Tag Archives: Alabama

The End of Mystery

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Terry Taylor

We want to know everything. We want all the answers. We skip to the end of the book, we FF through the movie, we dip our fingers in the cake batter and taste the salmonella. We suck the whip cream … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Personal Stories, South | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Freshman Year With Bernie

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Terry Taylor

Bernie Madoff, the money guy accused of Ponzi scheming the rich and famous, went to the University of Alabama in the 1950?s. I don?t think my alma mater will be using this tidbit in the recruiting brochures or touting it … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, In The News | Tagged , | Comments Off

You Can’t Hide Your Possum Eyes

Posted on January 14, 2009 by Terry Taylor

Walking deep in the woods on a whispery warm day in December, a carpet of pine straw cushion crunches below, sap blows in the air, not a deadline in sight. Out here there is no bad news by the minute, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Humor, Personal Stories, South | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Noodling and Shaking

Posted on January 7, 2009 by Terry Taylor

Recently, I have been talking to people about Southern proclivities that fall outside regional categorization. Noodling, for instance. Tweet This Post

Posted in Alabama, Personal Stories, South | Tagged , , | Comments Off

What I Got For Christmas: Fire Ants

Posted on January 2, 2009 by Terry Taylor

I have written about fire ants before. But things have changed in the South. Call it global warming. Call it a fire ant invasion. Call it an environmental rash, whatever. I have experienced fire ants up close all of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Holidays, Humor, Insects, Personal Stories, South | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

This Year, I Was The Fat Man. Again.

Posted on December 31, 2008 by Terry Taylor

Many years ago when my nephew (now in his early thirties) was a child, I did something so stupid it has attached itself to me like a permanent holiday appendage: I wrangled a Santa suit and scared him so badly, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Holidays, Humor, South | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off

Barbecued Karma

Posted on December 26, 2008 by Terry Taylor

  Huey, the spare rib genius, was half past drunk when I parked the Ford in the woods. Barbecue sauce smeared the front of his undershirt like a culinary wound. Chargrilled air flowed through the sweet gum. A man stepped … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Food, Personal Stories, South | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Redneck Environmentalist

Posted on December 12, 2008 by Terry Taylor

He didn’t know it, but my grandfather was an ‘environmentalist’ long before the terminology was popular. He was also a ‘redneck’ before the term was hijacked to the dark side. Forgive me, Mr. Foxworthy, but everyone was technically a redneck … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Personal Stories, South | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Lightning Rod

Posted on October 3, 2008 by Terry Taylor

I heard his altered muffler coming before I saw him. It was a glasspack. Instead of a 442 Olds or a 357 Chevy, however, it was a hand-painted yellow van, the sides proclaiming “Don’t mess with God, call Lightning Rod.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Personal Stories, South | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Blueberries and Huckleberries

Posted on August 6, 2008 by Terry Taylor

A while back, in my mother’s backyard in Alabama, I got into a conversation with several elderly Southern women about the difference between blueberries and huckleberries. I found out more than I cared to know about both berries. So did … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Food, Personal Stories, Rudy, South | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Sopping News In The Biscuit Biz

Posted on July 23, 2008 by Terry Taylor

By the time you read this, White Lilly Flour, made in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee since 1883, will cease to be manufactured in the South and will instead be made somewhere in the midwest. To understand the consequences of this situation, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Food, In The News, Personal Stories, South | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Sometimes You Just Have To Lie

Posted on July 4, 2008 by Terry Taylor

I had stopped by, as I often do, to check on her since she was ninety-six years old and had started drinking again after fifty-eight years of sobriety. The small figurine that had stood erect for seventy-eight of those ninety-six … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Personal Stories | Tagged , , | Comments Off

Traveling

Posted on June 6, 2008 by Terry Taylor

Fred and I are driving through the South. We flew through it earlier. AirTran to Atlanta, a Hertz stop and we’re on our way. We hit a few new business fishing holes and stopped in Chattanooga, TN. Going to Chattanooga … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Coworkers, Humor, Personal Stories, South, Tennessee, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off

Pickled Irony

Posted on May 21, 2008 by Terry Taylor

Maybe contradiction is the religion of the South but irony is its daily bread. Yesterday, several of us sat outside, enjoying the cool sunshine of a sidewalk café beside Richmond’s Main Street in the lowest part of the geographic bowl … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Food, Personal Stories, South | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Down Here

Posted on May 7, 2008 by Terry Taylor

I’ve known genteel Southerners with perfect teeth and beautiful skin. I’ve seen them at the country club (while I was doing manual labor) and read about them in books and magazines. I’ve mowed their yards and painted their houses and … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Personal Stories, South | Tagged , , | Comments Off