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The man in this picture is my mama’s daddy. The boy beside him called him Pappaw.

The boy grew up to be me.

The man didn’t have much longer to live, which brings me to my wish. 

(more…)

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It was just another Tuesday, and I was just another 15-year-old sophomore in high school.

My mind had little regard for anything except girls, sports, what I’d eat for lunch and how I’d get through math class.

I didn’t have a cell phone or a driver’s license.

I was nowhere near New York City or the World Trade Center.

Terrorism was just a word.

I’m 32 now. Things are different.

I know you might skim this story on your cell phone. I know you might be too young to remember what happened.

Maybe you weren’t even born.

Maybe all you know about Sept. 11, 2001, came from what you’ve seen on social media or heard in history class.

My friend wrote a column about Sept. 11 last week, in which she made a wonderful point about what I remember most from the the day’s aftermath. I’ve thought about you since I read it. I thought about you again this morning, when I saw an Instagram post from a history teacher who had students interview someone who has a clear memory of what happened 17 years ago today to help them see a different picture of one of America’s most disasterous days.

I’ll never forget what unfolded in those hours.

If you can’t remember, and you have a minute to spare, I’d like to try to take you to a time when the history you’ve heard was just heartbreak. (more…)

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I have listened a lot in the last few days.

I have listened to a lot of opinions on a lot of different things since the tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia.

I have opinions on a lot of things, most of which I will keep to myself because they aren’t important.

I will address some things, however, and I will start with a story. (more…)

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The first day of a new year has almost come and gone.

A steady rain is falling, as it has nearly all day.

I can hear it thumping against the roof of my house in a rhythm which is bound to put me to sleep.

While I’m still awake, since I’ve properly greeted the new year, I’ve decided to spend the next 54 minutes or so on what happened in the old one.

What a year it was. (more…)

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Last Saturday, Mama and I took another trip to the Alabama Department of Archives and History in Montgomery.
We’d been once before, when we randomly decided we’d make the hour-plus drive to see what the archives had to offer, and we weren’t disappointed.
The archives were different last weekend, but in a good way. (more…)

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During today’s Fourth of July festivities, I am stuck at home with the police scanner because everyone else is out of town.
I can’t venture outside of the scanner’s range, but I’ve had a lot of time to think.
I’ve spent most of the day watching “America: The Story of Us” on the History Channel so I thought about some of the things being an American actually means to me. (more…)