It began with a bang. Starting up water service in our cabin, immediately the plastic filter fell to the floor. The tank flooded the basement. Luckily thinking fast, I shut off the supply line. We had turned off the water for winter. Who left the filter off? I picked up the quart-sized plastic vase that […]
Has anyone else wept for the blooming jonquils or the ten people shot in Colorado a few days ago? They take my breath away as I drive into Arkansas: random patches of blooms out in pastures where once a family homesteaded. Or the eight killed in Georgia last week? Someone planted these lovely yellow flowers
Surprised by This Spring Read More »
Today I fastened down the top part of my new trellis. This has been a month-long project done with the help of Kent Brown, including pine provided by David Haenke from the sustainable Alford Forest near Rockbridge, Missouri. My plan is growing pole bean in two boxes. We live in an apartment now with no
Spring Construction: With Sister Tabitha Babbit & Kent Brown Read More »
We’ve reached a great turning point, the Opening of Trout Season, March 1st. A week ago it iced all the way to Texas. Snow plows and cinder trucks growled. A pipe froze in our Springfield apartment. Saturday, the 6th, offered the opposite. Beginning with a 6 a.m. alarm, I wanted to get to Roaring River
Reflections at Roaring River Read More »
This has been a winter to remember. The text message came about 3 p.m. A man who signed up to work at a nearby church taking in homeless can’t make it. “Can you come in?” A week ago I signed up as a back-up in case a volunteer had a problem. This was a big
The Coldest Night at the Overflow Shelter Read More »
Did some hiking in Shannon County to escape bad news. Seeing the January 6 scenes of destruction of our Capitol in Washington caused eerie deja vu. Fifty years ago I was part of a group of 1,000+ Vietnam veterans who “invaded the country of Congress,” as we described our operation to protest an ongoing war.
Another Capitol Demonstration Read More »
Our neighborhood rouses amazing holiday decorations inspiring hope in this crazy time. Helpful when the craziest President ever endangers our future. What inspires people to string lights around their houses? My favorite has its structure outlined in vibrant colors, a twinkling camel and a Snoopy dog waiting by a flashing mailbox for his Christmas cards.
This story was told to me by the man who lived it, Darrow Doyle Faubus, named for the famous attorney Clarence Darrow. During his retirement Doyle became a singer and songwriter in the Fayetteville area. I was lucky to meet him once at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale, Arkansas. An auditor and
Hauling Ties in an Early Ozark Blizzard Read More »
I just sold my truck. For the first time in roughly a half century I have no way to haul bikes or boards, boats or barrels of beer; snakes, smart-ass smugglers, or any spontaneous stuff to go anywhere whatsoever. I remember many wacky adventures: Hauling a 400-lb. hand-made traditional john boat to an exhibit of
Not Having a Truck Read More »
All winter into spring we’ve wondered if we could trek to the desert. A few weeks before going one couple dropped out of our crew fearing travel from Oregon during pandemic. Six of us did make a mid-June 1,000+ mile Ozark-Utah trip to experience this stream named for a Native American tuber. Was running the
Rafting the Rockies during a Pandemic. Read More »
How to escape a pandemic, urban stress or summer’s heat? A river offers a safe, forever cool retreat. Ozark streams present recreation constantly renewed by huge springs, some of the largest in the world. Spring water keeps everyone healthy. A big part of this endless cascade depends on surrounding forests. A friend living deep in
Alford Forest: New Lease on Life Read More »
While soaring with uplifting music my mind floats back to Maries County, one of the smallest, sweetest bailiwicks in the Ozarks. To the south of the Missouri Rhineland, Cathy’s mother grew up here on a rugged farm along the Little Maries River. Usually on second Sundays in October, a country church dinner at the Holy
Brinktown Picnic and Beyond Read More »
For the first time in some 40+ autumns I don’t have to organize the cleverly designed mini-solar collectors which fall from wooden structures dotting my current domicile. No more stuffing these useless ruins of spring and summer into plastic bags or schlepping heavy rotten canvases with organic materials into piles or compost or some unknown
Enjoying Raking Leaves, Not Really Read More »
Midsummer heat slows me while cruising back home. A man hunched over his backpack along busy U.S. 60 stops me cold. Usually hell-bent for our house after hanging out at the cabin, I have mixed feelings returning to the city. I go slow and mull over the mechanics of selling our house in town and
A Black Man Hitches Through the Ozarks Read More »
Driving from our cabin on the Jacks Fork a few days ago, March 17, I felt I was back in Rockies. South of US60 the horizon near Blue Buck Mountain seemed engulfed in huge forest fires. We had been west several years ago and saw monster clouds near Los Alamos from blazes that killed a
Spring Burning and Thoughts of China Read More »
The last few days I’ve been finishing a book review for the oral history journal, a collection of essays History, Memory and Public Life, Routledge 2018. Potentially tedious because it’s somewhat dry scholarly stuff. Most deal with monuments from the past, which can be fascinating and surprisingly complex. We have a Confederate general heroically memorialized in
Monuments New, Old and Possible Read More »
Let’s start with a first cousin, Joseph Coffino, who came all the way from Los Angles to be in St. Louis for Michael. “We always loved baseball,” Mr. Coffino said. “When we were growing up in New York City I remember once we went to a Dodgers-Giants game and sat behind a guy with a
Hot Poetry and Deep Freeze in Ol’ Mound City Read More »
Rocky bluffs line the Jacks Fork River along most of her 50 miles. It’s one of the two streams creating the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, which twists thru the Ozarks toward Arkansas. We’re lucky to have use of a cabin nearby. Cathy is taking in winter warmth. I’m remembering summer warmth downstream… “Let’s make a
Winter Sunset with Summer Memories Read More »
The new year has swallowed me up with chain sawing, stacking firewood and hauling ashes from our cabin woodstove. There’s nothing like wood heat to warm you. It makes me feel like snuggling up with a great book and getting inspired. This job takes incredible patience, a warm day and a decent beer. For 25
Thankfully Cleaning my Chimney Read More »
