Race and “Good Taste”

Not long ago I was offered a gig at The [ Withholding the Large Virginia Town’s Name Here ]  Arts and Culture Center.   After responding with the thank-you-for-inviting-me email, I went to the center’s website to see what the place was like....

Invasion of the 4-H Club!

 At the get-go I must tell you that I remember my pre-literate self. I really do.  Back in the early 1960s, kindergarten was for learning to count and reciting the alphabet to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (Ah! vous dirai-je, maman, for you...

Time for a Pet Peeve

Here’s a  small morsel of good news in these otherworldly days:  even under “shelter in place,” we are all allowed – nay, encouraged – to go outside, keeping a few yards away from other humans, of course.  But it’s springtime, people! And with fewer cars on the road,...

Creatures Invading the House

I saved a small life tonight. As I was pulling the covers back, I found a gecko in my bed. I grabbed it before Angela the Cat had a chance to see it. She would’ve surely captured it, hunter, that she is.  Over the years, many representatives of the local fauna...

Latter-Day Saints’ Political Gaffes

Published in The Covington News ~ February 8, 2020. Studies and polls have confirmed that in the United States a good number of people do not trust national journalists. Well, here in Newton County I am about as local as you can get.  Heck, y’all know I ain’t even a...

The Danger of Changing Our Poetry

Published in The Covington News ~ August 17, 2019. A couple of weeks ago I posted this cartoon by my friend Man Martin on Facebook and Twitter. What struck me was the utter lack of pushback. There was none.   I am not expecting the same regarding this...