The final round
Today is the final round of the Masters tournament. As I do each year, I'll spend much of the afternoon watching. It's the only time of the year I watch…
This old truck
About seven years ago I was at a family get-together at my parents' house. When everybody else had left, and it was my folks and I at the kitchen table,…
Paid in full
A few days ago I did something I've been looking forward to for a long time. I made the last payment on my car. How I got here was an…
Time capsule: December 26, 1982
At Christmas 1982 I got a very special present. The year before, Santa had brought my brother a Sears stereo that had a cassette recorder with microphone jacks. I'd driven…
My time in Eden
Music and I have had a strange relationship. I've always loved it, but music hasn't always loved me back. For one, I have no musical ability of my own. I've…
Take a break, Driver 8
For those of us in the teaching business, so many things not related to teaching have to wait until the summer months. Even then, some things we do have some…
In the bleak mid-winter cold
It was a strange week. Sunday was deceptively calm. Old movies (including one with a hilarious supporting role played by my spiritual godmother Eve Arden), watching the football playoffs and…
Reality
The new week begins with an event we've been anticipating for a while. Since November, there has been an endless array of think pieces about what it all means, what…
What might have been
January 2, 2025 As I write this, I'm in a hotel room in Athens, Georgia, a stone's throw from the University of Georgia's main campus. Tomorrow morning, I'm meeting with…
That was the year
As I began writing this, the last hours of 2024 were ticking away. I'm facing the weird feeling I always get when a year ends and a new one begins.…