RICH: Re-living the lessons taught during the Great Depression
The Great Depression taught us lessons we're re-living today.
RICH: Re-living the lessons taught during the Great Depression
Jerry and I were talking the other day. We've known each other since the day I was born, he having entered this earth the day before I did. It was there in the hospital nursery we first met and the friendship has endured through the years.
RICH: Simple joys in life bring so much happiness
The birth of a calf is one of the simple joys in life.
RICH: Always assume that everyone you date is crazy
Not too long ago, a friend of mine discovered rather abruptly and rudely that he had dated a crazy woman.
RICH: Remembering, and finally understanding, the prayers of my father
Until the day he died, Daddy had one prayer about his children that he prayed constantly. Probably every day of his life.
RICH: Always reach for laughter during hard times
You go to the funeral home to pay respects and run into people you haven't seen in ages.
RICH: Here's to staying young at heart, young in looks
One morning, I received an email from a reader who began by explaining that her 81-year-old mother was a devoted reader of this column and my books.
RICH: Admiring, appreciating the kindness of risk-takers
One night I was doing an appearance in a town where this column runs. A woman waited in line to speak to me and brought a clipping of that week's column for me to sign.
RICH: A masterpiece to be revered, not ridiculed
It wasn't long ago that a friend of mine -- a West Coaster no less -- got onto the subject of country music. Some he likes, some he doesn't, he said. Then, he laughed and recalled a song he had recently encountered.
RICH: I must have inherited curiosity from my mama
Oh, the ironies of life. My godmother and I were going somewhere one day when she said, "Did you read the obituaries this morning?"
RICH: Nothing is sexier than a woman with a gun
Just when I thought I knew most of what there was to know, or at least that which was mostly worth knowing, about what is alluring to men about women, I uncovered a stunning new truth.
RICH: Mama never wavered from her faith in God
I wondered the other day how a mother could even think that, let alone say it. But then Mama was a woman who defied exact definition. She was strong, smart, courageous, sometimes outrageous and, above all, ruled by a faith that was simply unbendable and unquestionable. That part of her was definable and clear: She believed unyieldingly in an Almighty God who never left her side. Even when it could have seemed that He did.
RICH: Always remember the bigger the struggles, the greater the pay off
It is one of the great mysteries of life. Why are some things so hard? Why, if some things are meant to be, is it so difficult sometimes to make them happen?
RICH: The season of Easter has arrived with many influences on life
A few weeks ago, I was on the phone with a friend who lives in Las Vegas. Suddenly, out of the blue, he asked, “Is Easter this Sunday?”
RICH: Whatever happened to visiting on Sunday afternoons?
One night back in the summer, Louise, Rodney and I stopped to see Russell and Neva, whom we have all known in one way or the other for decades. Yet, we go ages without seeing each other. It’s a crying shame, as Mama would say.
RICH: A kind of frugality that should be honored, not forgotten
In digging through the material remains of what I consider to be my heart’s one and only home, I have smiled repeatedly, even chuckled out loud on occasion, at Mama’s thriftiness.
RICH: God likes to remind us of our stupidity at inopportune times
In my life I’ve done some crazy things, things that defy reason and in retrospect lead even me to say, “What was I thinking?”
RICH: Faces of youngsters are the reflection of love or lack of it
The other day I took a short cut down a back road, the likes of which I had not seen since I was a child in petticoats and Mary Janes and rode the big, yellow school bus.
RICH: Rediscovering Mama and myself through my childhood home
It is my strong and abiding philosophy that good springs forth from the midst of whatever bad happens to us. In the recent days that now trail behind me as time spent sweetly, I have luxuriated in the good that came from the water line break that practically demolished my childhood home.
RICH: 2011 will not be the sequel to the year of me
It sounded like a great idea at the time. Most of my ideas do. “Hair-brained scheme” is what Mama sometimes called them.
RICH: The most memorable Christmas gift was built on a rock
His name was Ricky, and though I remember the gift he gave me that Christmas 30 years ago, I don’t recall his last name. I wish I did.
RICH: I'll live life to the fullest and come out even in the end
There was a man I knew once, who lived for a good time. Work, he believed and ardently practiced, was only good for providing a means to an end, the result being that of his vigorous pursuit of wine, women and song.
RICH: I am blessed by the hard times I've overcome
Daddy always believed that the good Lord should be thanked for the hard times as much as He was praised for the good times.
RICH: Certain songs can bring back heart-warming memories
My friend, Linda, is one of those kind of friends who drift in and out of my life. The kind of friend that I see infrequently but when we gather together over lunch or dinner it's as though we've had coffee together every morning for the past six months. Our conversation isn't constant but our friendship is.
RICH: There is no shame in not being able to do everything yourself
In a moment of not thinking perfectly clear, I agreed to sit on a panel composed of several women for a television show. The idea was that we so-called “experts” would answer questions posed by guys who wanted to know about the inside thinking of a woman.
RICH: Everyone knows you are supposed to fry okra
A while back, I was on a book tour when my publicist called to say I had been asked to cook on a television show.
RICH: I guess sometimes I can't believe what my own eyes are seeing
It’s getting to the point that I don’t believe my own eyes or trust what my ears hear. Sometimes it feels like I’m starring in the old movie, “Gas Light,” where the world is conspiring to make me think I’m crazy.
RICH: Postman delivers magic to my mailbox on ordinary days
When I had the privilege of delivering a keynote address to the National Association of Postmasters of the United States in Anchorage, Alaska, I spoke on the joy that comes in the form of a card or letter.
RICH: Stand out in the crowd by following 10 business commandments
One night as a particularly hard, extremely long rain poured down, I discovered a leak in my roof. The leak became a minor problem. Finding a roofer to show up and fix it became the primary problem.
RICH: Unlocking the secrets of some mysterious keys
At Mama's house, which is now my office, I found a tea cup filled with keys.
RICH: Oh, the places you'll go and the stories you'll hear if you just listen
A favorite book in my family, one we often buy for new college graduates, is Dr. Suess' "Oh, The Places You'll Go."
RICH: Oh, the places you'll go and the stories you'll hear if you just listen
A favorite book in my family, one we often buy for new college graduates, is Dr. Suess’ “Oh, The Places You’ll Go.”
RICH: Dolly Parton was right when she sang about trains
When the yearning for a weekend trip to New Orleans appeared, much like the late night craving for a bag of potato chips, it took no persuasion to convince Poet to meet me there.
RICH: Guardian angels look over our four-legged friends, too
There are those -- perhaps many -- who would claim that animals do not have a guardian angel. On behalf of my animals, I vehemently disagree. They have one and her name is Jill.
RICH: The South has a particular way of dealing with death
Months before Mama died, she worried incessantly about the cost of obituaries in newspapers. Some charge by the word, you know.
RICH: Parents' wisdom still helps during lean economic times
Among the many things I have learned in this life is how everything evens out, how those who are mighty and rich can become lowly and poor while the lowly and poor can become mighty and rich.
RICH: Have to try some deep fried foods - southern style
A friend of mine returned my call one day while he was sitting in the Dallas airport, waiting for a flight out. He explained that he had just spent two days at the Texas State Fair, and it was, he said, quite a sight to behold.
RICH: The true test of solid advice is if you would take it yourself
If you're like me, you probably enjoy handing out advice, both solicited and unsolicited. After all, those of us who have vast life experiences owe it to those with less experience to share our wisdom.
RICH: Common folks are often the unexpected heroes
Out of curiosity, folks will sometimes ask who is an inspiration or hero to me. Since I rarely think in those terms, I have to stop and think about that answer.
RICH: Hair happens to be a pretty big thing in the South
In looking back at photos, I am left to wonder if I have ever had a truly good hair day.
RICH: The code of the mountains: A man's word is his bond
There is a saying among the people of the rural South, used to condemn anyone who has changed the terms of an agreement, especially those done with a word and a hand shake.
RICH: The code of the mountains: A man's word is his bond
There is a saying among the people of the rural South, used to condemn anyone who has changed the terms of an agreement, especially those done with a word and a hand shake.
RICH: Father's wisdom resonates even after he's been gone many years
Often, I find myself thinking of the wisdom of my daddy. His observations and experiences continue to guide me daily 11 years after his departure from what he sometimes called, "this ol' vale of tears and sorrow."
RICH: Father's wisdom resonates even after he's been gone many years
Often, I find myself thinking of the wisdom of my daddy. His observations and experiences continue to guide me daily 11 years after his departure from what he sometimes called, “this ol’ vale of tears and sorrow.”
RICH: Southern words are just nicer
A while back, a transplanted Yankee sat down beside me at a luncheon and proceeded to explain what had compelled her to uproot herself from generations of Northern influence and move South.
RICH: Thank you notes are appreciated
When Dixie Dew got a box full of doggie treats from one of her fans, she wagged her tail and jumped around the kitchen, eager to dive into them.
RICH: Learning to outgrow a great deal of sensitivity over the years
You know, it's beginning to occur to me that I'm not sensitive enough. This is quite a revelation since I spent a good amount of my life being told that I was too sensitive. As a child, Mama said that I got my feelings hurt too easily and I needed to snap out of it.
RICH: Trying to find joy, happiness in a sad situation
Too often in recent times, death has visited itself upon my family, its intrusion bitterly unwelcome.
RICH: Some words you need to be Southern to understand
Rodney, the reigning patriarch of our family, loves sorghum syrup, which, in the mountains, is called "soggum syrup."
RICH: When kids leave the nest to discover a better life
Lately, a couple of girlfriends have been lamenting the upcoming going of their children. Both will see their oldest graduate from high school shortly and edge closer to a life independent of Mama.
