Home Base: The past matters, and not just for nostalgia
Al Cowlings drives a white Ford Bronco down a Los Angeles freeway while O.J. Simpson, wanted for a double murder, sits in the back. A cameraman in a helicopter above captures the low-speed chase for posterity.
Possumhaw: The forest pansies
One morning you wake up with the wind whipping around the house. Outside the sky is mostly clear except for a few dark clouds slowly moving southwest.
Thom Caraccio: Don’t like it at all!
There was a scene many years ago on the TV show “MASH” where Hawkeye, Trapper John and a Corporal with them have to stop at an Army base they’ve never been to.
Ask Rufus: Rev. John Wesley’s Chickasaw interview
I enjoy talking about Mississippi history with my longtime friend Roger Wicker. With his being from Tupelo and enjoying history, tidbits of history from northeast Mississippi are always fun to pass along.
Slimantics: Fear the bear
There’s an old saying that goes when two people are being chased by a bear: A person doesn’t have to be faster than the bear, just faster than the other guy.
Local Voices: County and city of Columbus support retaining MSMS in Columbus
Lowndes County and the City of Columbus are jointly resolved to continue to support the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science’s (MSMS) presence and location on the campus of the Mississippi University for Women (MUW). As Mississippi’s only public residential high school for gifted students, MSMS has thrived in partnership and in collaboration with the City of Columbus, Lowndes County and MUW.
Possumhaw: The animals I have loved
My first pets were goldfish. It didn’t last long because I’d pick them up and they died. We got a cat, black as night and called “Inky.” Inky climbed into a neighbor’s car. When the neighbor discovered Inky, she put her out.
Sid Salter: Calls to scrap, change or replace the MAEP funding formula have consequences
The Mississippi Adequate Education Formula had its genesis almost 30 years ago in politics – the politics of avoiding being forced to equalize public education funding at the tip of the spear of a federal lawsuit.
Thom Caraccio: The Beige Circuit: Southernaire and Straight 8 Junior
Back in the 60’s, the blues and R&B were played in small juke joints all over the South and beyond. This group of bars were known as the “Chitlin Circuit” and what they lacked in décor they well made up for in the quality of the music.
Ask Rufus: Tombigbee steamboats of 1857
On Jan. 12, 1857, the The New Orleans Times-Picayune ran a notice for the Cox Brainard & Co. of Mobile providing “New Arrangements” for their steamboats on the Alabama, Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers.
Wade Leonard: The hardest job in the state? MUW recruiter
For many years, I’ve worked in the college recruitment business.
Slimantics: Death by nostalgia
There is a name for places where the past is more important than the future.
Sid Salter: PERS casts a long shadow over all the difficult tasks faced by Mississippi lawmakers
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann recently identified the long-term financial stability of the Mississippi’s Public Employees Retirement System as “the major issue” facing lawmakers in the 2024 regular session – and rightly so.
Possumhaw: Spring is around the corner
Well, I guess it’s time to get busy after several months spent inside enduring cold, ice and rain. Rain was greatly appreciated, bringing out the greening of grasses, a few plants and across the previously brown fields.
Thom Caraccio: Dog is God spelled backwards
I’ve always loved dogs. But as we grow up, we slowly lose that simple pure connection we had with our canine best friends.
Ask Rufus: Rural changes and crossroads
Currently the Smithsonian’s “CROSSROADS Change in Rural America” traveling exhibit is at the Black Prairie Blues Museum in downtown West Point. The exhibit traces the changes in rural areas across America.
Slimantics: Commission on Age Appropriateness may not be as benign as it appears
For some time now, Mississippi parents have struggled with stupidity. Fortunately, they have the Mississippi Legislature to protect them from their ignorance.
Sid Salter: Presley’s new private-sector solar energy venture has an interesting political frame
Brandon Presley’s new post-election employment in the private sector solar energy business has some interesting political framing. The announcement of the 2023 Democratic Party gubernatorial nominee and longtime Northern District Public Service commissioner’s new gig made a splash in green energy circles around the country.
Possumhaw: Here today, gone tomorrow
If you believe the March equinox always happens on March 19 at 11:06 P.M. EDT the article said “You may be dating yourself.” As it turns out the date of the equinox changes every year in small increments.
Thom Caraccio: The American Legion Hut and other tourist destinations
One of the iconic structures of 1960s Columbus was buried deep in the trees in Propst Park. The American Legion Hut was rude, crude and full of attitude, and we LOVED it. It was like someone almost finished a barn, but got drunk at the last minute and took a nap – early Davy Crockett.