COLUMN: Coming out of the closet
I laugh when I think about college students today. They go off to school with interior designers, then buy curtains, expensive sheets, nice furniture,...
COLUMN: Which doctor should I call?
I used to hear old folks talk about this, but I never thought it would happen to me.
Sure enough, I believe I have surely...
COLUMN: Have you lost your marbles?
About 30 years ago, I went with a mission team to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. After we drove through El Paso, Texas, we crossed the...
COLUMN: The old briefcase
We started cleaning out our basement the other day, and I quickly realized this wasn’t going to be a Saturday afternoon project. It was more like...
COLUMN: When the world stopped turning
Sept. 11 was simply another ordinary date until that day 25 years ago when it wasn’t. It still isn’t a holiday, and perhaps never...
COLUMN: A tale of 2 churches
Last Saturday, I spent the day in Pittsview, Alabama. That was the first time in my now somewhat-long life to visit the town. It...
COLUMN: Everybody gets one
Now that I think about it, I suppose I’m a little like former President George W. Bush - though not because of his domestic or foreign...
COLUMN: I almost knew Elvis
This month we celebrated the life and remembered the death of one of the biggest names in the world of entertainment. Even though he...
COLUMN: A little 4-day getaway
What a year of travel…Spain and Mexico all in the same year. So far in 2026, I’ve looked across the Alboran of the Mediterranean...
COLUMN: Don’t pay the stupid tax
For those of you who have been reading my column for a while you know I occasionally write about stupidity. More specifically, my stupidity - a subject I...
COLUMN: Man’s best friend
I am a dog man! No, that is not a super hero; however, I have had a couple of dogs that were heroes…at least...
COLUMN: Playing in the church cemetery
The games we played when I was growing up were quite different from those children play these days. For one thing, we usually played...
COLUMN: Not driving is driving me nuts
I learned to drive shortly after I learned to ride a bicycle. Since I didn’t need a license to ride a bicycle, I figured...
COLUMN: A trip that took me back in time
My memories were transported back more than half a century ago, even before I ever smelled the scent that firmly landed me there. I...
COLUMN: Doggone good
It’s the sound more than the smell that takes me back. Not a loud sizzle like bacon, but quieter, softer. As a kid, when...
COLUMN: The gift of sight
Have you ever wondered or imagined what it might be like to not be able to see? The ability to see is one of...
COLUMN: A week that left me weak
It was the kind of week that most people would like to forget. There were definitely some highs in the week but some frightening...
COLUMN: Happy Birthday, everyone
July, July – my, oh my – is it really July? – Christmas was only last week – and now the new year is...
COLUMN: Pop! Boom! Ohhhhh!
That, my friends, is the sound of a very distinctive holiday: the Fourth of July.
Sure, we've got more important ones. Like Thanksgiving, that glorious celebration of...
COLUMN: Dogs, weed-eaters and chainsaws
Some of my longtime readers will remember Ginger (65). Ginger was our sweet yellow lab and Cocoa’s (15) big sidekick. Ginger died back in...
COLUMN: It wasn’t my time
There are moments in life when the distance between an ordinary day and tragedy is measured in inches.
I’ve thought about that a lot lately.
A few...
COLUMN: Rowdy really wasn’t rowdy
I’ve heard it said that our first friends are our first cousins. I had a bunch from which to choose, but one of my...
COLUMN: ‘Southern summer – we don’t sweat, we marinate’
“Honey, it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.”
That’s not just a saying in the South – it’s a warning.
Everyone who lives here knows we pay for those mild winters...
COLUMN: When it’s not football season
Alabama is football country. So, what do we do when it’s not football season? This week we had a most unusual sporting event. At...
COLUMN: A porch goose on the loose
Have you seen them? They first arrived in America about 40 years ago. Back then, there seemed to only be a small gaggle of...
COLUMN: Too old for a mid-life crisis
I was two days out of knee surgery, lying on my bed in a Lortab-laced fog, when I sat up and uttered a sentence to...
COLUMN: In memory of Mrs. Annie Jo Cochran
In the spring of 1989, my little family and I moved to Rainbow City, Alabama, where I had been called as pastor of White...
COLUMN: Two final days in amazing Madrid
Ready or not, we finally said adios to the South of Spain and the Costa del Sol. We headed back to Malaga where we...
COLUMN: Have a nice bidet!
I’m in my bathroom, standing in a nasty puddle of water, with a plunger in one hand and a bent coat hanger in the other. It’s hard...
COLUMN: The miracle of running water
Water is gift from God that we may take from granted. Water is a necessity of life, and as far back as I can...
COLUMN: Mama was in her garden
When I was growing up, I often wondered who my mother planned on feeding with all that food we grew in her vegetable garden....
COLUMN: Poster board procrastination
It was usually about 8:45 on a rainy Sunday night when the drama began.
One of my boys would burst into the den, chest heaving...
COLUMN: Marbella by morning
I know the song says, “Amarillo by morning, up from San Antone,” but on our tour across the South of Spain, I found myself...
COLUMN: ‘This Little Line of Mine’
I am a writer. I write articles, books and songs. While I have won a few awards for some of my newspaper and magazine...
COLUMN: I fell in love with Ronda
Now, before you let your mind go where it shouldn’t, this Ronda is not a woman. Ronda was the next city we visited in...
COLUMN: 2 dogs, 1 bed, no dignity
I woke up at 3 a.m., which is not unusual. At my age, the bladder rules. It was time to take a bathroom break, return...
COLUMN: I’ve never been to Oklahoma, but I’ve been to Spain
Yes, I know the songs says, “Well, I’ve never been to Spain, but I’ve been to Oklahoma,” but the opposite is now true for...
COLUMN: The ultimate sacrificial gift
Larry was an unusual sort. In fact, to even say such would be like saying that Babe Ruth was a baseball player. Everybody who...
COLUMN: Hola! Coma estas? Todo bien aqui!
What? Well, that’s how they said it where Jean and I recently spent a little more than a week. The translation in my native...
COLUMN: Money in the Maytag
As if by magic, he pulled a folded $100 bill out of a pile of gray lint.
“Look what I found,” he said, waving it in the...
COLUMN: Crawling critters that brought me cash!
Worms…some of the first money I ever made came from selling worms. With two ponds and a creek right beside our house, I grew up...
COLUMN: Lessons from a locksmith
It seems there’s so much nastiness, rudeness and hate in the world now. It’s everywhere, and it makes me sicker than the thought of drinking warm...
COLUMN: Things don’t last like they once did
If Murphy’s Law is, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong,” the Mechanical Law would be, “What can break down, will break down.”...
COLUMN: What it was, was soccer
Seventy-two years ago, Capital Records released a recording of a young Andy Griffith. He recorded under the name Deacon Andy Griffith. Side A of...
COLUMN: Don’t say awesome – unless it really is
I walked about 75 yards from the visitor center, stepped to the railing, looked both ways and gawked.
I’m not a big gawker. In fact,...
COLUMN: Is your Christmas tree still up?
Last week I was listening to a Christian radio program when the host of the show asked the radio audience, “Is your Christmas tree...
COLUMN: I had rather be busy than bored
For most of my life, my personal motto has been, “I had rather be busy than bored.”
Honestly, I don’t remember if I heard someone...
COLUMN: A Southern snow globe morning
I wish every boy could experience snow the way we do in the South. Since it’s a rare occurrence here, there’s a sense of...
COLUMN: Icicle pickles and icicle pickleballs
I have decided, sometime in my not-as-young-as-I-once-was years, that I don’t like cucumbers. Well, at least I don’t like raw cucumbers. I’ve given them...
COLUMN: The Lunch Box Museum
What kind of lunchbox did you have when you were growing up? Perhaps, I should have said lunchboxes, because you may have had more...
COLUMN: The winter storm of ‘93
It looks like we dodged the storm down here in L.A. (Lower Alabama). Much of our nation is caught in the grip of more...
COLUMN: When the phones stopped ringing
Where were you when the phones stopped ringing, that January day? That January day was Wednesday, Jan. 14. For roughly 10 hours that day,...
COLUMN: A case of hit and run
I had never experienced anything quite like it. To say I was shocked would probably be an overstatement, but I certainly didn’t see it...
COLUMN: New beginnings can bring new endings
We have lost another old friend. Not to be morbid, but I’ve come to that age in life where I begin each new year...
COLUMN: Creatures of habit
Do you know the Hokey Pokey song? It begins with, “You put your right foot in, you take your right foot out. You put...
COLUMN: The real Christmas story
Once upon a time, long, long ago, there lived a young lady named Mary. Mary was engaged to be married to a man named...
COLUMN: Sore feet, no seat
I’ve done some dumb things in my life. Over the years, I’ve displayed an All-American level of stupidity on a number of occasions. Once,...
COLUMN: All I want for Christmas is:
‘Tis the season to be jolly. ‘Tis also the season when we hear the question, “What do you want for Christmas?” For some, that...
COLUMN: Rudolph – an exclusive interview
You know him. You’ve sung about him, watched him on TV and probably even worn his likeness on an ugly Christmas sweater. But how...
COLUMN: Our first Christmas together
We have spent 50 of them together. Jean and I spent our first Christmas together as husband and wife in 1975. We were still...
COLUMN: ’Twas the day after Thanksgiving
‘Twas the day after Thanksgiving, when all through the store – shoppers came early, for bargains galore – Some arrived early, to wait in...
COLUMN: Are you grateful or hateful?
There is an old story of a person who used to complain because he had no shoes, until he saw someone who had no...
COLUMN: Fruitcake and other feast failures
Ah, Thanksgiving — the holiday built around gratitude, family and, of course, food. I could add football to the list, but most games on...
COLUMN: A penny for your thoughts
The penny has been pronounced dead. Well, actually, there’s plenty of them still rolling around, but rumor has it that their production has stopped....
COLUMN: Winning the 4th quarter
I left the doctor’s office, got into my car and began screaming obscenities at the top of my lungs. I have had enough. When...
COLUMN: How do you get your football?
When I was a kid, I loved to make crazy faces. I think I learned it from watching the late, great Red Skelton. Skelton,...
COLUMN: A day at Billy Graham’s Library
A couple of days after our recent visit to Andy Griffith’s hometown of Mt. Airy, North Carolina, we visited the home and library/museum of...
COLUMN: Mimis and Paw Paws — get in line!
It was total chaos at the Dollar General store in Margaret, Alabama. People rushed out the doors carrying poster board, silver balloons and rolls...
COLUMN: The 3rd week in October
The third week in October is one of my favorite weeks of the year. No, I’m not talking about a game…I’m talking about fall,...
COLUMN: Batteries not needed
The words “Batteries not included” are found on many of the things we purchase these days. If we had to buy enough batteries at...
COLUMN: The perfect regift
At first glance, it wasn’t much of a gift, just a cheap pocket knife made of flimsy metal and plastic. It probably came from...
COLUMN: Measure twice, cut once
Last week, I was reminded of the old wood-workers’ idiom that says, “Measure twice, cut once.” I remembered the advice immediately after I demonstrated...
COLUMN: Let’s go outside to play
At the risk of sounding like an old man, I have realized there is a great difference in how the youth of today entertain...
COLUMN: Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!
We’ve all seen the commercials that gave birth to the catchphrase, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” Since the 1980s, it has...
COLUMN: Sweet Savannah
Yes, I am a country boy, but one of my favorite places to visit in this world is a city. No, I do not...
COLUMN: Just a matter of time
I need to vent, so please don’t judge me — just listen. I’ve got a problem with time. And yes, I know some of...
COLUMN: Duck, Duck, Jeep
You may have that friend, or a strange cousin named Booger Ray, who has more miscellaneous junk than a neighborhood hardware store, all piled...
COLUMN: The First Flight
The plane trip began in Tuscaloosa, and stopped in Jackson, before it finally reached Dallas. Later in life, taking this hopscotch flight was as...
COLUMN: Tumor Humor
“Laughter is the best medicine” is a cliché everyone knows. And it is based on the truth. Studies have shown that laughter relieves stress,...
COLUMN: What a day!
I wrote a song a couple of years ago that said, “I’m going to have a good day, anyway – no matter what comes...
COLUMN: Let’s go out to eat
Back when I was growing up, if Mama said, “Let’s go out to eat,” we did not head for the car. We weren’t going...
COLUMN: Things don’t always go as planned
Jean and I are frequent visitors at antiques shops and malls. We often find treasures there that end up either in our house or...
COLUMN: Paw Paw goes to college
Well, it’s official and it feels weird. So weird, that I dug up my old fraternity jacket to see if it fits. Not even...
COLUMN: The final leg of our Western trip
Continued from www.cullmantribune.com/2025/07/20/column-from-dinosaurs-to-devils
Have you ever seen one of our presidents? On June 6, 1991, on the 47th anniversary of D-Day, I saw and heard...
COLUMN: Milestone Birthdays
Everybody has a birthday and everybody has one every year. Well, except for those individuals who were born on Feb. 29. Recently, I think...
COLUMN: Back to Broadway
Excuse me, but did you ask me if I had ever been on Broadway? Well, yes, as a matter of fact I have. I...
COLUMN: The misadventures of Handyman
It all started with the best of intentions. My sister had a small, ornate, antique table with a broken leg, and since she knew...
COLUMN: From dinosaurs to devils
Continued from www.cullmantribune.com/2025/07/14/column-we-made-it-to-north-dakota
We visited two dinosaur museums on our trip. My favorite was Montana’s Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum, which presents the dinosaur from...
COLUMN: A letter from my dog
Hey Joe!
This is your dog, Roscoe. It’s hard to believe it’s been over six years since you picked us up from the side of...
COLUMN: We made it to North Dakota
Continued from www.cullmantribune.com/2025/07/06/column-south-dakota-is-amazing
Almost 221 years ago, in 1804, Lewis and Clark headed west under the commission of President Thomas Jefferson, to see what we...
COLUMN: South Dakota is amazing
Continued from www.cullmantribune.com/2025/06/29/column-we-made-it-to-rapid-city-but-not-rapidly
After a few hours of sleep in Rapid City, we began our journey at the drug store…Wall Drug Store. Wall Drug is...
COLUMN: We Made it to Rapid City but not rapidly
Jean and I had planned a mega road trip for the summer of 2020. The few remaining states on our bucket list of setting...
COLUMN: Water aerobics – H2 oh no!
Since I had knee surgery earlier this year, I’ve been looking for a low impact method of exercise. Actually, my wife has been looking...
COLUMN: The longest journey of my life
By this point in my life, I have been on quite a few journeys. I do love to travel and experience new things. I’m...
COLUMN: 50 years didn’t take as long as I thought
It happened 50 years ago, on Saturday, June 14, 1975. I remember that day so well that it almost seems like it was last...
COLUMN: The Class of 2037
It was a big day. Especially if you were one of the 150 or so 5-year-olds in color-coded T-shirts marching down the aisle of...
COLUMN: Making memories for a lifetime
I have heard it said that real painters don’t need a drop cloth. One person who had told me that, later that same day...
COLUMN: What’s under your bed?
Jennifer Garner must have asked me a thousand times, “What’s in your wallet?” The answer is always the same, “Nothing, absolutely nothing!” I keep...
COLUMN: I can see clearly now
At my age, the time has come. One of the last parts of my body that was still working properly finally needs help, and...
COLUMN: Remember the Alamo
No, I did not fight at the Alamo, at least not in Texas. I arrived a little too late and missed it by at...
