By Joe Rector My brothers and I rode on the dirt road cut for the new subdivision. Daddy had given the developer twenty-five feet so that he could build the road. We always came home in the evening dusty and dirty from the dirt storms we kicked up with sliding bike tires. That was […]
By Joe Rector Summer nearly burned us up a couple of weeks ago, but the rain arrived in the nick of time. The weather forecast for the coming week lets us know that summer isn’t finished with us yet. August brings the beginning of school, and children wear new clothes and trudge down hallways with […]
By Joe Rector Caden Rector, like many young people, left for college the other day. He’s attending Western Carolina, where he signed to play baseball. Although he’s Jim’s grandson, the boy was on my mind, so I sent him a text message, wished him well, and told him to enjoy his college years. I suppose […]
By Joe Rector Well, evidently, the more things change, the more they stay the same is a true statement. Our world seems to take one step forward and two steps backward. The US is having a bit of trouble gaining its footing in so many areas. Sometimes I wonder if we can survive the […]
By Joe Rector I’m officially declaring my entrance into the old age population. Yes, some of you will say my membership started several years ago, but only now am I willing to accept the fact. People now treat me like an old guy. They hold the door for me at stores. That’s something I’ve always […]
By Joe Rector Over the weekend, my nephew and his wife came to the house to spend some time and catch up. Steve is 65, and yes, it’s more than a bit unusual to have a nephew just a few years younger than I am. I looked through the old pictures that my parents had […]
By Joe Rector Most folks turn giddy when they are heading out for a vacation. To be honest, I’ve never been a fan of them. I enjoyed them once we arrived, but something always seemed to happen to make those trips less than fun. Our family took only one vacation trip. Daddy drove us to […]
By Joe Rector Amy and I attended a ballgame at Smoky Stadium this past weekend, thanks to Janet Anderson inviting us. It’d been a couple of years since we traveled to see the team play, and I was surprised to see some of the changes to the field and the amenities. It’s not much like […]
By Joe Rector Some subjects for each writer haunt them. One might be an outline for a novel; another might be a character who shines in a short story; still, another might be just the right rhythm for a poem. We who try to put words on paper to entertain or explain or provoke hang […]
By Joe Rector I received an invitation to the event but wasn’t sure whether or not to attend. It was a retirement get together for Ron Rogers and Steve Taylor, two former band directors in Knox County and other places. My brother Jim convinced me to go, and I’m glad he was so insistent. Ron […]
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