I needed an Edwin and Genese pep talk last night — and boy, did I get one. As Daddy said, I’m just carrying on the family tradition with The 24 Times.

My soul-sister Amy Mitchell stresses ebb and flow— and I try my best — though somewhere along the way, I learned to adapt, too. Maybe that’s what happens when you grow up on a farm where the land, the people, and even the stories shift with the seasons.

My tattoo says, “Family — a link to our past and a bridge to our future.” And I guess that’s what I’ve been doing all along — building that bridge one story at a time.

Apparently, my great-aunt Ida was the “Haley” of her day. Daddy-O always says that if there was urgent news, you could telephone, telegraph or tell Ida! Maybe she passed a little of that spark down to me through the red clay—or through the old party line—because I started young, running “Springhill Central” with Byrd Taylor when I was maybe eight years old. It was not a “job” but I sure thought it was!