Memoir

Weather the Storm: Remembering the Blizzard of 1993

Weather the Storm: Remembering the Blizzard of 1993

It was around this time–20 years ago–that the lights came back on. That is, things were just starting to get back to normal in northwest Georgia after the blizzard of 1993. I remember it well. Out on the farm in East Armuchee, we were without power for a week. We were lucky to have a wood […]


Villanow’s Scenic Sites: Johns Mountain, Keown Falls, and The Pocket

Villanow's Scenic Sites: Johns Mountain, Keown Falls, and The Pocket

It has been almost 15 years since I lived in Georgia. That seems like such a long time ago. All that time away from the place I grew up is actually one of the things that enabled me to make Jordan’s Journey. If I had stayed in the same place, I don’t think I would have been […]


Halloween Memories in East Armuchee

Halloween Memories in East Armuchee

‘Tis the season when ghosts and goblins start to make appearances. Halloween has always been one of my favorite times of years. You’d never know that to be around me on the holiday though. I haven’t dressed up in years. I don’t go to parties. And due to the infamous Greenwich Village Halloween Parade that passes literally […]


Earl Jordan’s Barn [video]

Earl Jordan's Barn [video]

It’s time for another Jordan’s Journey video. Last time I explored some Civil War-era family roots out in Arkansas with my Caney Fork video. That video was a bit longer form than anything else I’ve done here so far and took a more explicitly documentary approach. The video I’m sharing with you today takes us […]


Childhood Melon Memories: Happy National Watermelon Day

Childhood Melon Memories: Happy National Watermelon Day

Fresh fruits and vegetables were a part of every day life growing up on the farm. The best meals were always those prepared straight from the garden. While my parents were not farmers by trade–they were school teachers–they always had a garden of some sort. My grandparents, however, farmed on a larger scale. One of […]


Little Country Church: Memories of Music at East Armuchee

Little Country Church: Memories of Music at East Armuchee

If you were to ask me what are the most important things to me, music would certainly be one of the top items on that list. Looking back as far back as I can remember music has always played an important role in my life. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know music has […]


Travelin’ Light: Striking A Balance Between Two Worlds (Dirt Town Valley and Beyond)

Travelin' Light: Striking A Balance Between Two Worlds (Dirt Town Valley and Beyond)

Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. –George Santayana, The Life of […]


Uncovering the Past through Art: Sacred Harp and Forgotten Family Memories

Uncovering the Past through Art: Sacred Harp and Forgotten Family Memories

Way back before Jordan’s Journey came out I was doing all kinds of work not only writing, photographing, and designing the book but also figuring out how this website was going to work, what I wanted to do for the book trailer, and of course the research itself. As an artist, most everything I do […]