My idea of "tripping the light fantastic" is having the opportunity for spontaneous travel, lunches with friends, or visiting on the patio. But my usual "let's go to the beach" this weekend or "let's hit the Saturday garage sales all over town" or "meet me for lunch at noon" have been eclipsed by the current fuel prices. Wow! Not that it's so bad to stay put. I'm certainly getting a lot of writing done, not to mention keeping up with the laundry.

Now I think about where I'm going ahead of time and plot my travel to accomplish as many errands as possible on a single trip. No longer do I "run" to the grocery store and back for one item. That alone is probably saving me money as I force myself to plan meals around what is in the pantry and freezer. 

My usual trip a week to somewhere interesting has been cut to a trip a month that is related to the creation of a current book. I'm saving up for fall trips to Broadfoot's of Wendell for their annual North Carolina Experience for Teachers and to the Southern Festival of the Book in Nashville. In the meantime, I've been working like crazy to get book manuscripts tidied up in the proofing stage so they will be released as planned in August and September. There will be more later about the Jack tale book and the Vietnam book. The big focus right now is on the Ray Hicks biography.

My new schedule is posted under the "Schedule Page." Beginning August 18th I'll be reading from and talking about "The Life and Times of Ray Hicks, Keeper of the Jack Tales." He led an amazing life and his gift of storytelling touched thousands of listeners. The book chronicles his amazing life as his family struggled in the Blue Ridge Mountains for generations.       

Finally, "The Life and Times of Ray Hicks, Keeper of the Jack Tales" will make it to bookstores and Amazon between August 20 and September 1. Two reviewers have declared it the Appalachian Angela's Ashes. When measured by angst, struggle and "being up again it," I can see that the story has a full degree of amazement. Many readers will feel empathy for the family that struggled against nature and will feel joy for their survival.

Friends say, "Well, it's about time," because they know the book has been about seven years in the making. The University of Tennessee Press has done a

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Reading through Glenn Bolick’s new book today certainly brought back memories.

My mother, Margaret Sims (1915-2004) was a woman some southerners might call a card. One might say, she was as sharp as a tack. I don’t know anyone other than Glenn Bolick that was exposed to as many crazy sayings. Actually, many people might have heard this a time or two, but it requires a character to remember it all and recall it for the world.

Most people know about being dumb as a bag of hammers or

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