Tupelo, Lee Acres, MSU, Memphis, and NW AR

If you are reading this, we probably were friends at some point in our lives. One of the locations in the title jumped may have jumped out at you.

Maybe during my “Season 1.” In this season, I write about the stories of growing up in Lee Acres, attending Pierce Street. If you were around, you know how cool that neighborhood was. We had no less than five different wiffle ball fields, with summers full of home run races, kick the can, and looking for crawdads in the creek that ran through the neighborhood.

Maybe we were friends in our high school season. Tupelo High. Hanging out at the drive-in, constant ball practice, parties when parents were away, visiting colleges for the weekend.

In my “season 2,” my life was mostly spent on campus at Mississippi State. New friends, new life. Campus, fraternities, and football. Initiation. Music. Constant pickup basketball. Road trips. New Year’s in New Orleans playing flag football tourneys.

“Season 3” was Memphis, one of my favorite places on earth. Gets a bad rap, but live there and it is in your blood. Life changed radically in Memphis. Ernestine & Hazel’s. Concerts. Bellevue. Germantown. Hurricane Memphis.

My road winds to Northwest AR. A blessed place nestled in the Ozarks by the University of Arkansas. My kids barely remember Memphis. To them, Arkansas is home.

So, that is essentially how I wrote The Anchor, reflecting on my personal journey, writing stories from each of those seasons.

But, understand, my desire for the book is not any type of personal gain. Sure, I hope it is at least enjoyable, but the book was written as a gift for my kids and future generations. They now have a record of dad’s life. They have 9 lessons from my life, such as lesson 7, “don’t judge others,” written in the back of the book. So, in this sense, the book has served its original purpose. My hope is that this transparent picture of recording your journey for future generations will be a tradition in our family.

I decided to share the book to inspire others to give the gift of their stories to their loved ones, not necessarily in book format. The book process is long, arduous, and time-consuming. Few will embark on this journey, and I don’t blame you. I do hope, however, that you use the Seasons Journal to write down your own seasons to pass on. I can tell you, talking my oldest daughter through my seasons was an awesome, transparent conversation of a road traveled. Gen Zers are drawn to transparency. Gen Xers are not. Interesting collision.

So, I hope you’ll be inspired to do the deep thinking of leaving your life story for others. Maybe you give the idea to a loved one to record their seasons. I wish I had my dad’s life story recorded. Whatever the case, I am certain that if you write your story, generations that matter to you the most will be impacted.