next to me, a lamp on a small wooden table casts a warm glow upon the room. I am concentrating intently on […]
Happy Birthday, USA!
The setting sun casts long shadows over a crowd of nearly 100,000 people. They are gathered in lawn chairs and upon blankets, and have come from all over this great country, and in some cases, from all over the world. The sweet summer air is filled with the sounds of laughter, conversations, black cat firecrackers […]
Reflections of a Southern Yankee: Country
There are a few things in life that give you that sinking feeling in your stomach and a sense of dread – the check engine light coming on is one of them. Now, multiply those feelings by 1,000 when it happens an hour and a half from home and in an area where there isn’t […]
Reflections of a Southern Yankee: The Road Less Traveled
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” […]
Reflections of a Southern Yankee: Educational Musings
I’m not a huge fan of Hollywood, so it takes a lot to impress me when it comes to movies. One that I’ve always loved is, “School of Rock.” To quickly sum it up, Jack Black plays an aspiring rock band musician who just can’t seem to catch a break. After being booted from his […]
Reflections of a Southern Yankee: Say it Ain’t Snow
I was a third classman (a.k.a. sophomore) at the Virginia Military Institute in the winter of 1992-1993. Having gotten through the previous “rat year,” I was now more or less on cruise control. My life basically consisted of attending my academic classes and fulfilling my military duties. Spring break was quickly approaching, and I planned […]
Reflections of a Southern Yankee: Southern Comfort
Forty-three of my 49 years on God’s green earth have been spent below the Mason-Dixon line. I guess that makes me more “Rebel” than “Yankee.” I’d like to think I’ve been able to display the best attributes of both cultures. I tell it like it is while still maintaining the gentleman persona. I’ve tried to […]
White (Pine) Christmas
Until the age of seven, all I’d ever known was an artificial Christmas tree in my grandparents’ living room. Every year, a large box would be brought up from the cellar (we call them cellars up north) and magically, a tree would appear in front of the large picture window. First, the fake tree was […]
It’s Elementary
I walked through the front door of Stuarts Draft Elementary School a shy, timid six-year-old. My kindergarten year at Wetmore Elementary School in Utica, New York, was more of a blur than anything. Honestly, my mind wasn’t really in the right frame to be educated. Having just said farewell to my grandparents the previous summer, […]
