Kevin Saul was just 7 when government agents showed up at his Lamar County home and evacuated his family three miles away. Why? To protect them from an underground nuclear test — a blast so strong, it buckled the ground beneath their feet.
“It felt like an earthquake,” Saul recalled. “It knocked you off balance.”
Let’s be honest — every Southerner needs at least one great pair of cowboy boots. It’s practically a requirement for living below the Mason-Dixon line, ranking just below knowing how to make sweet tea and calling everyone “y’all.”
So imagine my delight when I wandered through Belk in Oxford the other day and spotted something that made my heart skip a beat — Game Day Boots. Yes, boots designed just for college football fans. Think classic Western styling meets tailgate couture.
If you turned on the local news last weekend and thought you were watching a trailer for the next “Walking Dead” spin-off, don’t adjust your screen. That horde of groaning, grimy, fake-blood-soaked humans shambling down the street was very real — and they were everywhere.
In his latest album “Blackberry Light,” Mississippi native Charlie Mars captures the feeling of being torn between adventure and home. In the title track, he sings about wanting to move on one minute — and move back the next.
For Mars, “home” is Oxford, where he’s lived (aside from a few years in NYC) since 2000. “I’ve got my go-to coffee shop, the Square, and it just feels like where I belong,” he said while on tour. “Oxford’s been a kind of sanctuary — a good place to land after being on the road.”
The term “Mad Men” once referred to Madison Avenue ad execs. But in Madison County, Mississippi, the creatives at Ridgeland’s Mad Genius embraced the name — hosting a full-on “Mad Menius” office party in costume to celebrate the hit AMC drama.
Creative Director Eric Hughes was hooked from day one.
The “Mad Men” madness has officially made its way to Mississippi. Jackson residents Michael Busbin and Brian Kendrick are such big fans of AMC’s hit drama that they bought a retro home in northeast Jackson inspired by Don Draper’s mid-century cool.
“It already had grass cloth wallpaper and a living room rock garden — total ‘60s vibes,” Busbin said. “We’ve updated it a little, but kept the vintage charm. We love pieces like Eames and Panton chairs — anything that feels ‘Mad Men.’ It’s how we like to live — cool, relaxed, and a little nostalgic.”
Los Angeles-based Natasha Feldman and Julianna Strickland host a web-based cooking show about food and movies called “Cinema & Spice.” They are big “Mad Men” fans, and recently taped a segment about how to throw a “Mad Men” party.
Near the end of the school year at Brandon’s University Christian School, the art teacher gave his first-period students large canvases, leftover paint, and the freedom to go at them Jackson Pollack-style.
Danielle Parkman, 14, dipped her hands in color and splattered it against the white, tossing pink, blue and red across the rectangle. Then she threw it on her friends, who laughed and retaliated until, pretty soon, everyone was engaged in a colorful, carefree mess of creativity.
Hazlehurst resident Charles Jenkins, 63, began “mud painting” after a tour of plantations in St. Francisville, Louisiana.
He found shades of green in Columbia’s Red Bluff and reds in Copiah County creeks.
When Sara Zittlow returned from an inspirational trip to Israel, she decided to begin spending more time with her growing family away from life’s distractions.
So she devised a plan, talked it over with her husband and set out on a nine-month journey from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
It’s not easy being green — but it’s very easy being a Kermit the Frog fan, especially this week as the new “Muppets” movie hits theaters. With that in mind, I thought it was the perfect time to celebrate the world’s most lovable amphibian by showing off a few of my favorite Kermit finds — and sharing why this little green guy holds such a special place in my heart.
Like many of you, I grew up in the golden age of “The Muppet Show” and “Sesame Street” — the 1970s and ’80s, when television was a little quirkier, a little fuzzier, and a whole lot more musical. Kermit wasn’t just a puppet. He was a philosopher. A dreamer. The gentle soul trying to hold everything together while Gonzo launched himself from cannons and Miss Piggy karate-chopped her way through love and drama.
On cold mornings, Mr. Henry would come to work early and crank all the vehicles so they would be warm inside when the other bus drivers arrived.
He kept a list of all the children on his bus route, recording their names, addresses and birthdays so he and his wife could send them birthday cards and small surprises throughout the years.
In Mississippi, the weather has more mood swings than a soap opera villain. One day, it’s warm and sunny with birds chirping and neighbors mowing their lawns in shorts and flip-flops. The next? You’re wrapped in an electric blanket, sipping hot cocoa while watching snow flurries dance outside your window — in February. Or April. Or literally whenever the state decides to throw a seasonal tantrum.
This climate confusion has had me pondering one particular flower for a couple of years now: the pansy. Yes, that sweet little bloom with a face. A face that, if you look closely, kind of seems to judge you as you walk by.
Where were you when the Challenger exploded? For many in Generation X, Jan. 28, 1986, was the moment childhood innocence shattered — much like JFK’s assassination defined a generation before them.
I recently interviewed Mississippians with powerful connections to the tragedy.
If you’re an “I Love Lucy” fan, the word “Babalu” might ring a bell. It was Ricky Ricardo’s signature song — an Afro-Caribbean tune that now lends its name to one of Fondren’s hottest new restaurants.
Babalu Tacos & Tapas, located inside the old Duling School at 622 Duling Ave., opened with a retro-urban vibe that fits right in with Fondren’s artsy energy. Walk inside and you’ll see vintage Lucy clips projected on the wall, a nostalgic touch dreamed up by co-owner Al Roberts after seeing something similar in another restaurant.
When Sharon McConnell-Dickerson began to lose her vision in 1995, she faced a difficult truth: her life would never be the same. But in the darkness, she discovered something unexpected — art.
That discovery eventually led her from New England to the Mississippi Delta, where she would spend more than a decade capturing the soul of the blues, not through sound, but through sculpture.
It’s hard to imagine childhood without the Muppets, and since “Sesame Street” debuted in 1969, generations have grown up with Jim Henson’s unforgettable creations. Now, Jim Henson’s Fantastic World — a traveling Smithsonian exhibit — brings his incredible legacy to the Mississippi Museum of Art.
Hailing from the Mississippi Delta, Henson transformed his early love for puppetry into iconic shows like “The Muppet Show” and “Sesame Street,” captivating audiences worldwide. This exhibit offers a rare glimpse into his creative process with 100 original pieces, including puppets, sketches, storyboards, and videos.
I recently had the unique opportunity to interview the legendary Kermit the Frog for “The Clarion-Ledger.” Known worldwide and deeply connected to Mississippi through his creator Jim Henson — born in Greenville — Kermit shared insights into his roots, career, and views on fame.
Kermit was delighted to learn his swamp home was identified as Deer Creek in Leland, Mississippi, describing his upbringing fondly despite his small size. He humbly compared himself to other Mississippi icons like Elvis and Oprah, crediting their “regular folks” charm to growing up in the state. When asked about current projects, Kermit highlighted holiday specials, a viral Queen cover, and a potential movie.
Did you know that HBO’s hit series “True Blood” has deep ties to Mississippi? The show is based on “The Southern Vampire Mysteries” novels by Mississippi native Charlaine Harris.
Born in Tunica in 1951, Harris grew up in the South, the daughter of a farmer-turned-school principal and a librarian. After graduating from Rhodes College in Memphis, she worked as a journalist in Clarksdale and Greenville before publishing her first novel, “Sweet and Deadly,” in 1981.
Rick Griffin, a Jackson landscape architect, grew up seeing bottle trees on trips between Ocean Springs and Vicksburg. Fascinated by their charm, he built a 10-foot bottle tree in his own yard, calling it a symbol of fun and individuality. “It’s about being a nonconformist,” he says.
Once dismissed as kitschy folk art, bottle trees are now booming in popularity across the South, especially in neighborhoods like Fondren, where urban horticulture expert Felder Rushing has documented a sharp rise in their numbers. Rushing believes this trend reflects a cultural shift toward more relaxed, expressive outdoor spaces. “For a long time, lawns had to be perfect. Now, people feel freer to add personality and history to their yards,” he explains.
When we asked readers about their UFO experiences, many shared anonymous stories, fearing ridicule despite their credibility.
One radio reporter recalled seeing a mysterious light in Gautier that moved rapidly, then hovered motionless before darting away. Another witness, stationed on a German Air Force base in 1973, described a silent, brightly lit triangular craft crossing the sky in minutes — clearly not man-made.
Today, as I drove home from the Japanese restaurant over the Reservoir, I noticed a black lab in the back of a black Chevrolet Silverado wearing an orange collar. As his owner drove, he ran back and forth on each side of the truck, stepping up and sticking his head out on each side to feel the cool breeze.
His movement was repetitive. Over and over again, he moved to the left, then to the right. I guess he thought the wind felt better hitting his face the first time, so instead of standing still, he ran from side to side, creating a pause, before sticking his neck out into the air again.
As I was driving home from work the other day, I saw a wizard on the side of the road.
Well, maybe he wasn’t a wizard. I’m not exactly sure. Perhaps he was Father Time. I’m just not positive. But he was wearing a long purple robe, a pointy matching hat and a long white beard.
Britney Spears reflects on lessons she’s learned from a failed relationship and her desire to move on with her life in “Blackout,” but the album is also a hyper-sexual celebration of exhibitionism and voyeurism.
Only a few songs slightly reach beyond the desire-dominated tracks.
Do you believe in ghosts? You’re not alone. Mississippi is home to at least 10 paranormal research groups made up of people who definitely do — and they’re part of a much larger trend.
Across the U.S. and U.K., more than 300 groups are actively investigating unexplained phenomena, often inspired by popular television shows like “Ghost Hunters,” “Medium,” “Ghost Whisperer,” and “Haunting Evidence.”
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