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In older times families ordered caskets from carpenters. By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net I hadn’t seen him in 10 years. Him would be the preacher who buried dad and mom. He was preaching down South Georgia way in Sylvania. An early Sunday morning journey was in order. My familyContinue Reading

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Seems a cowboy could hitch his horse and get a shot of whiskey here. By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net June 29, 1956, President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Interstate Act. Nigh 70 years later a grid of steel, cement, and asphalt makes it impossible to see little of interest. DespairContinue Reading

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Tree bark’s “tattoos” age more gracefully than human tattoos.  By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net Young with her whole life in front of her, her complexion was flawless. On her left shoulder in forever flight was the blue outline of a butterfly. Ought to be a story there I thought. “TellContinue Reading

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Before the dejection set in. By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net May 2011. Jennifer’s email cut to the chase “We want you to write a play for Georgia’s Official Folk Life Play, Swamp Gravy.” “Me, write a play,” I replied. “I don’t even go to plays.” “That’s okay. We loveContinue Reading

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By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net Besides the solitary confinement of writing, I cut myself off from the world in two places. Hard-to-reach wilderness areas and forgotten churches where a haunting takes over when I see pews, a pulpit, and the occasional piano. A hymnal now and then too. MyContinue Reading

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The Maker’s Mark I can’t remember who I signed the first book for but I’ll hazard a guess it was a woman. Not many men turn out for book signings. For sure I remember where I was. At Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina. Thus began signings for thirty-six yearsContinue Reading

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By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net A blade-like katydid poses by a bison cuff of bronze. Nature blessed my boyhood summers with music. Cicadas’ rising-falling singsong gave days rhythm. Katydids chimed in evenings with a nightshift song backed by cricket twitter. The call of a whip-poor-will drifted through the night.Continue Reading

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By Tom Poland, A Southern WriterTomPoland.net There was a time carriers arrived like clockwork, were friendly, and lost mail was never a problem. Today’s USPS is unionized, bloated, arrogant, and inefficient. It even steals your checks. U.S. law, specifically the Private Express Statutes, grants the USPS a legal monopoly overContinue Reading

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By Tom Poland: A Southern WriterTomPoland.net My June 15 post, The Kerosene Lamp, received reader comments that deserve sharing. Who in this era of ultra-dark-defying lighting would take the time to comment on the old kerosene lamp? Well, several did. Their responses made me glad I chose such an obscureContinue Reading

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By Tom PolandTomPoland.net I inherited an old Bible, so old I can’t determine its age. I see my ancestors reading that Bible by the light of a my kerosene lamp. The kerosene lamp, legendary for the destruction it caused. No cowboy scuffle was complete without a knocked over kerosene lamp.Continue Reading