One of the signature pastimes of any true Southerner is piddling around. It’s a cultural art form. ********* It’s Saturday morning. I sit around the pool deck, piddling. How do I know it qualifies as piddling? Read on, I’ll tell you. Maybe you’ve never thought about piddling. Yet, maybe you piddle without even knowing it. …

The Renunciation, the Covenant of Ashes, the Horror of Abstinence, The Dejection of Failure. Such is Lent. ********** I see a vision. A brilliant light radiates from The Great White Throne. Beside it is a golden table with the Big Book of Life. It’s full of names and notations. A diaphanous Apparition with wings writes …

Stealthy exits keep social intercourses friendly. This is a good one. ********** On the whole most of us follow the ‘do unto others’ theme in matters of social decorum. We use well-meaning but dismissive comments to conclude social interaction; comments like ‘See you later,’ or, ‘Stay in touch.’ Light touch escape idioms. Such comments, while …

  The invitation was engraved. The embossing reminded Bob of some bath towels he once bought from Sears. He asked himself, Why me? Hack journalists don’t hobnob with the highbrow upper crust crowd. He shook off the inhibition and showed up. A lovely evening, guests always say. The word gets a workout from the wellborn. …