Bellefontaine Cemetery holds stories that forged America. Good. Bad. Wild, like the story of Captain Bill Massie, the world’s greatest riverboat gambler. His unmarked grave belies his prowess. In the parlors of his riverboats, Captain Bill Massie could read the … Read More
When the Circus Came to Town
In 1933, the circus came to town. And stayed. For a dozen years, the Russell Brothers Circus made its winter home in Rolla. And each spring, the major three-ring extravaganza rehearsed in the fields around the old Civil War Fort … Read More
From the rubble
Joplin is history. Brothels and Bonnie and Clyde. Critical race theory through the eyes of Langston Hughes. The stubborn nonconformity of Thomas Hart Benton. Dennis Weaver’s gait and Bob Cummings’ airplane car. Oh, and The Mick, before there was a … Read More
My Favorite Road
“What’s your favorite road?” That question comes up a lot from people who find out I’ve driven every mile on the map.They’re curious. What’s my favorite restaurant? Favorite bed and breakfast? Favorite state park? The question came up in Trenton. … Read More
Mystery Among Trash
Pumping water out of the ground at 26 gallons a minute, Palm Springs, California, is an oasis in the American desert. And the desert surrounds this oasis like an ocean surrounds a life raft. I hiked out into the desert, … Read More
Georgia on my mind
Stopped in Albuquerque to pick up 400 pounds of floor tile. Passed Sandia Mountain and drove up to Santa Fe’s rarified air. At 7200 feet, we got a boost from a bowl of fiery green chile chicken soup. Then Cheryl … Read More
Snakes? Shamrocks? Patrick’s Real Story Is Better
Researching for a novel about my Irish priest great grandfather, I’ve come face-to-face with the real St. Patrick. Two tales make him less caricature, more saintly. Every Irish child knows the first story: Patrick ascended Clough Patrick (the Irish Mount … Read More
Spiritual.
It’s a spiritual place, breathing the rarified mountain air in the land of the Pueblos. Nineteen Pueblo tribes inhabit these sacred lands, among the Navajo and Apache. They demonstrate respect for Mother Earth. Traders do well to listen.
Peace. Please.
Outside Santa Fe the mountains begged for snow, and Mother Nature seemed attentive, while in a courtyard St. Francis communed with animals. All of them. It gave us the courage to enter parts unknown.