RICH: Imitation IS imitation

A decade ago, I launched a new book with a tour that, with three exceptions, took me to large Southern cities and three small Mississippi towns. The exhaustive, two-week tour included Los Angeles, New York City, and the marvelous independent Rainy Day Books in Kansas City.

RICH: Escaping the chaos

The clatter. The racket. The noise. The excitement. The angst. The constant beeping of text messages. The consistent ringing of the landline. It was all too much. Chaos blanketed our normally tranquil home.

RICH: A southern dream come true

Who knows how we find some of life’s most meaningful treasures but somehow, we find them and they becomes delights. Last summer, Tink was away, working on a TV series.

Rich: Simple Sunday mornings

It is a small country church in which we assemble most Sundays for worship. From the midst of those who gather there, a simple faith cloaked in humility rises up. Mountain people are ‘humble’, as the Appalachian folks saith, because none of us ever had enough to be haughty about it.

Rich: The thrift of my people

This story will tell you a lot about me. It will tell you what friends and family already know about me. It will tell you what Tink took a good many years to learn but knows steadfastly now and jokes about it.

Rich: The father’s words

There’s no disputing it. No doubting it. Not denying it. The man, who was our family’s North Star, was raised in an isolated, backwoods shack where hope rarely appeared but then dissipated quickly like dew on a hot summer’s morning.

Rich: Newbury’s trilogy

Perhaps you remember a line from Waylon Jennings’ career-making hit, “Luckenbach, Texas”, that tips the cowboy hat to “Hank Williams pain songs and Newbury train songs.