Automatically viewing mobile food vendors (food trucks) as a negative for our community is so last-century. In the late 1980s, there were problems with a few of the mobile food vendors who pulled … more

It was canning season and my teacher-mom, off for the summer 1974, was learning to make pickles. My grandmother had given her something called a pressure cooker, and a lesson or two in how to use … more

I’m a mass media guy, so for better or worse, I spend time on social media. Anyone who’s not drawn to the ability to communicate with thousands of people at the touch of a button doesn’t love … more

On the fourth of July, I’ll be an official one-year resident of Stone County, Arkansas. I love it here, and honestly never imagined I’d love it so much. But I will tell you, there is always a … more

I spent the first 14 years in fear of my Dad. Then, invested most of my energy the next four, planning and anticipating that glorious day I’d walk away from him. And the next 25 years, I … more

I have often said that in the search for ourselves we need not look far past our mom or dad, or the community and culture from which we come. We are the products of our raising. more

The way a story about misspending of public funds came to light last week gave the appearance the story had been “hidden” for the past year, when in fact it was under … more

It was over the moment our eyes met. You were chewing on a plastic water bottle cap, fuzzy as could be, and all alone in that cage. Dana and Sophie didn’t know it yet, but you were going home with … more

Check out the music library on my phone and you’ll find everything from Hank Williams, to Kenny G, to Quiet Riot, to Demi Lovato, and the Mississippi Mass Choir. But country is my music genre of choice, probably because of all those years I spent riding around with a beer-drinking, cigarette-smoking dad who tuned in to stations that played Charlie Pride and Waylon Jennings and Glen Campbell and Loretta Lynn as we drove aimlessly through the Delta countryside. more

May is National Barbecue Month. Or, as I like to call it, Holy Month. On a recent conference call with writers across the country, I explained how you can take the topic of barbecue and teach … more

We weren’t lifelong friends. In fact, we only met in person twice and spoke by telephone once. But Richard McCasland made a difference in my life. more

Last week we spoke about balancing work and rest. Some people are workers. Others are resters. Some of us who have a hard time sitting still want to know more of this word – “rest.” It rolls off the tongue with ease. Such a peaceful and beautiful word, yet so elusive. Like an ivory-billed woodpecker in the bottoms of Monroe County. more

I know people who work all the time. For them, it’s a source of pride. I’m not one of those people. The kind who takes pride in it, anyway. Two weekends ago I found myself collapsed in a reclining chair, depleted. There is no other word. No energy in any limb, barely able to think, and honestly on the verge of tears. In the preceding weeks and days leading up to that weekend, I’d spread myself so thin, tried to complete so many things, there was just nothing left. Zero. It happens several times a year, and I’m working to fix it. more

Have you heard the news? You know all the great names. Tyson, Truett Cathy, Colonel Sanders. The three may be the Great Triumvirate of the chicken business. I’m thinking the name Watkins would look good among them. That’s right. We’re getting in the chicken business in Round Bottom Valley. more

Religion is a slippery slope. I’m going to write about it, anyway. We’re becoming close enough friends now, you and I, that we can discuss these things in a civil manner, and still walk away friends. If ever there was a warning sign pointing to the breakdown of an idea the New Testament gospels say is vitally important to a life of faith, this is it. The birthplace of community is dwindling in numbers across the Christian landscape. It’s the Church. more

It’s not the homecoming he planned, but the circumstances surrounding his return give Richard McCasland a point of view he’d never much considered about his hometown. The former Mountain View … more

In 1963, someone decided it would be a dandy idea launching a down-home festival. They were right. more

If the opportunity passes us by, we will have only ourselves to blame. It was right there in front of us in plain view on the calendar for 148 years. more

As was (and is) the case with many hardworking families in rural America, a big part of my ancestry comes from Ireland, and from the UK - not people of distinction, mind you. Just hardworking folks who came to the US looking for new opportunities, and the chance to fulfill some dreams. It is the essence of America, I believe. This welcoming national spirit on which our country was founded. more

It happens every year at the end of basketball season – a painful empathy for players as their seasons come to a close. more