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There is a storm raging in Paradise, with some plants causing real problems, one raindrop at a time. Starting in our own yards.

Past week or so, towns and countryside have been awash in a surfeit of beauty, fragrance, pollinators, and more. A lot goes hand-in-hand, like how hummingbirds are lured northward by an unfolding cascade of red buckeyes.

Here is the problem. Though most garden plants are beautiful, useful, and even beneficial, some easily escape cultivation as their digested fruit . . .

Sitting down to a bountiful lunch on Easter Sunday has been an American tradition for decades. However, for many, it can be a stressful day, juggling church services, family time and other activities with cooking a special meal complete with an often-tricky baked ham.

But it really doesn’t have to be a meal you dread. Believe it or not, ham can be cooked in a Crockpot the night before or while you’re attending church or tending to other things. And sides and desserts can be prepared quickly . . .

A few months ago, when she was still alive, my wife and I were sitting in the local hospital waiting room. I was scheduled for follow-up tests after an earlier heart attack, but as usual there was going to be quite a wait. I don’t stick my nose in my phone as many do, but I enjoy people watching. Not being judgmental, but studying people.

I once read that we all, at one time, become invisible to the world. As I studied people in groups of five that day, I pondered which would be deemed as in . . .

Jonathan Tate Reeves, you are by all accounts a gentleman and a scholar. You are a graduate of Millsaps College, which prepares you to be both. You’re from high-quality people.

I know you consider yourself a Christian. I attended Jackson’s Galloway United Methodist Church with you in the early-to-mid 2000’s. You contributed in myriad ways to that sacred place.

But, Mr. Reeves, I remain disappointed in your decision not to expand the Medicaid health insurance program for our most vulnerable . . .

I bring this book, by Gary Chapman, to your attention because it may be of some help if you are in a relationship with another person. I’m not sure if pets count. These five suggestions are supposed to help your relationship, marriage, whatever. You choose the one that fits you and the one that fits your partner and you each work on those. By the way, they are not the Five Love Questions… Where’s my socks? What’s for Dinner? Did you put gas in the car? Why is the light bill so high? Is Monday a . . .

Are you sitting on your garden hands waiting for better weather, or taking the winter season by the horns and enjoying what we have in the here and now?

Being a “gather ye rosebuds while ye may” gardener, I don’t pine for spring. Instead, I’m taking advantage of sunny winter days, admiring what I planted earlier just for this season and thinking of what I ought to be doing now and later in the spring, which is just weeks away.

I do have some cleanup chores, after losing some snapdragons, S . . .

I was listening to the car radio to the conversation bemoaning the fact that by the years 2030 eighty percent of the deceased population would be cremated, instead of being interned due to the lack of space in the 20,272 registered cemeteries in this country. Personally, I believe that cost may have something to do with that statistic. Still, it started me thinking that it was time to do a little research.

Cremation began some three thousand years ago in Europe and the near-east. For Christia . . .

I’ve previously shared my love of visiting New York City. However, traveling to the chilly island surrounded by water in the dead of winter, aka January, was not something I’d seriously considered. After a visit last month, it may now be one of my favorite times to visit.

The reason for a trip during the off-season? I was selected to attend TravMedia’s International Media Marketplace (IMM), a networking event on steroids at NYC’s Javits Center. TravMedia connected hundreds of the world’s le . . .

The Florida Legislature is studying proposals to memorialize the late singer Jimmy Buffet by naming a state highway and a specialty license plate for him. They’ve also held “Jimmy Buffett Day” at their Capitol in Tallahassee.

With apologies to former coach and football analyst Lee Corso, I say not so fast, my friend. It’s the Mississippi Legislature that should be honoring this Mississippi-born superstar of the cultural arts.

Perhaps Mississippi could honor him with memorial highway signage . . .

Dr. Benjamin
Lampton
Crawford, Jr.
September 19, 1923-January 29, 2024

Dr. Benjamin L. Crawford, Jr. (Dr. Ben as he was known to all) passed away on January 29, 2024. He spent his life in Tylertown except when he was in the military, away at school, and in assisted living near the end of his life. He was very devoted to Tylertown, Walthall County, and the people there.

Dr. Ben was the youngest child of Benjamin L. Crawford, M.D. and Myrtis Lea Crawford. He was preceded in death by his wi . . .

There’s a good chance you’re reading this on Valentine’s Day or maybe the weekend following the day when a special meal of some kind is required with your significant other. Even if it’s too late to make a restaurant reservation, there are still a few options left to create a special meal.

First, if you’re on a strict budget, you can always go to Sonic (yes, you read that right). Supposedly Reba McIntire’s post that Sonic’s #1 Cheeseburger would be her last meal on earth if given the chance c . . .

The recent death of retired Millsaps College professor William Charles Sallis silenced a truthful voice in this state’s ongoing struggles over race and how that subject was originally taught to Mississippi’s public school students.

In “Mississippi Conflict & Change,” Sallis and his co-editor, Tougaloo College professor James Loewen, produced a book that spoke candidly about the state’s torrid racial past and brought new awareness on such issues to school children they’d never heard of or been . . .