Entries by Steve Patterson

Steve Patterson: Where is L. Q. C. LAMAR when we need him?

I don’t like cowards. I abhor cowardly, weak leadership! I have no patience for those political leaders who stand timidly on the sidelines, avoid controversy at all cost, and allow popular opinion, no matter how ill informed, to run amuck and do a lasting disservice to the people they have pledged themselves to serve. Sadly, […]

/by

Steve Patterson: A eulogy to three old friends

          I have attended far too many funerals lately. Seems like all my old friends are dying. Alas, that’s what happens when one reaches my age. We all start to lose old friends and beloved family members. Sometimes, they die. Sometimes, they move far away. And sometimes, time and circumstances just […]

/by

Opinion: Steve Patterson, “What Balderdash is this ?”

New Albany, MS – I know Joe Biden. Joe Biden is a friend of mine. Joe Biden’s mental acuity is not in question. It is cruel unfounded politically motivated nonsense to say otherwise. Nothing could be further from truth than the pseudo rambling diagnosis of “sundowners” dementia offered by Elizabeth Shiverdecker of former Vice President […]

/by
,

Steve Patterson: The Miracle of the Christmas Washpot Ham

The sun peeked out quietly over the fallow cotton fields and surrounding woods, slowly spreading its warmth over the entirety of Cotton Plant. Winter had closed in much more quickly and severely this year in Union County, cutting short autumn’s glorious shocks of brilliant colors, while also curtailing my beloved outdoor activities when the school […]

/by

We all wanted to be like Billy McCoy

Way back in the 1970’s and 1980’s there were a good many aspiring young progressive political wannabes roaming around Mississippi. I was among them. We all shared a desire to make a difference, to serve what we all viewed as an under-served state. We wanted to bring Mississippi, kicking and screaming, into the twentieth century. […]

/by

Steve Patterson: “Lest We Forget”

“and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free“ John 8:32″   Twelve years ago this month I experienced one of the most impactful afternoons of my life. After having spent a week walking in the footsteps of “the prince of peace,“ who’s last commandment to his followers was to love […]

/by

“A Republic, if we can keep it.” –Steve Patterson

  Once upon a time there was an idea. It was a grand idea. An idea admired and emulated the entire world over. An idea conceived in liberty, justice, freedom and God-given inalienable rights. An idea that proclaimed all men were created equal and none were above the law. It was an idea that led […]

/by

Steve Patterson: Hanging out with some very old Jews

I have been spending a lot of time with friends lately, a motley crew of old Jews. Not high school or college buddies, or bird hunting or fishing pals, nor even my old political cohorts with whom I used to roam the capitol’s corridors. No, these are not childhood friends, though they have always been […]

/by

Steve Patterson: The Evil in us all

Have you seen Evil lately? Do you know where it lives? How big it is? Is it educated or illiterate, rich or poor, gregarious or bashful? Is it Muslin, Christian, or Jew? Is it hideously ugly or stunningly beautiful? What color is Evil? Is evil something we are, or something we do, or something we […]

/by

Steve Patterson: Sundays on Grandma’s porch

With a nod to William Faulkner and O. Henry, guest author Steve Patterson recalls poignant lessons learned on Grandma’s porch.   I well remember my grandmother getting up so early Sunday mornings the sun was not even up, so the horizon was just awakening with the slightest glimmer of red, a dash of orange and […]

/by