BOOM! COVER PROFILE: Tommy Dismukes
When you meet Tommy Dismukes, you quickly understand why he has been such a steady presence at Huntingdon College and in the Montgomery community for more than three decades. A Lexington, Kentucky native who came south in 1979 with dreams of basketball and the blessing...
Football, Family & Faint Hope for Fall
September is here, and you know what that means: we pretend it’s fall, crank up the football, and pray we don’t pass out walking to the mailbox. As a lifelong Alabamian, I’ve made peace with the fact that our version of autumn is basically summer...
Seasons of Showing Up
If August felt like the warm-up act, September is the main event. Down here in Alabama, we like to pretend fall is in the air—lighting cinnamon candles while the thermometer reads 92°, sipping pumpkin coffee in shorts, and convincing ourselves a crisp breeze is just...
Food For Longevity
In the seaside town of Ikaria, Greece — a place where people routinely live into their 90s and 100s — it’s common to see neighbors chatting over fresh bread, beans simmering on the stove, and vegetables picked that morning from the garden. They aren’t following...
From Bucket List to Booked!
For years, Tom and Linda talked about taking a river cruise through Europe. They’d watch travel shows, collect brochures, and even bookmark itineraries online. But between work, caring for aging parents, and the everyday busyness of life, “someday” never seemed to arrive. Then last September,...
The Joy of Saying NO
On a recent Tuesday, Martha Reynolds sat staring at her calendar. It was barely the second week of September, and already every square was jammed — book club on Monday, a neighbor’s luncheon on Wednesday, babysitting the grandkids on Friday, volunteering at church Saturday morning....
COVER PROFILE: Debbie Lynn
Debbie’s story is one of grit, grace, and grounded purpose. Raised on a 300-acre farm in Pike Road, she spent her childhood immersed in nature, learning independence and imagination that would shape her for life. Horses became a lifelong passion, influencing her values and eventually...
Finding Your Encore Career
You see them everywhere. In supermarkets, in big-box hardware stores, at ballparks. They are the once-retired who have returned to work. Some work from home as consultants or have found employment as insurance salespeople, proofreaders or financial managers. At the top are executives who believed...
Beach Week Burnout
We just got back from a week in Seagrove Beach, smack in the middle of 30A—and I need a nap, a chiropractor, and maybe a silent retreat. As empty nesters, my wife and I had this vision: a sweet beach week with the kids and...
The Menopausal Pot Belly: Why It Happens and How to Fight Back
As women enter midlife, their bodies begin to change in noticeable and often frustrating ways. One of the most common complaints during and after menopause is the sudden development of stubborn belly fat—a soft yet unrelenting pot belly that wasn’t there before. It can feel...