The Soloist
I was eleven. I was invited to try out for the Christmas community choir. A lady visited our church to conduct the auditions.
I had been practicing for three weeks, learning the lyrics to “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
Americana
America the Beautiful, America the Invaded
As many as 15-20 million illiterate and unskilled migrants invaded our nation during the horrendous four years of the Biden administration. Hundreds of thousands—possibly millions—of them were violent criminals, slackers looking for a welfare check, or extremists here to set up terrorist cells.
Quiet Readiness: A Simple Reminder for Concealed Carriers After a Tense Weekend
There has already been at least one geopolitically connected incident reported in Austin, Texas. That doesn’t mean anything is about to happen in your town, and it doesn’t mean you should change your daily routine. What it does mean is that uncertain times are a good moment to make sure your equipment is working the way it should. Calm preparation beats last-minute scrambling every time.
Signed, Sealed, Deleted; A Eulogy for the Handwritten Letter
Don’t shoot the messenger. But in America, one third of children have never handwritten a letter. And it’s not just kids. Nearly 40 percent of adult Americans haven’t written a letter in the last five years
The Birds of the Air
Dear Tara, I heard that your cancer has spread. They tell me you’ll need to undergo some invasive surgeries, not least of which is a mastectomy. They tell me you’re frightened.
Is the new “Restore Britain” movement in the U.K. a blueprint for America?
We are squandering our country’s wealth to accommodate 10-15 million unskilled, unvetted, third-world intruders who were invited to surge America’s open borders by Joe Biden and his duplicitous Democrat underlings.
Letters From Kids
I get a lot of letters from kids. Such as the letter that came yesterday, via snail mail. It was penned in a childish hand.
The Princess and the Dollar General
Once upon a time, there was a princess who lived in a great big old castle. She was very beautiful, with long, flowy hair, and her teeth were really nice, too. Nice and straight.
A Grand Ole Night
I’m backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, in my dressing room. Tuning my guitar. They tell me Dolly Parton used this dressing room once. What sacred visions this mirror must have seen. My cups runneth over.
State of the Airplane Address
It has been said, if you’re a bad person in this lifetime; if you treat your fellow man poorly; if you live by the code of violence; if you are cruel to elders and children and UPS men; when you die you will wake up in economy class, riding in the middle seat.
At 250, the Republic Is Missing: How America Quietly Rebuilt the Tyranny It Rebelled Against
At 250 years old, the United States has not collapsed. There are no tanks in the streets or dictators on balconies. Instead, America has done what nearly every revolution before it has done: it defeated an obvious form of tyranny and then slowly reconstructed a more efficient, more sophisticated version of it.
Last Night at the Ryman Auditorium
It is the Gatlin Brothers 70th anniversary concert, and every Nashville A-list celebrity you can think of is here. I am supposed to do a song with everyone at the end. Larry Gatlin told me to bring my banjo. But I’m experiencing a bad case of “tiny banjo syndrome” right now. I don’t belong here. I don’t know how to act around famous people.
Questions From Readers
I receive a lot of mail in the form of emails, letters, private messages, texts, Morse code, etc. It is impossible to answer all these messages, so I compiled some commonly asked questions
General Washington: The Education of a Virginia Patriot
The greatest president of them all, George Washington – surveyor, planter, trader, legislator, executive, and soldier – had no “higher education” at all. How ever did he manage it?
Mother Mary and the Jaybird
Years ago, I was sitting with my Methodist mother-in-law in the living room. We were replaying old memories like worn out records only weeks before she would pass. Hospice was already in the house.
Autocorrect Is Ruining Our Olives
I’d say the biggest problem facing this country is typos. Typos are cropping up everywhere. In advertisements, in emails, and even within the very words your reading now. The main reason for this is your phone, which thinks it’s smarter than you.
The Last Marquee: Is America is Losing its Soul?
Approximately 5,000 US movie theaters have closed in the last five years. Which is about 1,000 theater closures per year. More theaters are predicted to close. People just aren’t going to the movies anymore.
This Is What Country People Do!
From Miller’s Creek Fire and Rescue: This morning (Monday, February 16, 2026) just before 10 AM MCFR received a request for assistants in reference to a cow that was down and could not get up. Unit 8 and Squad 8 responded with 3 firefghters trained in large animal rescue and several other firefighters assisted. Crews …
The Good News They Don’t Tell You About
Currently, polar bears are fatter than they have been in the last 30 years. In a recent study, 770 polar bears were in better condition and had higher fat reserves than in the 1990s. In other good news, I also have higher fat reserves than I did in the ‘90s.
In Their Own Words
JOHN—My angel story takes place when my wife was dying, and I watched everything go downhill in a matter of months. And every night, I would hear a voice tell me “You can get through this, John.”