Religion was easy at our house. A blessing before every meal. My brother, Bill, still says the same prayer that Daddy always said. Not sure why I never learned it. Bit of a rebel, I guess. The second thing about religion at our house was that if the church doors were open at Wilmer First Baptist, we were in our pew. I don’t remember too much about the sermons from those days. However, two things have stuck with me all my life. We were taught in Training Union on Sunday… Read more The Revival and the Homecoming Dance →
Wilmer School had a junior high basketball team, and by the time I was in the sixth grade, I had a pretty good backyard-peach-basket jump shot. Since my daddy was… Read more Homecourt Advantage →
I grew up in the tiny town of Wilmer, Alabama. Wilmer was so small it only had one Baptist Church. I once heard one of Wilmer’s senior citizens brag that… Read more Growing up in Smalltown, Alabama →
I am 73. I have a doctorate from Auburn University. I taught for 14 years as a professor in the UNCC College of Education, achieving tenure and emeritus status. I… Read more →
Let me introduce this essay with, yes, I know I am an old goat! However, this old goat does not have virgin ears nor am I repulsed by nudity or language… Read more Old Goat Takes on the Movies →
My 7th Grade English Teacher, Mrs. Willie Ford – God Bless her grammar-loving soul – used to tell us frequently that Abe Lincoln said, “God must love the common man – he made so many of them.” And then she paraphrased it a little by saying, God must love the “C” – he made so many of them.” She was not denigrating the “C” student. Far from it. She was promoting that grade as a very acceptable grade. Every teacher and every administrator and every legislator needs to read this little… Read more Denigration of “C” Students →
At seventy-three, there are things that I wish that I had said, and not a few that I wish I had not. The letter below is one I am glad… Read more Fathers and Sons →
On a visit to see my mother in Montgomery in aside – probably unrelated to the conversation we were having – she surprised me with, “Mick, you ought to write… Read more You Ought to Write a Novel →
