Introduction: The Romance of the Open Road There is a distinct magic in the air just before the sun comes up on the morning of a big trip. The dew is still clinging to the grass in the front yard. The neighborhood is quiet. The engine of your car turns over with a familiar and […]
The Stories We Tell on the Front Porch Welcome to the front porch, friend. Pull up a chair. Grab a cup of coffee. Let us sit and watch the morning sun rise. As I look out over the yard, I often think about the stories we tell ourselves. Growing up in the shadow of The […]
Hello there. Grab a warm cup of coffee and pull up a comfortable chair. I have lived in this magnificent country my entire life. I have watched the seasons change, from the brutal, snowy winters of the Midwest to the scorching, bright summers of the South. Through all those shifting seasons, I have observed the […]
Walking Down the Aisles is Walking Through Our Culture Picture a typical Tuesday evening in your hometown. The sun is just starting to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and gold. You grab a metal cart with a squeaky right wheel and step through the automatic sliding doors. You are […]
The Roots of the American Dream There is a special kind of magic in the smell of a freshly cut lawn on a Saturday morning. If you have lived in this great country as long as I have, you know exactly what I mean. That scent brings back a flood of memories. It is the […]
The Call of the Wild Our great nation is filled to the brim with sprawling, breathtaking wonders. From the rugged shores of the Pacific to the golden plains of the heartland, America truly is a masterpiece of natural beauty. We are incredibly blessed to call this vast landscape our home. Yet, something has shifted in […]
I have lived in this magnificent country my entire life. Over the decades, I have watched our skylines reach higher into the clouds. I have seen our small towns evolve and our highways stretch endlessly from sea to shining sea. There is a deeply rooted independence in the American spirit. We take pride in our […]
Introduction: The Shift From Big-Box Stores Back to Community Hubs Picture a typical Saturday morning thirty years ago. The situation was familiar to almost every American family. We would pile into the station wagon and drive miles down the interstate to a massive, windowless big box store. We bought our tomatoes in hard plastic clamshells. […]
Watching the Sunrise on the American Experiment I have sat on this same front porch for more decades than I care to count. I have watched autumn leaves fall, winter snows melt, and spring blossoms return to my quiet neighborhood. I have seen families move in and out. I have watched children grow up, move […]
A Warm Welcome to New York Harbor Hello, friends. I have lived in this beautiful country my entire life. From the rocky shores of Maine to the sunlit beaches of California, I have seen a lot of breathtaking sights. But there is one sight that always makes my heart skip a beat. It is the […]