Southern English
There is nothing like the blunt honesty of a human being who is two months shy of turning six years old. Even if that almost six-year-old is your oldest grandchild. Maybe especially if she is. Recently, I was trying unsuccessfully to explain something or another to Hazel. Whatever it was, she just wasn't getting it, which is unusual because she's a very bright young lady. She was more than happy to explain the miscommunication. "You're speaking Southern, Hubba," she said hel
2 days ago3 min read
A Gospel Preacher, A Home Run Hitter, and A Junior High Football Player
I spent a little time this past weekend pondering the impact Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Since I was born in 1963, my firsthand memory is only of a post-legal-segregation world. That doesn't mean our world was truly integrated by any measure; it simply means the laws had changed and the courts were forcing compliance. So, I went to integrated public schools, and I, thank God, never remember seeing Colored Only or Whites Only signage. There was still plenty of separation, to
Jan 205 min read
Chance of Snow
Georgia is pretty well in the deep pocket of the American South, and Fort Valley, the town we live in, is just about smack dab in the middle of the state. You didn't have to ace Geography class to know that means we don't make many snowmen around here. In fact, we get a lot more tornado warnings than forecasts for anything frozen to fall from the sky. Humid subtropical , I believe, is the official classification for our climate. That's best described as a place having long, h
Jan 163 min read
The Power of Influence
Alden and Hazel Flanders Bennett Flanders I grew up loving the University of Georgia. In 7th and 8th grade, I wore some sort of Georgia shirt at least three days a week to school. I dreamed that Vince Dooley, the Bulldogs' legendary coach, would discover me. After I led the team to a National Championship and brought home a couple of Heismans, I'd be the biggest hero to ever put on that red jersey and the helmet with the beautiful black G . I did meet Coach Dooley once, but i
Dec 26, 20254 min read
Waiting: Christmas Day
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being gre
Dec 25, 20253 min read
