May the wind take your troubles away
May the wind take your troubles away
Both feet on the floor, two hands on the wheel,
May the wind take your troubles away
“Windfall,” by Son Volt
“Windfall” was written 25 years ago by Jay Farrar of Son Volt, a fine Americana band whose music I haven’t listened to in years. It popped up in one of the mixes that Spotify creates based on what else I have been listening to. The song is partly about taking a road trip and trying to catch a radio station’s signal while driving in the boonies.
Most mornings, I switch from Red River Radio to Spotify...
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The days are flying off the calendar, much as in those 1940s movies. Remember how directors used that technique to denote passage of time? Good grief. The year is halfway over. My Beautiful Mystery Companion and I remain in voluntary lockdown for the most part. I make necessary trips to Home Depot to pick up swimming pool salt. Whenever possible, we use curbside pickup. Trips inside stores are rare, hurried and I always wear a mask. We get take-out food every once in a while. I stay away from people in stores not wearing masks, and don’t patronize establishments whose employees aren’t wearing...
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In last week’s column, I proposed either moving the “Our Confederate Heroes” obelisk on the Gregg County Courthouse grounds, or adding an explanatory plaque to put it into context. If you missed it, here’s the link: https://tinyurl.com/yawa9une. Several dozen folks provided thoughtful — and civil — comments and suggestions. Several asked about the bust of the county’s namesake, Confederate Gen. John Gregg, which greets visitors at the top of the stairs of the courthouse’s main entrance.
John Gregg never lived in his namesake county, which was part of Upshur and Rusk counties...
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Last Sunday morning, I walked the grounds of the Gregg County courthouse, alone except for the squirrels and songbirds, taking a closer look at the various markers and monuments placed among the stately trees. The largest monument is an obelisk with a statue of a Confederate soldier at top. It is inscribed with the words, “Our Confederate Heroes” on one side of the base.
The courthouse grounds also contain a granite marker for the county’s namesake, John Gregg. He was a Georgia native who eventually moved to Freestone County, a few hours southwest of here, where he practiced law and started...
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I delivered my first online lecture this week, using Google Hangouts to talk to about 35 members of Senior University, which is affiliated with Southwestern University in Georgetown. My topic: “The Wit and Wisdom of H.B. Fox, the Circleville Philosopher.” He was the subject of a biography I researched and wrote, which was published in 2018. (Signed copies still available through garyborders.com. Click on “Books.”) Circleville is about 16 miles from Georgetown, so one of the lecture organizers hit me up to participate.
Senior U, as it’s commonly called, provides non-credit classes,...
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When you go to the website of many community newspapers, including my hometown newspaper, a pop-up box appears. It says, “Support local journalism. Donate now.” A nonprofit organization has been set up to allow one to make tax-deductible donations to help newspapers continue covering the COVID-19 crisis.
It might seem odd to donate to keep a newspaper’s coverage continuing, especially if one already pays for a subscription, as I do. As long as the presses keep rolling, and carriers continue to deliver a print product, I will happily pay to walk out in the morning, pick up the paper that...
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Further notes while largely sheltering in place:
I ventured out of town last week to interview someone for an upcoming magazine article. Except for a brief visit to my brother-in-law’s yard outside Gilmer, it was the first time I have left the city limits since March 8. That’s when I made a quick trip to Austin just as things were starting to feel a bit shaky. This time I headed to San Augustine, about 90 miles away. The subject of my interview graciously agreed to host me in her beautiful backyard, at a safe distance. I showed up and went straight to the backyard — laptop, recorder...
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A friend recently sent a link to an article related to the 1968-69 flu pandemic. While I completely disagree with the author’s conclusion that the government’s reaction has been greatly overblown, it spurred me to research that 1968 pandemic. Mainly, because I have only a vague memory of a flu pandemic that began in Hong Kong, in July of 1968, and lasted approximately 18 months.
I was not quite 13 when what became known as the Hong Kong Flu began overseas and entered the United States in California and through the Panama Canal zone, via American service personnel returning from Vietnam,...
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This has become the Year of the Birds.
Glorious weather, and more time on our hands, finds us outside often when not working remotely at our respective jobs. We have several bird feeders set up along the deck and under the gazebo. A pair of cardinals have taken up residence in our backyard, flitting about the azaleas and crepe myrtles. They are appreciative of the newly installed feeder under the gazebo, stopping by several times for a snack. They chirp warnings when Tater and Tot are prowling outside. Cats are natural-born bird killers, so we keep an eye on them when they go outside to do their...
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The week before our world largely shut down, and those of us who can remain sheltered in home, a friend and I were talking at the gym. We’re both Medicare age. Actually, I’m still a few months away. That means we both had grandparents who lived through some troubling times.
“We’ve had it easy until now,” he said, as it became clear our world was going to change very quickly, and not in a good way. He is right, though that might be of little comfort to some.
Until now, the most traumatic event that affected all Americans in our lifetimes was the Great Recession of 2008-2009, which...
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