In new Pattonsburg’s Old Memories Café I found the best blue plate special this side of the senior center. In that café I found something else: murals commemorating Ride with the Devil, painted by Elanor McMahall. The murals are vivid … Read More
Bionic, When She Starts
Sometimes you get lucky. Erifnus broke down right in front of the house. Bad starter. But since she’s a 5-speed manual transmission, and we live on a slope, I rolled her downhill and popped the clutch. Engine started like she … Read More
Highways Tell Stories.
A highway’s back may be black, brown or tan, red, white or blue. We name them after saints and music and Mother. A highway’s makeup may be heavily applied and easy to see, or it may be worn thin. Her … Read More
Hiding in Plain Sight
Stare at this picture. Soon, a sign will appear. When you see it, share with all the bucks and turkeys on Facebook.
Sunset on the Family Farm
During the 1980s family farms could not endure a deadly one-two punch. The first punch by itself was devastating for a small family farm. American farm policy changed from Depression Era price protections to wide open full-tilt production, a “get … Read More
Turkey. Squirrel. Me.
Deep in the woods, Turkey Camp is the perfect venue to hunt turkey. But the turkeys are safe, mostly. The closest most camper-hunters get to birds happens when folks take a pull on the fifth of Wild Turkey that passes … Read More
Rising Above It All
Dunklin is Missouri’s tallest county, standing almost 44 miles from its sole to its crown, and shaped like the left side of an hourglass, seemingly stuffed with cotton, mostly, until I scratched a little deeper. Down near the border, just … Read More
Goodbye, old girl
We traced Highway 47, crossing the Missouri River into Washington’s movie star face, a gorgeous riverbank town with chiseled features, church spires and storefronts peeking from under a brow of hills draped in nature’s thick mane of hardwood forests. The … Read More
Yard Bargains
“How much for books?” “Fifty cents.” Dan didn’t quibble. He knew what he wanted. Hard back classics. He rummaged through several cardboard boxes and plucked out a half dozen keepers. A collection of Jack London short stories. Aldous Huxley’s Brave … Read More
Wings Over Columbia
It was the largest crowd ever to invade Memorial Stadium. One autumn Saturday a dozen years ago, thousands of football fans packed together, and their colorful clothing attracted a million Monarch butterflies who rode the breeze across the stadium. From … Read More