Articles written by Amanda Walker
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Tears & Laughter - American Heartbreak for Ukraine
It is difficult to watch Russia’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t it? Since the beginning, citizens of the world have watched helplessly. As individuals, it can feel as if there is practically nothing...
Tears & Laughter - An Alabama Lottery Proposal Loses Value Every Year
The Alabama Legislature has once again introduced a lottery proposal that would give voters the opportunity to choose whether or not Alabama can have a lottery. It is one of the only states in the...
Tears & Laughter: How to be Social Without the Social Media
The United States surgeon general has issued a report stating the negative effects social media platforms are having on mental health, especially in teens and young adults. The platforms generate...
Tears & Laughter: Waiting and Watching for Purple Martins
Even before daybreak, you can hear them singing their happy sounding songs from inside their swinging gourds. The purple martin song. It will soon be their season. They return every year from their...
Tears & Laughter: Be Ashamed to Tell Others to be Ashamed
[Editor’s note: Introduction is from December 1, 2020] Before I launch into my topic this [month], I want to acknowledge what happened in Wilcox County yesterday. A long time, much-loved, retired...
Tears & Laughter: The First Day of the Season of Excess
I’m sure I heard it somewhere, but I can’t remember where. Or maybe I read it. I don’t know. But for a few years now, when I think about the day after Thanksgiving – or Black Friday as it is...
Tears & Laughter - Christmas is Not Trapped on a Ship Off the Coast of California
The White House cannot guarantee Christmas gifts will be available this year. It is warning that you many not get what you want. It has never occurred to me before to consider that the White House is...
Tears & Laughter - For the Love of Autumn
This week’s cooler air has been refreshing after a long Alabama summer…a summer that is likely not through. These first dips in temps are just teases. We know this. We know Southern summers...
Tears & Laughter - We are woke, but are we awake?
It depends on how old you are, but most people in the United States can tell time by the attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. There was before, and then there was after. Everybody remembers...
Tears & Laughter - Life is a fleeting thing
There are voices in other rooms tonight. Soft voices. Young voices. Granddaughters’ voices. Their brother – the baby – is asleep in an adjoining room. We were all worried if he could sleep, or...
Tears & Laughter - The Hydrangeas are Blooming
It is July. The hydrangeas are blooming. It has always struck me odd how it is that we can know something is coming up…we know it is on the way, and yet, we are still taken back a little by its...
Tears & Laughter - The Good Times of an Alabama Summer
Summer means different things to different people. To some it probably means nothing more than long days and hot nights. Unless you are a fan of the two…which I happen to be. I’m not sure anymore...
Tears & Laughter -Growing Tomatoes & Thumping Watermelons
By this time of the year, gardeners have already tilled their ground and formed their rows. They have sown seeds that by now sprouting and growing. The watching and waiting has begun. I like people...
Tears & Laughter - What is the Significance of Alabama History in 2021?
Sometimes, when I am in Montgomery, I make it a point to go out and have lunch with Hank and Audrey. Usually, I take fried chicken. They don’t ever say too much, and neither do I really. Nobody...
Tears & Laughter: The Beauty of Alabama Dirt
Alabama has delivered into the world many an eccentric personalities, one of those being the late Eugene Walter – an entertainer, writer, and chef who engaged in so many varied activities he was...
Tears & Laughter: We the People Get Along Just Fine
Now that he is in office, Joe Biden has the task of trying to unite the United States. He says it is his intention. He is committed to it. I think it is possible. I really do. I don’t know how much...
Tears & Laughter: Doing Your Job Doesn't Make You A Hero!
I grew up in the 1970s and 80s, and it was not a time when self-esteem was widely recognized as being terribly important. We did not all get trophies. We were not all winners. I don’t remember any...
Tears & Laughter: Be Careful Which Cow You Cuddle!
I’m not saying we should go all the way back to Luckenbach, Texas…but honky-tonks may need to make a quick comeback because cow hugging has become one of the latest wellness trends. I don’t...
Tears and Laughter: The Season of Cooking
The temperature in my quiet kitchen early in the morning has felt a few degrees cooler this week. I am still drinking coffee out of a cup with a pink flamingo on it, but summer is being ushered out...
Tears and Laughter : Some of My Best Friends Are People!
Personally, I started thinking things were getting out of balance in the pet department when they put refrigerators at the end of the pet food aisle to keep the latest dog food cold. I mean, I am all...
Tears & Laughter - The Cancel Culture is Killing Creativity
There are two types of writers in the world: those who can write…and those who want to be able to write. Proofreading is just part of the process. If the deadline allows, it is best to have a...
Tears & Laughter - Purple Martin People
Even before daybreak, you can hear them singing their happy songs from inside their swinging gourds: the purple martin song. It is their season. They return every year from their winter homes in...
Tears & Laughter - How to Cook a Mean Pot of Greens
Last week I mentioned in this space how we eat a lot of greens down here in the Black Belt. I am sure other people in other places also eat a variety of greens. There are even people up north who try...
Tears & Laughter - What is wrong with you people in the Black Belt?
I read articles about the Black Belt sometimes that make me feel like we should all immediately pack up and leave. I don’t know where we should go, but we may not make it if we stay. I read one...