Author Archives: Marshall Ramsey

About midnight last night, Pip the dog had to go out. Not sure why — she had been out at 11. Maybe she heard something? Who knows. All I know is that I let her out and waited for her … Continue reading →

There are two hidden taxes in Mississippi: Cracked windshields and Yazoo Clay. Cracked windshields is a discussion for another day. But Yazoo Clay? It’s like building your house on chicken manure. If you’re not familiar with Yazoo Clay, it is … Continue reading →

The giant Kay’s Ice Cream sign meant we were almost there. It was a giant ice cream cone– and was the unofficial gateway to Maryville, Tennessee, the town where both sets of my grandparents lived. My sisters and I had … Continue reading →

Take a slightly dried-out six-foot Scotch pine, add sun-hot, big-bulbed red lights with aluminum reflectors, hang tinsel (that usually ended up being pulled out of the cat’s butt) and wait for the impending house fire. That was our Christmas tree … Continue reading →

Was talking to a couple of friends last night. The companies they work for have cut back many times in the past few years and several of their coworkers have been laid off. Now, numbers are soft and it looks … Continue reading →

Careers are born in funny places. Mine just happened to breathe its first breath in a concrete room tucked into a steep hill overlooking the Tennessee River. Like a seed buried deep underground, my editorial cartoons sprang to life there. … Continue reading →

Six months into being a custodian, my mood was particularly foul. My life wasn’t “fair” and I didn’t see any hope for my future. I didn’t “see” the path ahead of me. As far as I knew, I would be … Continue reading →

“I realized my cancer was bigger than me and that I couldn’t control the outcome. So I put it in the Lord’s hands. And at that moment, I felt a peace like I’d never felt before. And I’ve felt that … Continue reading →