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The black mailbox was white. Or more precisely it was a black mailbox locked inside a white outer box, a mystery locked inside an enigma, a fitting symbol. Among all the graffiti, stenciled in large black letters, was the name Medlin. He still lived here. He still collected his mail…
Read moreIt’s true. Mountain biking is one of the most exciting, gut-checking, adrenaline-pumping sports there is. It requires skill, finesse, courage and physical strength. At Moab it also requires a comfortable familiarity with pain, a friendly association with contusions, a nodding acquaintance with exhaustion, and a willingness to get cozy with…
Read moreThe Old West was just the briefest snapshot in time. It’s odd to think that the era we consider the Rootin’ Tootin’ Wild West lasted all of about 15 years, existing during that brief period of time between the arrival of the first settlers and the effective establishment of law…
Read moreLincoln rebelled at the idea of getting wet. “My blood has become too thin living in Miami,” he declared. But by the time we got to the place on a tranquil channel beside a mangrove swamp in Key West the temperature had climbed to 74 and the sun was shining…
Read moreIt was perfectly logical to believe. After all, the Rhine connected with the Danube via the Main and a short portage, tying together the entire European continent. The Nile ran for an astonishing 4,000 miles deep into central Africa. So why wouldn’t the Missouri flow from the Mississippi all the…
Read moreI have quit drinking. After 40 years and thousands of gallons, it’s time to give my liver a break and wash the toxins out of my brain. Two months into my new sobriety I can’t say I’m feeling sharper mentally, but I’m hoping to be quicker of wit before long….
Read moreEven 70 years later, one of the most common questions asked by tourists visiting Atlanta is “Where is Tara?” Not where is Coca Cola, where is CNN or where is Olympic Park. They want to see the iconic antebellum home where Scarlett flirted with her beaus and later, having been…
Read moreA weekend in April is all you need to fully appreciate the gracious 19th century charm of bluegrass country. Rolling green hills seamed with plank fences, vast blue skies and thoroughbreds. Warm-hearted people, great food and the world’s best handcrafted bourbons. A trip to Lexington in springtime is as invigorating…
Read moreField of Dreams is about dreams, magic, life, and what is quintessentially American. Naturally, some people despise it. In the spring of 1988 a film crew rolled into the small town of Dyersville, Iowa to begin making a movie that the Philadelphia Inquirer came to describe as “not so much…
Read moreMy poor wife. She was lacking something. She was suffering a deficit. She had a hole where her experience of America had been. She had never been to Yellowstone. Worse yet, she had never seen the Grand Tetons or been to a rodeo. It was a tragic thing. Think about…
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