Rich: Small room, big dreams

(Sitting in for Ronda is her primetime Emmy award-winning husband, John Tinker.)Whenever I’m at Ronda’s Mama’s house, I spend a little time in Ronda’s childhood bedroom, where she lived until after attending college, as a day student, while earning tuition money by working varied jobs.

Rich: How amazing it was

Even at the young age of 18, I watched it all in real time. And, though I was short on years and wisdom, I knew it was nothing short of amazing. There is a preface to this story. It isn’t fluff.It’s important to tell.

Rich: God bless our military

Our friend, Levi Bowman, is a scion of the multi-awarded Isaacs, who are famous for their blood harmony in their bluegrass gospel group. His mother is Becky Isaacs Bowman.The Isaacs are the ONLY gospel group to be members of the respected Grand Ole Opry.

Rich: The summer leaves

It’s the first two weeks of summer when the world is awhirl with different shades of green, blackberry winter has passed, and the days are warmed to perfection, which are particularly enchanting.

Rich: Tink’s perfection

Sometimes when my husband, John Tinker, finishes writing a television script, he will skip down the stairs to find me.It’s funny, but I can tell his mood or what kind of news he is going to deliver by the gait he uses as he tumbles down the stairs.

Rich: Simple contentment

One fair summer evening, in the gloaming of the day, Tink and I were down at Mama’s, sitting in the yard swing.Not a lot was being said. We were just enjoying the quietness and watching the lightning bugs as they prepared for their nightly entertainment.

Rich: Gunsmoke

Tink and I were in Los Angeles on business.That’s the only reason we go. We had a few hours between meetings.He said, “I’d like to take you out to the Radford lot.”Radford is a studio a bit off the beaten path from other studios.

Rich: The light of wisdom

By the time I was 21, my good parents had taught me much of what they knew. And, that was a lot. Some of it had been hard learned in the mountains, some came from town life, and some were just born in them.

Rich: The cabin

Dust to dust, ashes to ashes is the way we often say it. But the King James Bible says it more eloquently, “For dust thou art and unto dust, thou shall yield.

Rich: The cowboy rides away

Three years ago, Tink and I attended my all-time favorite event. It is the induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Songwriters are my favorite of all writers. In three minutes, they tell a story that hangs in your heart meaningfully.