Category Archives: Exploring the South

Monumental Heroics

Monumental Heroics by Deborah Fagan Carpenter They came from many states and multiple countries. They were Caucasian, African-American, Oriental, Hispanic, various cultures, origins, and religions. They were police officers, fire fighters, National Guard units, Swat teams, the Cajun Navy, ordinary … Continue reading

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OUR SPIRITUAL WATERING HOLE Carla Carlisle

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Texas as they endure nothing short of a disaster. The tragic events unfolding in towns and cities across the coast of Texas as a result of Hurricane Harvey are a painful reminder of the devastation reeked … Continue reading

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Sullivan’s Hollow

Sullivan’s Hollow by Joe Goodell   The streams, Oakahay and Okatoma gathered strength from the creeks to become wider and deeper, while wandering their steady way through the future Smith County of Mississippi. It was a network of generous waterways, … Continue reading

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Black with Pepper

Black with Pepper Collected and Edited by Gary Wright   ‘Everybody is ignorant, just on different subjects‘— Will Rogers Some sayings, you only hear in the South, and sometimes even Southerners have never heard them. There are also things people … Continue reading

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Old and New Converge

Old and New Convergeby Deborah Fagan Carpenter   Once a thriving town on the Illinois Central Railroad line, when the train repair shops relocated in 1930 and mechanization took over farming, Water Valley, Mississippi, like so many small towns, was … Continue reading

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Ode to Billie Jean

Ode to Billie Jeanby Gary Wright “There is nothing in the world like the devotion of a married woman.It’s a thing no married man knows anything about.”—Oscar Wilde American Country music has no counterpart anywhere in the world. Its father … Continue reading

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OLD’ HANK’S CARR

Old’ Hank’s Carrby Gary Wright “Everything is so random there must be a pattern.” As the sun was rising on New Year’s Day about 65 years ago, a beautiful, shiny blue Cadillac pulled up the Hill, West Virginia hospital in … Continue reading

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Is there a more magical place?

Is there a more magical place? Deborah Fagan Carpenter Guilty! Sometimes I buy books from Amazon, and sometimes I read on a tablet. Hey, it’s fun to anticipate the arrival of a book in the mail, and then to rip … Continue reading

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ME OH MY—JAMBALAYA!

ME OH MY—JAMBALAYA! by Deborah Fagan Carpenter Mardi Gras! It’s the South’s great party! A prelude to Ash Wednesday and Lent, Mardi Gras originated in Europe, but it began in the U.S. in—still under debate—either New Orleans or Mobile. (In Louisiana … Continue reading

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Mobile Mardi Gras à la Joe Cain

  Mobile Mardi Gras à la Joe Cain By Gary Wright     Often, things are not as they seem; usually, but not always, more so than ever   Joseph Stillwell Cain, Jr. October 10, 1832–April 17, 1904 Widely known … Continue reading

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