curated news for friends & family ™ 
Below is everything (newest at top) with "culture+writing+blog+" in its title or subcategories. For a strict listing (matching all categories and subcats), click hereFIRST DOCTOR'S VISIT IN YEARS( culture / writing / blog / health )
Yesterday, I had my first doctor's appointment in several years. Hey, I've been healthy. Shocking, I know. There was a sign on the outside door saying masks required, and a sign on the interior door saying the same thing. The receptionist was wearing a mask. I introduced myself. She asked i... read more
BNA TO SMF (2022)( life / travel / usa / blog )
Elizabeth and I returned home late Tuesday night after a few days in California visiting family. I still despise air travel, and the mask requirement only... read more
THANKSGIVING WEEK TRIP TO THE GULF COAST( life / travel / usa / blog )
Just getting the rental car (minivan) in the first place was a bit of an adventure. Because we were leaving Monday morning, we wanted to pick it up Sunday night, but all local Enterprise offices are closed on Sundays, which I find weird, given that travel-and-leisure... read more
FROM HILL TO VALLEY, A LONG-WINDED POSTCARD FROM THE ROAD( life / travel / usa / blog )
The drive from Spring Hill, Tennessee to Valley, Alabama was uneventful... until we were almost there. So close. That's a fairly generic name for a town, thou... read more
NO ANNOYING PROMPTS( culture / writing / blog / friendsnews )
Aren't you glad we don't have any of those annoying pop-up ads asking you to join our newsletter? Ironic, isn't it, given that we are an "online newsletter?"Please support this website, should you be so inclined: buy one of my novels/novellas; buy... read more
MOST POPULAR SITE ON THE INTERNET( culture / writing / blog / friendsnews )
This is the 12,157,539th most popular website in the world, according to silktide.com! Wow! We have hit the big time. See image here:... read more
SUPPORT THIS SITE( culture / writing / blog / friendsnews )
...should you be so inclined:Buy one of my books at Amazon or SmashWords, or here; buy me a (virtual) cup of... read more
HOW TO SUPPORT THIS WEBSITE( culture / writing / blog / friendsnews )
Please support this website, should you be so inclined: buy one of my novels/novellas; buy me a (virtual) cup of coffee here or here;... read more
HISTORY OF FRIENDSNEWS.COM( culture / writing / blog / friendsnews )
FYI for those researching insignificant corners of the web: Wayback Machine Please support this website, should you be so inclined: buy one of my novels/novellas; buy me a (virtual)... read more
GUEST POSTING( culture / writing / blog / friendsnews )
I've been following and listening to Jeff Goins's TribeWriters program, and he says an important aspect to successful blogging (at least as far as getting noticed) is to "guest post" on other people's blogs. Jeff is a great resource, by the way. So, if you want to post somethin... read more
BLOG CONTENT( culture / writing / blog / internet )
I'm as guilty as anyone about trying to add content to my blog just for the sake of content (because search engines look for and rate highly based on how "fresh" your blog's content is). But someone whose blog/newsletter I subscribe to has stooped to simply stating the obvious, may... read more
FOOLING THEMSELVES( culture / writing / blog / politics )
The elites are adept at fooling themselves and too many others into thinking that they know best. The superiority they bestow upon themselves is a convenient justification for keeping us "commoners" in the dark, and themselves in power.... read more
FALL IS DEFINITELY HERE( life / health / environment / blog )
It was actually cold all day today, but that didn't stop me and Elizabeth, then the pugs, from spending half of our day outside! First, we went exploring the new neighborhood being built nearby. I don't know why they're building. There's plenty of existing houses that no one wants to... read more
THAWING OUT( culture / writing / blog / weather )
Hopefully. It snowed a good 5-6 inches Friday in and around Nashville. It wasn't good snowman/snowball snow, though. Not in our neighborhood, anyway. It was too crusty because of the freezing rain that came after the snow. It made for great sledding, though, which Elizabeth and I spent several h... read more
TRAVEL PAGE( life / travel / blog )
Currency converterPosted on 23 Feb 2008A Flight Attendant's reportby a flight attendantOn the morning of Tuesday, September 11, we were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt, flying over the North Atlantic. All of a sudden the curtains parted... read more
AIRPORT ARRIVAL( life / travel / holmes / blog )
Some pictures as we arrived in the airport. There was a great welcoming party there! We've never had an airport welcoming party before!... read more
TRIP TO ROANOKE( life / travel / usa / blog )
I'm home after a long trip to Roanoke, VA and back. It was quite an experience overall. The 1-3/4 hour drive to SMF was punctuated by the puppy screaming and howling in the crate behind me in the van. She messed the newspapers once and I stopped and changed them. Once I got to the airport, I put... read more
VISITING FAMILY IN KANSAS( life / travel / usa / blog )
Kansas. What an incredibly boring state. Tara, her sister Sandie, niece Destiny and I flew from Nashville to attend her youngest sister Stephanie's high school graduation in Council Grove, Kansas. Tara and I figured we'd find something to do that night upon arrival in Kansas City, followed b... read more
VISITING FAMILY IN GUATEMALA( life / travel / americas / blog )
We visited Evelyn's family in Guatemala, hence the title of the post :) and ate like the pigs that we are. Bijou had fun. I guess the highlight was going to the cemetery. Believe it or not, it was really Gothic, colorful, historical and very interesting, in general.We didn't have much time... read more
TRIP TO VANCOUVER( life / travel / canada / blog )
Our trip was great. Here's a very short story.We left on 8/11 from my work. My boss made me attend a meeting that day which ended at 2:30, whereupon I joined June, Brian and Andy who were in our van, waiting in the parking lot. Boy, did I need a vacation!We arrived at Jeannie's that night, s... read more
CHARLESTON AND SAVANNAH( life / travel / usa / blog )
Charleston, SCWe drove ... and drove ... and drove - 10 hours or so- from Nashville until finally reaching Charleston, South Carolina. Along the way, westopped in Asheville, North Carolina at the Biltmore Estate because Tara had forgotten toget postcards when we were there a coup... read more
NEW ORLEANS( life / travel / usa / blog )
We flew into New Orleans about noon time on a Friday. Since the room wasn't ready for such an early arrival, we walked four blocks to the pier and decided to ride the paddle wheel boat "Natchez." It basically goes a mile up the Mississippi, then heads back. You'll see a lot of othe... read more
CALIFORNIA, WHAT A TRIP( life / travel / usa / blog )
Before we left, I took Austin to his Grandma Joy's house. We had a good visit and he took to her immediately. I left him on Friday morning and drove back to Nashville. I was supposed to get my ear drums cut open for the plane ride because I had ear infections, but the steroids and antibiotics ha... read more
THE BREEDERS CUP AT GULFSTREAM PARK( life / travel / usa / blog )
...with a side trip to Miami from Ft. Lauderdale.
I flew from Nashville to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for the Breeders Cup horse races at Gulfstream Park (actually Hallandale). It was fun just being there. Southwest had given me a free round-trip ticket for some reason (I don't remember why), and I was taking advantage of it. I... read more
ALASKA, A TRUE WILDERNESS( life / travel / usa / blog )
I've always heard people use the words "wilderness" and "Alaska" in the same sentence. It didn't mean a lot to me until recently when my wife Carla and I cruised the Inside Passage of Alaska. The state is huge, but it still takes a good seven days (round trip) to cruise u... read more
ST. LOUIS TRIP( life / travel / usa / blog )
Tara and I made a quick trip (if you can call a five-hour road trip quick ) to St. Louis over the Labor Day weekend. We visited their historic district ( old town ) along the river where they were hosting the Big Muddy Blues Roots Festival. That was just good timing on our part. We had not originall... read more
QUICK TRIP TO CHICAGO( life / travel / usa / blog )
Tara and I left Nashville for Chicago on a Thursday morning. At the last minute I decided to let my cat Myca out. I figured he would return shortly after doing his business in the neighbor's bushes, as usual, and I could then lock him in the house for the duration of our trip. When he didn't... read more
ATLANTA TRIP( life / travel / usa / blog )
Tara and I just got back from a long weekend in Atlanta. It was nice to see the town. I'd passed through before, but had never stopped to look. The first touristy thing we did after eventually finding our hotel - the downtown Courtyard-by-Marriott, picked out by Tara, which was... read more
PORTUGAL TO HUNGARY( life / travel / europe / blog )
How I Spent My Summer Vacations (Portugal to Hungary) from 1992Portugal/AzoresOn Sunday, July 12th, I woke up ... but while getting ready for the flight to Portugal the next morning, I never went back to sleep. In Lisboa, my 2nd cousin Teresa Rocha Homem and her husband Antonio Melo met me at the... read more
TRIP TO EUROPE (1996)( life / travel / europe / blog )
I was in Bratislava, Slovakia for Doug and Jana's wedding, but this doesn't include the wedding itself. That was filmed by a professional. This video is so badly done it's almost funny. There's also some footage from Budapest, Prague and Berlin. The story is below.... read more
EUROPE 96 VIDEO( life / travel / europe / blog )
You can watch it here: vimeo.com/3271045I was in Bratislava, Slovakia for Doug and Jana's wedding, but this doesn't include the wedding itself. That was filmed by a professional. This video is so badly-done it's almost funny. There's also some footage on here from Budap... read more
EASTERN CANADA( life / travel / canada / blog )
Roving reporter returns from East (September, 1989) - Bill returned from his trip to eastern Canada a few weeks back. He was supposed to seek out and capture "Wild Man" Doug. Remember? Well, he's back. Bill, that is. When asked to report his findings, however, Bill said, "What?... read more
