And the LORD’S anger was kindled against Israel,
and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years,
until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD,
was consumed.
--Numbers 32:13 KJV
I once received an email from a friend which said, “No true Southern boy would ever say, “Here’s an episode of Hee Haw that we haven’t seen.” I’m sure that’s true, though a truly Southern boy would have said, “. . . that we ain’t seen.”
I noted that bluegrass banjo player and cast member of Hee Haw Roni Stoneman passed away this past Thursday, February 22, 2024.
When I was a kid I was no stranger to guns—that is, toy guns. All kinds of toy guns—from cap pistols to plastic machine guns—but never actual BB guns. My mother was too much like Ralphie in A Christmas Story, afraid I’d shoot my eyes out!
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,
and loving favour rather than silver and gold. (Proverbs 22:1 KJV)
My inspiration for this article came from a visit I made earlier today to Union County High School. There I began talking with office staff about mistakes that are made with respect to people’s names.
An article of mail had arrived for band instructor Hunter Collins. The package was not addressed to “Hunter”, but to “Hunger”.
One of the few records we had when I was growing up was titled A Night at the Grand Old Opry. The liner on back of the cover of the Harmony label album reads in part:
The Grand Old Opry is probably the most popular showcase for country music. Originated in 1925 by radio station WSM in Nashville, Tennessee, the Opry still packs people into Ryman Auditorium by the thousands every Saturday
night . . .
You’ll hear Billy Walker’s great . . . “Funny How Time Slips Away” . . .
I am most always a traditionalist. Once a movie or song has been successfully filmed or recorded, I find the quality of re-makes to be great disappointments. There are for me two exceptions, one a movie, the other a song.
Welcome to another new year, Dear Reader!
One of the things that helped me most during the past year was the philosophy of our current Director of the Union County Schools, Mr. Greg Clay. He has impressed upon the Central Office staff that obstacles are opportunities.
Perhaps if I’d had his vision my life might have taken a different path during the year just past.
How strange it seemed when during the Christmas break of 2023 that I should suddenly have so vividly remembered something that has never left my mind.
As I do practically every day, my eyes wandered to the picture of the old house where I spent most of my growing up years. It was the original home of the Burl Warwick family, located on Old Luttrell Road, near the intersection with Highway 61. My family rented the house from Jack Warwick, and we moved there just as I entered first grade.
As I write, the song “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” is on my mind. In reality, other than decorations and the endless Hallmark movies, and the absence of leaves on the trees, it wouldn’t look like Christmas at all. There is no snow, though the temperature is dropping below freezing, and a brisk wind is blowing, making the air feel colder due to the wind chill factor. A more appropriate song might be “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”.
Is somebody trying to tell me something?
I have finally reached that point in my career when people have begun to ask me, without my broaching the subject, when I plan to retire.
Perhaps worse, I have been getting multiple calls daily on my cell phone to discuss the burial insurance options that the state of Tennessee can provide for me.