I was crushed when Dolly Parton died last week. That’s hardly a unique sentiment, of course. It was a good cry, though. I know there are angels on Earth, because I know Dolly Parton was one. Dolly Parton was a higher-fidelity artist than just about anyone I can name. Lea and I saw her ten … Read more
America’s Bicentennial is the first major news event I can remember well. Doubtless this was facilitated by my entire world turning red, white, and blue, but it was also aided by my grandfather’s sustained attention. A World War II veteran, Papaw was one of the most patriotic people I’ve ever known, and the Bicentennial was … Read more
I listen to the music of my adolescence and young adulthood frequently. As that meant (and means) a whole lot of hair metal and new wave, I heard (and hear) a lot of lyrics about sex and love. Some of it, particularly the sexual content, is pretty cringey now. (Was then too, surely, but now … Read more
Some years ago I started taking a solo trip between Christmas and New Year’s to catch up with friends I’d be unlikely to see again without a specific effort, and after I’d done it a few times I named it the Precious Hearts Tour. It’s such a warm experience to spend time in person, and … Read more
Molly is our 13-year-old cocker spaniel/boxer mix, and Lea and I picked her up from her big adventure shortly before noon today. She spent two nights in Brentwood, Tennessee at BluePearl Veterinary Hospital getting targeted radiation for the sinus cancer to which her longish bacterial infection was secondary. She was tuckered and wobbly when we … Read more
Some years ago I started taking a solo trip between Christmas and New Year’s Day to visit geographically inconvenient friends. I make 3-4 stops in a circuit, so that the next stop is on the way from the last one. On my second or third time to do it, I named it the Precious Hearts … Read more