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The High-Speed Chase and the Fancy Food Fiasco: A Small-Town Take on Modern Chaos

By Mark Morgan www.markmorganbooks.com I’ve been watching the news lately, and I reckon if city folks ever slowed down long enough to blink, they’d think the world had ended. Between high-speed chases on TV, helicopters buzzing like mad hornets, and traffic acting like it’s late for its own funeral, it feels like common sense took a wrong turn somewhere outside town. And that’s when this fancy food fiasco really got started. Every night there’s a “high-speed chase” on TV. Sir

Mark Morgan

4 days ago3 min read

“When Common Sense Didn’t Need Batteries (or a QR Code)”

By Mark Morgan You can find my Children’s books at: WWW. MARKMORGANBOOKS.COM I ain’t mad at progress.I just wish it wouldn’t sneak up on me sideways. Seems like everywhere I turn these days, somethin’s blinkin’, beepin’, scannin’, or askin’ me if I’m sure I want to continue. Back when I was growin’ up, the only thing that ever asked you that question was your mama — and she already knew the answer. Take the grocery store. I walked in the other day just needin’ a sack of corn

Mark Morgan

Jan 93 min read

New Year’s Resolutions and Other Things We Swear By

By Mark Morgan Every New Year, folks get real serious right about midnight — when the fireworks fade, the snacks run low, and somebody’s already fixing’ to regret something. That’s when the resolutions show up, polished up like new wagon wheels… right before they hit the first stump and wobble clear into February. Some people look for fireworks at midnight. We just looked for trouble, and nine times outta ten, trouble had already found us — usually yonder near where somebody

Mark Morgan

Jan 22 min read

“We Ain’t Got Much… But We Had a Whole Lot”

Getting ready for Christmas back then didn’t start with shopping carts or credit cards.It started with a Sears catalog laid out on the floor like sacred scripture. We circled things with a pen like we were making deals with Santa himself — knowing full well he might glance at it, nod politely, and move on. You learned early not to circle too confident. Mama put up a few decorations — not enough to impress company, but enough to make the house feel like Christmas had moved

Mark Morgan

Dec 26, 20252 min read

Dragging Main in the Dead of Winter

By Mark Morgan Check out my books at: markmorganbooks.com Back when dragging Main was the closest thing we had to a Friday-night luxury cruise, we thought nothing in this world could slow us down. But winter in Waldron had a way of humbling even the toughest kid with a fresh tank of gas and a loud exhaust. Summer dragging? That was easy.Windows down, elbows out, yelling across traffic at friends we’d already seen twice that day. Main Street was our kingdom. But winter? Winte

Mark Morgan

Dec 19, 20254 min read

“Winter, When We Worked Harder Preparing Than It Ever Snowed”

By Mark Morgan Reed more Stories at. Markmorganbooks.com Winter in a small town don’t just slip in quiet-like. No sir. It sends warnings , the way your aunt used to holler, “Y’all better straighten up — company’s comin’!" Around here, it starts with somebody at the gas pump mumbling, “Feels like snow’s a-brewin’.” And that one sentence hits the town harder than caffeine in a Baptist potluck. Within ten minutes, every momma in Scott County is at Buddy Grays and Piggley Wiggly

Mark Morgan

Dec 15, 20252 min read

“Real Country (and Walking the Straight and Narrow… Sideways)”By Mark Morgan

Markmorganbooks.com Back when hard work started before daylight and ended whenever the last tool got put back—usually somewhere it didn’t belong—we lived what folks these days like to call “real country.” We didn’t talk about being country.We just were. We read the Good Book when we could, and we tried to walk the straight and narrow… but Lord knows we walked it sideways , tripped over it twice, and sometimes backed right over it in a pickup with mud tires. And yeah, we

Mark Morgan

Dec 5, 20252 min read

🦃 “Thanksgiving, Back When Chaos Was Part of the Recipe”

*By Mark Morgan www.markmorganbooks.com Back in the late ’70s and all through the big-haired ’80s, Thanksgiving in a small country town like ours didn’t just happen — it erupted , like a casserole volcano wearing a marshmallow hat. And Lord knows we wouldn’t have had it any other way. You could tell it was Thanksgiving because by 7 a.m., half the town smelled like dressing, and the other half smelled like somebody had burnt the first batch and started over. The whole place

Mark Morgan

Nov 28, 20253 min read

🪶 “Where the Road Gets Dusty and the Heart Gets Full”

By Mark Morgan If you ask a city fella why anybody would choose a small town, they’ll stare at you like you just asked ’em to explain algebra backwards.City folks think happiness comes from tall buildings, loud sirens, and paying fifteen dollars for a cup of coffee so small you need a magnifying glass to find it. But out here in small-town country—where the roads get dusty, the hills get rowdy, and the neighbors know more about your life than your doctor—we’ve always known b

Mark Morgan

Nov 21, 20253 min read

“When a Summer Day Could Last a Whole Week”

By Mark Morgan Back when summers moved slower than a three-legged turtle in a tar pit, And we liked it that way. Summers stretched out long and syrupy, sweet as the sun tea steeping on the back porch, and twice as strong. Kids didn’t stay inside back then — that was considered a medical emergency. We were outside from breakfast till dark, screamin’, hollerin’, riding bikes with no helmets, and playing tag like our lives had warranties. A whole neighborhood of kids could be lo

Mark Morgan

Nov 17, 20253 min read

🪶 “Back When Safety Was Just a Suggestion”

By Mark Morgan There was a time — and some of y’all remember because you’ve still got the scars — when safety wasn’t a rule, it was more of a polite idea your mother mentioned once and then forgot about. Back then, if something didn’t have sharp metal, fire, electricity, or wheels attached, it wasn’t considered a toy — it was called decoration. We didn’t grow up wearing helmets. The only people wearing helmets were football players and fellas who worked on power lines — and

Mark Morgan

Nov 6, 20253 min read

📖 “Back When Green Stamps Were Gold”

By Mark Morgan Back in the 1980s, when hair was big and patience was bigger, we didn’t scroll—we waited. If you wanted instant answers, you asked your neighbor, not your phone. And nine times out of ten, your neighbor was wrong—but at least they said it with confidence. If life moved any slower, we’d have needed jumper cables to start Monday. Still, we were happy. As my uncle used to say, “The slower you live, the longer your coffee stays hot.” We had S&H Green Stamps , the

Mark Morgan

Oct 31, 20253 min read

🎱 Friday Nights and Pepperoni Lights

By Mark Morgan If you grew up in Waldron around 1979 or 1980, you already know where the Pizza Barn sat — right there on the bypass, glowing like a neon miracle in the Arkansas night. One side of the building smelled like heaven’s kitchen — hot pizza, toasted subs, and laughter. The other side? A full-blown arcade and pool hall, where teenage dreams went to live fast, die broke, and respawn with another quarter. It was a split personality kind of place: pizza on the right, pi

Mark Morgan

Oct 23, 20253 min read

📰 When a Fill-Up Came with a Side of Friendship

By Mark Morgan Back before gas pumps started talking to us in robotic voices about “insert chip” and “remove card,” there was a time when filling up your tank came with a whole lot more than gasoline. It came with service. The kind that smelled faintly of oil, sounded like friendly gossip, and made you feel like your truck just got baptized. You’d pull up to the station, roll down your window, and before you could even say “Regular,” some fella in a starched shirt and a smil

Mark Morgan

Oct 20, 20252 min read

The Town That Still Answers (Even Without the Phone Booth)

By Mark Morgan I grew up where the air smells like pine, diesel, and good intentions — Waldron, Arkansas. It’s the kind of place that...

Mark Morgan

Oct 9, 20254 min read

“Dragging Main: Where Legends, Limeades, and Bad Decisions Were Born”

By Mark Morgan Back in the 1980s, Waldron, Arkansas had one stoplight, Few places to eat, and about three things to do — and two of ‘em...

Mark Morgan

Oct 7, 20253 min read

“The Day I Finally Stopped Asking God ‘Why Me’”(And Started Saying ‘Thank You’ Instead)

By Mark Morgan I was born in Michigan, where winters bite, and people keep their coffee close and their words closer. By ninth grade,...

Mark Morgan

Oct 4, 20252 min read

✨ The Greatest Gift God Ever Gave Us: Our Children

There are many treasures in this life — homes, careers, vacations, and milestones. Yet none of these come close to the greatest treasure...

Mark Morgan

Oct 2, 20252 min read

How to Match Illustrations with Words in Children’s Books

Children’s books are a marriage of words and pictures. The story may begin with text, but it’s the illustrations that bring those words...

Mark Morgan

Sep 26, 20252 min read

7 Clever Hacks for Writing Children’s Books That Kids Actually Love

1. Think Like a Kid (Not an Adult) Kids don’t want lectures. They want adventure, laughter, and wonder. Get down on their level — what...

Mark Morgan

Sep 26, 20251 min read

New Book & Website Launch Post

🎉 BIG NEWS! 🎉
My brand-new children’s book, The Web We Weave, is officially released today — AND I have a brand-new website where you can check it out!

🕸️ The Web We Weave is a delightful, rhyming story about two mischievous little spiders, teamwork, and learning the importance of telling the truth. Bright illustrations, fuzzy fun characters, and a moral that will stick with kids (and grownups) long after the last page.

✨ And now you can find all my books, free coloring books, and even fun kids’ recipes at
👉 www.MarkMorganBooks.com 👈

📚 Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or just love heartfelt children’s stories, you’ll find something special on the site.

✅ Free downloads
✅ Meet the Author
✅ New books coming soon!
✅ Perfect for classrooms, bedtime, and gifts!

Please take a peek, share with friends, and help spread the word. Thank you for supporting independent authors like me! 💛

#NewBookRelease #TheWebWeWeave #ChildrensBooks #MarkMorganBooks #StorytimeMagic #NewWebsiteLaunch #ReadTogether #SupportIndieAuthors