Dispatches
Dispatches from Home – First Baptist Gulfport 125 th Anniversary September 19 2022
Dispatches from Home – 125 Years! September 19, 2021 On a Sunday evening in the hot summer of 1966, my dear parents and I joined Gulfport’s First Baptist Church. As we walked down the aisle, and the pastor, Dr.…
DISPATCHES FROM HOME – Daisy, Jay, Nick, Jordan, and Me. September 2023
“The Great Gatsby” is one of my favorite novels and movies. I’ve reread the novel twice, just within the last year or so, and watched the 1974 movie (my favorite version) about three weeks ago. Every time I read or…
DISPATCHES FROM HOME: Titanic Strikes Iceberg April 14, 1912. Fast forward to April 16th, 1912. April 2015
When we read about the Titanic, its 1st Class passengers, with their gilded wealth and posh lifestyles, are always front and center. 2nd Class passengers are mentioned too, a myriad of preachers, missionaries, businessmen, teachers, and middle-class families. When 3rd…
DISPATCHES FROM HOME: Father’s Day Vacation. 1956. June 21 2020
The Kalberg Family’s at Silver Springs, Florida. Mom packed us a huge lunch and off we went for a picnic. There’s Pop sporting some cool sunglasses while eating a delicious homemade bacon and tomato sandwich. And there’s me hugging a…
Dispatches from Home – Mother’s Day May 9, 2021.
Micah 6:8 – “Do Justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God.” – was one of my dear mother’s favorite Bible verses. She was so inspired by this verse that she cross-stitched it as a New Year’s resolution in 1989. In…
DISPATCHES FROM HOME – NEW YEAR’S EVE 2019.
As Father Time shuffles off this mortal coil and awaits the arrival of the New Year baby, I’ve come to the end of the year and the decade amazed at how quickly 3,650 days disappeared. I’ve also pondered the grains…
DISPATCHES FROM HOME – Were your Proud Dad? Father’s Day 2021
“I love you.” To my knowledge, my dear father never said these words to me. But did he love me? He was, after all, a man who grew up in hard times and lived with the limitations of a heart…
DISPATCHES FROM HOME – TEA AND SYMPATHY THREE TIMES THE CHARM August 13 2020
As I enter my “golden” years, I often sit in the still quiet of the morning, a hot cup of coffee in my hand, pondering what the future holds and the past reveals.Thoughts of the future usually find me traveling…
Dispatches from Home – Julia, Charles, Sebastian, and Brideshead Revisited. August 22 2022
Ever had a TV series change your life? I have. The 1981 Masterpiece Theater series, Brideshead Revisited, based on the novel by Evelyn Waugh, was that life changer. While watching it, I was whisked back to Oxford, England, in the…
Dispatches from Home – Mother’s Day, May 14, 1967.
In the 1960s, the Mississippi Gulf Coast was suspended in time. Unlike today, there were no high-rise apartment buildings, garish casinos, ballparks, or aquariums. There were, however, magnificent houses, grand old hotels, mom-and-pop motels, full-service gas stations, sophisticated nightclubs, and…
DISPATCHES FROM HOME – Wisdom. June 29 2020
In a country torn apart by race, anarchy, murder, and death, the Book of Proverbs is a good read for those who long for wisdom in these dark days. Even if you believe the Judeo-Christian Bible is nothing more than…
DISPATCHES FROM HOME – The Looking Glass and You! November 25 2020
With the onslaught of a caustic election, coupled with a toxic virus, I’ve heard people say, “I have nothing to be thankful for.” Really? Let me tell you what I’m thankful for. After a good night’s sleep, I awoke this…