the occupation of Ashley and Levon
My grandfather used to sit under the carport and have his coffee, always in the mornings, and anytime later in the day that it suited him. He’d a have a bump and watch an afternoon thundershower, in silence, with his ankle twitching across his knee to some inaudible rhythm. Me and Addair were having a [...] Continue Reading »
The Mr. J’s sign came down yesterday and two fresh coats of white covered over the tuxedo man stencil. Passersby stopped momentarily to mourn his memory and a Murray institution of fine formal wear and limousine service is history. What exists now is a blank slate of fine office space where your good neighbor State Farm [...] Continue Reading »
I’ve been reading The Scientist in the Crib by Gopnik, Meltzoff, and Kuhl and learning about the ways babies are so very amazing. We all began with such remarkable capabilities. The chapter on Language acquisition is most interesting. Here’s an excerpt: “The way we categorically perceive speech is unique to each language. In English we make a sharp categorical [...] Continue Reading »
In the calm after the storm yesterday we drove to Sevierville to the Rebel Dish Barn. It’s the largest Fiesta store in the South, new and vintage. I compared my stuff with his and I do have exactly what I thought. We stopped on the way home at Camper World. They don’t have Airstreams [...] Continue Reading »
Before yesterday, I was one of the millions who had only a moderate appreciation of Fiestaware. Fiestaware is dishes, to be clear. Until yesterday I had come to understand and appreciate Fiestaware because Ashley likes it, and it’s all we’ve ever had. They make sturdy dishes and the colors are neat to mix around. You can drop [...] Continue Reading »
I know there was a lot of drastic talk on here a while ago about an Airstream and outfitting ourselves for a new chapter on the road. Our last attempts are fresh on my mind. They were good efforts but not experiences to repeat. Not Ashley and I, and not with a two month old. [...] Continue Reading »
Take a stoll over to Modern Ink today. I’m oh so very glad to be featured in their “Polished” interview. Speaking of trends and advice: Having a baby invites a dust storm of shoulds, should nots, and robust opinions. This being my first rodeo, I’m pretty receptive but when the counsel is so often contradictory [...] Continue Reading »
There was once a coffee shop in downtown Madisonville where I used to live. The owner would sit down between customers, unfortunately for very long periods, and write in his journals. He was from New Orleans and spoke in a thick Cajun drawl. He told me once, “Tell me everything you know about your father.” I told [...] Continue Reading »
Hopefully you have remembered this, but today is the day we observe and demonstrate the proof of love. Romantic love. In other lands, today is the day of love and friendship. But here, we adore that special someone. And if there is no special someone at the moment, you can buy the chocolate on the [...] Continue Reading »
And now it’s time for more guilty Google searches. Of course we can’t see who they are, but we know what they were looking for. Here are the chosen (for this Quarter): why isn’t my daughter a hipster? fellini kroger (39 times) settlers of catan hipsters (3 times, spelled cantan 2 more times) kick em [...] Continue Reading »