Chicago’s suburbs are mourning after 20-year-old Mariana Gómez was killed Monday evening by a stray bullet during a shooting on Fifth Street. She wasn’t looking for trouble—only carrying a résumé to apply for a job. But as gunmen opened fire, Mariana and a nearby shopkeeper were struck down, both losing their lives in the chaos. … Read more
The Parkers had been waiting with joy for the arrival of their second child. Olivia, nine months pregnant, often spent afternoons on the couch with her young son Ethan curled beside her. He would chatter about how he’d teach his baby brother to climb trees, build forts, and share secrets in the backyard. Hope filled … Read more
Four days before the trip we’d saved three years for, my stepson died in a car crash. Lir was fifteen, stubborn and brilliant in flashes, a kid who called me “Dree” and laughed like he meant it. I should’ve stayed. Instead, I packed. “You can stay,” I told my husband. “But I’ve worked too hard … Read more
March 2019 is a date my body still remembers. I’ll be washing dishes or reaching for a sweater and something in me will flinch, the way muscle remembers an old injury. That month took my son from me, and the weeks that followed were made of paperwork and casseroles and rooms that felt too large. … Read more
The Magic of “Islands in the Stream”: Dolly & Kenny’s Timeless Duet Do you remember the first time a song truly made your heart skip a beat? For millions, that song is “Islands in the Stream” by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers — a melody that feels less like a performance and more like a … Read more
If Ben Affleck isn’t one of your top celebrity meme makers, we don’t live in the same world. Ben has become a real internet icon over the years, even though no one can fully explain why he’s so easy to relate to. In a recent interview with GQ, he talked about some of those viral … Read more
Riley Green Makes a Move Riley Green isn’t just climbing the country music charts — he’s also making moves in Nashville’s real estate market. Earlier this year, the “Worst Way” singer listed his Charlotte Park home, and now the property is officially under contract. A Million-Dollar Listing The home hit the market at $1,059,999, represented … Read more
I always figured my grandpa was a simple man—overalls, diesel on his boots, a pocket of loose nails he’d carry around like spare thoughts. He wasn’t one for speeches. He taught by showing: how to set a fence post straight, how to read a sky before a storm, how to save what can be saved … Read more
Alan Jackson didn’t yell, complain, or post online — he just stood up and left. The 2016 CMA Awards were marketed as a celebration of fifty years of country music, but halfway through the night it became clear the show had other plans. Yes, there were powerful moments: Alan joining Reba, Charley Pride, Charlie Daniels, … Read more
My dad handed me a sealed envelope when I was a kid and said he trusted me with it. No drama, no instructions—just, “Keep this safe.” Every so often over the next twenty years, he’d ask, “You still got it?” I’d nod, or pull it from whatever hiding place it lived in that year—under a … Read more