I’m always pleasantly surprised by the amount of messages I receive and from where they come.

Often, they’re related to a previous column and the person writing shares a memory or story that was stirred by what they read.

It’s one of the main reasons I write. To stir memories. Especially the good ones.

Recently, I was contacted by two readers who not only lived near each other, they also lived near me. That’s unusual. It’s not uncommon to receive an email from ...

As a kid growing up in Ashdown, Arkansas, there were places I was supposed to be found and a couple of places I wasn’t.

One of the places I was never supposed to be found was in the pool hall.

I still have no idea what the name of the town’s pool hall was (maybe it didn’t have one on purpose), but one thing it did have was interesting people.

Guys. Interesting guys, to be exact. I never saw a woman in the ...

I remember my parents’ first remote control.

It was me.

You hear a lot about child labor laws and how working kids is against the rules. It’s cruel. It’s unusual. It’s punishment.

When I was a kid, we worked like pack mules, and we acted like we liked it. To act any other way would’ve been met with such caring phrases as: “Because I said so.” “I don’t care what Billy does, I’m not his parent.” And, “Stop crying or I’ll give you ...

The earliest movie I remember seeing at the drive-in was Fantastic Voyage. If you haven’t seen that one, it’s essentially Honey I Shrunk The Kids. Only they weren’t kids and it wasn’t a comedy.

A group of American scientists and a submarine were shrunk to microscopic size and injected through a syringe into a Russian scientist to save his life.

Pretty heady stuff for a kid in footed pajamas sitting in the backseat of a ’60 model Buick.

That ...

We need more Archie Bunkers and Fred Sanfords today.

One morning as I was watching TV, I tried to think of one television character we have today that has anywhere close to the same level of notoriety of any of the ones with which we grew up.

I couldn’t think of one.

Today, there’s no Archie, Fred, Andy, Barney, Fonzie, or anyone else even close.

I set my DVR to record All In The Family, Highway Patrol, Dragnet, and many other classics. But very ...

Auto tune. Ever heard of it? Neither had any of the singers and songwriters we grew up with.

Today, technology has taken the place of many things. Including real talent. Auto tune is a device that can take someone who sings off key and tune them to where it sounds as if they can sing on key.

That’s cheating.

It’s like rigging the game and then giving everyone a trophy.

This came to mind when I was listening to the radio (not Spotify or ...

Cell phones have certainly changed our lives, but I’m not altogether convinced it’s for the better.

If my life were a TV series, this would have been a recent episode:

We now join John in the men’s room at Braum’s:

Siri: “In 800 feet, turn right at the intersection.”

(John realizes his map app is still on, but can’t get to it at the moment.)

Voice from stall: “Lady, you’re in the wrong bathroom.”

John: “Sir, that lady you’re hearing is on my phone.”

Voice from stall: ...

Before cell phones and the Internet, radio brought people together. A broadcaster made a community feel as one. People had their favorite DJ and he (most often it was a he) provided music, information, commentary, and contests for listeners.

I had the radio on as I was on my way to deliver some furniture, when something caught my eye.

A garage sale sign. It was pink so I couldn’t miss it. (Note to self: Next time you have a garage sale, make ...

If there was one thing Ashdown, Arkansas had when I was growing up, it was plenty for kids to do.

During the summer months, activities included baseball, day trips to swim at the lake, visiting kinfolk, and spending the night at a friend’s house. And of course, lawn work.

Fall meant more lawn work, including raking (pine needles are not your friend), football, splitting wood for the fireplace for next year, and Halloween.

Winter brought the holidays and a break from lawn care. ...

kitch [ kich ] noun

Art, decorative objects and other forms of representation of questionable artistic or aesthetic value; a representation that is excessively sentimental, overdone, or vulgar. ~ Dictionary.com

Whenever I see canister sets, cookie jars, clocks and Formica dinette sets from the 50s and 60s, I feel as if I’ve gone home. These items adorned my youth, but as often happens, new things come and old things go.

As the 70s made way for harvest gold, avocado green, and shag carpet ...