My mother just left. She’s back in Miami, 900 miles away, and I am never sure when she’s coming back. I never know when my parents are coming back. I also never know how long they are staying when they are here — a Cuban thing, perhaps, that confounds non-Latino, American friends. “How long are […]

The Case for Play I don’t remember how long ago, maybe a decade, maybe more. A German tourist stopped me on Broadway, just outside the paper and asked for directions. We got to chatting. I asked her how she liked Nashville. Loved it, she said. She went on about the country music and how nice […]

Hey, American South, look what is happening: A new cuisine is emerging, born of Southern and Latino cultures. Que? Tamales stuffed with greens, corn ice cream topped with hot praline sauce, brownies with chile, sweet potato and plaintain casserole. Welcome to El Nuevo South. The ingredients of our people are joyfully intermingling with traditional Southern […]

I used to know where all the hot new Nashville restaurants were. It was the double bonus of sitting near the newspaper’s food critic, gossip columnist and music writers. Those people know everything. These days I am more suburban soccer mom than reporter-on-the-spot and I don’t get out much to places when they make the […]

In the last week, I have dunked myself in the Harpeth River, taken a jon boat out on the lake at Montgomery Bell state park, and swum at the faux beach on the park’s lake. A few nights ago, my daughter stripped off all her clothes and danced in a torrent of cool summer rain. […]

Have you heard the NPR series on Summer Sounds? Lawnmowers, beans in buckets, bull frogs. I love that series as much as I do Story Corps. Delicious. In my back woods, the summer sound is frogs in the pond. I have no idea what kind of frogs they are, but they’ve been with us for […]

Do you know that all I want to do these days is sit near a lazy Tennessee creek with this borrowed Boxer-mix puppy? Is she not heaven? The creek is a few miles from us and runs through the front property of a friend’s house — same friend whose house was flooded in May when […]

Until this weekend, my spring had been enchanted. The dog and I have been strolling the woods for the necessary breaks, and though dreaded at the night hour, the early morning walks have given me a chance to watch the trees leaf and the wildflowers bloom. I have cursed the ticks, but have drunk in […]

I am truly wondering why some parents would choose not to diapers their babies, and instead “intuit” when their tiny infants need to eliminate. I have been chasing the new puppy, Buddy, around for five days now, making sure he makes it to the wee wee pads. A whole lot of intuiting going on here, […]

I spent the day yesterday driving around Nashville, pointing out places of historic interest, like the Parthenon. Places of fame and notoriety: Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. Places of cool and quirky: I Dream of Weenie. With me was an awesome Cubanita from Miami who is planning to move to Nashville with her husband and 3-year-old son. […]