The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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Sometimes, when I am in Montgomery, I make it a point to go out and have lunch with Hank and Audrey. Usually, I take fried chicken. They don’t ever say too much, and neither do I really. Nobody sings. If you are there and hear lonesome music, it’s probably only in your head … or maybe your heart. I go, I guess, for the silence, or the solace. It is a feeling. There is an energy there. Or maybe a spirit. I’m not sure. It is not something you can reach out and touch or take a picture of, at leas...
Alabama has delivered into the world many an eccentric personalities, one of those being the late Eugene Walter – an entertainer, writer, and chef who engaged in so many varied activities he was known as “Mobile’s Renaissance Man.” He grew up in old Mobile, back when women would dress-up in their finest attire – wear heels and put on lipstick – just to go shopping downtown on Saturday mornings. He could describe it in such a charming, and almost intimate way, that if you read his work even t...
Now that he is in office, Joe Biden has the task of trying to unite the United States. He says it is his intention. He is committed to it. I think it is possible. I really do. I don’t know how much President Biden will have to do with it, but I do think peace is possible. Mainly I think it is possible because I see us getting along. There may be pockets of civil unrest across the country, but mostly it is politicians who aren’t getting along. We the people get along fine. If you can find a way...
The Two Sides of Education in Alabama I sometimes talk – half in jest – about this book I am going to write one day called, “The Two Sides of Camden.” I would call it that because there are two sides of Camden. And the two sides each have two sides as well. These two sides tend to spill out all over the county. They cross the river and seep into the surrounding counties of the Black Belt on all sides. I see it and recognize it here, but it is everywhere across the state. I suppose to some ex...
I grew up in the 1970s and 80s, and it was not a time when self-esteem was widely recognized as being terribly important. We did not all get trophies. We were not all winners. I don’t remember any standout losers either. Some of us tried harder and some of us were more talented or had more ability, some of us practiced more and improved out skills, some people could have cared less. We had one ole boy in high school that could sing pretty good, and we had another that went on to play s...
I’m not saying we should go all the way back to Luckenbach, Texas…but honky-tonks may need to make a quick comeback because cow hugging has become one of the latest wellness trends. I don’t think that there is anything CBD Oil can do for you if you cuddle the wrong cow. The trend started in the Netherlands years ago after a Dutch farmer claimed cows to be very relaxed animals that do not fight or get into trouble. They are described as being patient and sweet. So naturally, it gravitated to th...
Each September, National Suicide Prevention Month is recognized as we draw attention to the causes, warning signs, and treatment options for those affected by this tragedy. You may think to yourself that this annual campaign is certainly important, but how does it impact you? The truth is, we can all help to reduce and prevent suicide. As you know, the Second District is home to thousands of veterans. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, an average of 20 veterans die by suicide...
The temperature in my quiet kitchen early in the morning has felt a few degrees cooler this week. I am still drinking coffee out of a cup with a pink flamingo on it, but summer is being ushered out by fall. Before long, a flurry of leaves will be followed by the first frost. I am from people who did not believe in eating certain foods until after the first frost – like cabbage and collards. Turnips, carrots…root vegetables. These were people who collected cookbooks but didn’t use recipes. I am...
Personally, I started thinking things were getting out of balance in the pet department when they put refrigerators at the end of the pet food aisle to keep the latest dog food cold. I mean, I am all for feeding the animals fresh food, but where does it stop? Or does it? People love their pets. I am no exception. My dog, Buddy Rogers, is a fine dog…although I am not exactly sure what kind of dog he is. It seems pretty obvious that he has a fair amount of pit in him. I say that mainly because o...
Special Guest Contributor - Beth Thomas I had a moment the other day in which everything just became real. The realization hit me rather suddenly, and I had to take a few minutes to process it. I applied to graduate last week, and even though I’ve known that this year of school would be my senior year, it hadn’t really occurred to me until I clicked the “submit” button. I was sent an email telling me someone would be in touch with me in the next few weeks about things I needed to know or do before I could graduate in the spring. It really...
There are two types of writers in the world: those who can write…and those who want to be able to write. Proofreading is just part of the process. If the deadline allows, it is best to have a little space between finishing writing and proofing, but I don’t do that so much anymore…even as Southern as I am. That is no longer the point of proofing. People who can’t write seem to find great joy in pointing out simple sins in the words of those who can. But it is easy to use the wrong form of a wo...
Even before daybreak, you can hear them singing their happy songs from inside their swinging gourds: the purple martin song. It is their season. They return every year from their winter homes in South America to raise their young. They fly the same instinctual path across the Gulf of Mexico, arriving in the South in early February. There are two types of people—those who don’t know or notice, and those who have proclaimed themselves to be landlords of the purple martin. It is a tradition bet...
By Beth Thomas, Alabama Gazette Summer Intern As I sat with my friends in the campus library in mid-March at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, we heard a rumor that changed the rest of our semester: school was closing, and we were all going home. Of course, it was a rumor, and we immediately began asking professors if they had heard anything. They gave similar answers: “I heard something about it, but nothing is confirmed. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.” Then, within a blink of an...
Last week I mentioned in this space how we eat a lot of greens down here in the Black Belt. I am sure other people in other places also eat a variety of greens. There are even people up north who try and serve greens. I doubt they cook them right, and their family probably won’t eat them, but they try. I was bragging about how I was taught how to cook turnips by one of the best cooks in Possum Bend, and much to my surprise I received an email asking for the recipe. That is when I realized I d...
I read articles about the Black Belt sometimes that make me feel like we should all immediately pack up and leave. I don’t know where we should go, but we may not make it if we stay. I read one yesterday that was really playing us up. It said we are poor, dumb, and tend to have a life expectancy that is nine years shorter than the rest of Alabamians. I knew we were poor and dumb, but I was surprised about those nine years…because we eat a lot of greens down here. I cook a mean pot of greens mys...
While I do understand that the toilet tissue shortage has been caused by panic buying in response to the coronavirus, I can’t help but to blame Auburn fans to some extent. How much tissue have y’all wasted on those trees at Toomer’s Corner? And now look at us. I saw a couple of women on the news a few days ago who were tied up fighting over a 12-pack of Charmin. That didn’t worry me though. People having to be taught the proper way to wash their hands and all of the cancellations are freakin...
Most people – I think – are paying attention to the 2020 election. Whether watching Trump riding on what seems to be a rising tide, or following the Democratic primaries and caucuses, everybody is watching to some extent even if only for entertainment. Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders is doing better than expected. Even the confused and chaotic Democratic party seem shocked at how well he is doing as attempts to usher in Michael Bloomberg continue. I am not a socialist myself. I was int...
Krystal is the South’s oldest fast food restaurant chain. They have been making little square hamburgers since 1932. Having been around for so long, everybody seems to have a Krystal story. If for no other reason, you can go through a drive-thru and have a big bag of them riding shotgun with you for just over $5. Krystal has always been a friend to night people. Back during the late 80s and early 90s people liked to line dance. People still like to line dance I suppose, but back then it was e...
• Veterans are entitled to a patriotic ceremony at their funerals. • Families should take a copy of the veteran’s DD214 discharge papers to the funeral home and ask for an honor guard to conduct a flag ceremony. • Although the funeral home can arrange for the honor guard to include a bugler to play “Taps”, that bugler may bring a bugle and play a tape recording. • To arrange for a “live bugler”, contact Raymond Keel, a veteran who attend veterans’ funerals and plays “Taps” live. • Call...
Over the Christmas season I only lost the car twice. Once I was looking on the opposite side of the mall from where I had parked. I kept setting off my alarm with my keyring, but was too far away to hear it blaring. I finally found it by process of elimination. The next week I lost my friend’s car. The main reason I lost her car was because I had lost her for a while too. We went to separate checkouts thinking that would be quicker, only it wasn’t. Once I had checked out I headed on out to the...
I heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend that neighboring Clarke County is trying to become as corrupt as Wilcox County. Good luck. That is a high bar to set, but it is obtainable. If you will put losers at the helm of leadership, you too can sit back and watch your county’s statistics begin to sink. And it doesn’t have to be just Clarke. Any county that wants to fail should follow our lead. One of the first things you will want to do is find people in your community who have failed i...
Everybody puts up a good front don’t they? Or at least they try to. And that is probably what we are supposed to do for the most part. Just by human nature we tend to put our best selves forward. Even if we are train wrecks. We certainly do in the South. Someone can be grieving, broke, lonesome, depressed, bored, and hopeless, but if you ask them how they are doing, they will say they are okay. Or, they will say, “I’m good,” – knowing full well they are having to hold a Bible in one hand and...
I was recently a guest on a podcast and some of my readers – specifically my mother and daughters – listened to it. A couple of their friends who were trapped in the car with them at the time had no choice but to listen too. The main thing we were supposed to talk about was a column I had written on the difference between being Southern and being country, but ended up we talked mostly about the wastewater situation in parts of Lowndes and Wilcox counties that were headlining the news that wee...
Free has become a popular term here as of late. It is a new trend and an old favorite. Not free as in freedom. Not free-minded, or free-spirited, or being a Freebird. I mean free – as in no cost. I don’t know about everywhere, but in Wilcox County if you will come out with some free hotdogs you can draw an attentive crowd. This has been proven countless times. I seldom accept anything free. It’s one of my hang-ups. But one of my exceptions was at the old Impact Wilcox meetings. For all they...
In response to the fast-paced lives Americans tend to lead, countless books and articles have been written offering ways to simplify life and minimize stress. Typical lifestyle change suggestions include unplugging from social media and television, reconnecting with nature, and taking time out to meditate and pray. Minimalism is encouraged in both commitments and possessions. Learning to say no – to yourself and to others – is imperative. These articles pull attention because more and more peo...
