Rich: When a landmark died

Perhaps, it is the older we get, the more it hurts.Or perhaps it is the more sentimental we get, the more it hurts.Growing up, we rarely ate out.

Rich: The mother who was but wasn’t

She loved me so much.Often, she’d tell stories of my childhood and always begin with, “You were the cutest little thing I've ever seen.”Her favorite story to tell happened when I was three. “Your Mama always dressed you like a little doll. I ain’t never saw nothin’ like it.”

Rich: High heels and dresses

Several years ago, I was returning from a speaking engagement at the historic Greenbrier Hotel, flying from Roanoke on a small Delta jet into the Atlanta airport.The jet stopped on the tarmac, requiring that we deplane down the steps, walk under the tenting, and into the gate, where we climbed...

Rich: Rondarosa’s new boss

She wasn’t hired to be a boss. She wasn’t even hired. She was bought.It all started because I decided that our miniature donkey from Jerusalem needed a friend. There she was, a tiny thing, standing between two big horses that kept pushing her around — and she took it.Poor Sweet Tea.

Rich: Easter 2025

When Jesus was riding into Jerusalem, crowds met him, solemnly, as he smiled not. He was not to be crowned King, as they thought, for he knew he was riding toward his death.

Rich: The church

Any church is just a building.

Rich: The Belgian lace

Merri Grace was one of my best college friends. Together, we went everywhere.She lived on campus, but I was too poor for such grandeur. I lived at home and drove to school. It was much like high school except we could skip class without our mothers being notified.Merri Grace was the boss.

Rich: The old hat

In my hands, I held the battered straw hat, holes torn in a couple of places. For a solid block of time, I studied it, having taken it down from the fireplace mantle.I choked up. It probably cost no more than a quarter, yet Oscar Cannon, no doubt, wore it for half a century or more.

Rich: A friend named Walt

Perhaps I’ll never forget the lilting sound of his beautiful Southern accent.I hope not. Right now, it’s ringing in my ears, forcing tears into my eyes. Walt Ehmer was one of the best friends I ever had.

Rich: Kris Kristofferson

A friend and I were discussing which version of the movie “A Star Is Born” was our favorite.It has been remade four times — each one terrific — and is based on the original 1932 film, “What Price Hollywood?”