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Author Archives: smellincoffee
Wisdom Wednesday: On Living and Working Amid Madness
“When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly. They are like this because they can’t tell good from evil. But I have seen the … Continue reading
Then and now
“Know where this is?” someone asked, and showed me their phone. I had to stare in fasciantion. I knew that “AMERICAN” sign, all right. I’d driven by it enough times on my way to high school on those long morning … Continue reading
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe© 1987 Fannie Flagg416 pages “You know, a heart can be broken, but it keeps on beating, just the same.” Evelyn Couch is too young to feel this old. Despairing and lonely, she … Continue reading
The first and probably last time I ever share a rap video: “Fake Woke”
[Verse 1]I think it’s crazy I’m the one who they labeled as controversialAnd Cardi B is the role model for 12-year-old girlsThere’s rappers pushing Xanax at the top of the BillboardBut if I mention race in a song, I’m scared … Continue reading
Backroads Alabama: Looking for Creeks, trains, and a dog named Fred
For the last several weekends I’ve been visiting various places throughout Alabama, ranging north and south, many with a connection to Alabama’s role in the Creek war. On the agenda were Fort Mims, Claiborne, and St. Stephens. I often read … Continue reading
Plague, Inc: The Cure
Back in August I made mention of a game I’d been playing during all my free quarantine-time, Plague, Inc. It’s a pandemic simulator in which the player’s goal is to actively destroy humanity with a disease; I’d heard of it … Continue reading
Alabama: Making of an American State
Alabama: the Making of an American State© 2016 Edwin C. Bridges264 pages In December of 2019, the streets of Montgomery were thronged with people as the citizens of Alabama celebrated its 200th anniversary. The three years prior had been full … Continue reading
The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop
The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop© 2020 Fannie Flagg304 pages One of my favorite movies growing up was Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Cafe: why on Earth this movie became a favorite in my very sheltered household, I cannot … Continue reading
Where I Come From
Where I Come From: Stories from the Deep South© 2020 Rick Bragg256 pages What a joy Rick Bragg is to read! A native son of Alabama, Rick Bragg is a journalist-turned-folklorist in the tradition of Kathryn Tucker Windham, who here … Continue reading
Why Rick Bragg Writes
Quoted from Where I Come From, by Rick Bragg: “I write about home so I can be certain someone will. It is not much more complicated than that.” “Home is not a thing of position, or standing. My home is … Continue reading
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