Rich: When schools close

At an invitation-only reception before my speaking engagement, Tink and I were surrounded by lovely people who came one at a time for introductions and then to talk about our work, either individually or separately.In a room of strangers yet friends, because they know us through our publicized...

Rich: The worst date ever

Several years before I married a wonderful creature named John Tinker, I had the worst date of my life in Louisville, Kentucky.Ironically, a runner-up for that honor happened years earlier in Lexington, Kentucky, during the weekend of THE Derby.Kentucky is a favorite state of mine, so this is not a...

Rich: The hands of hard work

Back when work was bone-deep hard, and money was so scarce that people often bartered for necessities, Mama recalled many stories of that time.

Rich: One of the most famous men I ever knew

His name is Calvin.There will never be a monument, a bridge, or a dirt road named for him.But in this part of the South, his name, Calvin Stewart, will be engraved in our hearts forever.Calvin was a patrol officer for the local sheriff’s department.

Rich: The joy of the rain

It was in the gloaming of a hot, July evening. I was dressed in jeans, an Elvis tee shirt, and farm boots, cleaning weeds near the stream that runs under our driveway.A bristling wind suddenly lifted the leaves, and I saw the skies darkening further. I called to the dogs.“Y’all c’mon.

Rich: My cousin

It was a simple gesture.Probably meaningless to anyone but me.We were at the funeral home, celebrating the well-lived, godly life of our Aunt Kathleen.

Rich: The wedding gift

It was a wedding gift. We never knew from whom it came, even after all these years.I just opened the front door, and a quart jar of clear liquid sat there. My first thought was that it was water.Then I saw the note. “Congratulations on your marriage.

Rich: Fried baloney sandwiches

It happened in Kentucky a while back.Perhaps 13 years.

Rich: Tim Flock was one of a kind

It was such a sweet moment at the time and thrilling, too. Now, when I think about it, I’m sentimentally sad.I’ve seen Richard Petty a few times lately, and I guess that’s what brought back my memory. Petty is one of the great storytellers.

Rich: Sad happenings in a small town

Hemingway, South Carolina, is a tiny town of less than 500 people.There, one of my favorite people was born.