Going back to beginnings later in life is never easy. But at some point in every life it is necessary. -- To see the place of origin. The place where the ripples in time began, where the stone fell into the millpond, spawning circles that grow and grow. Echoes that continue even to this day. … Continue reading Ripples in Time
I am just now returned from a journey to the dark heart of the American dream. Las Vegas. Work life brought me here to talk about my specialty. – How we understand each other in the unwired world of instant communications. You see, I practice the art of perception. This job, my job, links people … Continue reading To the East of Garish Eden
It's a sin to kill a mockingbird. So said Atticus Finch in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Perhaps that's why I felt the presence of something large yesterday when a mockingbird greeted me with fussy curiosity in Monroeville, Alabama. I had taken time after a family funeral in nearby Brewton to … Continue reading It’s a Sin to Kill a Mockingbird
Twenty years ago today the news flashed. JFK Jr. was gone. Lost in a tumult of salt waves on a short flight that would have gone unnoticed except for his high birth. No one would have blinked an eye if John had not overstepped his own limits. It was the hubris of the Greeks, hidden … Continue reading Twenty Years On
In my mind, my Uncle Joe Weaver is forever linked with Eveready 9-Lives flashlight batteries and the Little Dipper in the night sky. Quirky memory, I know. I have a lot of those. Uncle Joe is in so many of them. He died today. It hit me hard. For a moment, it felt like the … Continue reading Polaris
In our teen years, all of us have summers that linger with us a lifetime. My biggest was in 1972. It was between my sophomore and junior years in high school. That was when my parents let me spend a month before school at my Aunt Gwen Waters' house. It stood not far from the abandoned … Continue reading A Summer that Lingers a Lifetime
Several friends have asked for a copy of the speech I gave last night accepting the Pete Weitzel Award from the First Amendment Foundation. Here it is: I feel very fortunate that Gerald Kogan is here in the audience tonight. Very candidly – without Chief Justice Kogan, I would not be receiving this award. In fact, … Continue reading On Accepting the 2018 Pete Weitzel Award
A new baby is born. The family is there to help with the first struggles of life. When great age comes, the family is also there to help with the last struggles of life. Alpha and omega. Beginning and end.Family continues. The family circle remains. The circle itself reaches eternity.Lou Ella Crochet turned 95 yesterday. … Continue reading Miss Lou
We are back in mudbug country. This is the welcome station in Iberville Parish, Louisiana. There's crawfish crawling in the bayou if you're looking for lunch. But there ain't no fish swimming in the fish tank. -- The baby gators ate them all. And if you're scratching your head over the name of this town, … Continue reading Grosse Tête Welcome Station
White House Hotel, Biloxi, Mississippi, December 22, 2018 The White House Hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi, traces its history to a beachfront boarding house established in the 1890s by a local judge's wife named Cora White. Cora's little place became popular almost from the start. Over time it evolved into a grand hotel festooned with white … Continue reading The White House Hotel
Robert Craig Waters 