Rich: The ugly shirts

When Tink came South, toting all his worldly possessions, included in the myriad boxes were some of the ugliest shirts I’d ever seen. Until Tink began to happily pull the beloved plaid shirts from storage, I don’t believe I had ever looked at a man’s shirt and thought, “Yuck.

Rich: Bill Curry is still a class act

Tink and I attended a holiday dinner party, preceded by cocktails, in a fancy high-rise hotel in Atlanta. The event was to celebrate the newly released catalog of Mercer University Press, the publisher, which I have taken to calling the best publisher in America today.

Rich: Tink’s accidental stardom

Quite by accident, I have made Tink a star. I, without thought, have done what the biggest stars in Hollywood could not do. Mary Tyler Moore didn’t do it. Neither did Bruce Paltrow (who, by the way, I mourn that I never met. He died too young.). Mark Harmon. Denzel Washington. Will and Jada Smith.

Rich: Nicole’s wisdom

“In so much as it is within your control in a situation, be kind.” My niece, Nicole, was telling me about a family meeting that she and her husband, Jay, had recently conducted with their five children. That commandment was the meeting’s foundation.

Rich: The photo and the Bible

It happened 15 years ago yet the memory sticks to me like cotton candy to a child’s hand. I still puzzle over it. Paducah, Kentucky, was a stop on a Mississippi riverboat cruise for which I had been hired as a storyteller. When the boat docked, I strolled down the picturesque streets.

Rich: The good doctor

It was two years ago, around eleven in the morning on a Thursday. I was in our bedroom where, more often than not, I tucked in to write.

Rich: My wife and funerals

By John Tinker (sitting in for Ronda Rich) For some unknown reason, the other day, I began adding up the number of funerals I’ve attended since moving to the South. I stopped at eight since I quickly realized what a morbid, mental exercise I was undertaking.

Rich: Unnecessary unkindness

Of course, I occasionally encounter rudeness in folks. Usually, I’m in a bubble of some kind when I’m jolted right out of it by rudeness or, in some cases, as Mama would say, “Downright meanness.

Rich: The stories we own (part two)

In the Bible, the Apostle Paul wrote, “When I was a child, I thought as a child.” When I was a child, though, I was far older than my actual age. Quietly, I stood back and watched the adults. I observed as stories played out.

Rich: The stories we own (part one)

Everyone has a story. Or many stories. Every person, uniquely, owns a piece of history. A cherished friend of mine was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Twice, his helicopter was shot down in the midst of battles. As it is recorded, that was a horrendously uncivilized war.