By Poor William (Clarksdale, Mississippi) As a late-afternoon field rider, I now realize why my father, Roundman, used to ramble tortoise-like down the middle of turn rows checking crops and nervously biting worn fingernails during summer, searching for non-existent rain clouds. I can still smell tobacco, newsprint, and mounds of rotting cottonseed smoldering with moisture […]
The Parting Glass
April 27, 2013 Leave a Comment
By POOR WILLIAM (Clarksdale, Mississippi) VIDEO OF AUDIO RECORDING IN POST Oh, how the Irish can combine sorrow and mirth all in one haunting, hair-raising tune. And, oh, how #2 daughter, Bethany, can make her old man cry when he hears her croon. The audio recording of Parting Glass appeared on my desktop computer two […]
Mississippi Delta Dichotomies
April 9, 2013 2 Comments
Extremes searching for Synthesis By POOR WILLIAM (Clarksdale, Mississippi) DOCUMENTED CLARKSDALE MUSIC VIDEO The Mississippi Delta is all about discrete entities rubbin’ against each other symbiotically in a search for synthesis, peace and order. Iron sharpening iron! We are black, we are white, we are rich, we are poor; we embody in one geographical/cultural place extreme […]
STOP THE WORLD – Poor William is Overstimulated
April 7, 2013 Leave a Comment
Poor William Wants to Get Off: He is Rather Over-Stimulated! By POOR WILLIAM (Clarksdale, Mississippi) VIDEO and PHOTOS What is he talking about now? Stop the world he wants to get off? Hey man, he can check out any time! This ain’ the Hotel California! “Stop the world I want to get off” means I […]
Displaced Deltan Falls in Love with Hill Country Blues. It happens!
April 7, 2013 Leave a Comment
By POOR WILLIAM, a tone-deaf blues-aficionado (Clarksdale, Mississippi) VIDEO and PHOTOS Familiar tale? “Hey man, we didn’t appreciate what was in our own backyard; now we get it!” Could be a statement made by thousands of folks recognizing later in life what was inherent at the genesis. For Poor William, it was the blues! I […]
Clarksdale is Smoking …
April 7, 2013 6 Comments
A Whim by POOR WILLIAM, a reformed smoker and libertarian (Clarksdale, Mississippi) Smoke! What you gonna do with it? Put it out? Fire it up? Run from it like the plague? Grin and bear it? Or stay at home? All good questions! The choice is yours! I am a reformed smoker; quit almost five years […]
REDS BLUES CLUB – Torches, Cold Beer and Blues
April 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
A Whim by POOR WILLIAM, a beer drinker, blues lover and fellow in need of a torch (Clarksdale, Mississippi) “Particularly enjoyed Red’s, any bar where the barman requires a torch to find the booze is a good spot!” — Tom and Laura, London PHOTO SLIDESHOW Clark House Residential Inn, where Poor William serves as […]
In Darkness Turns the Worm – A Whim by Poor William
April 1, 2013 Leave a Comment
By POOR WILLIAM (Clarksdale, Mississippi) Poor William heard a guest speaker in Bible College talk about “treasures in the darkness!” Twas something he had never thought about. Well, 25 years later and a whole lot of time spent in darkness, the dissolute lad might have just started understanding what the itinerant meant. Darkness is necessary […]
SONS OF BOANERGES – An Easter Whim
March 31, 2013 Leave a Comment
By Poor William (Clarksdale, Mississippi) James and John, disciples who were often present with Jesus during seminal Gospel events, were nicknamed by Jesus the Sons of Boanerges — SONS OF THUNDER! John, the disciple “Jesus loved,” was from rough fisherman stock and though he had an incredibly intimate relationship with Jesus, he was not timorous. […]
A Glimpse Into Goodness and Strength
March 30, 2013 8 Comments
Watch this video of Bethany singing “Ho Hey” [youtube]http://youtu.be/VA7AhUKvr94[/youtube] A Cathartic Whim by Poor William, a Proud Papa, Upon First Hearing His Daughter Croon By POOR WILLIAM I got my first, modern-day glimpse into the heart of No. 2 daughter, Bethany Christiana Howell, when she posted on Facebook a cover of her singing a song […]
Buddha and Bubba: Two Peas in a Complicated Pod
January 30, 2013 4 Comments
By Poor William, a.k.a. The Pobreian (Clarksdale, Mississippi) VIDEO IN POST – A firm believer in the effectiveness of one living a righteous life, if he or she will adhere to the tenets of Judeo-Christian precepts and principles, I am not in the least uncomfortable with some of the practical wisdom found in some of […]
TALE OF A FAT BOY IN THE LAND DOWN UNDER: A Different Sense of Economy
September 26, 2012 Leave a Comment
Ballarat, Australia – Poor William, he ain’ dead yet, and his wife of mythical proportions, Magical Madge, recently were fortunate enough to have been in ‘A Land Down Under, where women glow and men plunder,’ and such stuff… ‘Can you hear the thunder?’ Men At Work started it! Anyway… A cocktail party was being held […]
Poor William’s Whims: Why I Like Being an Innkeeper in Clarksdale, Mississippi
March 29, 2012 3 Comments
Why I Like Being an Innkeeper in Clarksdale, Mississippi The pen of Poor William has been silent for a few weeks, the result of having a full house nightly at the Clark House Residential Inn located in downtown Clarksdaleand due to his much needed self-reflection, which has made him acutely aware of areas in […]
Mr. Davis: Work, Home, and Church—It’ll Keep You Out of Trouble
March 15, 2012 Leave a Comment
By POOR WILLIAM CLARKSDALE, MS (www.deltabohemian.com) – Poor William finally, finally, did something he said he was going to do and when he said he was going to do it! Make way you unfaithful naysayers; the miraculous has occurred! At 51 years-of-age, the portly Opiner has scored a homerun in the have-finally-done category. A giant […]
Radioland: Pork Fat in Clarksdale – Need I say more?
March 7, 2012 1 Comment
Radioland: Pork Fat in Clarksdale Need I say more? There is a neighborhood grocery located on the corner of Sunflower Ave. and State Street in Clarksdale, Mississippi, which sells the hell out of “meat!” What kind of meat? Not sure! The meat is likely inspected, tasty and no doubt a great deal. Poor William […]
All That Glitters – A Marriage Proposal at Madidi with Robert Plant
March 5, 2012 Leave a Comment
By Poor William Email: [email protected] The following Poor William’s Whim article was originally published in the Clarksdale Press Register on December 2, 2009. Used by permission. CLARKSDALE, MS (deltabohemian.com) – “You go and I come wit you little babe, you go and I come wit you little babe, you go and I come wit you, […]
Brief Thoughts After a Recent “Blues Show” at Da White House – Red, White and Blues
March 3, 2012 3 Comments
Brief Thoughts After a Recent “Blues Show” at Da White House Red, White and Blues By Poor William “The blues continue to draw a crowd, because this music speaks to something universal. No one goes through life without both joy and pain. (The blues) teaches us that when we find ourselves at a crossroads, […]
Original Clarksdale Hospital in 1923 had a FIRST and her name is Ellen Tabor Gingsberg
March 2, 2012 2 Comments
Clarksdale, Mississippi Ellen Tabor Gingsberg of Dallas was in town for her sister Blanche Tabor Long’s funeral during the first week of February 2012. Ellen and Blanche’s son, Malcolm—a childhood friend of Poor William’s—and his girlfriend Emilie were staying at the Clark House Residential Inn during the time of the funeral. The lovely, sharp-as-a-tack, almost 90-year-old […]
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 […]
Radioland: Sensitive About Being Sensitive
January 5, 2012 1 Comment
Radioland: Sensitive About Being Sensitive By Poor William VIDEOS in post. Poor William is sensitive! That is an indisputable fact and a metaphysical certitude. He is quite manly–of this he is certain. The opining lad has facial hair except where he has pulled it out during stressful moments. He drinks scotch with just a […]
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