A 400-year old complicated love affair with whiskey.
Making custom boots by hand in El Paso, TX.
Singer/songwriter Drew Holcomb walks humbly, loves mercy and speaks up.
Feeding communities during disasters with hope, love, food, and water.
In Mississippi, the arts are everywhere. Across our state, you’ll find cultural attractions celebrating the works and influence of Mississippi’s greatest painters, potters, folk artists, writers, and musical trailblazers – everything from art galleries to hands-on arts experiences. Start your travel journey today at VisitMississippi.org/Arts.
Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art | Biloxi, Mississippi
Rocketbuster Boots is doing it by hand the old fashioned way in El Paso, TX
Makers of legendary handmade saddles, show tack, and equestrian products in NC
How an unwanted temp job ignited a WV coal miner‘s passsion for night sky photography.
TN writer and singer Drew Holcomb walks humbly and works on no more strangers.
The state of Virginia’s rich but complicated 400-year love affair with whiskey.
Photograph by Adventure_Photo
PG 6: STAFF
People who keep us going.
PG 9: OUR CONTRIBUTORS
The people who make our stories come to life.
FRONT COVER
Mixed Bourbon cocktail. Photograph by MaximFesenko
PG 10: PUZZLE THIS
Tired of the same old boring puzzles, this Southerner created her own.
PG 14: BY SOUTHERN HANDS
You’ll want to learn more about these finds made by Southern artisans.
PG 16: ONTO THE STAGE
This South Carolina ballet helped to bring Southern art and culture to life.
PG 18: SIMPLE THINGS
Poet Kevin Gordon kicks the Big C and releases his seventh album.
PG 80: GOOD ALL OVER
As disaster came to the South, World Central Kitchen was there to feed those in need.
PG 88: MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Making the holidays bright one Christmas card at a time in MS.
PG 24: BOURBON LAND
Chef Edward Lee takes us on a culinary journey through Kentucky’s rich bourbon history.
PG 30: NOTEWORTHY
New tastes of the South explore innovative ways to love cornbread and hush puppies.
PG 32: ON OUR PLATE
Chef Matt Bolus celebrates fall with this creamy earthy chestnut soup from The 404 Kitchen in Nashville, TN.
PG 34: IMBIBE
Two new beverages to celebrate fall with.
PG 36: WORTH A STOP
Magpie Diner offers an invitation to sit and stay and savor time together over good food, in historic Harrisonburg, VA.
PG 90: ALONG THE ROAD
Christmastime and Chihuly at the Biltmore House and Gardens make the season special.
PG 92: LAY OF THE LAND
Our readers submite photos of their South. Photo above of porch swing taken at sunset in Miegs, GA. Submitted by Penny Alligood.
PG 98: THE LAST WORD
Countless people stepped in to help with recovery for hurricane Helene, we spotlight just a few of these heroes helping people, as well as their pets.
Scott Speakes Publisher
Genie Gaither Jones Editor-in-Chief
Rebecca Cashwell Design Director
J. M. McSpadden
Liesel J. Schmidt Contributing Editors
Eric J Wallace Social Media Specialist
Richard L. Jones Copy Editor
Advertising Sales Specialists
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Scott Speakes scott@okramagazine.com
Andrea Joiner andrea @okramagazine.com
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MELISSA CORBIN is a Tennessee based freelance journalist telling stories of the folks and places that make their corner of the world unique. Her main beats are travel, food, beverage, music, outdoors, festivals, and even a bit of luxury (this one came as a complete surprise to her. Hey! She’s a sucker for nice sheets.) In addition to her work here at Okra, you can read her stories in publications such as Wine Enthusiast, Garden and Gun, and Food and Wine Magazine. Corbin also enjoys making regular television appearances on regional midday shows where she cooks quintessential dishes from her travels while introducing viewers to the region in approachable ways.
ERIC J WALLACE is an award-winning lifestyle journalist based in Staunton, Virginia, who has contributed to top national outlets like WIRED, Outside, Reader’s Digest, Atlas Obscura, Best American Food Writing, Modern Farmer, and more. He is a two-time James Beard Foundation media award nominee and was named an International Association of Culinary Professionals Best Feature Story media award finalist in 2021. drericjwallace@gmail.com
HEATHER ROSE ARTUSHIN is a social worker and writer committed to making a difference, one word at a time. She is grateful to call the beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina home. Learn more by visiting heatherrosewriter.com
JOSEPH MCSPADDEN is a freelance writer and music enthusiast whose work has appeared at nodepression.com and at mbird.com, and The Mockingbird Journal, a publication that examines faith in the real world. His work has also appeared in Richmond, Virginia’s Style Weekly, the capital city’s premiere culture magazine. Joe is fascinated with the way words and music impact our lives and can be used as a vehicle for healing. He currently resides in Virginia with his wife Suzanne where he enjoys writing for okra. magazine and spending time with his 17 grandchildren. Yes, you read that right. 17 grandchildren.
MARIANNE LEEK is a retired high school educator who continues to teach part-time at Tri-County Community College. She lives with her husband in western North Carolina, where she spends much of her free time enjoying the outdoors. More of her work can be found in The Bitter Southerner.
SUSAN MARQUEZ is a lifelong learner who finds joy in the unexpected discoveries often found on the path less traveled. She began writing professionally in 2001 and 2,800 articles later, she is still telling the stories of the South. With one foot in suburban Mississippi and the other in New Orleans, she can pack a suitcase in record time. “Writing gives me an excuse to ask questions, and to learn more than what can be seen on the surface.”
LIESEL SCHMIDT lives in Florida, and works as a freelance writer for local and regional magazines, web content writer, and book editor. Having harbored a passionate dread of writing assignments when she was in school, she never imagined making a living at putting words on paper, but life sometimes has a funny way of working out. Follow her on Twitter at @laswrites or download her novels, Coming Home to You, The Secret of Us, and Life Without You @ amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com
TIRED OF
TAYLOR DECIDED TO CREATE HER OWN BASED OFF OF THE SOUTHERN LANDSCAPE SHE LOVED.
Written by Susan Marquez / Photography Courtesy of Pen and Mug
There is something so satisfying about putting the last piece of a puzzle in place. Standing back and admiring your brilliance in finding the proper place for each piece as the puzzle comes together to form an image can provide a sense of accomplishment.
Nashville resident Susan Taylor understands that satisfaction. “I was born and raised on a dairy farm,” she says. “When I was a kid in the 1960s, my mom would pull out a jigsaw puzzle for us to work on during the holidays. She had beautiful Currier and Ives designs and other great stuff. It’s a memory of my mom that I will hold in my heart forever.”
When Susan grew up, she still liked puzzles, but the opportunity to piece one together didn’t come very often. For 35 years she ran a custom picture frame shop. While vacationing on the beach with her family a few years ago, rainy weather forced them inside. “I went to buy some puzzles, but they were horrible.”
That gave her an idea. “I started looking into what it would take to create a line of puzzles.” Susan majored in graphic design in college and had many contacts in the business. ‘”I contacted some of the talented local artists in town and we began to brainstorm.”
Teodosiu, a native of Romania who lived in Nashville for seven years before moving to Colorado. “Ligia worked in my frame shop while she was in school,” says Susan. “She researched every state to decide what to include on each map.” All the state puzzles have 500 pieces except for a “bonus” puzzle of the Tennessee State Parks which has 750 pieces. Most Southern states are represented in the series, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee.
Susan started True South Puzzle Company in 2013. Her first puzzle design was something she knew a lot about. The first in the cityscapes series, the 500-piece Nashville puzzle was a hit. Designed by Evie Coates, an art teacher in Nashville, the puzzle features an illustrated map of the music city with plenty of familiar places, including the Ryman Theater, Opryland USA, the General Jackson steamboat on the Cumberland River, and the Parthenon at Centennial Park.
That original collection grew to include other Southern cities, including Atlanta, New Orleans, Knoxville, Austin, and Houston. “We chose Southern cities because I’m a Southerner,” Susan explains. Yet, requests rolled in for other major American cities including New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Portland, and Washington D.C.
The cityscapes series was soon followed by a state series designed by Ligia
A few states outside the South are also represented, including California, Colorado, Michigan, New York State, Oregon, and Washington State.
Other puzzle categories at True South Puzzles include American Regions (The Grand South, The Great Lakes, and the Pacific Northwest), and Animals, Birds, and Insects. The Famous Faces series includes the Legendary Men of Country Music puzzle, along with Legendary Women of Country Music, Dolly!, and Iconic Singers of the Seventies, among others. The Hair You Go Again puzzle designed by artist Paris Woodhull encourages puzzlers to piece together a montage of Dolly Parton’s hairdos over the years. “In keeping with her charitable spirit, all sales of this puzzle are donated to Dolly’s charity, Imagination Library,” says Susan.
There are puzzles of national parks, holidays, and pop culture maps, which feature classic television sitcom maps, classic Christmas movie maps, macho movies, classic horror movies, and chick flicks. The funnier and quirkier the better, according to Susan. “Our goal is for our puzzles to be multi-generational. They are conversation starters. For example, the Classic Christmas Movies puzzle has settings drawn in a cartoon-like way. While an older generation may recognize movies like White Christmas, the younger crowd will recognize Home Alone and Elf.”
Many of the designs include curated playlists so the background music enhances the puzzling experience. Some also have puzzle keys.
Susan says her father-in-law loved doing jigsaw puzzles. “It was amazing how the conversation would flow when people gathered around the table to put
together a puzzle. It’s a way to share information, talk about life, and spend time together. We design our puzzles to be fun, family-friendly, and educational. They only have 500 pieces so that they are not too difficult for either a senior adult or a child.”
A puzzle can offer benefits beyond entertainment. Working a puzzle can improve cognitive skills, including problem-solving, memory, and spatial reasoning. A puzzle can also be a great stress reliever, calming the mind and reducing anxiety as the puzzler focuses less on the stresses in their lives and concentrates on the task at hand.
“One reason I love these puzzles so much is because I’m very proud of our Southern heritage,” Susan says. “The designs are so fun and we chose a nice quality paper that was thicker than most puzzles. Our puzzles are valued by serious puzzlers for their quality, matte-finish pieces. While they are designed in Nashville, we have the puzzles made in Indiana. We are proud to be a woman-owned, American-made company.”
With her background in both framing art and graphic design, Susan has made it a point to seek independent graphic artists to design the puzzles for True South. “We only buy the rights to the images,” she says. “The artist keeps the art and can use it for other purposes.” There are currently over twenty artists working on designs for the company.
For the first year or two True South Puzzles was in business, Susan used an old, funky Land Cruiser to deliver merchandise to area shops. “I was picked up by the showroom in Atlanta and that opened doors to bigger outlets, including L.L. Bean, and Barnes & Noble. We’re everywhere now.” And while the puzzles are available online, Susan says she is still very much an advocate for small towns and doing business with small merchants.
Giving back is a big part of the True South Puzzle Company philosophy. “We support many exceptional non-profits. We donate a lot of puzzles to organizations that support the arts and animals. We also get donation requests from small libraries, and we donate ‘gently loved’ puzzles. We are big believers in giving back.”
Puzzles have gained in popularity in recent years. “There are now puzzle competitions around the country that are a big deal,” says Susan. “They’ll get ten to fifteen puzzles that are exactly alike and teams race to put the puzzles together.”
When asked if piecing together a puzzle is work for Susan, she emphatically says “no.” While she doesn’t have the opportunity to do them as much as she’d like, she always works on puzzles when she is on vacation. “I like to do our puzzles, and I enjoy doing competitors’ puzzles.”
Susan says she celebrates National Puzzle Day each year on January 29. “It’s a full-circle day for me, because my mother first introduced me to jigsaw puzzles, and January 29 happens to be her birthday.” For Susan, it’s a strong affirmation that starting True South Puzzle Company was the right thing to do.
truesouthpuzzlecompany.com
“GATHERING AROUND THE TABLE TO WORK ON A PUZZLE IS A WAY TO SHARE INFORMATION, TALK ABOUT LIFE, AND SPEND TIME TOGETHER.”
“We exist to create positive, memorable experiences. We’re so much more than beer.” – Jason McCall, co-owner, Pale Fire Brewing Co.
Our story begins one night a handful of years ago, with two brothers huddled around a napkin, brainstorming business ideas that would fulfill their entrepreneurial drive and create something fun that they could do together. What resulted was a plan to start their own brewery—because, as Jason McCall so succinctly says, “We realized that some of our best memories have been created with beer glass in hand, sharing life around a pint.” And so, in 2018, brothers Jason and Kurtis McCall opened Skipping Rock Beer Co. in Staunton, Virginia.
While Skipping Rock didn’t meet with the success they’d hoped, Jason and Kurtis didn’t lose their vision. Instead, they redoubled their efforts when an
existing brewery came up for sale and purchased Pale Fire Brewing Co. in Harrisonburg, Virginia, a mere thirty-odd miles from Staunton. “I went to school at James Madison University, so I knew the area and loved the community,” says Jason, who also knew the then-owner of Pale Fire and could see the possibilities in buying the brewery, which had been in operation since 2014.
And so, the brothers McCall took over Pale Fire Brewing Co. in 2021, imbuing the company with their ethos of community and the desire to connect people. “People are so disconnected these days, always distracted by the screens in front of their faces,” he contends.
Over the last years of their ownership, the McCall brothers have successfully carried the Pale Fire brand forward, with an incredible team of people that are “smarter than me,” as Jason says with a
Written by Liesel J Schmidt / Photography by Susan Keeler
laugh. Included in that team is their deeply passionate head brewer, Scott Maxham, who has been brewing since the age of 21. Having worked at Pale Fire on and off since 2018, Maxham had a level of experience and a drive that Jason knew would make him perfect for the role of head brewer—and a love of connecting with people that made him a great asset to their taproom, which is open seven days a week and offers Pale Fire’s collection of beers alongside locally brewed Sage Bird Ciderworks ciders on tap. The experience is rounded out by a food menu that includes Detroit style pizzas and hot sandwiches, served in a space that is made cozy by a fireplace and even a little free library filled with books for guests to the taproom to read during their visit and take with them. Televisions in the taproom are tuned to everything from Bob Ross to soccer and football games.
“It’s a welcoming spot, with nice music playing inside and sunny days on the patio, even a great view of our production space,” says Maxham. “You could make the best beer in the world, but it doesn’t matter if you have a bad taproom, or bartenders who don’t care. Craft beer started with people
who cared a whole lot and a little bit of magic. I think cultivating an experience where the staff cares is infectious. You can tell when you go to a bar or restaurant if the staff is generally happy to be there. You see it in their interactions, the smile on their face as they shake a cocktail or pour a pint. Beer and service can be transactional at times but delivering an experience where it is more than that is what sets Pale Fire apart.”
That experience has made Pale Fire successful enough to open another taproom in Basye, Virginia, as well, thirty-odd miles north of Harrisonburg. And while distribution doesn’t stray outside of the borders of Virginia, Pale Fire has put themselves on the map for the flavor and quality of their beers as well as the experience they offer at both locations. They truly are “so much more than beer.”
For more information, visit palefirebrewing.com.
Written by Heather Rose Artushin / Photography Courtesy of South Carolina Ballet
William Starrett, CEO and Artistic Director of the South Carolina Ballet, brings the best that ballet has to offer to the South. Once a Principal Dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, a soloist with Joffrey Ballet under the direction of Robert Joffrey, and a dancer with the American Ballet Theatre with Lucia Chase and Mikhail Baryshnikov, Starrett has appeared as a guest artist with more than 40 ballet companies in 29 countries. In 1979, he went on to win the bronze medal at the very first US International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, and now brings his extensive expertise and passion to the South Carolina stage.
The South Carolina Ballet, one of the oldest ballet companies in the South, was founded in 1961, and is now embarking on its 64th anniversary of uninterrupted performance seasons. The company tours extensively throughout the southeast, and beyond, as far north as New York City, and as far west as Palm Springs, California. “I believe this is one of the most exciting times in the history of Southern arts,” said Starrett. “I am immensely gratified by the growing interest in art in its many forms.”
themes of family, faith, and history, this ballet features rich visuals and a varied musical score, all of which embody the South both past and present.
Off the Wall & Onto the Stage was first performed in 2005 after Starrett and Green met at the SC Arts Commission’s Governor’s Awards ceremony. The two mutually admired each other’s work and collaborated to successfully bring Green’s paintings to life through dance.
Starett’s acclaimed ballet, Off the Wall & Onto the Stage: Dancing Art of Jonathan Green captures the Southern experience through the examination of the Gullah culture, which is uniquely Southern. Having its roots in the Sea Islands off the Atlantic coast, the Gullah culture is the inspiration for Greens’ paintings. Expounding on
Starrett has created vignettes from 22 of Green’s paintings, and incorporates Green’s rich, vibrant colors onto the stage through eye-popping backdrops and scrims, over 150 hand-sewn costumes, an array of music that combines traditional work songs, gospel music, Motown, classical, and jazz, as well as a live choir. The choreography brings it all together as the company’s dancers depict the cultural heritage of the Gullah and Geechee communities illustrated in Green’s paintings.
The artful use of lighting, props, and musicality create a spiritual and deeply moving experience for theater-goers. Each scene brings one of Jonathan Green’s beloved paintings to life, as dancers emerge from the painting backdrop in vibrant, custom costumes perfectly honoring Green’s original vision.
The interplay between the visual arts and performance arts is something that has long been a part of ballet’s immersive experience. “Ballet has, in my opinion, historically sought to produce a
synthesis between the visual arts and performance art. Off the Wall & Onto the Stage is perhaps a more direct fusion of the two, but all ballets rely upon visual art in the form of backdrops to convey the story,” explained Starrett. “I certainly feel that there is more opportunity to incorporate the visual with performance art and it is something South Carolina Ballet continues to invest in. For instance, we have just recently commissioned new backdrops for our Nutcracker production which invoke a Southern ambiance allowing a more familiar and evocative experience for our audiences.”
A celebration of the natural beauty, complexity, history and diversity of the South, Off the Wall & Onto the Stage invites people of all ages and backgrounds to fall in love with the art of ballet. A poignant, unforgettable portrait of the South, Starrett’s one-of-a-kind ballet is an artistic endeavor sure to stand the test of time.
In this production, each scene uncovers a new depth of storytelling, exploring history, diversity, the Lowcountry’s enchanting natural landscape, relationships, and faith. Audiences witness long, luxurious lines, sensual, tender moments, as in the pas de deux entitled Rendezvous, playful, energetic ensembles, as in Juba, that make you want to get out of your seat and dance, and whimsical, dream-like scenes, as in Sand Dance, that mesmerize ballet-goers with the enchantment of ocean waves.
“I was completely surprised that the project became a personal spiritual journey,” shared Starrett. “Early in the process, I was compelled by the underlying messages of unity, of the wholeness of humanity, and of the importance of shared traditions and experiences
that bind us together, ultimately providing me the opportunity to reorder the messaging that I wanted my artistic body of work to reflect. It marked a turning point in my artistic life and inspired me to include more messages of diversity, community, kindness, and the fellowship of humankind.”
Starrett expressed a hope that everyone who enjoys Off the Wall & Onto the Stage will leave with full hearts, transformed by the power of empathy and diversity. “I would like for everyone to come away from this ballet with the realization that all people matter, and we should celebrate our differences,” he said. “We hope, we love, we struggle, we celebrate, we survive… and occasionally, we allow our spirits to shine and reflect that tiny light within all of us that has the power to inspire.”
Off the Wall & Onto the Stage will certainly return to the stage again in the future, if only because it is so beloved by the local community. “Our patrons tell us that it is the rich imagery and enormous positivity of the ballet that compels them to see it again and again,” described Starrett. “It is one of South Carolina Ballet’s most-loved productions and a tremendous part of my artistic legacy. As long as there continues to be public demand for the ballet, we will continue to present it.”
In the meantime, Starrett encourages readers to attend an upcoming ballet performance, so that you might also be moved by the beauty, inspiration, and enjoyment of ballet.
Learn more by visiting
Written by Joseph M. McSpadden / Photography by John Partipilo
Kevin Gordon does not sound like your average Rock n’ Roller. As far as I know he hasn’t ever destroyed a hotel room or tossed a tv set out of a window and down into the parking lot. If he has groupies, he doesn’t say. For that I am grateful. At 60, Gordon seems, at least at first glance, rather suburban. Married 30 years with two kids - now grown - he is the empty-nester rock and roller. And that ain’t a bad thing.
It ain’t a bad thing because this guit-picker has a Master’s degree in poetry from the Iowa Writers Workshop. (Yes, I know. Almost every Southern writer is an award winner of one sort or another. And yes, with most of them it is all about the past, the past, the past. And they all make the best biscuits your momma ever wished she coulda made. Spare me. Jesting aside, Gordon is a writer’s writer).
Of course, Gordon understands all that, being, as he is, from Monroe, Louisiana, a state with so much culture that it could loan the other forty-nine states some and still have plenty left over for a down-home crawfish boil. While we did not discuss biscuits, we did discuss music and, unnervingly, Gordon is in the here and now. The present. Today.
This may be part of his mutant power. Not only has he, as a singer-songwriter, faced down the Big C, but he also had the nerve, after kicking throat cancer’s butt, to make a new record. And a fine one at that.
rockabilly and a nod to Sun records. Discipline is the order of the day; the playing doesn’t get lost in endless noodling. That restraint in the picking builds the emotional tension of each note so that less is undeniably more.
These ten tracks are tight.
“I’m a bit of a tone freak,” Gordon says. Early recording began in 2021. “We went in and recorded for a few days and let {the songs} sit for a little bit.”
A couple of bouts with covid interrupted tours with the Iguanas and Todd Snider. As a result, he found himself sitting on the sofa watching tv with his wife when he discovered a lump on his neck.
The In Between is Kevin Gordon’s seventh LP and a remarkably smart one. Where lesser artists might have navel-gazed their chemo-fueled journey into the ultimate self-awareness experience, Gordon chose wisely to keep the spotlight off himself and focus on the business of living, loving, and forgiving. Not that Gordon does a disappearing act on this record; he’s present and accounted for. It is just that he does not let his personal trial overshadow the act of creating art even while it informs his work. “I think I resisted. I did not want this disease to become my identity.”
The first thing that grabs you about this album is the guitar tone. Gritty, edgy, with a bit of twang in just the right places, seasoned with a dash of
“Hypochondriac that I am, I freaked out. I know that is where your lymph nodes are. By late May we had scheduled another recording session and that is when I got the word that I had throat cancer.” Gordon had not experienced symptoms of any kind, no pain to speak of. Just a lump. “Just knowing that you have a new friend called cancer changes everything.”
Fortunately for Gordon he had a type of cancer that had a ninety percent cure rate. Thirty-five rounds of radiation and four doses of chemo put him on the road to health and he has been cancer free since the autumn of 2022.
“I got a publishing deal that first year I came to Nashville. It was a great experience, learning what all that was about… the business side of things.” But the idea of checking into an office and trying to write a song felt artificial.
“I found out that I wasn’t really cut out for it… that it didn’t produce my best work. Coming out of poetry school, you know, the art is the thing. Or at least you think it is. Art above all else. But in that situation, you are thrown into a commercial environment where what is important isn’t necessarily what is most fascinating but rather, what most people will find entertaining. A different set of values.”
Gordon has been listening to music since he was a kid. His parents would have friends over for a party and there would be plenty of music. “I remember green daquiris in the blender and Jerry Lee Lewis and Ray Charles re-
cords. I remember the country records that Ray did.”
At the mention Chuck Berry Gordon becomes more demonstrative. “He is bedrock for me. I think it is because Chuck was such a great lyricist. I think of him like Whitman… what I call the Long American Line. In Whitman’s day it was all about manifest destiny… or the after effects of that. With Chuck it was all post-industrial revolution. It is rock and roll, it is the sound of trains, all this stuff as he is growing up. When he starts writing songs those grooves make perfect sense. I love his records. I keep going back to them.”
In addition to his music, Gordon has what he refers to as his side hustle. His passion for folk art has turned into a business, one that helped him survive the loss of gigs during the pandemic. He is a survivor in more ways than one. And although he does not come off like a motivational speaker, he does seem genuinely hopeful.
When he writes, Gordon generally has a melody playing in his mind. He builds the song from there. His perspective is outward focused. “I write about other people. I prefer that. I find them more interesting.”
This outward focus is evident on the new album. Gordon writes about his father, a lady named Tammy Cecille, and a man named Marion who was a co-worker with Gordon at a restaurant and sadly, committed suicide. The
song Keeping My Brother down tackles racism from the 1960s to today, from Emmett Till to George Floyd.
Written during Covid, the opening track, Simple Things, is about resilience, and a hope that embraces the memory of better times. Those memories help us hang on in the darkest of moments and give birth to a hope that helps us endure. As the line goes, “I’d give anything to hear you laugh again in the same room that I’m in.”
The simple desire to be in the same room, breath the same air, feel the warmth of another’s presence, fuels the hope that sustains the narrator in isolation. As Gordon sings in the next verse:
Maybe soon I can hold your hand
Drink a beer in a bar
And hear a rock and roll band Hey, I’ve got so much inside I want to tell you when I see you again Once the world is back open wide
Until then I dream of simple things kg.kevingordon.net/
The In Between can be ordered at: kevingordon.bandcamp.com
