By Tom PolandTomPoland.net By Tom Poland: A Southern Writer TomPoland.net It’s annually voted the most popular Christmas song. Perhaps it’s the most controversial. When Savannah resident James L. Pierpont composed the song he sowed the seeds for a dispute. Pierpont wrote his Christmas classic in the autumn of 1857. YouContinue Reading

One man’s fear is another man’s career. By Tom PolandTomPoland.net Come the cold, dormant months, few snakes, if any, are out and about. Perhaps winter makes a good time to read about the critters many fear. You know, the only good snake is a dead snake. The irrational fear ofContinue Reading

By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net You won’t find my mother’s secret to this recipe. It’s in the story. Photo by Debra Poland When I heard Hurricane Helene destroyed some 42,000 pecan trees in Georgia, I thought of my mother and my last pecan pie, not the last ever, butContinue Reading

By Tom Poland, A southern writer. Sunday service is a time when the pulpit, piano, and organ assume major roles. Add Bible and hymnal to the list. Pews, however, get overlooked. Thus, I turn my attention to this unsung hero. The pew in my home long sat in New HopeContinue Reading

By Tom Poland: A Southern Writer TomPoland.net The weather experts predict a warmer winter than usual. That assures me we’ll get snow this winter. Meteorology is the science of studying the atmosphere’s processes and phenomena. Remember the projected path of Helene? Tells you a lot. How would you like toContinue Reading

Tom Poland A Southern Writer Growing up in landlocked Lincoln County, Georgia, I never worried about hurricanes. I left that to folks on the coast. Hurricanes were not to be feared. If anything, downpours from a hurricane’s rain bands brought welcome relief to a long, hot summer. Well I sureContinue Reading

By Tom Poland I look forward to fall’s crisp air, college football, and colorful foliage, but with the good comes the sad. Hummingbirds take leave of us. It’s been a good hummingbird season. I’ve had many visitors to my feeders, far more females than males. All swoop and squeak asContinue Reading