Author Archives: paul

Most people who aren’t from around here don’t realize how much Mardi Gras matters in my hometown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It surprises them. They think of New Orleans first—and they should. They think of Mobile, which makes a strong and rightful claim as the birthplace of Mardi Gras in America. They think of the MississippiContinue reading “Mardi Gras in the Hub City”

At the end of every year for the past 25+ years, I have listed my top ten dining experiences from the year that just wrapped. This year was a bit of an outlier, as you’ll see when you get to number one. These days I spend about four months a year overseas working with myContinue reading “RSJ’s Top 10 Meals of 2025”

For over three decades, Christmas never really meant a day off. That lesson came early. I was sixteen years old in 1977 when I landed my first tax-paying job at a local radio station. Sunday afternoons were spent sitting in a small booth while the New Orleans Saints played. When the broadcast cut to localContinue reading “Showing Up for Christmas”

Author’s Note: This column started back in 1999. What began as a simple weekly commitment has carried on without missing a single week — not one — no matter where life or work had me at the time. About 1,000 words have gone out each week, and somewhere along the way 15 books were written,Continue reading “The Meaning of Christmas”

Author’s Note: Robert St. John’s Mississippi Christmas hit the shelves a couple of weeks ago (click to purchase). It’s a collection of recipes and stories from the Christmases, the people, and the neighborhood that shaped me— and the ones still unfolding. The piece below didn’t make the final edit, not because it fell short, but becauseContinue reading “The Last Strand of Tinsel”

There are moments in life when you don’t realize you’re stepping into something bigger than yourself. Back in 2009, the folks running the Edwards Street Fellowship Center food pantry called to say they were out of food. Not low. Out. Anyone who’s spent time in a kitchen knows the clock starts ticking the second youContinue reading “Making Mississippi Extra Full This Christmas”

Thanksgiving shifts on you as life goes on. But the earliest memories stay put. Our family used to drive to Brooksville, a little town in east Mississippi where my grandfather grew up. Several of my great-uncles still lived there, and cousins wandered in from all directions. That drive from the Pine Belt toward Noxubee CountyContinue reading “The Heart of Thanksgiving”

There was a time, not long after our daughter was born, when it felt like the whole world could shrink down to a few hundred square feet and still be complete. Standing in that freshly furnished nursery, looking at our tiny newborn sleeping in her crib, I remember thinking that if we moved to aContinue reading “Time Well Spent”

Christmas has a way of showing up early at my house—usually while the pumpkins are still on the porch. We haven’t even made it to Thanksgiving yet, and here I am talking about Christmas. Maybe it’s because I’ll be flying home from working overseas the day before my newest book is released—or maybe it’s becauseContinue reading “A Mississippi Christmas, Early”