About Life in Portsong

If you wander this site for long, you will stumble across the name Portsong and maybe you’ll wonder what it is. Portsong is a little town in Georgia, but you won’t find it on a map. It’s more of an ideal than a place.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to return to the values and community of small town life.

There are both good and bad things about living in a small town. It can be wonderful to be known by everyone in a ten-mile radius, especially when the people are as warm as the climate and willing to lend a hand when needed. Of course, along with the helping hand come two ears that listen for anything juicy to pass along at the local diner where there is always a busybody willing to listen. Before the peach pie is cut, the business of others is sliced, diced and served for free. Ah, the downside of life in a small town – where privacy is sacrificed to the common need for something more. But the slow, porch-swing life of a small town can by idyllic for many. Such places have a way of lulling a visitor into their unhurried rhythm.

Described as a sleepy southern town located halfway between Savannah and heaven, Portsong is just such a place. It boasts a vibrant downtown area, complete with two large retailers, Gentry & Son Grocery and Woodrow’s Five and Dime. In the center of town lies a common green where children play and old men relax under the midday sun with long sleeves and wide-brimmed hats as if they are past the day when heat can affect them. The bustling metropolis of around two thousand citizens is surrounded by a rich farming community. The farm trade is the very reason for the town’s existence – a fact the mayor, Earnest Shambley, would rather deny.

Portsong has a rich tradition of faith, handed down for generations at the Goose Creek Country Church. The preacher, Reverend Josiah Crane predates most of the town’s citizens and is so old that some say he spoke a word at Pentecost. Just like the membership rolls at his church, growth has eluded Portsong for a century. Some would wish it otherwise, but most are happy with the status quo. All in all, it’s a wonderful place to live.  It makes a fine backdrop for the books, Virgil Creech Takes a Swipe at Redemption, Virgil Creech Sings for his Supper, and Virgil Creech Rides a Pig

To learn more about Portsong, you are welcome to a free copy of our little book, A Concise History of Portsong here. Of course, it has only gotten to about 1926 because that’s about where we are stuck. If you are want to hear more about Virgil Creech, Portsong, or anything pertaining to my books, I would like to point you to the category: Stories from about Town.  The posts there are directly related to my fictional world.

Feel free to sign the guest book and let us know you visited. Thanks for stopping by. Have some sweet tea and come again real soon. We’ll leave an open rocker on the front porch for you.

16 thoughts on “About Life in Portsong

  1. If there’s one thing I truly wish I had had as a child, it was growing up in a small town. East Meadow wasn’t huge, but it was typical suburbia. I’ll be back here often.

      1. Mark, I read your “Concise History of Portsong” just now. I enjoyed the storytelling, characters, and mood. You had me confused when I first read your blog: Portsong is completely fictional and you’re not the current mayor…right? You’re just a delightful writer. I’m glad I found you. Cheers!

      2. How kind Michael. I’m glad you enjoyed it! Rate early and often if it’s convenient. No, Portsong is all fiction which makes me the mayor of nothing but words.

  2. Brother Mark, I’m going to put your link on my Blogs I Follow page. Hope to bring more your way for the blessings you have a knack of serving to those that take the time to read your articles. I have read a couple and will definitely be back for more! Blessings to your and yours so abundantly and richly as you continue to serve!!

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