Reflections

She always dressed up for our birthday dates When she was sixteen, she moved to Mocksville. Today when I see kids getting their licenses, it makes me realize that she truly was a child when we began dating. I remember her first birthday that we celebrated together in January of 1985. We had only been dating six months and  were in "young" love. That year, we went to "our" restaurant in Mooresville, NC. It was Little's Kitchen. It was the best prime rib around with port wine cheese as the appetizer. We always dressed up on these special occasions. The celebration that year as she turned 17 was innocent, filled with the excitement of a young couple heading toward high school graduation. As I look back back, I realize we were intent on getting school and college out of the way so we could get married and start out life together. Our very first date So, this weekend we  are celebrating our 33rd birthday together. For  the last thirty three years in Janua...

I was recently asked "what is it about Montana that causes you to make your way out there so often"? I love that question! It gives me the opportunity to lower the bucket into the well of memories that I've made. My first introduction to Montana came in the form of two movies. A River Runs Through It and Legends of the Fall. Both movies were set in Helena, Montana amidst the Elk Horn Mountains. Both movies were about a broken person (both played by Brad Pitt). Although both characters were flawed in many ways,  they found their sense of peace in the water and mountains that are called Big Sky. I think the brokenness of the characters were always something I could related to. In those films, the scenery along the famed Missouri and Blackfoot Rivers cannot be described with words like beautiful; the words honestly escape me. Reruns continue to draw my desires to Big Sky. So how did Montana become apart of me? Interestingly enough, it started at an auctioneer convention ...

One of the things "us" southerners have always prided ourselves on is the fact that we have four distinct seasons. Spring: we'll call this probably most people's favorite because the cold is leaving us and the newness of green leaves, colorful flowers and sounds of the thrush, robins and other song birds whose chirps are filling the air like an outdoor symphony. Summer: Warm days can turn into oppressive humid mid days. Most people think about trips to the beach or a quick jaunt to the highlands to feel the moderate temperatures. As a child I remember camping out with friends along Bear Creek and Hunting Creek, thinking of myself as a young Jim Bridger. Fall: In the south, this is the most colorful time of year. Seeing the green maple leafs turn into the vibrant orange, yellows and reds. Who can't be filled with wonder, if only for a time. This is especially true when you travel to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Winter: On a snowy day like today, with the wind ch...