Columnist John Moore's great grandfather, Thornton Parmer Moore, is pictured circa 1935 in his blacksmith shop. Like most of the era, he made just about everything he needed. Photo John Moore By John Moore | TheCountryWriter.com As a kid, I often heard the...

Columnist John Moore spent most Saturday nights of his childhood watching the adults play cards and drink lots of coffee. Photo John Moore By John Moore | TheCountryWriter.com In 868 A.D., according to Chinese historical records, a princess was said to have played a...

Columnist John Moore wonders if we can stop the rain we started. Photo John Moore By John Moore | TheCountryWriter.com Back in 2011, it didn’t rain. It didn’t rain for a long, long time. It didn’t rain for so long that fires began to pop up where I live. One...

Dozens of Texas wind projects have been halted because the Department of Defense has not approved the federal permits required for them to move forward, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Data from the American Clean Power Association indicate that the state...

Columnist John Moore has played guitar since he was eight. The Doobie Brothers helped remind him of why he still plays. Photo John Moore By John Moore | TheCountryWriter.com When I first picked up a guitar in 1970, my fingers didn’t make the sounds I wanted to hear....

Columnist John Moore has a book on communication his wife bought him in the early 90s. He intends to read it soon. In the early 90s, there was a self-help, relationship book called, “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus.” The goal of publishing this was for the...

Columnist John Moore speaks Southern. He learned it in his grandfather's blacksmith shop. Photo John Moore Southern folks don’t need proper nouns. We have whatchamacallits and thingamajigs. My grandfather had the only blacksmith shop in Ashdown, Arkansas. That’s where...

Columnist John Moore picks blackberries each spring. Something he’s done for a very long time. Photo: John Moore There wasn’t anything accidental about blackberry season in our family. When harvest time came, dad had the harvest trip mapped out long before the berries...

Columnist John Moore still listens to the albums he bought over 50 years ago. Photo John Moore New music coming out used to be an event. Most of the time, you and your friends knew it was coming and you were waiting, money-in-hand, at the record shop to buy it. I...

Columnist John Moore has endured many difficulties, but nothing's worse than wallpaper. Photo by John Moore There are two true tests for how solid your marriage is — COVID-19 and hanging wallpaper together. As I awoke from 9½ hours of sleep, all rested and ready for...