Uncategorized

Songs From the Red Clay

Joshua Ray Hudson doesn’t think of himself as someone who found music. He’ll tell you plainly: music found him. And if you push him on the difference, he’ll probably reach for a quote from Nashville songwriter Jessi Alexander, “songwriting is cheaper than therapy.” Hudson grew up in Casar, North Carolina, a small community tucked into... Read More

Uncategorized

November 18, 2025

If ripe

Harvest time when cherry trees, shaken by machines, drop their fruit, both red and green. All the greens are packed to go, to be dyed, disguised as bright red maraschinos. Their bottles hold bold delights, cherries red and merry, once green, hiding in plain sight.

Uncategorized

November 11, 2025

Movies You Missed From 20 Years Ago: Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice (7/10 Rating) Released November 23, 2005 Streaming on HBO Max, For rent/purchase on all major platforms. Genre: Costume Drama, Feel-Good Romance, Period Drama, Romantic Epic PG: Some mild thematic elements 2h 9m I have not read the novel, nor seen any other adaptations of this story by Jane Austen, so this... Read More

Uncategorized

March 19, 2024

Racing

Feint, then dodge; avoid obstacles and roadblocks. Master hairpin turns. This track, where racers race, has its own etiquette; its harsh demands attracts those who test skill and survival lap after lap at speeds that make defying death more visible, its vital glimpse much nearer.

Poet's Corner, Uncategorized

February 21, 2024

Subversion

Backing away, I study you as if a pirate his spoils, his largesse off a lumbering ship foolish for transporting such desirable cargo, a model for a masthead. Aloof, you stare, unafraid as a regal Eurybia set to cast a spell, alter constellations, capture my heart in a whirlpool.

Uncategorized

January 24, 2024

Agitation

Ant colonies, their busy carpenters unphased by clear glass walls at a museum, allow their construction to be my distraction just before I open your brief note. It burrows into my heart as if my ant-inspired vision had been watching as you wrote it.

Uncategorized

August 15, 2023

Bubbles in a “Straw”

The extreme “fizziness”(carbonation) within a bottle of Cheerwine soft drink recently took me back to my early childhood in my old hometown of Salisbury, N.C. (still the home of Cheerwine). In the hottest part of summer, the meteorologist warns us of thunderstorms popping up in the sky. But the above-ground, adult immersion pool pops up... Read More

Uncategorized

January 17, 2023

Movies You Missed From 20 Years Ago: January 2023

Final Destination 2 (6.5/10 Rating) Released January 31, 2003 Streaming on Hulu. For rent/purchase on all major platforms. Genre: Horror, Thriller Rated R: Strong violent/gruesome accidents, language, drug content, and some nudity 1h 30m There are movies you watch to be moved and there are movies you watch to be entertained and enjoy the... Read More

Movies You Missed, Uncategorized