September 24, 2011

Quick question for you dear readers. Do you remember your 5th grade teacher? Mrs. Eaves taught for decades 10 year old Tallapoosans at the elementary school on Robertson Avenue. Her sister, Mrs. Rambo taught the 6th grade and perhaps had the greatest influence on many of us with her stern but loving way of teaching. 5th grade was the first time we learned about Christopher Columbus and 1492 and sailing the ocean blue. 5th grade was when we learned that the north started the "War of Northern Aggression," as Mrs. Eaves referred to it. None of us had the courage to tell her it was a Confederate who fired the first shot in Charleston harbor. Jeff Foxworthy has been a friend since his days as an up and coming stand-up comedian. His "Blue Collar Comedy Tour" has grossed tens of millions of dollars and his syndicated show "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader" has been a ratings hit that can be seen daily on MyATL channel 36. The folks up at the First United Methodist Church in Bremen are having an "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader" event this evening at 5 p.m. I will be playing the role of quiz master but with no joke about rednecks or any of my friends and relatives that are. It should be fun. Hope you all can come. It benefits the Ferst Foundation that buys books for children. We are fortunate to have an active group in Haralson County involved with this worthwhile venture. We are just a week away from the city-wide yard sale. The yard sale is a great time to stock up on lawn darts, warped Tupper Ware, broken weed trimmers, television sets that haven't worked since "Bonanza" and Officer Don were on the air, and about any junk you can think of. I plan on going through the closet this week and finding some stuff that I haven't worn I worked in radio in Bremen in 1974. The streets will be lined up early with bargain hunters and it should be a great time. Can you remember when you called a regulated utility company and it took about 10 minutes to order telephone service? A T & T also known as "Ma Bell" is in the television cable and wireless Internet business. I spent a full 2 hours recently ordering those two services. I like many folks rely on my cell phone to communicate and see no need in having a home telephone. I can still remember my grandmother's phone number. 574 2295 was the number. She died before the 770 and 678 area codes came along. Can any of you recall when you could dial just the number 4 and then the other 4 numbers to get your party on the line? Can you remember when we had party lines and you could listen in on folk's conversations? Not that I ever listened in on Aunt Freddie's gossip sessions with somebody from church. Last Saturday was a near perfect day. Riding the Harley Road King beckoned me in the early hours and a ride down Providence Church Road seemed to be the thing to do. It had been about 40 years since I rode down to Benefield's store. I remember Providence Church Road was a gravel road when I was a boy. I went in the store and asked for change to buy the Saturday edition of the Anniston Star. Standing at the counter was a high school age young man and his grandmother. I examined the grandmother's face. Where had I seen her before? I asked them about where the road was that would get us over toward Georgia 100? Politely the woman said, turn left and bear to the left and the highway was several miles from Benefield's. I asked her where she was from. She said she spent time for a number of years in Tallapoosa. Her maiden name was Weeks. I told her I remembered an Edna Weeks who was a few years older than my classmates. "I'm her," she said with a grin. I had not seen her since I was in elementary school. She told me she had been married 48 years and loved her rural home in Alabama. Did you watch the Prime-time Emmy Awards last Sunday? I didn't either. The Falcons had my attention in their big win over Mike Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bulldogs got back on the winning track last Saturday. I for one think Coach Mark Richt is doing a remarkable job. Why is it the coach gets blamed for losses and never the credit for the win? National champion Auburn lost to Clemson and the Tide continues to roll. Tech is having a good year under Paul Johnson. For the first time in my life I find myself rooting for the Vols of Tennessee. Reason is Derek Dooley is well on his way in his father's footsteps. Vince Dooley is a first class gentleman and a legendary coach. I am blessed to get to see Coach Dooley at Kennesaw State a few times a week. His office from mine is the distance of the Pea Patch to the tattoo parlor on Head Avenue. He says nice things about people he coached from our area such as the Griffith boys from Buchanan and James Moreen who also was one of "Dooley's Dogs." Bobby "I can't finish the Falcon's season" Petrino brings the Arkansas Razorbacks to Tuscaloosa today in a Western Division of the Southeastern Conference showdown. I mentioned Blake Lively a few weeks back as being Hollywood's "It" girl. Stephen "Sonny" Hughes has been a long time friend of Blake's mother Elaine who grew up just north of Tallapoosa. Sonny brought by a picture of Blake and him at Disneyland when Blake was about 6 or 7. Sonny Hughes grew up on the land where my house is in Tallapoosa. The Hughes Family were wonderful neighbors. Mrs. Dorothy Hughes made the best French fries known to man. Her secret? Peanut oil. By the way, have you tried the new sweet potato fries at Wendy's? Tasty! It was announced a few days ago that Wendy's was changing their hamburger recipe for the first time since 1969. Dave Thomas the founder of Wendy's wrote a book called "Dave's Way." It is a terrific motivational book on rising above the odds and being successful. Every high school student should read it. It could be a life changer.