Instead of Sleep: Prayers around the Body
Photo taken in James Turrell walk-in sculpture at Mass. Museum of Contemporary Art.
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Writing
Ozark Singer Conquers Europe
Ozark ‘Tenore Assoluto’: From Mansfield, Missouri, to Montpellier, France. Opera has been a reach for many, especially us hillbillies. Seeing a world-class star in one of the great opera houses of Europe might just cause you goosebumps. An Ozark ‘baritenor’, as he calls himself, did that to a full house in southern France on
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Prayers Around the Body
Do you ever have trouble sleeping at night? Judging from ads on TV, this must be a common problem. Ambling toward the far side of seventy I occasional wake up and can’t fall back into the arms of Morpheus. Generally it’s not a problem thanks to a few meditations and prayers that usually bring calm.
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Driving Advice from the Pros
Later Cameron Powers did well as a highway construction contractor, but his real love was playing music. He and his partner Kristina Sophia traveled in a big RV for several years sharing with various groups Middle Eastern music they’d learned on the road in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and elsewhere. “The secret is limiting stops for
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‘Beyond Van Gogh’ Presides at a Mall
What a huge tent! Maybe this can be repurposed for an Old Time revival? A Trump rally? Or peddling fireworks? Maybe a wedding at the country club? “Beyond Van Gogh” may be a new style, high tech exhibit. Is this show totally sappy? Or totally a great trip? Certainly a marketing event par excellence!
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Selected Scenes from a Delta-Variant Summer Road Trip
Best burger on the road: Kewpee Drive-inn, Lima, Ohio. A giant angelic baby stands atop the roof of the historic eatery. More dolls on the inside and a sign proclaiming, “Your grandparents probably ate here,” which may be true, as they were all frisky in the 1930s. This was near the end of our trip,
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Post for the Oral History Association
OHA has an active webpage and blog that’s steadily updated. I try to keep up with news in the field, but good intentions often take me elsewhere. Nevertheless, I was honored the group chose a part of one chapter from my upcoming book, Ozark Voices: Oral History from the Heartland, to be their blog post for the
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Election Judging
Probably it was her daughter helping this elder with a metal walker. Slowly they rounded the barricades toward we 16 election judges squirming on hard seats. She didnt want any help voting. It could have been her neighbor. Several neighbors came together on Election Day. She shooed her helper away. Then she bent over the
Locusts
Eating dinner outside under the big shingle oak all of a sudden the bug song that marks the end of summer hailed forth. We’re almost half-way through August, my favorite month. We didn’t have any 100-degree days this summer, mainly lots of rain. Tomatoes seem slow in ripening. But the insect symphony has started right
From Tree Dialogues
What kinds of stories do people have about trees? Why are we so inspired by these huge, slow-moving leafy towers in town or out in the wilds? We all universally like them. Several friends helped me put together an oral history of peoples feelings about trees ten or so years ago. Maybe there are still
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