Here in 2020, odd year it is, we’ve canceled everything. Like the rest of the world, our usual day by day is not our normal day by day anymore. Today is kind of an odd one, though, because I’m on the road. I’m taking a mini vacation of sorts. ToContinue Reading
Hello readers and all curious folks. Appalachia Bare is back and eager to deliver new content! We’ve made some subtle (and not-so-subtle) changes to the site but still kept our Appalachian charm. I thought I’d take a little time and share our intentions for 2021. I say intentions because nothing’sContinue Reading
It started as a lark. Six of us guys sat watching TV one evening in our college dormitory lobby. Someone absently picked up a copy of the local newspaper lying on the sofa. “Hey, here’s something we can do,” Joe M. announced. (Names are abbreviated to protect the chronically stupid.)Continue Reading
Trigger Warning: Elements of this article include discussions of violence and slavery. Have you ever heard a story about an ancestor who did something so bad it became local legend? Or where half of a community considered that ancestor a hero and the other half believed that person was aContinue Reading
The day I spotted the help wanted ad I was three years into a dead-end job relocating displaced families for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. My low-paid position was a stepping-stone to nowhere; Tennessee’s unofficial motto, as 49th in state pay, was “thank God for Mississippi.” The regional boss, aContinue Reading
As the young woman walks away, Tim points to my beer, “You’re almost done with that. I’ll get you another. You’ll want it for what I am about to tell you.” “Great. Thanks!” I holler as I throw back my first gooey cheese stick. I’m enjoying the conversation and wonderingContinue Reading
I like watching birds in the rain. I’ve a good view of some crows now as a steady patter falls and splatters over the Appalachian Mountains on a chilly, wet, dreary, mid-October afternoon. The rain fell heavy in the early morning, but, now the water lingers as a cool, constantContinue Reading
Growing up in the shadow of Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a city socially stratified according to altitude, I fell under the spell of native author Christine Noble Govan, whose specialty was children’s mystery novels set in or near the city’s scenic attractions. A prolific writer of more than 50Continue Reading
Our hike continues on in humid air with welcome breezes when, all of a sudden, I sense someone running behind me before hearing a terrified scream. “Ah!” Katie yelps. “Oh my God, Casey! Help!” I’m in the lead of our pack, but, startled, I turn around to my wife. Katie’sContinue Reading
“Do you have it?” Aunt Debbie sounds hopeful and looks to Mom with a soft smile. “I do,” my mom whispers stoically, reaching her hand into her purse. Aunt Stephanie curiously watches as an old handkerchief, a memento of their Grandma Shorty, is carefully lifted for the three sisters toContinue Reading
