The site for ranting and reporting by John Masters
Discussions related to the South and southern culture.
Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, CO, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events. We watched this movie last night on Amazon. We both thought it started slow but built nicely, and we enjoyed it. I’m giving it a six and Lay rates it about the same. Let us know below what you think.
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This past weekend we were in New Orleans for Decadence. It was fun, but it is the kind of thing I wouldn’t be excited about doing again. It was hot and humid (as you’d expect for late August in New Orleans). The bars are mostly in the French Quarter, and relatively small, so they were all packed. This meant that you mostly just hung out on the street, and waited in very long lines to get a drink.
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In the tiny, rural town of Carthage, TX, assistant funeral director Bernie Tiede was one of the town’s most beloved residents. He taught Sunday school, sang in the church choir and was always willing to lend a helping hand. Everyone loved and appreciated Bernie, so it came as no surprise when he befriended Marjorie Nugent, an affluent widow who was as well known for her sour attitude as her fortune. Bernie frequently traveled with Marjorie and even managed her banking affairs.
Read moreI woke yesterday listening to NPR as always, only to hear the sad news that Dixie Carter had died. She was 70 years old and is survived by her husband, Hal Holbrook, and two children. I guess most people know her as that steel magnolia, Julia Sugarbaker, from the TV Series Designing Women. I certainly remember that, as it was always one of my favorite shows. Besides some fine comedy, and a great cast, they were very progressive for their time, and that was usually expressed through one of Julia’s soliloquies. I’ve included one of the more famous, “The Nights The Lights Went Out in Georgia.”
Read moreNo blogging or politics last week, as I was on the road from Monday to Friday. I drove up North Carolina because we had a business meeting in Burlington Wednesday, and then I took two days off, visited Mom and drove home. It was actually a pleasant week. i also took some photos around Kings Mountain and Shelby.
Read moreThe most recent book I’m “listening to” from my Audible.com subscription is David Sedaris’ When You Are Engulfed in Flames. It’s a collection of essays on the banalities of life. I was listening to one of his essays this past week during a drive to St. Pete, and it stirred up some strong memories about one of the best places I lived for some years. In his essay, Sedaris talks about an experience he had living in a rooming house in Chapel Hill, NC when he was between attending school. This reminded me of living in Gray Court Apartments in Winston-Salem, NC.
Read moreI’m from a small town, Kings Mountain, North Carolina, just across the South Carolina state line. It’s right off Interstate 85. Recently my Mom sent me a clipping from the local paper. The main article on clipped page was about an effort to restore the downtown local theater. This started me thinking back to the downtown where I grew up, and considering how it’s changed.
Read moreThe North Carolina State Baptist Convention claims that it allows for autonomy for their local churches, and has only a few requirements for membership in state convetion…mainly that you send money and hate homosexuals. Well, the members of Myers Park Baptist Church had decided to be Christian rather than Southern Baptist in their thinking, so today the Executive Committee found this church is not “in friendly cooperation with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina” and today the membership as a whole gave Myers Park Baptist the boot. The decided to not go without comment…
Read moreI read an article on MSNBC a few days back about a small but growing practice of “home funerals.” It’s touted as a way for people to reclaim their death rituals. Having been a funeral director in the past, the title certainly caught my eye.
Read moreEach year since I’ve purchased the house in Tampa, I’ve had spring announced by a tapping on the sliding glass door at the dining room. Several weeks ago, just as has happened every year previous, I’ll be sitting in the office and start hearing an unusual tapping. I always forget what it is.
Read moreBased on the Robert Penn Warren novel. The life of populist Southerner Willie Stark, a political creature loosely based on Governor Huey Long of Louisiana.
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