Showing Archived Posts

Featherisms

Posted October 6th, 2008 at 8:49 pm (UTC-4)
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The other day I needed an aphorism, a nourishing nugget of wisdom, ideally couched in wry wit. I found some by the usual suspects: In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes, by the brilliant statesman Benjamin Franklin, who slipped apt adages into his yearly Poor Richard’s Almanack. Always […]

Ioway

Posted October 2nd, 2008 at 4:25 pm (UTC-4)
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A while ago I walked down the hall and sprung a word-association test on three colleagues, chosen strictly by whom I ran into first. “I’ll name a U.S. state,” I told them, “and you tell me the first word that pops into your head.” The state was Iowa, and here’s what they blurted out: “Fields.” […]

Almost Heaven

Posted September 29th, 2008 at 5:01 pm (UTC-4)
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Coonskin caps were warm accessories in the cold southern mountains. The raccoon’s tail, hanging down one’s back, might have been a fashion statement. Back when Hector was a pup, as my mother used to say in one of her imponderable expressions, I went spelunking — cave exploring — for the one and only time, somewhere […]

Where the West Begins

Posted September 25th, 2008 at 4:52 pm (UTC-4)
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A family poses before their Custer County, Nebraska, sod house in 1886. A “soddie” was one of the few options on the plains, where trees were scarce. In “The Ballad of East and West,” Rudyard Kipling wrote what may be his most quoted line: “East is East and West is West, and never the twain […]

Bloggin’ in…

Posted September 22nd, 2008 at 8:30 pm (UTC-4)
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Here and now, Ted Landphair, who writes twice-weekly Only in America essays on VOA’s American Life page, begins a blog designed to connect your curiosity about the United States with his experiences, insights and quirks gained from forty years of reporting. World, meet Ted, whom we affectionately call “Mr. America Without Muscles.” This was my […]

Ted Landphair

About

This is a far-ranging exploration of American life by a veteran Voice of America “Americana” reporter and essayist.

Ted writes about the thousands of places he has visited and written about as a broadcaster and book author. Ted Landphair’s America often showcases the work of his wife and traveling companion, renowned American photographer Carol M. Highsmith.

Ted welcomes feedback, questions, and ideas. View Ted’s profile. Watch a video about Ted and Carol by VOA’s Nico Colombant.

Photos by Carol M. Highsmith

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