It was hot–very hot–on Saturday, August 27, 2005! While sitting in a wicker rocker sipping iced coffee and enjoying the cool of my balcony, I observed over two-thousand people running along Gulfport’s picturesque 2nd Street. Along the way, homeowners had…

Death is multifaceted. After a loved one passes away, first comes the pain of loss, the tears, the funeral, the closing of the casket, and the cemetery. Not long after, though, the business side of death comes calling. The will’s…

I don’t remember much about that night, the night of the accident. I was only four-and-a-half years old. My father was working the night shift, and my mother and I were on our way to pick him up. As mother…

     “Kal! We’re going to Disney World for New Year’s! And we’re staying at the Grand Floridian! I won’t take NO for an answer!” I could almost feel Aston’s excitement crackling through the phone lines. “I’ve not seen you in years,”…

Who’s the cubby kid standing near the orchestra, I asked while sitting in the choir loft of Gulfport’s First Baptist Church? Don’t you know, replied a fellow choir member? His name’s Keith Ballard. He’s singing the boy soprano part in…

Who remembers the Hummingbird? One delightful June morning in the late 50s, Dad dropped Mom and me off at Gulfport’s train station. He then motored to New Orleans and would meet us there, while Mom and I rode the Hummingbird.…

By this time, one-hundred and eight years ago, the real ship of dreams, R.M.S. Titanic, was no more than a twisted hulk surrounded by a graveyard of people’s lives, memories, hopes, and dreams. Ever since my dad and I watched…

The mellow sunlight was warm. Clumps of azaleas paraded in their magenta finery. In his backyard, a little boy squealed with delight as his old tire-swing drifted back and forth. Oh! What a delicious Saturday afternoon it was! Then his…

For those of you who know me well, you know that I adore a period movie or television series. Gone With the Wind, Sunset Boulevard, Brideshead Revisited, Midsomer Murders, and Downton Abbey are but a few of the celluloid masterpieces…

I’ve learned from experience that it takes me a week or so to recuperate from the draining, emotional high that a play–especially a musical–conjures within me. During that time, the haunting words of Blanche DuBois in Streetcar Named Desire echo…

What does happiness mean to you? Perhaps it conjures visions of Christmas morning, unwrapping gifts in shimmering gold boxes while drinking hot cinnamon cider. Or walking along the beach hand in hand with the one you love, watching a tangerine…

December 20, 2018, I first heard this song over 25 years ago while sitting in a darkened theater with friends. Christmas was just around the corner. Whenever I listen to it, I’m transported back in time to the beginning of one…