I know some of you are going to think I’m out of my mind, and maybe I am. I bought tickets to see the Rolling...
From my personal perspective, one of the most wonderful things about having grandchildren (besides being able to give them back) is that we get...
As we approach Christmas, I would like to send a heartfelt wish of good luck to all of you parents out there with young...
It was a horrible, sickening phone call. Within a few seconds, my hopes and dreams were crushed like someone stepping on a Coke can....
“Blessing of the Lost Girls” is J. A. (Judith Ann) Jance’s latest book. As the title indicates, this novel is about missing and murdered...
My wife Carol has been strongly suggesting (I call it nagging) that I visit my doctor and get the once over. I told her...
Decisions, decisions. What was I going to eat for supper? That’s always an important question for me, but today is a special day. Today...
I recently went to see singer Jackson Browne perform at the Alabama Theatre in downtown Birmingham, and a curious thing happened. After the first...
Kate Quinn has done it again! After authoring numerous gripping novels about women in World War II, she does not disappoint with “Diamond Eye.”...
Oh, my Lord. I didn’t want to believe a link a friend just sent me. There is a new flavor of Skittles candy -...
The summer mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, are the setting for this book, which is about three women in three different eras written by three...
Shane Quick is a “Home County Hero” of mine. The modern-day trinity of Frank Stitt, the James Beard Award-winning, celebrity chef/founder of Highlands Bar...
BRING YOUR GRANDMA to SEE “THE GRANDMOTHER MAGNOLIA” and BRING YOUR GRANDPA to see “THE GRANDFATHER PINE” at the Sportsman Lake Park TREE MUSEUM—FREE...
Readers who frequent the Cullman County Public Library System share reviews of some of their recently read books.
Submission date: July 11, 2023
Reviewer: Heather Allen
Title:...
Readers who frequent the Cullman County Public Library System share reviews of some of their recently read books.
Submission date: June 22, 2023
Reviewer: Paulette Gentry
Title:...
CULTIVATE CULLMAN: The Countywide Arts & Gardening Celebration, which includes “Culinary Cullman” and musicians with Cullman County roots, grew from a seed of an...
I love me some BBQ. That’s because I’m Southern, and it’s the law. If you cut me, I will probably bleed smoky, sweet, red...
This debut novel is somewhat whimsical and totally delightful. Set in fictional Sowell Bay near Seattle, it is a story of love, grief, the fear of aging...
I’m not a handyman. I truly wish I was, but it’s just not in my DNA. I can’t make a straight cut on a...
Dennis Lahane’s latest book “Small Mercies” is set in Boston in 1974, just weeks away from court-ordered school desegregation. The novel is set in a time...
I just finished my annual reading of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Wow. As long as I live, I will read this novel. And for...
I drove by our community ballpark the other day and saw that the All-Star baseball games were well underway. It’s hard to believe that...
As we all get ready to remember or celebrate Mother’s Day May 14, my memories of my mother will always remain special to me....
ARTS IN THE GARDEN is a new way to enjoy the natural beauty of Sportsman Lake, the 70-year old, Cullman County Parks and Recreation,...
My beloved father Randy Wilkerson died March 22, 2010, 13 years ago at the age of 61.
My father's love was unconditional, and he always...
How do we thank those who have taken the raw, sandy soil of the Cullman countryside and turned it into an Eden? One hundred-fifty...
The 1870s founders of Cullman County in the “Hill Country” of north Alabama traditionally celebrated the area’s birth year as 1873. So, 2023 is...
“Every storm, no matter how big and strong, passes eventually. Just know and remember that your spirit is much bigger and stronger than any...
The collector’s edition of “WUNDERGARTEN,” the folktale I set in 1870s Colonial Cullman, was birthed this week. (Signed copies available at Leldon’s in the...
Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Ray Liotta, Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Jesse Plemons
Score: 7/10
"Cocaine Bear," the latest cinematic...
Dear Editor:
Registration (alagames.com) for the 40th Alabama State Games is now open, and we are expecting a record-setting 6,000 participants to flood Jefferson County...
“Love & Saffron” was written by Kim Fay, who is from Washington state. Her previous books are “Communion: A Culinary Journey through Viet Nam,” which was...
“The Lincoln Highway” is Amor Towles’ third novel. His previous books are “The Rules of Civility” and “A Gentleman in Moscow.” All three are bestsellers. Set in 1954,...
It's uncommon nowadays that a business can be prompt, knowledgeable, efficient, reliable, kind and helpful all wrapped in one. It's even more uncommon that...
TEA FOR TWO
Picture you upon my knee
Just tea for two
And two for tea
Just me for you
And you for me alone.
- Music by Vincent Youmans;...
Cullman County desperately needs to vote to keep an appointed superintendent in the next election for Cullman County Schools.
I have heard so many people...
This simple list of horror, thriller and suspense movies will help you navigate the horror and thrills in the days leading into Halloween.
The movies...
“The JOYrontologist” is saluting joy-seeking explorers this Columbus Day holiday. As we raise flutes of Prosecco and chow down on veal pizza (recipe below),...
ODE TO AUTUMN
Autumn days are here, blue sky clear and dear.
Let’s harvest a bushel of joy and fall cheer.
Our S.U.N.S. (Smile-Making, Uniting, Neighboring, Spellbinding)...
F-WORDS ̶̶ there are so FLIPPIN’ many FANTASTICATIOUS ones! Here are a few more fun, FLAVORFUL faves after all of these from the former...
I would like to let your community know they have a coroner they should be thankful for. After losing my wife Ruth of 38...
F-WORDS are not used frequently enough. At least that’s true for some F-WORDS. There are so many FABU F-WORDS, I’ve FINAGLED them into two...
ODE TO BRAND YOU
If you were a brand,
Would you be fresh and sweet as Krispy Kreme,
Or aged and mellow like a sip of Jim...
“Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be…”
- Robert Browning
“The JOYrontologist” recommends: If you only read one book about joyous aging in...
Iraq veteran and commander of Cullman VFW Post 2214, Brian Monk, and wife, Rachel Monk, president of the VFW Auxiliary, pick different dates and...
ODE TO THE “E WORD”
Isn’t it a sweet surprise
That play is a workout in disguise.
Chic gym clothes can never glamorize
The boring drudge of exercise.
S.U.N.S....
ODE TO FOUR, JOYFUL SEASONS
Spring is joyful, then there is also this,
Summer is such sunny bliss.
Autumn is a sweet molasses...
