Pulse

Driving around his family’s Cecilia farm in a golf cart with his dog, Dakota, at his side, Jon Taul talked about his family, rural influences and country music.

Fields, barns and antique Oliver tractors he helped his grandfather refurbish all contribute to the roots of Taul’s music.

Home educated, Taul spent a lot of his spare time on the farm. His first job, at age 17, was with the family business, Taul Equipment.

OK, I’m not sure how this happened, but my home has become a part-time karaoke bar.

OK, I do know how it happened, but I’m not telling.

OK, I’m telling.

You see, it all began with a karaoke machine. It was one of those portable units that needs to be hooked up to a TV or monitor. I bought it for my other half, Rebecca Ricks, for Christmas about a year and a half ago.

That’s how it starts: you think the karaoke is going to be limited to a whimsical pastime with your sweetie.

The theater of war in the South Pacific is the backdrop for “South Pacific” in a theater in Elizabethtown as Hardin County Playhouse presents their production of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical.

The play opens tonight at Plum Alley Theater in the Historic State Theater Complex.

Co-director and actor Bo Cecil said the “cultural memory” of the era adds to the romantic atmosphere of the musical, which is set on a South Pacific island during World War II.

Remember when you were a kid and the sweet freedom that came when school was out for summer? A time filled with adventure soon followed.

Those were the days when you played outside until dark or until you accidentally buried your Yoda action figure in the flower garden and were too sad to play because he was lost. Maybe that was just me.