Think Inside the Box

We started packing shoeboxes when “He-who-is-now-taller-than-I” could fit his chunky-monkey baby legs through the slots in the front seat of the grocery cart, likely with one of those hypoallergenic seat covers. We would fill our box with necessities: toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, and such. Maybe some nifty socks or a hat. Of course, you had to have a coloring book, crayons, and some candy. Oh, and those Little Debbie Swiss Cake rolls. Oh, stink, they will melt in transit. Hmm. . . .

Good Vibrations

The third Hard Rock Cafe in the world was opened in Jackson, Tennessee, on January 29, 1983 in the Old Hickory Mall, and although it was short-lived, people still get excited about the idea that for a brief time in history we were listed among cities like London, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. The first Asian location was actually opened the same year as our own, officially making HRC a worldwide enterprise.

Stay 731: Becoming Strong

Strong is a word I used to hate. What does strong mean? What is strength? I feel like Pontius Pilate as I ask these kinds of questions. When I graduated from Union University a semester early, summa cum laude, I was called strong because I had achieved something. When I crawled out into the barren wasteland called the economy, I was called strong because even though I contemplated suicide, I kept trying to live.

Missing Jackson, Part 5: “You Can Take Over The World, If You Can Scare Yourself”

Sitting here again in the van, traveling to Nashville today, and I am about to burst open wide with excitement for this hometown show at the Cannery Ballroom. After thirty or so days now on the road, I could not be happier about being back in a place I know—where everything looks familiar, smells familiar, and sounds familiar. But there’s something even more special about coming back to Nashville this time and I think it has to do with my musical baby, Songbird, being birthed.