The Christmas Goose

(ROCKWALL, TX – Dec. 17, 2015) Traditionally, every Christmas season I either read or watch Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It just feels like the holiday should feel: the snowy streets, roasted chestnut peddlers barking their fare, and carolers bunched up serenading passers-by.  I love the scene when all the Cratchits gather for their simple Christmas […]

A Veteran’s Day Story

“I pledge allegiance to the flag…” It’s inevitable. Sometime in the 180 school days, as those first six words are recited, a kid in my class will sneak a text, or just passively rise to his feet, a smirk plastered across his face. I once fumed, demanding respect for the Stars and Stripes, but now […]

Bluegills and Old Buddies

(ROCKWALL, TX – August 10, 2015) The bluegill; a small, often disregarded fish compared to the great gamers like the temperamental largemouth, the finicky trout, or the powerful striper. Also known as the bream, panfish, or (in Texas) the perch, it’s the fish of our childhood, and for most, the first fish we ever caught. […]

Superstardom vs Summer Kid-dom

(ROCKWALL, TX – June 28, 2015) “I’m dreading summer, Coach.” A middle-schooler dreading summer, dreading the break from school—the bane of their existence? Then she described an Olympic-esque training regimen. Playing for three teams, training, traveling to tournaments every weekend, clinics, camps; I needed a three-day weekend after hearing her summer schedule. Man, times have […]

Tribute to a Subtle Superhero

(ROCKWALL, TX – May 11, 2015) My dad has always got the press. Having served on the Tennessee Governor’s cabinet, as well as 20 years in the State House of Representatives, he was a giant in our community, and a hero in my life. Yet, as they say, “the hand that rocks the cradle is […]

The season springs forth with surprises

ROCKWALL, TX (March 16, 2015) I’ve had a quest: to provide more honest food for our table—food I’ve caught, killed, or grown. There’s something pure about it, wholesome, and when you’ve been involved from field to feast, a deeper appreciation brews and wasting is sacrilege. A couple of years ago, I heard of the white […]

Love and Four-Wheelers

ROCKWALL, TX (Feb. 8, 2015) I value my man-card, always have, and I’ve worked hard to keep it. Yet, there was a moment in my life over 20 years ago where it was nearly revoked. Now once I explain the situation, I’m sure you’ll pardon it, at least, I hope … So, here goes… CONFESSION: […]

The great present caper

ROCKWALL, TX (Dec. 16, 2014) While opening our Christmas envelopes from my grandparents, I noticed Uncle Harry grinning, shifting on the couch. He was up to something—a practical joke that we’d talk about for Christmases to come. We all have Christmas traditions; things we do, food we eat, places we go to celebrate the Christ […]

Autumn adventures include ‘Don’t tell Momma’ moments

ROCKWALL, TX (November 13, 2014) Dad cinched the rope around me and started up the tree with the other end. A few nailed boards in a bough of high limbs served as a deer stand, and alternating branches and two-by-fours posed as the ladder to get there. Reaching the top, he signaled for me to […]

Local fisherman’s tale rings true

ROCKWALL, TX (September 29, 2014) David Routh, a longtime North Texan and avid fisherman, won first place in the National Junior Division for Bluegill in both 1958 and 1960; wins that secured a mention in Field and Stream. Yet, even with all those accolades, his most unique trophy came not from a tournament, but from a […]