THE PORTABLE CREEK

A debut collection of homespun newspaper columns focuses on life in Alabama.

Huffman has written feature columns for various Alabama publications, most notably the Opelika-Auburn News. This compilation presents his previously published work. The volume’s mission statement appears in the preface, where the author describes the book as a “heartfelt tribute to the family and folks who matter a great deal to me.” The columns in the first third of the work recount Huffman’s childhood in the West Alabama town of Gordo, delivering stories about his parents’ divorce, the clan’s obsession with motorcycles, his extended family, and the time his maternal great-great-grandfather fought a bobcat for $50. The middle section of the book shows the author’s range, showcasing content drawn from across Alabama, including the reflections of a World War II glider pilot and a series of columns about a tragic grease trap accident that cost an Auburn 3-year-old her life. Huffman returns to the girl’s story repeatedly, chronicling the community’s efforts to memorialize the child with a pavilion at a local playground and her parents’ support of legislation that would hopefully prevent other families from suffering similar losses in the future. The closing essays in the volume return to Huffman’s personal life, but this time to his recent adventures as a husband and a father of two young sons. A licensed professional counselor, the author always writes with sensitivity when discussing addiction and other difficult topics. His tone is humorous and folksy, but he sometimes crosses the line into sentimentality, including when he writes about the life lessons he learned from his childhood dream of becoming a turtle. In addition, although the nature of a compilation means that some characters and themes are bound to recur, occasionally Huffman’s columns feel overly repetitive. For example, he repeats the same anecdote about his grandfather going to New Orleans and wearing out his shoes on the walk home twice within the span of six pages. Despite some mawkishness and organizational flaws, the author’s genuine “fascination with ordinary people” is clear throughout these heartfelt columns.

A warm, personal tribute to the American South.