James Garner
He was born April 7th, 1928 in Norman, Oklahoma and christened James Scott Baumgarner. He was four when his mother died. He and his two brothers were briefly sent to live with relatives. A couple years later, his father remarried and the kids were allowed to return home. It was far from an ideal reunion that deteriorated into domestic violence. James’ stepmother beat all the
The Best Laid Plans
The pretty young mother sitting across the table from me at a recent speaking event looked like she wasn’t much more than a child herself, so I was quite surprised to discover she had two kids of her own, one of them a teenager. Perhaps to prove her story, the young mother pulled out a few photos of her children and then she offered the
Mrs. Gladys Makes Up Her Mind
Poor Mrs. Gladys, she went to visit her grand-daughter and her husband over the weekend and the news is not good. She was excited about seeing the young family, and she was looking forward to going to church with them Sunday morning but things didn’t go so well. Leslie and her husband go to a big new mega-church. Mrs. Gladys, on the other hand, is
Chester Gould
He was born in Oklahoma in 1900. By the age of seven he'd discovered a love for drawing in general and cartoons in particular. He spent hours copying cartoons and adding his own words. During the next decade he won a couple cartoon contests and brought in spending money painting advertising jobs on barns and names on office doors, even using part of the hard
There once was a Pulpwood Queen…
There once was a Pulpwood Queen who held a booklovers' dream. Authors and readers converging as one to celebrate story and have big fun. There were lions and tigers and clowns, oh my! with books upon books piled to the sky. There's none other like it no event dare compare to the Pulpwood Party and the Ball of Big Hair. If time allowed I'd give you more verse though surely each line would get steadily
Me and Percy, (Sledge, that is)
I enjoyed an invigorating worship session in my back yard this morning that I’m sure gave my neighbors cause to lock their doors. Back story: I like to rework and redeem secular songs, offering them up to God with an entirely new twist on the intent of the one who penned them. I’ve sang “Jesus, Jesus, I get down on my knees for you” for
Richard Paul Evans visits ATS LIVE
Hey y'all, I'm having this author of the show tomorrow. Bless his heart, maybe you've heard of him. His name is Richard Paul Evans. He's only had all EIGHTEEN of his books become NYT's bestsellers, four made into movies, and millions sold worldwide. I figured it was the least I could do to give him a leg up, you know? I mean, someone needs to
Enduring Hunger
The house was still. It was just me and the wee one, Connor Phillip Maher. I had convinced his mama to let me have the midnight feeding so she could get some much needed rest. The moon flooded into the picture window behind me, bathing the living room in a soft glow and illuminating the tiny features of my newest love. My grandson was
What’s Good for the Goose
Betty Ann is an all around excellent cook, but she is best known for her Christmas goodies. She takes one day every year and bakes her cookies, makes her snack mix, and turns out her perfect chocolate candies, and divides it all into tins for those fortunate souls on her Christmas list. This year she got a head start. She started her Christmas baking bright
SRC Alert
Hello folks, it's nice to see y'all back by the porch. I was hoping to squeeze in a visit before I hit the road for Jefferson, TX and the annual Pulpwood Queen's Girlfriend Weekend. It's unlike any other book festival in the world. If you want to experience it from afar, follow my Twitter and Facebook feeds through the weekend. Right now, we need to