Entries by Steve Patterson

Steve Patterson: The way we were – Brad Dye and the end of an Era

Funerals appear on my schedule with alarming frequency these days. I have reached the age where so many of my friends have grown tired and weary, only to mercifully find their final rest in the restorative residence of Heaven. My friend, Brad Dye, Mississippi’s longest serving lieutenant-governor, found that perfect solace this week, after suffering […]

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“A Declaration of Conscience” revisited, by Steve Patterson

History is a great teacher. We should learn its valuable lessons, but sadly we all too frequently do not. The only reason we are “doomed,” as Santayana said, to repeat history’s mistakes is either because no one was listening the first time; or no one has sense enough to relate mankind’s hard learned lessons to […]

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“Situation hopeless, but not impossible!”

By Steve Patterson   Dear Mr. President,   I am a man of straightforward candor, so let me go ahead and clear the deck. I don’t like you. I have voiced my dislike for your bravado and otherwise distinctive “style,” both in writing and to any and all who sought my opinion. I am but […]

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INVECTIVE: an opinion by Steve Patterson

    Is it possible to gain the Presidency of the United States through the use of invectives alone?  Can the Leader of the Free World be selected based entirely on the volume and meanness of insults? Does adolescent name calling really elevate one in the public’s eye and deserve respect and confidence?  Alas, we […]

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Steve Patterson: Bucket List? – Cuba!

  I don’t know exactly when it happened or why. I only know it happened. Why have my dreams, yearnings and ambitions retreated and become smaller? Why did my “Bucket List” become so short? You know, the list of things you want to do before you die – before you “kick the bucket.” Maybe it’s […]

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The Mint Julep

The hypnotizing melody of frogs croaking, crickets chirping and a pair of whippoorwills crying in distant harmony signals the beginning of a new season. The air is now delicious with the married fragrances of magnolias and jasmine. From my front porch, tucked deep in the tall timbers where no man-made light intrudes, the moonlight kisses […]

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Steve Patterson: A Tale of Two Senators

In the mid-19th century, Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle suggested that the entire history of mankind can be explained by the impact of divinely inspired “great men” or heroes. “The history of the world,” said Carlyle, “is but the biography of great men.” According to this view, all history can be explained by the personal attributes […]

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In Praise of Bird Dogs, Field Trials, & Gentlemen

Editor’s Note:  When arriving at Patterson Pointe Lodge, Steve Patterson’s home a couple of hundred yards up the hill from Sardis Lake in Panola County, you know immediately that the man loves bird dogs.  Two bird dog statues stand watch over the drive leading to the breezeway between the main house and stables/bunk house. The interior decor of the house — which […]

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The Unlikeliest Christmas

Editor’s Note:  Great energy and a good education; success both in business and public service; family and countless friends; financial security; deep Christian faith– Steve Patterson had an abundant measure of the good life. Then an unpleasant and unexpected turn of events, during which he had the most memorable Christmas of his life. This is […]

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