By POOR WILLIAM CLARKSDALE, Mississippi “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” — Luke 12: 25-26 Memories and future worries are not reality—not really. Memories, in the non-corporeal form of past actions influence the present […]
Nuthin’ and Everything
September 6, 2013 Leave a Comment
By Poor William (Clarksdale, Mississippi) Nuthin’ can be something, and nuthin’ can be everything, if one’s everything is nuthin’! Nuthin’ and Everything. Two words appearing to be diametrically opposed—nothing and everything—are not as mutually exclusive as they appear. Seeming to be polar opposites, they actually are quite kin.
A Message from Jason Shelby that may make you shout ‘Alleluia’ involuntarily.
May 6, 2012 1 Comment
By Guest Bohemian Jason Shelby The following is a word for word transcription, with a few edits for clarity, of Rev. Jason Shelby’s homily given on Sunday, April 29, 2012 at the historical St. George’s Episcopal Church in Clarksdale, Mississippi. While listening to his message, I actually shouted out loud, involuntarily, while sitting in my […]
Contritus Williamus Opines: Raindrops Keep Falling on My Caladiums
April 27, 2012 Leave a Comment
By Contritus Williamus Only God could have designed a weak, singular, 2-inch Caladium leaf—recently emerged from bulb status—to break through Poor William’s pobrean soil and red mulch, to stand proudly beneath the garden giants: cordyline, aspidistra and iron maiden, while holding one precious drop of water! Glory to God! If you zoom, you can see […]
Pontificus Minimus Opines: Time for me to stop whining about my life!
April 10, 2012 1 Comment
Time for me to stop whining about my life! How many times have you fallen down? How many times have you gotten up? Watch this video and you’ll get a different perspective on these two questions. PM Nick Vujicic
LEVI WAS BEAUTIFUL – eulogies for a friend – Chef Levi Minyard
February 17, 2012 2 Comments
This week’s edition of the Delta Bohemian is thematic; they often are, but this one is centered on someone Madge, Billy and Corinne loved. His name was LEVI! Chef Levi Minyard, from Oxford, Mississippi, was a fine chef and master chef in-the-making. Levi was the last and final executive chef at Madidi restaurant—Morgan Freeman’s restaurant […]
The More I Get to Know Me, the Less I Think of Me
February 9, 2012 1 Comment
By Poor William and Pontificus Minimus, together, in harmony It’s been a reflective couple of weeks for the lads; much has transpired, much has been learned. When exactly did they think they got so smart anyway? They ain’t! What follows is written in the first-person singular. The lads were strangely of one accord, and they […]
Adoring A Mississippi Delta Sunset
February 7, 2012 3 Comments
Chilly Billy adoring a Mississippi Delta Sunset while traveling down historic Highway 49 south from the Clarksdale Crossroads—juncture of Highways 49 & 61—Pontificus Minimus was heading on assignment for Legends Magazine to Greenwood, Mississippi to attend the Viking Cooking School’s special Friday night class based on recipes from the hit blockbuster movie, The Help. The […]
Between Two Thieves
January 26, 2012 Leave a Comment
Pontificus Minimus Opines “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” — Matthew 6:34 What does it mean to live in the present? Is the present where we should live? And what’s up with the two thieves bit? Magical Madge, Pontificus’s fine wife […]
The Manning Family Visits The Delta Bohemians
January 20, 2012 1 Comment
Pontificus Minimus Opines Wait! Stop! This really is about the Manning family visiting Pontificus and Magical Madge? Well, yeah! The Bill Manning family! Native Clarksdalian Bill Manning graduated with Pontificus Minimus and Mr. Lil John in 1978. Bill headed to the Air Force Academy for a splendid career as an Air Force pilot, before going […]
Dealing with Self
December 9, 2011 2 Comments
Pontificus Minimus Opines Feeling whimsical and blue Find something to do Worried about self Put it on a shelf Think of those without Stop the whine and pout Formulate a plan Lend a helping hand Come across a need Fill it quickly indeed For those of us who are among the world’s fortunate, let’s recognize […]
Simple Graces
November 16, 2011 1 Comment
5/28/09 – Pontificus Minimus Opines Simple Graces Simple Words Healing Power Phoenix Birds Ashes Risen Heart’s Healed
Jonah, Pontificus and the Lord go ‘Round and ‘Round
October 27, 2011 7 Comments
By Pontificus Minimus What would make the 8th century B.C. minor prophet Jonah angry enough to want to die? What can Christians learn from Jonah’s human, though honest actions? How is Jonah like Pontificus Minimus? The word of the Lord had come to Jonah telling him to “Go to the great city of Nineveh and […]
Repentance Trumps Sorry
October 12, 2011 Leave a Comment
Pontificus Minimus Opines Unless one is what we Southerners call “sorry,” a behavioral term, then most folks do feel sorry when they have done something they should not have. There’s sorry, meaning one ain’t worth killing, which means they are sorry. There’s sorry, meaning one feels regret over something they have likely done. There’s sorry, […]
I Saw the Future
October 6, 2011 1 Comment
Pontificus Minimus Opines Pontificus lacks some serious patience. This makes him a very selfish man. Very being a defining adverb. Oh, he spouts rhetoric about the importance of being others-centered, but he sure does struggle practicing what he so often preaches. Does this hypocrisy make him a hypocrite? Yes and no! Got to give the […]
Frat Brother’s Reminder Humbles the Man Once Known as Chilly Billy
September 29, 2011 3 Comments
By Pontificus Minimus The opining minimalist enjoyed a long overdue meeting with some fraternity brothers last week after the Georgia Bulldogs trounced the beloved Ole Miss Rebels. The serendipitous encounter occurred in The Grove, a hallowed patch of ground located on the University of Mississippi campus. Home to revelers, football-loving alumni, spectacular beauties, tents filled […]
Bad Information
September 21, 2011 1 Comment
By Pontificus Minimus “The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.” — Lamentations 2:14. STATEMENT: Bad information can lead to distress, destruction, and dismay as surely as a tornado can uproot a thriving city. […]
A Few Thoughts On Why “Christian” Has Become A Pejorative
September 21, 2011 14 Comments
Pontificus Minimus Opines Ole Pontificus is not chunking big stones here; he is merely pontificating with his fingers on the keyboard. He is bad about that! Pontificus is a Christian, albeit a compromised one, who is seldom proud of his behavior. Why do so many Christians and non-Christians find the term “Christian” to be a […]
Storms, Songs, and Freedom
September 15, 2011 1 Comment
PONTIFICUS MINIMUS OPINES “Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?” — Rose Kennedy Whatever happened to “mind your own business?” Why are you telling me what to do? Why does the length of my hair Even matter to you?
The Delta Bohemian: Year-end Review: What We Did & Where We Are Headed
The Delta Bohemian (DB) turned one-year old recently! The “brainless child” of Billy and Madge Marley Howell–Poor William and Magical Madge–the DB was established as an organic expression of how the two see and experience the Mississippi Delta and Clarksdale, Mississippi. What is The Delta Bohemian? We consider it a zany, quirky, off-the-wall, always spontaneous, […]