James D. Hogan

Between the Ditches

On July 13, 2026

It happened faster than I thought.

After a long stint of what I can only describe as indifference toward completing driver’s ed classes, Julia suddenly lit a fire under herself, accumulated the requisite number of hours required to finish the online class, and found herself on the driving portion of the schedule. Then, she drove, and within three days’ time, she was holding a certificate declaring her eligible to earn her permit.

Which she did, hours after completing the driving portion of driver’s ed. Kelly let her drive home.

Soccer, vibe coding, and DadStats

By James D. Hogan

On May 26, 2026

In diary

Last summer, Julia and I drove to Bryson City for her first club soccer team practice. At the time, it felt like a huge moment–our daughter was a rising freshman, but in our minds she was still very much a middle schooler. And now, suddenly, I was dropping her off at a field an entire county away so she could go try out for a team with a bunch of high school kids.

Those high school kids looked decidedly older.

My nerves, my word, my nerves. Every sense of athletic inadequacy in my body welled up to see her jog out onto the pitch and start passing the ball around. What on earth are we doing here? I wondered.

Snow Weekend Notes

By James D. Hogan

On February 1, 2026

In diary

This weekend Sylva had an honest-to-goodness snow event. Starting overnight Friday, fluffy snow blew in from a nor’easter that spun to our south and then off the coast. The snow kept up all morning Saturday and well into the afternoon. By the end of the day, we had 6.5 inches in many places.

The entire state got a healthy treat of snow, too. Mom and Dad saw plenty in Taylorsville and Hickory, and Carl and Dianne had a good measure in Statesville.

Helping out matters was a pretty cold bit of air that had been in place all week following last weekend’s ice storm. That one missed us completely, but there were still plenty of covered, frozen streets back in Iredell County, where they didn’t go to school all week.