August/September 2026| maconmagazine.com 35
Ivan Allen speaks — and the moment
my Macon friend Diane Lewis opens her
hilarious mouth. I hear it in the
compositions of my musician nephew
Josh Graff . He's the keeper of Daddy's
piano now. It stands in his living room as
a well-worn monument to the lilts and
laments of the ancestors.
In the end, it doesn't matter that my
neighborhood is gone. Home is still —
and will forever be — where the music
is. Unbound by space or time, its
ineff able melody plays on.
*This essay contains adapted excerpts
from "A Priest Walks into a Wa e
House: Stories from a Gritty, Grace-
Filled Life"
*The phrase "we strut like we have oil
wells pumping in our living room" is a
variation on a line from Maya Angelou's
poem "Still I Rise."
To learn more or contact Hannon,
visit laurettahannon.com.
CLOCKWISE FROM
THIS PAGE: A portrait
of the author, time
spent at Georgia Waffl e
Houses, speaking at
TedX Cartersville.
All photos courtesy of
Lauretta Hannon
