Salvation South

A poem about a Southern home — and why you might never leave it. Especially at Christmastime.

The Wright brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 117 years ago. A man named Ora Jones traveled 500 miles from Asheville to cover the historic moment. He almost got the job done.

Some folks can’t cook the traditional Southern Christmas dinner. So one year, one of them tried spaghetti. Everyone loved it, including the cats.

A Kentucky native poet offers a loving ode to all the shade-tree mechanics out there.

After you’re full, what will do you with it? Because it’s almost a certainty in this season that someone, somewhere will give you a huge tin bulging with popcorn.

Fiction takes the lead in this week’s edition of Salvation South.

“I didn’t know whether to congratulate her or say I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize her at first.” A short story about separation, reunion, and the long, twisting path of a marriage.

There are Pine Mountains all over the South. Maybe all of them are worthy of a poem.

A ranger job in north Georgia turned him into a keen watcher of black bears. Then, two friends wanted to come bear hunting. No bears fell, but lessons were learned.

“I was a middle-aged woman sitting semi-nude in the mud in the wee hours of the morning, singing to a stray cat in an ivy patch.”

In this special Thanksgiving feature, Indigo Girl Amy Ray talks about her new album, “If It All Goes South.” She explains how she made peace with the negativity that accompanied growing up gay in the Southern church, how her practice of gratitude is helping her transform into an “optimist Southerner,” and the ongoing importance of being earnest.

Indigo Girl Amy Ray talks to Salvation South about Thanksgiving and all things Southern.