Thomas A. Dorsey in the Southern Quote
He was born in Georgia on July 1st, 1899. His father was a preacher and his mother taught piano so it was perhaps no surprise when young Thomas, or Tommy as he was known, learned to play the piano in his childhood. It wasn’t long, however, before he was displaying a preference for jazz and blues over the gospel songs his family loved. When Tommy’s
Where Were You?
I was on my second cup of coffee, in a comfortable recliner in my own home. I remember the disbelief, shock, anger, and overwhelming sadness. As I watched the images flashing on the screen, heroes began rising up from among everyday people and a wave of pride joined my confused emotions. I remember feeling compelled to find my grown kids immediately, to locate my husband, my
The Perfect Moment
If I could reclaim something from my childhood it would be the time spent with my grandparents. I suppose it’s because I’m a grandparent myself now, but I think of how I look at my little ones and it makes me think how nice it would be to go back in time and be on the other end of this relationship. I had wonderful grandparents on
It’s Been Said
I remember the woman interviewing me was using an actual pad and pen. I liked that. It felt good to watch our conversation filling up the pages of her notebook. It reminded me of a quote from Sequoyah, a Native American hero who made it his life’s work to give his people access to the “talking leaves” of the white man. Sequoyah spent twelve years in the early 1800′s paring down thousands of native sounds
Living Now in the Southern Quote
My husband and I had a toddler and a preschooler when we began to seriously consider having another child. For us, the timing was looking like now or never. We didn’t want to wait too long in between number two and number three. Our first two were close. We knew we would want that same experience for the next child, if there was one. After a
Bobby Jones in the Southern Quote
This famous southerner was born in 1902 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a sickly child. It was five anxious years before he could eat solid food. His parents must have been surprised to see their slow-starter develop quickly into a sports prodigy! By the age of six, he was holding a sawed off one iron, mimicking the pro at the local country club, and showing
Glen Pitre in the Southern Quote
Glen Pitre was born at Cut Off, Louisiana on the 10th of November, 1955. He worked his way through Harvard by fishing shrimp during the summer and saving for the next year’s education. His goal, to make films that told the story of his people, the Louisiana Cajun. By the age of twenty-five, Glen had been named “Father of the Cajun Film” for his low
From the All Things Southern Mail Bag…
Hey folks! If you want to hum a few bars of "Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman", that'd be cool. We’re foregoing our Southern Quote today to open the mailbag. I have the cutest email to share with y’all. It comes from Tiffani Chavez in Moriarty, NM! Tiffani writes: Dear Shellie, I’ve almost finished reading your book. Where have you been all of my life? I LOVE, LOVE,
Darrell Waltrip in the Southern Quote
He was born February 5, 1947 in Owensboro, Ky. By the age of twelve he was an avid go-kart racer, at sixteen he entered his first stock car race, and by his early twenties he'd become a regular at the fairgrounds track in Nashville, Tenn. Darrell Waltrip quickly became one of the nation's top short-track drivers. He spent a decade earning a living on the short
Duke Ellington in the Southern Quote
Edward Kennedy Ellington was born April 29th, 1899 into a solid middle class family in Washington D.C. His father was a White House butler who later became a blue-print maker for the US Navy. By the age of six, Edward was studying piano and art and showing great promise in each. He wrote his first song at fourteen and by seventeen he'd taught himself how