Mark Ballard
Confronting unpleasant situations head-on
Have you ever gone somewhere you really didn’t want to go? Have you ever been tense and on guard when you’re in certain peoples’ company? Have you ever pretended everything was OK when it really wasn’t? Have you kept your true feelings hidden just to keep peace and harmony?
Mark Ballard
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MARK BALLARD VIDEO
Froggy Fun
Mark Ballard leapfrogs to new heights with his cupcake "tadpole." You'll be "ribbeted" watching how he gets "froggy" with it. Video by Liz Fabian.
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MARK BALLARD
BALLARD: Remembering my mother on Mother’s Day
The pale blue suit complete with a cap was made out of the finest linen and looked so tiny I couldn’t even imagine it fitting anything larger than a small doll. Mother had purchased it for my son, Blake, to wear home from the hospital. She was thrilled she had found the perfect coming-home...
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MARK BALLARD
Creative Thinking: There’s joy in losing perfection
At the time, I had never driven a new car before -- let alone owned one. In fact, my first car was a used late 1960s blue Chevy Nova. It most certainly was not new and had many previous owners. In fact, my sister had been one of them. She had driven it for a year or so before I got behind the wheel...
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MARK BALLARD
An opinion is not a license to injure
“Mother, why do some people like some things and others like something completely different?” I asked this of my mother repeatedly over the years. Her answer was always a simple yet wise one.
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MARK BALLARD
Creative Thinking: Steps to fight Alzheimer’s disease
Walking up the steps to our back door, we could hear the pitter-patter sound that clicking canine toenails make when they come in direct contact with a limestone floor. They became louder and more erratic as my wife, Debra, fumbled for the right key to unlock the door. It’s a very familiar...
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MARK BALLARD
Mark Ballard: Engaging our Plan B
The entire kitchen was filled with the intoxicating aroma that magically escapes from the oven as a pound cake slowly bakes. All of us from the South are very familiar with the smell. It’s nestled somewhere between pure joy and heaven.
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MARK BALLARD
Seeing life from a distance lends perspective
Recently, I have come upon paintings I created a while ago. Surrounded by their frames, they hang proudly against walls in homes and businesses. One in particular at the home of a friend made me stop to really absorb it. So much time had passed since I’d finished the painting that it took...
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MARK BALLARD
Creative Thinking: Dogwood a reminder of Daddy
The clear blue color of the sky caught my eye as I glanced out of our breakfast room window. I marveled at the fact there was not even a trace of a fluffy white cloud in the sky. Considering the few days before that were filled with wind, dark clouds and rain, it was certainly a welcome sight. As...
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MARK BALLARD
Creative Thinking: Funerals bring out the best in Southern food
There’s one thing about south Georgia I can say for sure: People in that neck of the woods sure know how to cook. Many of the recipes that have found their way into my cookbooks came to me via the country roads of the Southern counties of Georgia. All kinds of happiness is stirred up in those...
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MARK BALLARD VIDEO
Fashion in Bloom-CBF 2013
Mark Ballard takes us backstage at the 2013 Cherry Blossom Fashion Show featuring couture gowns of the late Neva Langley Fickling, Miss America 1953. Video by Liz Fabian.
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