Category Archives: Weekly Column

CHICAGO— No one would ever accuse me of being a creature of habit. Other than my morning breakfast routine, I have managed to live a life free from getting pigeonholed into repetitive activities. There aren’t too many places I visit on an annual basis. For the past quarter of a century my wife, two kids,Continue reading “My Kind Of Town”

The view from my desk is inspirational. I’ve been in the same office for 27 years. There are no windows, but I have surrounded myself with things that inspire me and things that I love. There are a lot of photos of family all over the room. There are also a lot of photos ofContinue reading “My Top 25 Cookbooks”

QUEENS, NEW YORK— After 62 years, and millions of miles logged, I have learned that travel is about one thing— connection. I am jet-lagged, tired from lack of sleep and sitting up in bed in a dark room in an airport hotel in New York after a flight cancellation wrecked my homeward-bound itinerary. I’ve beenContinue reading “Travel Connections”

LIVERPOOL— I am midway through a 10-day tour of England and Scotland with a group of 26 Americans. All have travelled with me before. For a few of them it’s their seventh trip as my guests. They are a stellar crew and I have become friends with all of them before this current journey started.Continue reading “A True Magical Mystery Tour”

My advice to upcoming graduates: You are a few years away from beginning your professional life, but you are only weeks away from planning for it. The decision you make about your professional life should be the easiest decision you ever make — your career should be about one thing: passion. It’s not about moneyContinue reading “RSJ’s Advice to Upcoming Graduates 2024”

Music has been a constant companion throughout my life. It has accompanied me in times of joy and sorrow and never let me down. My earliest memories are of my bedroom on 22nd Ave in my hometown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I was probably four or five years old. I had a small, cheap, table-mounted open-topContinue reading “If Music Be the Food of Love, Play On”

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, TUSCANY— Naples is the birthplace of pizza. It’s an ancient and historic seaside city that can be a little scary at times these days, but it is Ground Zero for the savory pie the world has come to love. The Neapolitan version has been around Southwestern Italy for more than 500 years. Pizza eventuallyContinue reading “Pizza Ground Zero”

BARBERINO-TAVARNELLE, ITALY— As a kid almost every restaurant in my hometown was independently owned and local. Granted, there weren’t too many full-service restaurants in my hometown back then, but it’s all we knew. It wasn’t until the 1990s that we began to see the influx of chain restaurants as the city expanded westward. We areContinue reading “EAT LOCAL”

PETROGNANO, ITALY— It’s true that there’s no place like home, and I deeply and dearly love my hometown of Hattiesburg and my home state of Mississippi. I could live other places, but I never will. My roots are in South Mississippi. I am a seventh generation citizen of the Pine Belt and I am MississippiContinue reading “Birthplace”