PinnedA Most Unlikely Liverpool FC StoryIf I were to tell you there is a man in Alabama in the United States who has based his humanitarian work on a popular song sung by supporters of a football club in England (that’s soccer for my American friends), and who has never once visited the U.K.- …Liverpool11 min read
May 17Completing the Circle: Music and Magic in AlabamaThe First Waltz was the opening weekend at the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville and it truly was a beautiful dance Author’s Note: This contains very personal stories about me and my son, his diagnosis of being on the autism spectrum, and the life we have led since that time. He…11 min read
Nov 18, 2021Why Are Coal Miners Protesting Republicans in Alabama? Something’s Happening HereI was born in a hospital in Walker County, Alabama in 1978. Even though coal mining was beginning to decline in my area I still carried the dust in my DNA. My father was born in a mining camp in 1949 and my grandfather broke his back in a mine…Labor6 min read
Jul 28, 2021A Statement on Monuments from a Descendant of Confederate Veterans161 years later we are still fighting the Civil War I was born in Walker County, Alabama in 1978. This was only 9 years after the assassination of Dr. …Civil War7 min read
Jun 1, 2021Alabama Strike Fest: A New Era of Organizing in Alabama“Once they banned Imagine it became the same old war it’s always been. Once they banned Imagine it became the war it was when we were kids.” I watched Mike Cooley sing these lyrics from atop a small trailer in a union hall parking lot in rural Brookwood, Alabama on…Unions10 min read
Apr 22, 2021Ripple Effects: Breaking the Cycle of Trauma Through Time“…dreaming backwards can carry a man through some dark rooms where the walls seem lined with razor blades.” ― Rick Bragg, All Over But the Shoutin’ In 2016 I ran into my father on a visit to my mother back home. We hadn’t spoken since a family funeral in 2006…Family13 min read
Aug 19, 2020A Conversation with Death“Oh, death. Won’t you spare me over ’til another year?”- Traditional American Folk Song I’ve been a bit existential as of late and considering my mortality, and the mortality of my friends and family. Maybe it is from listening to the brilliant podcast, The Lucky Ones, by Dale McGowan. Maybe…Death5 min read
Jun 9, 2020Alarm Bells: Meatpacking Plants and Covid-19Alarm Bells: Meatpacking Plants and Covid-19 Author’s note: This piece started out as an informative piece on meatpacking plants, and how and why the Covid-19 virus is spreading rapidly through the workers in the plants. It has evolved into an investigative piece as well, with workers throughout Alabama reaching out…Covid 1914 min read
May 19, 2020Muck City to Mar-a-Lago: A Tale of Palm Beach CountyMuck City to Mar-a-Lago: A Tale of Palm Beach County Author’s note: I wrote this in January of 2018 to submit for consideration for publication, possibly at The Bitter Southerner. I never finished editing it, and set it aside to continue work on other writing projects. I just rediscovered this…Wealth Gap20 min read
