RAZOR Nashville - Season One - Issue One - October 2013

RAZOR NASHVILLE

IN THIS ISSUE STORME WARREN A WOMAN AND (BASEBALL) DIAMONDS THE OLD FRANKLIN JAIL REBORN THE BEAU RIVAGE RESORT MAYOR KARL DEAN ROBERT HICKS SHANNON MILLION THE NEW BMW M6 GUY GUYDE AND MUCH MORE PREMIERE ISSUE OCTOBER 2013 RAZORNASHVILLE.COM

e i n n o C ritton B A NEW SON A HIT TV SERIES AN EMMY NOMINATION THE NASHVILLE STAR HAS IT ALL

1

Why do I need to do a self exam?

You need to do a self-exam because you can notice subtle changes before your practicioner would notice them. Even in the age of advanced technology such as mammography, 30 to 40 percent of issues are still found by a self exam. I recommend not doing your self exam too often or you won’t notice subtle changes. Every three to six weeks is a good target.

2

Each month Williamson Medical Center’s boardcertified physicians will provide answers to your questions on a variety of health-related topics. Let us know what you want to know and we will bring our experts to you. October is Breast Health Awareness Month, so we solicited your questions via Facebook about all things related to breast health. Bernie Burgess, M.D., a board-certified surgeon and member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, thought your questions were good ones! The Breast Health Center at WMC has recently been named a Center of Excellence by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. Something anyone who has come through our doors already knew, but it never hurts to hear it from the big guys. WMC can provide you with the same level of care for any and all breast issues as a named center, just with a bit more personal touch.

For more information about our breast health center or Dr. Burgess, visit www.williamsonmedical.org or call 615.435.6733.

How often should women get mammograms?

In the United States, the American College of Surgeons still recommends yearly mammograms beginning at age 40.

But if you have a significant family history or a first degree relative that developed breast cancer, you operate under a different set of guidelines. If your first degree relative contracted breast cancer at a young age, then you need to start having mammograms at a younger age, for example.

3

Am I at risk for breast cancer if I don’t have a family history?

Every woman is at risk. Family history is a risk factor, however most cancers are still sporadic. Family history is a risk factor just like not having kids, being older, being obese, or being on estrogen therapy are all risk factors. One in 8 women will develop breast cancer. If you are a woman, you are at risk.

4

Do benign lesions ever turn into cancer?

Rarely. I can’t say 100 percent of the time they don’t turn into cancer, but it’s close to 100 percent.

5

Do men need to worry about breast cancer?

Breast cancer in men is so rare its 1 percent of all breast cancers. Breast cancer in men will most often present itself as a mass on one side vs. the other. It’s very important you get that checked out by a mammogram and a surgeon.

*SEND US YOUR QUESTIONS FOR NEXT MONTH'S TOPIC: PROSTATE HEALTH

INFO@WMED.ORG

?

6

I have heard that thermography is much better and safer than mammography. What are your thoughts?

Thermography is not considered a substitute for mammography. It isn’t as good of a screening tool. It is sometimes used along with mammography, but it isn’t as sensitive or as specific to mammography when it comes to showing the appropriate things.

7

In the wake of actress Angelina Jolie making preventative surgery so topical, what are your thoughts?

It depends on your family history and your risk of developing cancer over a period of time.

Angelina Jolie had prophylactic mastectomies because of a significant family history and a positive BRCA test. If you get the BRCA, you have two choices. You can follow up or go radical. She is at an age now where she’s at higher risk of getting it. It’s a personal decision, but it’s not a bad decision if you know you have the gene that lends itself toward you getting breast cancer. You are saying that your life is worth more than your breasts. In some cases that’s a smart decision and in others, it’s a little overboard.

8

Who should take the BRCA test? I’ve heard it’s expensive and possibly not covered by insurance?

Anyone who has significant family history and has different markers that can turn into cancer should consider taking the BRCA test. If you are in that category, it’s a really good idea to take the test because it tells you not only how radical you need to be, but it tells you your children’s risk as well. If you have no family history or significant risk of breast cancer, insurance will not cover the test and it is very expensive. As you age toward your 50s and 60s, if you test positive for the breast cancer gene, your chance of getting breast cancer is greater than 50 percent. That’s when a radical mastectomy might be a good idea. In making a decision, your doctor should involve you and what your personal preference is, rather than saying ‘here is what you need to do.’ Every decision is personal and is based on your peace of mind.

9

If you have fibrocystic breast disease is it a good idea to do preventative breast surgery?

If you have fibrocystic breast disease it is a good idea to be very diligent about your mammograms and ultrasounds. On the physical exam, it is going to be more difficult to tell if something is going on, so it’s very important to be diligent about mammograms and physical screenings by your physician. Doing preventative surgery is a radical move with fibrocystic disease because you aren’t dealing with anything that’s definitely cancerous, it just makes a diagnosis more difficult. It’s not medically necessary to have anything radically done, but if you are going to lay in bed at night and worry about it every night, then it’s something you should consider.

RAZOR NASHVILLE

FEATURES

CONTENTS

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SEASON ONE

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ISSUE ONE

74

She definitely has “IT” Life is grand for the Nashville Star!

by Rob Youngblood

68

OCTOBER 2013

64

JAILHOUSE ROCK

After a life behind bars, a forgotten building gets a fresh start. The Heritage Foundation is resurrecting the Old, Old Franklin Jail.

by René Alexenko Evans

(BASEBALL) DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND

y r o t S r e The Cov CONNIE BRITTON

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80

The common thread between The Milwaukee Brewers, the Black Sox scandal, and a crush on Robin Yount.

by Kate Alger

STORME WARREN

Living on the edge of the storm and loving every minute of it!

by Shari Lacy

THE GETAWAY

The Beach, Biloxi, and The Beau. A surprising excursion to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.

by Rob Youngblood

86

GUY GUYDE

38 / PINK SLIP

What NOT to do if you get fired.

24 / THE LINEUP

People, ideas, details, words, places, information, intelligence, talking points, random tidbits, and whatever else that just might be useful.

44

THE DRIVE

BMW M6 Coupe - The fastest M6 in history.

26

LIFE LESSONS

What has Robert Hicks learned about life? (By the way, that is Jake with Mr. Hicks. Is he actually the”World’s Greatest Dog?”)

RAZOR SHARP

The best dressed men in Nashville. with Sonya Stanley

28

BOW WOW

48

50 / SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

Learn a little about Nashville Mayor Karl Dean.

30 / HOME COOKIN’ What every kitchen needs.

LEADING LADIES

Meet Pin Up Queen Shannon Million

54

34 / MEAT & THREE

Five star to family style, the best food on the best menus, all over town.

Why a good dog will make you a great man.

36

GET SMART

How to pick and carve a pumpkin.

56 / (HIS)STORY

The “Kill ‘Em All Club”. by Rick Warwick

58 / WISE WORDS

by Thomas Edison

The End / LAST CALL The “New” Fashioned from Whiskey Kitchen

60 / GET OUT

Your To Do List for October.

Faces of WESTHAVEN

Every great community is anchored by certain retail and service fixtures; a grocery store, boutique shops, select restaurants, dental offerings, medical services, etc. to fulfill the needs of its residents.

Westhaven is the leading residential development in the Middle Tennessee area, and it is to be expected that an exceptional crew would become part of the already amazing offerings in such a prestigious neighborhood.

Just a few months ago, Integrated Spine & Joint opened its doors to offer just that.

Recognized for his expertise in treating chronic issues, Dr. Brian Grindstaff, a Franklin resident, is bringing his enthusiasm for chiropractic care to West Franklin. He graduated Logan College of Chiropractic (St. Louis, MO) in 1996 and has managed private chiropractic practices since then, including three clinics in Indiana, and has personally delivered more than 100,000 chiropractic adjustments.

Also joining the practice is Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Tori Crook, who received her Nurse Practitioner Degree in acute care from Vanderbilt University. She graduated magna cum laude from Middle Tennessee State University, Lincoln Memorial University and Vanderbilt University. She has also worked as a registered nurse in a multitude of areas including ICU, Surgical Stepdown, Cardiac Cath Lab, and hospice.

Medical and Surgical Doctor, Dr. Jeffrey Hodrick, adds to this already impressive staff. Dr. Hodrick is originally from Shamokin, Pennsylvania and earned a B.S. in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy from Duke University, where he played varsity football (1993-1997) and served as 1997 team captain. He was named ACC All-Academic in both 1996 and 1997, and ACC All-Conference in 1995, 1996, and 1997. In addition to his athletic accolades, Dr. Hodrick received his M.D. from Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and completed his residency at Duke University Medical Center where he received the Duke University Health System Strength, Hope, and Caring Award in 2006. Additionally, Dr. Hodrick completed a Fellowship in Adult Reconstruction at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

To round out this superior team, muscle therapist Paul Jefferson is a 2006 graduate of High-Tech Institute with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Massage Therapy. He has over 500 hours of massage therapy training. Jefferson is a licensed and practicing massage therapist in the state of Tennessee and runs a significant freelance massage business in the Middle Tennessee area.

The variety of specialties within the practice allows for a broad array of care for orthopedic injuries and conditions including fractures, traumas, and sports injuries, as well as torque release, activator, massage therapy, Spinal Decompression, Pettibon Technique, Chiropractic Biophysics, and Upper Cervical Specific pediatric treatments. The practice also offers evaluations for spinal deformities including cervical spine, thoracic spine, and lumbar spine as well as for total hip, knee, and shoulder replacements, sports medicine problems, cast/fracture care and management, and a variety of treatments, therapies, modalities, and ultrasound-guided procedures.

For more information about Integrated Spine & Joint, please visit their website at www.westhavenhealth.com or call to make an appointment at (615) 465-6768.

Learn more about the Westhaven Community at www.WESTHAVENTN.com advertisement

"BE ACTIVE. BE WELL"

IT’S NOT JUST A MOTTO. IT IS THE WAY WE APPROACH EVERY INTERACTION WITH OUR CLIENTS.

BRANDI BINKLEY FITBOSS AND OWNER

PHYSIOFIT

2207 CRESTMOORE ROAD, SUITE 205 IN GREEN HILLS JUST WEST OF HILLSBORO PIKE 615 - 970 - 7460 GETPHYSIOFIT.COM 14 razornashville.com

Fall is More

COLORFUL C OLORFUL at Cheekwood!

Celebrate the changing colors at Cheekwood with a dazzling array of chrysanthemums, activities and events all season long.

Through October 31

c hee he e kwood.or kw ood.or g 6 615 15 .3 5 6 .8000

Programming made possible in part by Tennessee funds from the Horticulture Society of Middle Tennessee

Pump Pumpkins pkins & p Scare ecrows S Scarecrows Pick your favorite pumpkin from our popular patch or spend an afternoon finding the friendly scarecrows hidden around the T urner Seasons Garden.

Turner

Every Saturday!

10:00 am – 2:00 pm T’ivities Family Drop-In ‘AR ‘ART’ivities 10:00 am – 1:00 pm Live Music: Bluegrass in the Herb Garden 10:30 am Garden T Tales ales Storytime

Featured Entertainment October 5, 12:00 pm Harvest Family Concert with The Happy Racers

11:00 am – 1:00 pm Live Music: Piano in the Museum of Art feat. TSU U faculty & students

October 12, 12:00 pm Nashville Public Library Puppet T ruck Truck presents Hansel and Gretel

Guided Museum & Garden T Tours ours

Every Sunday! our 12:00 pm Guided Garden T Tour

October 19, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Extreme Pumpkin Carving Demonstrations October 26, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Canopy Climb Experience

our 1:00 pm Guided Museum T Tour

2:00 pm Drawing Room Concert Series ersity’’ss School of Music University’ feat. Belmont University’s

Full details listed at cheekwood.org.

All programs FREE with paid admission!

OPENING LINES

from the publisher

“We may not be everyone’s cup of tea, which is fine.

We would much rather be your shot of whiskey.”

Those have been the words that I have most often used to describe this magazine over the last few months. And now, as we roll out our premiere issue, I think that we have found one hell of a whiskey to shoot! Welcome to RAZOR Nashville Magazine.

I am extremely proud to present to you our new publication, the only one of its type in Nashville. A magazine based on the life and style of men in Middle Tennessee, but also embracing the great women who know those men (and women who, quite simply, just enjoy reading a good magazine). The thought process, and goal, of RAZOR is simple... provide intelligent insight, ideas, and information for men and for the women in their lives.

There are a lot of great magazines in this city and I feel that we have been putting out one of them for the last three years with SOCIAL. However, I also feel that so many of the offerings on newsstands are very, very similar. Honestly, I have never been a guy who is comfortable being “similar” to everyone else. For better or worse, I have always marched to the beat of a different drummer.

With that said, my staff and I spent months thinking that there had to be something more. Something that we were missing. Something that would be a great, unique product with engaging, thought provoking, witty, and entertaining content. Something fresh and exciting that we could offer readers that they were not getting anywhere else in town. And then it finally hit me. As any life coach/career counselor will tell you, the key to success is to do something you love, something you know, and then let the rest fall into place.

Well, I took a good, long look in the “I’m now past 40 and what is my place in the world” mirror and realized that what I really know, and the job that I am extremely well qualified for, is being a guy. Plain and simple. I am not saying that I am always good at being a guy and, trust me, I certainly don’t have this whole thing down to a science. But I am saying this is what I do, day in and day out, 24/7/365. I am a man, a male human being, a grown up boy who still loves to act like a kid. Basically, I’m just a guy making his way through this thing called life. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

I am a hard working, compassionate, inquisitive, intense, driven, curious about the world guy. I’m a father, a son, a friend. I’m a traveler, activist, journalist, dreamer, athlete, cook, golfer, media/culture/tv junkie. I’m crazy and goofy, stubborn and serious all at the same time. I am a believer that the world can be a better place but I am also a realist who understands that sometimes life is just damn hard. I take my life, my work, and my responsibilities to my son seriously but I rarely take myself seriously.

I have been lucky to have seen a lot of places in my life and to have done a lot of things. I have had great successes and even greater failures. I am not afraid of much other than letting down the people that I love and respect. Bottom line, I am just like most of you. A straight forward, honest, normal guy who is striving to be better... at life, at love, at relationships, at being a dad, a friend, a neighbor, a worker, and a person.

All of my years of living have taught me a lot of things, about a lot of things. From the important, serious, tough, and stressful aspects of the world to the small, mundane, funny, trivial, and sometimes useless knowledge of life. And. all of that is what ultimately brought me to this... RAZOR Magazine.

My plan is to take my life knowledge (and the knowledge of many smart and talented people around me) and roll it all into this magazine. Will it work? Who knows? But we are going to throw it all against the wall and see what sticks! At the very least, we will all come out of this experience/excursion/journey/gamble wiser and better informed. And honestly, that is a pretty good thing to say you have accomplished at the end of the day.

Thanks for indulging me, and my lofty plans, and thanks for reading RAZOR. We won’t always be perfect but, just like in life, we will certainly do our best to get as close to perfect as possible. As a reader, you deserve that effort and both myself and my staff are honored and proud to give you that effort. Now, grab a glass of your favorite whiskey, sit back, and have a look at our first issue!

Rob

Rob Youngblood Publisher | Editor-in-Chief | Creative Director RAZOR Nashville Magazine | rob@razornashville.com

Since taking a good look in the mirror is now accompanied by the ever present “social media selfie”, I decide to get in on the action as I looked into my afore mentioned mirror of life!

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6 1 5 9 T H AV E N U E , N A S H V I L L E , T N 3 7 2 03

I

W W W. K I N G B A B Y S T U D I O.C O M

615.248.4318

RAZOR NASHVILLE

ROB YOUNGBLOOD Publisher - Editor-In-Chief - Creative Director rob@razornashville.com

KATE ALGER Business Director - Senior Editor / kate@razornashville.com LAUREN DEVENS Account Executive / lauren@razornashville.com WENDY GARRETT West Coast Marketing Director / wendy@razornashville.com SHARI LACY Contributing Editor / shari@razornashville.com KAY MAGHAN Travel Consultant / kay@razornashville.com AIMEE MCCRAY Senior Account Executive / aimee@razornashville.com SHERI ONEAL Staff Photographer / sheri@razornashville.com SONYA STANLEY Fashion Correspondent - Photographer / sonya@razornashville.com JANE YOUNGBLOOD Accountant / accounts@razornashville.com EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Brandi Binkley - PhysioFit Nashville Michael Burgdorf, MD, MPH, Music City Plastic Surgery René Alexenko Evans Staci Murphy Rick Warwick - The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County Ashley Wimberley VISIT RAZORNASHVILLE.COM to learn all about our staff and contributers.

CONTACT US RAZOR Nashville Magazine 188 Front Street, Suite 116-106, Franklin, TN 37064 Office - 615.472.8339 General Inquiries - heyman@razornashville.com On The Web - razornashville.com

RAZOR Nashville is free due solely to our wonderful advertising partners. Please support them as they so generously support us! Want to advertise on the pages of RAZOR Nashville? For our current media guide, and for general inquiries, please send us an email at heyman@razornashville.com. You can also visit our website at razornashville.com for more information.

RAZOR Nashville is published by Youngblood Life and Style, Inc. All contents copyright 2013, all rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or part, without the express written consent of the publisher is prohibited. Content and photos, as well as opinions expressed on these pages, do not imply any endorsement or support of any product or person. We are not responsible for, nor will we return, any unsolicited photos, product samples, editorial content, advertisements or manuscripts and we may use any and all material at our sole discretion, printed or otherwise.

“LIKE” us on Facebook - facebook.com/razornashville “FOLLOW”us on Twitter - twitter.com/razornashville

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BE RESPONSIBLE - REAL MEN RECYCLE Please recycle this magazine. Save a tree, save the planet.

e ll i v h s a N r o z a R

Locally Owned and Operated

A UNIQUE, ONE-OF-A-KIND NASHVILLE MAGAZINE

Featuring

INTELLIGENT INSIGHT, IDEAS, AND INFORMATION FOR MEN AND FOR THE WOMEN IN THEIR LIVES

Local Content National Quality Outside The Box Thinking Cutting Edge Design Integrity and Loyalty Great Service Affordable Pricing A Sharp Sense of Humor and A Very Stylish Staff

Proudly Serving the Music City MetroPlex

e! m a N y B Us r o F k s A FIND US ON THE SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS USING THE LATEST IN MODERN TECHNOLOGY! FACEBOOK, TWITTER, PINTEREST, AND ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT RAZORNASHVILLE.COM

- PROUDLY MAKE UP OUR FOUNDATION -

TAKE A LOOK AND SEE WHAT YOU THINK WE THINK YOU WILL GET HOOKED ON

RAZOR NASHVILLE !

Accept No Substitutes / Satisfaction Guaranteed

SPECIAL ORDER

FALL EVENT 20% OFF EXTENDED THRU OCTOBER 27

TAKE 20% OFF SPECIAL ORDER UPHOLSTERY: SELECT FROM 200+ STYLES AND 360+ FABRICS AND LEATHERS. MADE IN THE USA WITH EARTH-FRIENDLY MATERIALS. ALL DELIVERED IN LESS THAN SIX SHORT WEEKS. PLUS 20% OFF TABLES AND STORAGE, RUGS, BED LINENS, LIGHTING & MORE

The Hill Center 4015 Hillsboro Pike Nashville, TN 37215 / 615.460.7665 Mon thru Sat: 10am to 7pm, Sun: 12pm to 5pm / www.mgbwnashville.com Because they are specially priced: love programs and stock options plus are not included.

FACTORY

The

Franklin’s Most Unique Indoor Shopping Experience 230 Franklin Road in Historic Franklin | 615.791.1777 | www.factoryatfranklin.com

Abide Studio - Act Too Players - Advantage Models and Talent - Always In Bloom - Amish Excellence - Annette Charles - Antiques at The Factory Artisan Guitars - Boiler Room Theater - Boxwood Bistro - Burke Coffey Architects - Constant Craving Caterers - Dave's Barber Shop E-1 Entertainment - Essy's Rug Gallery - Franklin Farmers Market - Gulf Pride Seafood - Happy Tales Humane I.S.I. Defensive Driving - J. Chastain Photography - Franklin Brentwood Arts Academy - Jeremy Cowart Photography Journey Church Franklin - Little Cottage Children's Shoppe - Little Cottage Toys - Mark Casserly Architectural Woodworking Music City Dog House - Nature's Art - O'More College of Design - Saffire Restaurant - Second Impressions Clothing SouthBranch Nursery, Inc. - SouthGate Studio & Fine Art - Spring Tree Media - Stonebridge Gallery - The Glass Touch The Stoveworks Restaurant - Third Coast Clay - Times Past & Present - Tuscan Iron Entries - Wedding 101

SHOP-DINE-UNWIND

...not your average guitar shop!

“Where Artistry Meets Craftsmanship�

866-265-5993 | 615-595-2544 | artisanguitars.com

Custom Cabinetry and Furniture www.MarkCasserly.com

Where every bride (and groom) begins!

Every vendor you need.

Every detail you want.

All in one place. wedding101.net 615.791.9771

GUY GUYDE

october ‘13

people, ideas, details, words, places, information, intelligence, talking points, random tidbits, and whatever else that just might be useful

NOW THAT’S A BRIGHT IDEA

Go old-school and re-live the 1870s. Fill your house with the warmth of Bulbrite Antique-Style Edison Bulbs (priced at about $10). Available in 40 and 25-watt options, these vintage style bulbs have an average life of 3,000 hours. The bulbs are purposely clear so you can see the retro element inside.

Check you local hardware store or amazon.com for a huge selection.

Good looks and sensitivity may win you a girlfriend, but when it comes to short-term hookups new research from Penn State University says women dig dominant dudes. Men BE STRONG = GET THE GIRL whose physical appearances and voices were rated highest for fighting ability (when judged by other guys) tended to have more casual sex than men who ranked highest in attractiveness (when judged by women). Specifically, alpha-male traits like a tall, muscular frame and a low voice boosted a man’s odds of landing a one-nighter by 16 to 19 percent, the research shows. We would never tell you to (or endorse) fighting other guys for the best-looking women at the bar, but being a little aggressive increases your odds of successfully snaring a great looking gal. Several studies have also indicated that women, without realizing it, are sexually attracted to men who display dominance by the way they sit, stand, and gesture.

DID YOU KNOW

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is located in what was formerly Nashville’s main post office, a city landmark placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

The Frist has gone to great lengths to preserve the historical integrity of the 1934 Art Deco building, a work of art in itself.

Luckily, there are ways to appear more dominant without raising a fist. For example, the right amount facial hair (a perfect five o’clock shadow), a little time in the weight room, and even a red-colored shirt are among the easy tricks that will optimize your alpha-male persona. And when it comes to picking up women, studies suggest to strike early and not shy away from girls in groups. Which explains why all those eager geeks at the happy hour special always seem to leave with the most gorgeous women in the joint.

JOKES WOMEN LOVE - #387 Men are like government bonds.

They take so long to mature.

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE

This time of year is a sports fanatics dream. Between the World Series, hockey, and football, everybody needs a great roster of places to watch the games.

INFIDELITY

Here are a few RAZOR favorites.

Jonathan’s Grill

Various Locations jonathansgrille.com

No matter how you slice it, it sucks!

We will let you and your shrink / significant other / love guru get into all the Freudian details and explantations but here it is, in simple terms. the seven reasons why men cheat. #7 You’re not getting any #6 Your partner cheated on you

3 Crow Bar

1020-1024 Woodland Street East Nashville 3crowbar.com

Dan McGuinness

Nashville & Cool Springs danmcguinnesspub.com

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium

111 10th Ave South, #310 Nashville beerknurd.com

Tavern Nashville

#5 You need to know you’ve “still got it”

#4 You couldn’t say “no” #3 You are emotionally lonely

#2 You don’t love your partner anymore

#1 It’s a day ending in “Y”.

In other words, women may just be right.

Men are, in fact, pigs.

1904 Broadway mstreetnashville.com

Broadway Brewhouse

Various Locations broadwaybrewhouse.net

Bar Louie

Nashville & Murfreesboro barlouieamerica.com

THE “AGE” OF AN ORIGINAL NASHVILLE MAN

The period in Nashville history between 1820 to 1845 is quite simply known as "The Age of Jackson."

Andrew Jackson, a brash, young local lawyer and public prosecutor, was a formidable figure in the new frontier. He first came to national attention as a hero of the Creek (Native American) War. When he trounced the British army in New Orleans at the end of the War of 1812, he was wildly embraced as a national hero. Jackson served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, and he was eventually elected the seventh president of the United States in 1829. And, of course, you are in close contact with AJ everyday, as his face now graces the $20 bill.

THE EYES HAVE IT

Just because summer is gone that doesn’t mean you don’t need great classes.

We love our jeans and our khakis, so why not get both those looks in a pair of sunglasses? That’s exactly what Tommy Hilfiger did, wrapped washed denim and khaki material around the stems of sunglasses so you can wear your favorite fabrics on your face while blocking the rays. Tommy Hilfiger Wayfarers, $115. Get ‘em at Macy’s in Green Hills and Cool Springs and online at usa.tommy.com.

THE BEST SHOW ON TV THAT YOU’RE NOT WATCHING

Hell On Wheels follows former Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon, a foreman working on the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad, and his mission to hunt down the Union soldiers responsible for his wife's death.

Find it Saturday Nights on AMC at 9/8c.

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GUY GUYDE people

author traveler lover of history owner of the world’s greatest dog

LIFE LESSONS from Robert Hicks

“The worst mistake I have ever made was steering off the path of what I knew I'd been called to do.”

I regret that I didn't move to New York in my post college years. I think the city is a place to be when you are young and poor or old and rich. Since I will never be rich, I missed my chance. I guess I will just have to keep visiting.

If I didn’t live in Leiper’s Fork, I think I would live in New Orleans in the winter and Western North Carolina in the summer.

Looking back on it all, Florida was a magical place to be as a kid. Much of it was still a semi-tropical wilderness. Like so much of our lives, I was too close to it all to truly embrace all we had been given in living there.

I always assumed I would become a lawyer but I really never had any heartfelt passion for it. Thank goodness. I would have been a terrible lawyer. I have little doubt there would be prisons filled with my former clients.

When I was 20 years old, I wish I knew how incredible this life is and how lucky I am to have been given a chance to be part of it all. We spend way too much time when we are young worrying about way too much stuff. Then, one day (it happened for me when I was 44) we (hopefully) wake up and realize this is the most amazing world we have been given to live in. All of a sudden, time is precious and we realize there are way too many good things that we need to do before we check out. Hopefully, this awareness comes to most other folks before they are 44, but then, again, I know many folks that never find it and am just happy to say I have.

I eat out way too much. In an ideal world, I would be cooked for more, but I think I should cook more for myself. I can cook for large groups and enjoy the drama of it all, now and then. I don't have much passion for cooking for myself.

The best meal I’ve ever had was Mediterranean Sea Bass, cooked in a block of salt, then chiseled out, and served.

The restaurant was on the Asian side of the Bosphorus Strait, after a speedboat ride from the docks of Istanbul.

Without a doubt, business relationships are much easier. As much as they demand, they are a “piece of cake” compared to the work and energy involved in a solid and lasting personal relationship.

I have had the good fortune to know some amazing men (and women, for sure). Yet, head and shoulders above them would be my dad. He was a decent, good man who wanted the best for his family, his friends, his community. He often told us that service to our fellowman was the rent we pay to live here To love God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. In times of little or times of plenty, he always perceived that he had been given more. He chose as his life motto, "Multum Quaeretur Ab Eo" - From Him Much Is Required - and then he spent his life living it.

It's going to be pretty hard to say what I have said about my dad and then not say my mom was the greatest woman I have ever known. In saying this, I'm not naming her by default. They were a solid couple with a common vision. Pretty much what I have said about my dad applies to her, too. They had their differences over the years, but they loved each other and pretty much accepted their mutual vision for serving the world around them.

If not the youngest to take the bar in our nation's history, she was one of the youngest to ever take it in the Twentieth Century. Both houses of the Tennessee State Legislature changed her birth date to make her old enough to take the exams. I once asked her if she had found much discrimination as a woman as she moved through the ranks of a pretty male dominated world. She replied, "I really was too busy to notice." It just may have been the secret of her success.

I wish I was better on the Alto Sax. And, I wish I had a better ear for language.

I am a storyteller by nature. I come from storytellers. It comes pretty naturally for me. Like all the rest, I like writing when it works. When I am sitting there trying to figure out what's next, it's not fun. As an added bonus, before I was published I never considered the real enjoyment of meeting folks along the way. In the last eight years, I have met a lifetime worth of folks - writers, publishers, booksellers, and readers. I enjoy passionate people and, to my good fortune, my world is filled with them.

I tire of folks who believe we, as a country, are near our last breath. Whether on the Right or the Left, they prove they have one thing in common; no real understanding of history. Sure, it's been a long time since we have had a president as exceptional as George Washington, but we not only survived the Civil War, we have survived a lot of crappy history before and afterwards. Last year, I became interested in reading about James A. Garfield. It opened me up to reading about the men who ran the country then. Read about those folks and you will be grateful for our times.

When I was a kid, I remember seeing a play by Thornton Wilder called, ''The Skin of Our Teeth.” He wrote it on the eve of World War II and it was the history of mankind and how it is our lot to somehow survive 'by the skin of our teeth.'

Maybe it is time for a revival of the play and all those Tea Party folks should be forced to attend.

Sure, there are real problems and scary things out there, but those who believe that Obama or Bush are all it will take to bring this nation down are clueless about the past. Putin is wrong.

We are exceptional. Not perfect, by a country mile, but still exceptional.

The satisfaction of accomplishment and Jake, The World's Greatest Dog, are the two things I love the most.

Why does my dog have that title? Jake, The World's Greatest Dog's DNA seems somehow to be the perfect mix. He is half Rhodesian Ridgeback mixed with Lab, Golden, Chow, and Pit Bull. Somehow the combination has produced a dog that has never met anyone he doesn't like, whether that someone be human, another dog, cat, squirrel, you-name-it. He believes the world loves him and he is here to reciprocate. He would make a terrible watch dog, would lose in a dog fight and sees no purpose in fetching a ball, but if love matters in this world, he's your dog.

What I want from life is to love and be loved, to know and be known, to understand, to serve, to remember.

The worst mistake a man can make is to not be courageous or to act without honor. To not be faithful to our calling.

What is the best advice I have ever been given? To be faithful. You figure it out.

GUY GUYDE style

GROOMING I cannot stress the importance of grooming, but you don’t have to look overly groomed.

The key is to make your fashion effort look effortless.

ACCESSORIES It’s hard to look bad in time-honored sunglasses like aviator or RayBan styles. Classic frames are called that for a reason, they work and have for decades. The one piece of jewelry a man should wear (except a wedding ring) is a firstrate watch. It is a great way to add some style to your look.

PANTS This fall season they are more tailored, with a slim fit, or classic straight cuts.

SHOES Always the anchor to your wardrobe. This season the old square-toed shoes are out! In are the suede ankle boot, two-toned oxfords, monk straps, leather sneakers, and classic loafers.

CORY WIGAL (left) Age - Old soul, trapped in a 24 year old body / Profession - High School Teacher How he describes his personal style - Diplomatic Hipster His favorite clothing store - UAL Fall piece he cannot wait to put on - A simple hooded sweatshirt over some flannel BRIAN GOURLEY Age - 32 / Profession - Pilot How he describes his personal style - Sophisticated Casual His favorite clothing store - Flip Fall piece he cannot wait to put on - Zegna blazer with a casual shirt and boots Photographed at the Frothy Monkey, 12th Avenue South, September 10th

RAZOR SHARP

THE BEST DRESSED MEN IN NASHVILLE with Sonya Stanley

615.567.5716 musiccityplasticsurgery.com

Coming Soon to Green Hills at 3803 Bedford Avenue

U N P A R A L L E L E D

S U R G E R Y E X P E R I E N C E

P L A S T Michael R. Burgdorf, MD, MPH 4323 Carothers Parkway, Suite 209 A I in Williamson Medical Center N C

MUSIC CITY PLASTIC SURGERY

GUY GUYDE home

HOME COOKIN’

A great cook knows that the right kitchen equipment can mean the difference between fantastic and forgettable. But if you're a cooking rookie, the kitchen aisles, everywhere from Wal-Mart to Williams Sonoma, can cause you to run screaming for the exit. So, in an effort to clear up your cooking confusion, here is the RAZOR guide to the ten things that you must have in your kitchen. And the good news is that they won’t ruin your wallet in the process. The most important thing is to get tools that are multi-purpose and will hold up over time. The basics that can pave the way to your kitchen excellence.

CAST IRON SKILLET

The anchor of every kitchen should be the weight of a cast iron pan. You can use it for sauteeing, roasting, and baking. Unlike non-stick saute pans, cast iron holds its quality with each use instead of scratching or degrading over time. Plus, it's inexpensive, has great heat retention, and, if you care for it well, it'll last you a lifetime of meals.

Just remember to season, or seal, it before use, never use metal tools on its surface to prevent scratching, and never wash it with soap and water.

PEELER

Because, at some point, a recipe is going to require some peeling and a knife just won't do the trick.

DUTCH OVEN

A complete kitchen demands a large cooking pot. Dutch ovens tend to be shorter than traditional soup pots, so they can go in the oven, but they're also big enough for cooking pasta. You can use a Dutch oven to blanch, braise, and boil.

Get either stainless steel (it's more expensive, but sturdier) or an aluminum oven with a five to seven quart capacity, a size that will handle even the biggest batch of chili.

RUBBER CUTTING BOARD

Chopping onions or slicing steak, a basic rubber board offers a sturdy, flat surface that stays stable during use, won’t damage your knives, and is easy to clean. There is no need to go high end here. It’s just a waste of money so, stay away from expensive boards with bells and whistles, like drip gutters or pull-out trays.

GREAT KNIVES

Good, sharp knives are extremely important in any kitchen but skip the overpriced 12-piece knife blocks, with the bonus cheese grater, sharpener, all in one bottle opener, screw driver, and lock picking tool. You just need two, go to, knives.

An eight inch chef's knife and a paring knife.

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COLANDER

You'll need one to drain pasta and rinse fruits and vegetables.

There's no need to clutter your cabinets with a strainer. Just line your colander with cheesecloth or a tea towel if a recipe ever calls for finer straining. Any standard colander will do.

TWEEZERS

Don’t laugh! You'll need a tool to help flip fish or turn tender vegetables as they cook.

Spoons, spatulas, and forks don’t always work. Tweezers give you a lot more control.

Think of them as tongs that won't mangle everything they touch, Look for large 12 inch kitchen tweezers, and don’t use them for your unibrow.

CAKE TESTER

It's a thin piece of metal designed for gauging a cake's internal temperature, but you can also use it to check if cooked vegetables are tender, if your cornbread has turned out fluffy, or if the insides of your frittatas are cooked throughout. You use it like a thermometer but it makes a smaller hole and is more reliable than touching the food. For the perfect way to test the exact internal temperature of meat and seafood, go with a digital meat thermometer.

MIXING BOWLS

A must have, for almost everything. Tossing salads, blending batters, making marinades. A good mixing bowl helps organize and streamline your prep work by offering a stash house as you progress through a recipe. Pick up at least two different sizes, one large and one medium.

RUBBER SPATULA

This is the tool where you don’t need to invest a lot of money. They get beat up because they're used constantly and you will replace them often. You'll use yours to stir sauces, mix stir-fry, scramble eggs, and much much more. Avoid spatulas with wooden handles, which can rot after frequent water exposure.

There you have it. Our “Kitchen Starter Kit” to get you off and running. Unfortunetly however, if you can’t make toast or boil water, no amount of perfect tools will make you ready for the Food Network anytime soon! -RNrazornashville.com 31

ONE NAME. ONE HEALING COMMUNITY. Baptist Hospital IS NOW

Hickman Community Hospital IS NOW

Hospital for Spinal Surgery IS NOW

Middle Tennessee Medical Center IS NOW

Saint Thomas Hospital IS NOW

Everything is changing in healthcare right now and you need a partner you can depend on. A partner who has the strength and stability to care for you through all stages of your life. That’s why Saint Thomas Health is focused on one purpose – to keep the individuals and communities we serve healthy.

With one name and one voice we are creating a community of healing by making it easier to access holistic, reverent care. We are stronger when we all work together.

GUY GUYDE eat

MEAT & THREE

five star to family style, the best food on the best menus, all over town We recently stopped in the legendary Loveless Cafe for lunch and, while you can never go wrong with the obvious (and well known) favorites like fried chicken and country ham, we decided to go outside our normal culinary comfort zone and choose a different meat. If you've never had their smoked boneless pork chops, then you are in for something mighty tasty! They rub the pork loins with a special rub and smoke them with Tennessee hickory wood before slicing, grilling, and topping them with their old-fashioned peach preserves. Pair 'em up with turnip greens, cooked fresh daily for more than five hours, and a side of homemade creamed corn, which just may be the best side on the menu besides of course, the biscuits! A sure fire, can’t miss, classic meat and three. -RN-

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GUY GUYDE life

BOW

T

WHY A GOOD DOG WILL MAKE YOU A GREAT MAN

here’s a very good reason why dogs are known as man’s best friend. Taking on the responsibility of owning a dog is a big step that not only gets you a great companion but also helps make you a better guy, a “top dog” as it were!

It’s not about the size or the breed of the dog in the house, it’s all about the of the responsibility that falls on the dog owner. Co-existing with dogs requires more sacrifice, patience, and maturity than you can imagine. So we give you our RAZOR thoughts on why a dog can ultimately make the man.

Are You Squeamish?

You Won’t Be For Long!

As a dog owner, you just got yourself an ongoing source of excrement, vomit, drool, hair, bugs, urine, and sometimes even blood. If finding a steaming pile of puppy poop in your walk-in closet sets off a gag reflex, then you are seriously going to have to man up! Luckily, as a dog owner, you don’t have a choice. Grab some paper towels, roll up the sleeves, and get down to business cleaning up the business.

Routine, Routine, Routine

On any given Friday, it’s a bachelor’s

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WOW

prerogative to wake up at 8:45 am, punch in at 9:01 am, punch out at 4:59 am, and have the first shot down by 5:17 pm. Then, roll back in at two. or three. or four in the morning, crash on the couch, and sleep like a hungover dead man until 5 pm. Try that with a pooch in the house and you’re going to have some serious urine stains to deal with. Owning a dog isn’t quite the same as basing your entire schedule around your kid’s soccer/baseball/homework routine.

But it does mean that you’re going to have to drag your ass out of bed ten minutes early to stand out in the rain with furry Fido while he finds the perfect spot to mark his territory every morning. And you’ll have to do it again, at least two more times a day, before you pass out at night.

Don’t worry, though. Sucking it up and being responsible when you least want to is worth it. It’s called building character.

Don’t let the stereotypes fool you, dogs are incredibly smart. They can read emotions, learn rules, and even skirt around your authority in surprisingly smart ways.

But the one thing that they can’t do is read your mind. So, in order to teach them right from wrong and good from bad, you’ll have to be consistent in your praise and punishment. Getting dogs up to speed on “sit,” “stay,” “roll over”, and “get your ass off the bed” takes everyday patience with no vacations.

Owning a dog introduces a concept that few single guys have yet to tackle in a real world situation - selflessness. Even when you shared a roof with roommates or frat brothers, everyone was pretty self-sufficient. Your laziness, tardiness, or sloppiness didn’t really hurt anyone but yourself.

But with a dog, it’s different. Now, you

Unless you’ve decided to be a hermit, there are going to be times when you can’t take care of your dog’s needs. Vacations, business trips, retreats, traffic jams whatever it is that keeps you away from your dog, you’re going to need a backup system.

Thus, the social requirements of owning a dog. In order to do it right, you’ve got to

Letting Go of Selfishness

have to think about his comfort, his empty belly, and his insatiable need to go out and chase cats around the block at least once a day. Dog ownership is one of your first opportunities to care about someone other than yourself.

The Virtues of Patience

Asking for Favors

know someone who (A) you can trust and (B) likes you enough to pick up your dog’s crap (literally and figuratively) while you’re out of town. That can be tough. If you’re thinking about getting a dog, then maybe now is a good time to introduce yourself to your neighbors. It’s not going to work out well if you show up the day before your departing flight and say, “Hi, I’m Bob, we’ve never met but I’ve been living next door for eight years. I have very lovable pit bull named Killer. Would you mind walking him twice a day for the next week?” Alternatively, be prepared to fork over obscene amounts for boarding. Which, by the way, is not something that we would ever think of doing or recommending.

Taking Responsibility

So, your gracious neighbor actually agreed to watch your dog for a weekend (not that neighbor, the one on the other side of you).

But while you were away, Killer got major separation anxiety and decided to separate the stuffing from the $5,000 Italian leather couch in your neighbor’s man cave. Dumb dog, right? Dumb neighbor too, for spending that much on a couch and then leaving an animal in there alone, but I digress. Anyway, guess what? It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. Because it’s your dog. You can argue and rationalize all you want, but in the end, the right thing to do is take responsibility for your dog’s actions. It’ll be tough, but it’s your duty as man of the house.

Standing By Your Man (or, in this case, your “man’s best friend”)

Owning a dog isn’t like picking up a DVD. In fact, it’s not even like buying a DVD or even an entire DVD library complete with a new DVD player. If it’s defective, if you don’t like it, or you find out you can’t actually afford it, you can’t just “take it back.” The dog is yours! For better or worse, in sickness and health, for richer or poorer. Of course, you could break down and take it back to the shelter but, NO self respecting man would ever be that lame!

That means you’re going to have to learn to love and care for your new best friend even if he’s a total jerk. When he chews up your autographed baseball collection, when he humps your date’s leg, when he gets that pus-filled sore on his belly that smells like a football locker room, he’s still all yours, forever and always.

That’s fidelity, man. And if you’re faithful to him, he’ll return the favor.

Becoming the Alpha Dog

All of these lessons ultimately come together into one achievement - becoming the alpha dog. It’s what you, as an aspiring male, want to achieve metaphorically in life. Take charge of your career, take charge of your finances, be a leader in your community, and be a stable rock in a relationship. By literally becoming the alpha dog in your own household, you’re already learning the fundamentals that contribute to being the proverbial leader of the pack in life.

Don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and get the tough stuff done. Instill a habit of routine responsibility. Be patient, selfless, and faithful. Build your social connections. Don’t be afraid to ask for favors and don’t hesitate to return them. It ain’t easy being Fred to your own personal Dino but it will make you a better man and the envy of every Barney that you know. -RN-

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GUY GUYDE

G

work

uess what? It’s going to happen.

One day you are going to show up for work, get called into the bosses office, and be told that you and/or your services are no longer needed. You are getting a pink slip my friend. And no, it is not the good kind that your dream girlfriend might pick up at the nearest Victoria's Secret.

Guess what else? It is going to suck! Your ego will be slammed, you will instantly think “Oh, crap, now what?”, and you will feel worthless, scared, and mad all at the same time. But keep a level head and don’t completely freak out. As everyone starts telling you what you need to do to get a new gig, here are a few things that you should not be doing right after getting the old heave ho.

PINK SLIP

WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN YOU GET FIRED

ONE

Don’t burn bridges. Your gut will tell you to be an ass and tell the boss, annoying coworker, or office know-it-all exactly what you think about them. Avoid that temptation. You never know which one of these people you will climb into again on your way back up the corporate ladder. And besides, keep your pride and dignity, you just lost your job, don’t lose your reputation at the same time.

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TWO

Don’t tell the whole world what happened.

It may be tempting to call friends, family, and colleagues to share your story as a way to make you feel better but be cautious.

This is actually the beginning of your job search and, as much as you may be upset or angry, the message you deliver will be hard to change once you cool off and think more clearly. Keep your communication about your dismissal limited to those closest to you, who you can trust. And for the love of all that is holy, DO NOT hit social media to air your grievances. That stuff has a shelf life similar to Twinkies.

THREE

Don’t apply for a new job online immediately. You may be anxious about getting a new paycheck quickly and you will want to submit or post your resume to every job board and social media site to make yourself feel better. But hold on Tiger! Your time may be better spent taking stock of what you liked about your previous job and what kind of challenges/changes you’d like go for in the next one. This is also the perfect time to make some personal choices and maybe even a shift in career direction.

FOUR

Don’t head out of town. Escaping to the beach with a few beers might sound good but stay put. Even if you’ve been given a great severance deal, make sure it is all in order before you book those tickets. Review your deal carefully and maybe even talk to a lawyer. Also, can you really afford a trip to Maui? (See number five, the part about your money).

FIVE

YOU’RE FIRED!

Don’t panic. Yes, you’re shocked and surprised at your new role as part of the U.S. unemployment numbers and the worst case scenario of never working again, or having to flip burgers for a living, is running through your head. But, the best thing to do is keep calm. Start with reviewing your finances. Having a realistic picture of your bank account will give you some time to refine around your search, consider your options, and hopefully reduce some of the anxiety. Also, see if you qualify for unemployment. Don’t be embarrassed, you paid into the system while you worked, so it is okay to get a little help back out of the system now that you may need it.

SIX

Don’t send out resumes to all your contacts. Yes, networking is a highly recommended way to land a new job but it requires some planning first. Building a new resume, tailored to both your targeted jobs and the type of role you’d like to pursue, is the first step. Take the time to create personal marketing materials and plans that best reflect your new goals.

SEVEN

Don’t jump at the first job offer you may get. You may be unemployed, but you are not desperate. Try to not just find a new job but try instead to find the RIGHT job.

Chances are if you end up in a new position that you don’t really like, you will be getting another pink slip sometime very soon! -RN-

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GUY GUYDE fitness

GO

JOE

H

FROM THE RAZOR FITBOSS, BRANDI BINKLEY

ow often have you thought about how a cup or two (or maybe three) of coffee can affect your health? I am a huge proponent of coffee in that I have two cups almost every morning and one cup most afternoons. My business runs on coffee. I typically wonder what’s wrong with people who drink decaf or have tea in the a.m. I mean let’s be real. The weaker the drink, the weaker the (well, you get my point!)

For those of us who do drink coffee, it’s easy to forget how it affects our bodies. Our bodies respond differently based on our levels and consistency of consumption but here are the basics on caffeine and its impact on the body, both with exercise and without.

Caffeine is absorbed by the stomach and intestines, and peak blood levels occur one to two hours after ingestion. Once in the blood stream, caffeine causes a number of responses in the body. It’s stimulant effects increase blood pressure, heart rate, stomach acid production, and it also increases the breakdown of fat stores and fatty acid release into the bloodstream. These effects can last from anywhere from 2-12 hours. However, the effects will decrease within four days of regular use as the body will develop a tolerance to your caffiene intake. For example, although caffeine increases blood pressure and pulse in a first time user, a regular user will have a milder physiological response.

In the fitness and athletic world we put caffeine in a category called “ergogenic aids.”

These aids are basically performance-enhancing substances that assist in ones performance and/or recovery both pre-, mid-, and post-work out.

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PRE WORKOUT CONSUMPTION

In appropriate doses of 3-9mg, caffeine will spare muscle glycogen by way of making fat stores readily available as a source of energy rather than the muscle glycogen itself. This in effect is another reason recreational athletes, which is pretty much all of us, like to use caffeine as a pre-workout aid. In laymen’s terms, the ingestion of caffeine before a moderately intense workout can allow the body to use stored fat for fuel, just the way we like it! It will also increase our energy. Therein lies the most important variable in pre-workout consumption, it allows for glycogen release mid-workout so depending on the length of your training you may benefit more from sticking to pre-workout consumption so that the benefit of glycogen release is there mid-way thru your training and workout.

Studies show that maximal output can be increased anywhere from 60 seconds to two hours. This all depends on dosage and an individual’s tolerance. Experts recommend 3-9mg per kg of bodyweight, 30 minutes prior to exercise. So find the closest coffee shop and grab a cup of brew before your workout!

HOW YOUR COFFEE IS IMPACTING YOUR WORKOUT

POST WORKOUT PREDICAMENT

MID PERFORMANCE CONSUMPTION

As for mid-workout effects, most research shows that caffeine consumption has little to no effect on training or workout performance after the initial 30 minutes of training. In fact, most show that in order to maintain the positive effects of caffeine, subjects must continually ingest caffeine periodically during the workout. This is not recommended for a few reasons: higher amounts of consumption can cause tremors, dizziness, and even worse, intestinal issues. Trust me, no one wants those problem in the gym!

Ok, so now the workout is over and hopefully you feel like you got your butt kicked (and you kicked a little butt as well). By now your energy should feel somewhat stabilized and your body is in recovery mode.

There is conflicting research on caffeine ingestion post workout. According to The Journal of Applied Physiology, co-ingestion of caffeine with carbohydrates after exhaustive exercise resulted in significantly greater accumulation of muscle glycogen after four hours of recovery compared to when carbohydrates alone were consumed. This being said, there is a very delicate balance of carbohydrate to caffeine ratios and it different for every individual.

The big negative to ingestion at this point is that it will only dehydrate you further. We lose a fair amount of fluid while we exercise and coffee is a known diuretic. It is for this reason that most trainers will recommend having water, an electrolyte based drink, or protein shake post workout. If you want a cup of coffee go for it, just make sure you are well hydrated before you do and maybe chase it with a glass of water.

THE BIG SKINNY

Keep in mind that while we love the effects of caffeine on our workouts and our productivity, too much can have a very negative effect on our sleep habits, it can increase anxiety, and the more we use it, the more we need it to reap its benefits.

While we may love the boost of energy that a cup (or many cups) of coffee, caffeine pills, or energy drinks may give us, we must remember that there are side effects to anything that we ingest. Too much caffeine, too late in the day, can cause restlessness, irritability and loss of sleep, none of which are good for our workouts! Also remember, as with many things, moderation, moderation, and, oh yeah, moderation.

As I said earlier, my biz runs on coffee and I think it just might be time for a refill. -RN-

razornashville.com 41

WILLIAMSON COUNTY’S LEADING SALON

AND ONE OF ONLY SEVEN REDKEN ELITE SALONS IN TENNESSEE! artistry SPASALON

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GUY GUYDE on the go

THE DRIVE

BMW M6 COUPE THE FASTEST M6 IN HISTORY On the heels of last years new 650i and M5, you knew that a new M6 was coming but, would it be everything that a kid on Christmas Eve could wish for? Let’s just say that any young (or old) Bavarian boy would be thrilled to unwrap this stylish, and oh-so-fast German coupe if Kris Kringle left it behind. (continued) Review and photos by Rob Youngblood

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MERRY (EARLY) CHRISTMAS BMW calls the 2013 M6 their fastest M ever, even though they dropped two cylinders under the hood. But in exchange, you get two turbochargers that more than make up for the loss. The old V-10 is replaced by the twin-turbo, 4.4-liter, V-8 which produces 560 hp and 500 pound-feet of torque.

Not a bad trade off indeed!

LOVIN’ THE 7 SPEED Say goodbye to the (dare I say, bad!?) single-clutch old gearbox, and say a big hello to the dual, M-DCT set up seen in both the M5 and the M3. Still with seven speeds, the M-DCT doesn't just deliver fast changes with the fantastic paddle shifters in manual mode, but it also acts perfectly as a regular automatic when shifting on its own. The new transmission definitely makes the M6 more polished and pleasing to drive on a daily basis.

THE SCULPTED METAL Thankfully, the new M6 coupe continues to carry the latest generation 6 styling, and adds some spiffy touches unique to the M badge. Specific front and rear styling, front fenders with integrated side gills, and quad exhausts. Also, twin-spoke, 19 inch wheels are standard but you can “option up” to 20 inch wheels. Both are similar and are great looking.

SETTINGS, SETTINGS, AND MORE SETTINGS The M6 is certainly not at a loss in the adjustment and customization department.

You can tweek everything in this coupe from the steering and throttle to the transmission and dampers, each with three options, comfort, sport, and sport-plus. What is really nice (and new) with the 6 is how much easier it now is to make all these changes. You can still use the iDrive sys-

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tem, but now there are also buttons for each set up right next to the gear shift lever.

And, there's a display at the bottom of the tachometer that shows your current settings. Also new, there are now two "M" buttons on the steering wheel, so you can save two different favorite combos. While I wouldn’t exactly say the ride in the M is soft and cushy, I would say that overall, especially considering the set up and the wide tires, the coupe seems improved and much more comfortable than its predecessors.

GORGEOUS COCKPIT Merano leather covers the seats, console, and door panels and (as an option) the dash and seat backs. The front seats on the M6 include adjustable side bolsters and extendable under-thigh support as well as a massage feature and multiple settings to make any driver snug as a bug. But that snug feeling really gets literal in the back seats. Remember, this is a sports coupe and you will not be fitting adults in the rear of the cabin with much ease.

I really liked the new steering wheel. It is beefy and feels great as does the entire interior. A 10-inch display screen with navigation is standard and the great iDrive system has more settings than you could ever possibly use. Finish wise, you can choose from either carbon fiber (which my tester had) gray wood, or traditional oak trim at no charge. One thing that I didn’t really care for (and it simply felt out of place on the M), is the auto stop/start (which thankfully can be switched off). It simply shuts down the car when you come to a stop but, I felt the restart when you take your foot off the brake was a little jerky. And, while I appreciate the green technology, do you really think that any environmentalist will be lining up to buy a 560-hp speedster!? That said, BMW has done a nice job of improving fuel economy. Up to 14/20 city/highway from 11/17 in the last model.

VVVROOM The twin-turbo V-8 may not have the high-

tech whine of the V-10, but you won’t miss it. I preferred the new deep and throaty note form the engine. It was really satisfying. The optional heads-up display works perfectly as a driving partner letting you know your revs and when to click the paddle shifter. This is one of the few cars I have driven lately that when I punched it, it really felt “punched”. Nothing like feeling the rear of the car dig in and lower its haunches as it takes off (and you sometimes feel like it really is going to take off!), 0 to 60 mph in just 4.2 seconds and to 124 mph in 12.6 seconds. I can tell you those numbers don’t lie!

Winding this thing through the corners of southern Tennessee mountain roads was great. The M6 comes standard with BMW's active rear differential lock, which uses an electric actuator mounted on the differential housing to apportion torque across the axle. It helps the wide rubber put the power down consistently. But the fun starts when you switch the stability control completely off! Look out weekend racers and tire spinning enthusiasts. The stability control's dynamic mode provides a nice compromised balance between the conservative and the "throw it in the corners" settings.

The M6 weighs in at a solid 4,255 pounds but the carbon-fiber roof panel helps lower the center of gravity, and the weight, just enough to make the M feel pretty darn nimble for its size and weight. The braking is superb and it should be considering the M6 Coupe can be equipped with carbonceramic brakes (as mine was) as an $8,700 option. But, man are they worth it! And, when you are north of $100K, what’s an extra nine grand?

OVERALL You would be hard pressed to find a more solid, smart, and sexy car. This M6 does almost everything right. You can let out your inner speed freak while still feeling classy and safe... and you will turn a lot of heads in the process. The M makes quite the statement as a stylish boulevard cruiser.

The only draw back might be the dent in your wallet. My coupe stickered at $123,000. But, if you’re in the car market at this price, money is not your concern.

Your concern is quality and the 2013 BMW M6 Coupe definitely has quality to spare. -RN-

razornashville.com 47

GUY GUYDE people

CLASSIC CONFIDENT CONTEMPORARY

LEADING LADIES

Journalist, radio and TV hostess, dancer, spokeswomen, actress, and business woman, Shannon is someone you should know in Music City. She is the face of “The Rockin’ Pin Ups” (a USO-inspired entertainment troupe touring the country welcoming Soldiers home from war), a spokesmodel for Sort This Out Cellars (a brand of California wines bearing her image on their bottles), and she represents Imperial DAX Wax (the grease that hip guys use to groom those pompadours). She also uses her name, time, and talents to help showcase all that is cool about Nashville. She is the poster girl for a variety of local events including Girl On Girl Comedy, Beer Fest, and numerous Rockabilly nights she hosts around town. But she is much more than just a pretty face. Her academic credentials include the University of Texas, Oxford University, Boston University, and the Boston School of Fashion Design. Whether she’s working on a dance routine, hosting a radio show, emceeing an event, writing a column, designing a stylish outfit, or styling a local artist, Miss Million is a force to be reckoned with on the Nashville scene and a very unique leading lady.

photo by Allen Manus

Pin Up Queen Shannon Million

GUY GUYDE people

REFINED RELEVANT RESPECTED

SOUTHERN GENTLEMEN

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean There are mayors and then, there is the mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. The majestic place that Forbes calls the “5th best place for business and careers”, USA Today recently ranked us in the top ten places having some of the best urban green spaces in North America, and GQ is calling Nashville, “Nowville.” No pressure, Mr. Mayor. Since being elected in 2007, Mayor Dean has pushed the betterment of mass transit to include the birth of the bike share program called Nashville B-cycle, furthered the already fruitful economy with development projects such as the Music City Center, and propelled the goal of making Nashville “the greenest city in the Southeast” with the cities first Open Space Plan. And to think, he still has a couple years left in his second term. Before becoming our unshakable leader during the unforgettable flood of 2010, Mayor Dean has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt, was Nashville’s Public Defender in ’90, ’94 and ’98, and he was the Metro Law Director from 1999 to January 2007, when he resigned to run for the office of mayor. It is an honor to have “Hizzoner” in charge.

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razornashville.com 53

GUY GUYDE

knowledge

GET SMART

How to Pick and Carve a Pumpkin It’s that time of year again. You want a fine looking pumpkin.

Either for the kiddos, or the girlfriend, or the contest with the buddies to see who can create the best looking Scream face. No matter what the reason, success can’t be had unless you know what you are doing.

From the minute you step into the pumpkin patch to the final lighting of the menacing Jack-O’-Lantern, here’s how to do it all like a pro.

Get a Great Gourd

Select a healthy pumpkin. When you're choosing a pumpkin, try to pick one that's free of nicks, bruises, and cuts. Look for a sturdy stem that doesn't feel too bendable, and for consistent color all the way around. Knock or thump on the skin like you would a melon; if you hear a hollow sound, the pumpkin is ripe. Also, check that the pumpkin has a flat bottom so it sits upright and make sure it is not rotting where it’s been resting on the cold, damp ground.

Pick the right size. If you're planning an elaborate pumpkin carving, go big. But if you have kids and simply plan on drawing faces on your pumpkin, pick up several small to medium samples for them to draw a few different designs.

Time it right. Most pumpkins will be rotten beyond recovery after a week and a half to two weeks. With this in mind, buy your pumpkin about a week or so before Halloween.

It’s not a handle. Never pick up or carry a pumpkin by its stem. The stem can break off very easily, leaving the pumpkin with an open wound that invites infection and rot.

Pumpkin pro tip. White pumpkins, like “Lumina” give a spooky look to your Jack-O’-Lantern. They can also be painted more easily than orange pumpkins and make great cooking pumpkins too.

GREAT LOCAL PATCHES

SHUCKLES - GALLATIN Aw Shucks, let’s go to Shuckles! With a corn maze, hayrides, face painting, pony rides, a pumpkin sling shot, the hay-hum theater, and of course pumpkins galore, you can’t go wrong at Shuckles. www.shucklescornmaze.com - 615.206.0112

HONEYSUCKLE HILL - SprINGfIELd Known for their very creepy Scream Creek Haunted Woods attraction, HH is a must see and well worth the drive to robertson County. www.honeysucklehillfarm.com - 615.382.7593

Crafty Cutting

Cutting. Place the knife at a 45 degree angle so the the lid will have a place to rest when you replace it.

If you cut straight down, the lid will fall through.

Cleaning. Use a large, heavy metal serving spoon or ice cream scoop to scrape the insides. If you will be lighting the pumpkin, the back wall should be scraped as smooth as possible since this is where the light will be reflected.

A one inch thickness of the pumpkin wall is perfect.

A long life. Soak the cleaned pumpkin for two hours in a bleach water solution of one teaspoon bleach to one gallon of water. Dry thoroughly, then rub inside and out, including all cut edges, with vegetable oil or petroleum jelly to prevent shriveling. If the pumpkin begins to shrivel, repeat the process. The soaking time will depend upon how dried out the pumpkin has become.

Design. Rookies should pick a simple, bold pattern. Once you master the basics, then move on to something more difficult and intricate.

Getting started. Print out or draw a pattern on a piece of paper. Use small sharp scissors or a razor knife to cut out the areas you will be carving into the pumpkin. Tape the template onto the pumpkin and use a marker to trace the carving lines. Cutting slits in the paper will help it to conform to the round surface. Another method is to tape the outline to the pumpkin and use a nail or large pushpin to score the carving lines onto the pumpkin. Connect the dots as you carve.

The right knife. A long serrated knife or a pumpkin-carving knife with teeth will be needed to cut through the thick flesh. Use a sawing motion and take your time cutting along the outside edge of the marker lines so there is no marker residue.

Let there be light. If you will be lighting your Jack-O’-Lantern with a candle, be sure to leave the lid off to avoid any fire hazard. Use a votive candle in a glass holder or tea lights in a metal case. If you want to leave the lid on, carve a hole in the unseen back side of the pumpkin to act as a chimney. Never leave a candle-lit Jack-O’-Lantern unattended for any length of time. A small battery-operated, flameless candle is a safer choice than traditional candles.

The scent. Sprinkle the bottom side of the pumpkin lid with ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or cloves to let your Jack-O'-Lantern do double duty as an air freshener.

Keeping it looking good. Put the pumpkin in a plastic bag and keep it in the refrigerator when not in use.

Pumpkin pro tip. Cut off the bottom of the pumpkin, as well as the top. It will be more stable and easier to carve. If you are using a candle inside, be sure the opening in the bottom is large enough to fit over the candle. Place the candle on a fire-proof base then you can easily lift off the Jack-O’-Lantern to light the candle. -RN-

Happy Halloween!

LUCKY LAdd fArMS - EAGLEVILLE Lucky Ladd is home to Tennessee's largest petting farm.

They also feature play areas, a sorghum "corn-less" maze, hayrides, educational barn, monster slide, and barrel train rides. www.luckyladdfarms.com - 615.274.3786

GENTrY’S fArM - frANKLIN A huge, 150 year old working family farm. Old fashioned hay rides, a corn maze, walking trails, animals, games, food, and more. Sure to become a family tradition (if it isn’t one already). www.gentryfarm.com - 615.794.4368

GUY GUYDE outdoors

(HIS)STORY

I

THE KILL ‘EM ALL CLUB EXPLORING THE PAST OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY WITH RICK WARWICK

n the south, there is no shortage of hunting and those that love it. This can be traced back locally

with some of the very first hunting clubs. In 1913, eight lovers of bird hunting (photo at right), from the left T . H . W a t t s , W. J . P o l k , R.M. Herbert, James, D. Hodge, Chapman Anderson, Carter Cox, Waco Webb, and J.M. King decided to form a hunting club. After much consideration they agreed upon the name, “Kill ‘Em All Club,” and on November 2nd of that year, Mr. Watts drew up the by-laws, which were unanimously adopted.

Carter Cox was made presi-

56 razornashville.com

dent; J.M. King, vice president; R.M. Herbert, secretary and treasurer and with that “The Club” was off and running.

After the death of Mr. Cox in 1933, J.M. King was elected president and Chapman Anderson, vice president. New members added as time passed were J.R. Buckner, T.W. Davis, Jr., E.L. Corn, Ernest Baugh, and Henry Pointer.

The by-laws laid down strict rules and regulations for running the club and were as binding as those of the Medes and Persians. No member ever thought of transgressing any of its seven regulations.

The club's first excursion of the year began November 25th, 1913, the opening date for quail shooting, and it lasted ten days. The mode of transportation was horse-drawn covered wagons which stowed saddles, bridles, horse blankets,

food supplies, guns, and ammunition, all of which were made ready the night before in order to be off by the crack of dawn on the day of the hunt.

For the first several years, the club camped in the First District, near Fernvale.

In camp with them were Jim Woolridge, Cal Hunter, and Bill Hodge, three of Tennessee’s best cooks. These men knew how to prepare quail to the king’s taste as well as broiled ham, always furnished by Carter Cox. They also made apples pies, the ingredients being donated by R.M. Herbert.

During the week, the group would be visited by wives, sweethearts, and sisters, who would take all kinds of pies, cakes, and other sweets to last for days. Then, there was the never-failing jar of cherry preserves which the president always carried along. They would be eaten with hot

Rural raccoon hunters, circa 1925

biscuits, coffee, quail-on-toast, broiled bacon, sorghum, and fresh fruit. After supper, the time was spent recounting the day’s events with each man having a word of praise for his particular dog, and the next day’s course would be planned.

The last years of the hunt were in Lewis County at Webster’s Campground, when automobiles were used instead of covered wagons. As the members had gotten too far along in years, instead of bird hunting they spent their time fishing nearby streams and day dreaming. By 1947, the three remaining members living in Franklin were Anderson, Polk, and Corn. Waco Webb was living the good life in Delray Beach, Florida.

Members of this elite hunting and fishing club were the envy of many local sportsmen, who could not afford to take off work for extended vacations, and luxury excursions, just for the sport of it.

A second group of sportsmen were known as the Franklin “Coon Hunters” (pictured at far left). Raccoon hunting was a night-time sport practiced widely across the area, by both young and old, rich and poor. Favorite breeds of dogs used for this sport included the Black & Tan, Bluetick, Walker, and Redbone hounds. As soon as the evenings became cool enough in the autumn, the itch to take the dogs for a run and see which hound could tree first was a much anticipated event. Many young boys paid for their school clothes or purchased their first gun from Sears & Roebuck with money earned from the raccoon hides collected during the winter. Franklin junk dealer and fur merchant, Martin Tohrner, was the hunter and trapper’s best friend.

Unlike the “Kill ‘Em All Club,” the “Coon Hunters” hunted more often and without the luxury of excursions. Raccoons were plentiful in the county and landowners were glad to rid their cornfields of the pesky varmints.

The “Kill ‘Em All Club” finally became extinct when its members died off and were not replaced. But as soon as the evenings begin to cool in the next few weeks, the Blueticks and Walkers will be let loose and the baying of the hounds will echo in the hills and hollows of Williamson County once again, as they did so many years ago when these hunting clubs were still around . -RN-

razornashville.com 57

GUY GUYDE quotes

WISE WORDS

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.�

- Thomas A. Edison 58 razornashville.com

GUY GUYDE

GET OUT

on the town

YOUR OCTOBER TO DO LIST

3rd NIGHT OF LAUGHS

Dane Cook, Ryman Auditorium

PHYSICAL ENGAGEMENT

18th

GUYS NIGHT

19th

Grab the boys and test your brew palettes with some stellar local concoctions. tnbeerfestival.com

26th

Full Moon Hike

A moderate 4.5 mile hike by moonlight at Edwin Warner Park to get you in the mood for the upcoming spooky season. teamgreenadventures.com

Tennessee Beer Festival, Two Rivers Mansion

FRIGHT NIGHT Halloween

Of course it’s not just for kids. Let out your inner ”Bad Witch” or “Stripper Fireman” at various parties around town. For a few ideas, head to the Agenda page of our website at razornashville.do615.com

60 razornashville.com

Dinner on the Bridge, Shelby Street Bridge

6th

16th If laughter is the best medicine, get inoculated with a great dose of the very funny Dane Cook. ryman.com

DATE NIGHT

31st

A great opportunity to have an unbelievable date night whether it is your first or fiftieth. greenwaysfornashville.org

JUST BECAUSE IT SOUNDS AWESOME Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, Ryman Auditorium

An unexpected collaboration between Stephen King, John Mellencamp, and T Bone Burnett birthed this “southern gothic, supernatural musical.” ghostbrothersofdarklandcounty.com

QUALITY TIME WITH THE FAMILY PumpkinFest

A fun afternoon in downtown Franklin with plenty to do and enough to eat to put the whole crew in a food coma for the ride home. historicfranklin.com

PRESENTS

WINE DOW OWN O WN MAIN STREET1133 A Wine Wine Tasting Tasting Event benefitting Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee’s Tennessee’s Franklin and Fair Fair view Clubs

Saturday Evening November 2, 2013 7:00-10:00 p.m.

On Main Street in Historic Downtown F Franklin ranklin The most unique wine tasting event in Middle Tennessee Tennessee and THE BEST NIGHT OUT ALL YEAR! For For tickets and information visit www .WineDownMainStreet.com .W www.WineDownMainStreet.com ineDownMainStreet.com or call 615-628-8188.

OFFICIAL WINE SPONS SPONSOR OR

SPONSORS SPONSORS

Loy Hardcastle

MEDIA PAR PARTNERS P ARTNERS

RAZORFEATURE

C OB NR NI IT ET O N

SHE HAS

64 razornashville.com

n Hollywood, the powers that be always talk about “it”. That elusive star quality that every aspiring actress hopes to have. You can’t make “it”, you can’t teach “it”, and you certainly can’t fake “it”. Either you are born with “it” or you are not. Connie Britton has probably had “it” since the minute she said her first words and, lucky for us, she has used “it” to become one of the most successful and appealing actresses to grace our collective television screens.

I have been enamored with Connie Britton ever since I first saw her on the small screen more than 15 years ago, starring on the Michael J. Fox political sitcom, Spin City. Then of course, there was Friday Night Lights, which made her a household name to both movie and TV fans, as well as high school football fanatics. And how could anyone not love her inspired work in the very creepy debut season of American Horror Story?

Now she stars in the hit ABC drama Nashville as Rayna Jaymes, the long-reigning queen of country music whose place at the top of the charts is threatened by young rival, Juliette Barnes (played

by Hayden Panettiere). The show is a huge hit, thanks in no small part, to the style and character of Britton. Simply put, she is the real deal as an actress. Honest, likeable, straight forward, attractive, and talented. The true definition of a leading lady, both an on screen and off.

Now on the heels of yet another Emmy nomination, her fourth nod in four years, for three different roles, the actress is deep into 16 hour shooting days for the sophomore season of Nashville. And maybe the most impressive thing about her ongoing performance as a country diva is the fact that she does her own singing for the show. No small feat in a town that is full of talented vocalists.

Britton admits that the thought of doing the vocals herself is a little terrifying since she has not done much singing since early in her stage career. But, the task is definitely made a little bit easier when you have great help. The legendary T Bone Burnett served as the show’s executive music producer in season one and Nashville Americana artist Buddy Miller has taken over the reigns for Burnett in season two. The talent and hard work are paying off. Her duet No One Will Ever Love You, with co-star Charles Esten for the Nashville soundtrack, earned rave reviews (as did the duet Wrong Song with Panettiere) and some Music City critics have even speculated that Britton could have a solid recording career if she ever gave up acting.

But, she is not giving up anything in her charmed life anytime soon. Not only is everything great work wise but it is also wonderful for Britton on the personal side as well. She is a new mom.

But not in the traditional way that you might think. Long divorced, she says she was tired of waiting for the right partner with which to have children so, she took matters into her own hands. In 2011 Britton adopted son Eyob (nicknamed Yoby) from Ethiopia when the little boy was just nine months old. She considers herself very lucky to have him with her here in town while filming and he spends many days on set with mom.

A hit series, a successful single mom, numerous awards for her work, a surprising singing career, and the all important ”IT” factor. Honestly, what is there not to like about Connie? I, for one, know that my multi-year fascination and admiration is stronger than ever and Nashville (as a city and a show) is lucky to have ,Connie Britton in town! -RN-

66 razornashville.com

Story by Rob Youngblood Photos courtesy of ABC Television

Connie Britton on stage with Brad Paisley

THE BRITTON DETAILS

CONNIE’S BIG BREAK ALMOST CAME IN THE MOVIE JERRY MAGUIRE .

SHE JUST BARELY LOST THE LEAD ROLE, OPPOSITE TOM CRUISE, TO RENÉE ZELLWEGER SHE HAS A DEGREE IN ASIAN STUDIES FROM DARTMOUTH COLLEGE WHICH INCLUDED A SEMESTER IN BEIJING, LEARNING TO SPEAK MANDARIN CHINESE

SHE SPENT TWO YEARS TRAINING WITH LEGENDARY ACTING TEACHER SANFORD MEISNER AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAYHOUSE IN NYC FANS ARE SO IN LOVE WITH HER HAIR THAT THERE ARE NOT ONE BUT TWO TUMBLR PAGES DEDICATED JUST TO HER LONG LOCKS - CONNIEBRITTONSHAIR.TUMBLR.COM - CONNIEBRITTONHAIRAPPRECIATION.TUMBLR.COM -

A

T THE EDGE OF THE STORM AND LOVING IT!

Storme Warren

RAZORFEATURE

T

he view from Storme Warren’s Sirius/XM Radio studio office is pretty sweet. The half-moon shaped glass dome in front of him gives him a perfect view of Tootsies Orchid Lounge and just about everything else on Broadway in downtown Nashville.

Story by Shari Lacy

When I arrive, he’s lost in the button pushing and quick editing of creating his radio show, Sirius/XM’s The Highway, when the phone rings. Storme excuses himself from our chat for just a moment and picks up the call. “Hey! It’s the Highway! up?!”

A driver from somewhere in the U.S. answers him back enthusiastically, “I’m trucking down I-70 and I was wondering if I could hear some “Asphalt Cowboy?” Storme responds in his trademark happy voice, “Well, absolutely! What do you have in the back?”

“I’ve got empty crates and solar panels and I’m headed to Kansas City and then headed home for the weekend!” the trucker says.

“Thanks for what you do to keep us runnin’!” Storme adds. He hangs up, pushes a few more buttons and then introduces “Asphalt Cowboy”

by Jason Aldean for “everyone who’s haulin’ somethin’!”

There is a great ease of communication when Storme talks with virtual strangers. It’s apparent on radio. It’s apparent when you see him in action at a live event. It’s apparent in just about everything he does.

A lot of that familiarity with people, even when he doesn’t know them, can be traced back to his childhood with a close family that moved around a lot and a young start in an industry that would eventually become his passion and his career.

“I call Oklahoma home,” says the proud Okie. He’s quick to tell you that Oklahoma wasn’t his birth place but the formative years of his life there made an indelible mark on him.

“It’s semantics really,” he says. “I moved around my entire childhood. I was born in Cincinnati but we moved when I was three so I don’t really call that home. We spent seven years outside of Boston in Sherborn, Massachusetts. It was awesome! A great place to grow up,” he recalls. “The winters were so much fun. We lived in the woods and Sherborn, at that time, was a really cool, upper middle class rural community in Massachusetts. Now it’s like Beverly Hills!” he laughs.

Living in the woods, with not many houses in the area, was a prime spot for fort building and experiencing a love of the outdoors. “We built seven forts over the seven years. We built a new one every year.

Fort one, fort two... we’d get deeper into the woods with each one. We had a pond in our backyard too and went ice-skating. Back then, it was a part of a swamp. This whole swamp would freeze over and we’d go root hopping,” he says with a smile and for a split moment, you can see his mind trailing back in time. “Man, it was a blast!” razornashville.com 69

A

t the age of ten, Storme and his family moved to Tulsa and his life would never be the same. “It was all because of my dad’s job,” he said. “Dad was a construction attorney for huge projects. His company worked with the Army Corp of Engineers and numerous other high profile industrial and commercial construction companies. He worked with the government on building tunnels, bridges, dams, the Alaskan pipeline, The Petronas Towers, kind of the Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He oversaw that. Seven different cultures in the legal proceedings of doing that!” he says with pride when talking about his dad.

The impressionable ages of 10-15 years old were spent in Oklahoma and Storme is the first one to tell you that Tulsa is where life shifted for him. “That’s where everything happened,” he says. “Everything, everything. The whole development, junior high, puberty. I’ve loved every place I’ve lived, but that really was seared into my brain. I’m a very proud Okie. I don’t care if I wasn’t born there. I’m very proud.”

“One sec,” he says as he turns to the board once again. Storme takes another call for his radio show, pushes a few more buttons to edit and get the callers words ready for placement before coming right back into the conversation where he left off.

“My first radio gig was in Tulsa,” he recalls. I was taking Mrs. Cowan’s class called Creativity. It was really about problem solving and creative thinking. One of my favorite classes that I’ve ever taken in my life,” he recalls. “At the end of one of the semesters, Mrs. Cowan said to the class, ‘We need to go on a field trip.

Where do you want to go?’”

A radio junkie his entire life, Storme was enthusiastic about making his suggestions known and didn’t hold back. He loved a

“I was the kid with the transistor radio under the pillow, he says. “I love music but I was really listening for the people talking, what they had to say. I sat on edge waiting for every word. What they were saying was the most important thing in the world. I was fascinated by it.”

station in Tulsa at the time that was run by what he called the “ATeam” of Tulsa radio from the album oriented rock days. “They gathered all of the kingpins together and created this super staff and became the number one show in the market. I lived by that station.”

When Mrs. Cowan asked where they would like to go, Storme piped up and said, “I WANT TO GO TO THE RADIO STATION!” he recalls with a laugh. “No one else in the class had an idea so I said, ‘We’re goin? We’re goin’? Good! Good!’ and told everyone to shut up,” he chuckles. For him, visiting a radio station was like pulling the curtain back on OZ.

I

t was everything he had envisioned in his head. “It was one of those moments. It put a visual to everything that I was so passionate about; it blew my mind. I was salivating when I was putting the face with the name and with the DJ. I’d say, ‘You’re Dave Michael! You’re Wavy Davy?!’ Mel Meyers was the program director at the time. I would ride back to the station just about every day from that day forward on my bicycle. It was close enough to my house to do that. I’d say to Mel, ‘Hi! I was the guy on the field trip?!’ and he looked at me like ‘Yeah?’ but I just kept coming back until he said, ‘I don’t know what to do with you. Do you want to answer request lines?’” he recalls.

It was the biggest job on the planet for a 13 year old kid. He got to talk to the callers. He interacted with strangers on a daily basis and became skilled at working within the structures of various conversations and with all different kinds of people. It was a brief glimpse into a future that was yet unknown.

“It’s a lot of where the interaction training came from. I really worked at treating it like the most important job on the planet. A friend of mine, Steve Daley, also did it with me but he got bored like after two weeks! Just left me there,” he laughs.

Storme thought it was a dream gig. He was too young to be paid in money so he scored and got paid in concert tickets and free albums. What could be better for a 13 year old boy? “It was better than a paycheck!” he says. “I wasn’t allowed to go to concerts yet so the pay was basically in albums. My record collection got really big, really fast.”

Everyday, he would observe the professional DJs through a glass wall looking into the main part of the satellite studio. He’d watch the DJs do what they’d do. It was a powerful thing for a kid who was discovering what he wanted to do with his life. “I wouldn’t bother them but I’d study them,” he says. “I’d do little practice reels on reel-to-reel tapes. Practice scripts, just delivery.

I took the reel and would always put it on the program director’s chair with a note that said, ‘Would you please listen to this and let me know your thoughts?’ Months went by without anything. I’d only met the guy one time. I just did my gig quietly. Until one time, gosh, months later, the reel-to-reel was back on my chair in the booth.”

After all that time, Storme finally received a two-page hand written letter of critiques back from the program director and they were brutal. “He said, ‘Stop doing this. And don’t do that. And do this.’ But to me, I didn’t take it as an insult. I was like, AHHH! he cares!” he says laughing.

When he turned 14, Storme had now been with the station for almost a year and the program director came to him with a special message. “He said, ‘Well, congratulations! You’re 14 now,’ and then he handed me the FCC application on my lap. At the time, you had to be 14 before you could broadcast on terrestrial radio.

He says, ‘Fill this out and get it back to me. I can’t believe I’m doing it but you’re getting a Sunday morning show!’ Storme says.

“I was scared to DEATH!” His parents, mom Carol Ann and dad Skip, although unbelievably supportive, couldn’t believe he’d pulled it off. “They couldn’t believe a program director would give a 14 year old kid a shot.” He continued doing Top 40 radio in Tulsa, and got away from country during his teenage years. His family eventually moved out to Ventura, California where he graduated high school and went on to college at Cal State Northridge.

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ver time, Storme would immerse himself in the broadcasting world and his career would lead him into broadcasting full time, taking him to Los Angeles to work as stage manager for the great Larry King at CNN (where he also worked as a technical director and segment producer for Showbiz Today). He would meet one of the biggest influences in his life during these younger career years and that was a man he still considers one of his dearest friends today, Charlie Daniels.

“Charlie is bigger than life,” Storme says admiringly. “So much emotion. Storytelling. His music always represented something organic to me. Charlie has just always been there. He’s a great man and gives great advice. After two or three interviews in Los Angeles one time, he put his arm around me at CNN, in the break room and said, ‘Son! You’re finally getting pretty good at this. It’s time you came to Nashville. I’ve been coming to Los

Angeles for 40 years. I’ve seen this town change. It doesn’t care about you. It chews you up and spits you out. It chews everybody up and spits them out. Nashville needs you. Nashville won’t do that.”

Two weeks later Storme moved to Music City. He bugged the human resources guy with the Crook and Chase Show ahead of time until he could promise Storme enough freelance work that he could pay the bills. “I said, ‘I don’t need permanent work but if you can provide me enough freelance work that I can pay rent, then I’m on my way and the guy said ‘yes, I can do that.’” Charlie Daniels himself wrote Storme a personal recommendation to give to the show. It was November 1993.

Storme with Charlie Daniels

“I was really surprised that he knew so much about CDB and the other Southern bands.” says long time friend Charlie Daniels. “I happen to be one of Storme's biggest fans and have considered him a friend since I met him in California all those years ago."

To this day, Charlie remains a dear and close friend of Storme’s. "I met Storme in Los Angeles when he was in his late teens or early twenties working at CNN where I had gone to do an interview,” Charlie said when I asked him about Storme. “I was really surprised that he knew so much about CDB and the other Southern bands. He had a healthy respect and curiosity about Nashville and the music business here and the thriving broadcast industry that had sprung up around it. Storme and some of his friends started coming to our concerts when we were in the area and over a period of time, I discovered what a dedicated young man he was and what a deep and heartfelt desire he had to come to Nashville and become part of what was going on. He never gave up on that dream and not only became part of what was going on in Nashville but a very prominent part. I happen to be one of Storme's biggest fans and have considered him a friend since I met him in California all those years ago." (continued)

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fter moving to Nashville and working in the industry for a while, Storme would become the host of GAC’s Headline Country where he has been for years now. It is what he is probably best known for and it is his brainchild. “I never set out to host a television show,” he says. “I did it out of necessity.

We started with GAC with a small production company, low budget, and when GAC was just in a few million homes at that point. The show was then called Country Music Across America.

We didn’t’ have a budget to hire a host. I had been a field reporter for TNN so I was accustomed to it but I did not set out to do that,” he adds.

His own production company he owns with business partner Larry Fitzgerald, Surfing Moose Productions, produces Headline Country along with other shows they are working on. Their viewership is large and fills a niche in television country music news programming that for a long time was absent. “That’s what I had

reunion with childhood Tulsa friends quickly went on the back burner when he discovered Allison, who was new in town, had no plans for the holiday and no one to spend it with.

She said, “What are you doing this weekend?” I said, “Nothin’!” That first date was in 1996 and the Jersey girl and Oklahoma boy would marry in 1998. Their family has grown since to two young boys, Evan and Jackson, who enjoy their dad’s love of football and the outdoors.

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torme is a driven individual. It’s easy to see that Talking about first meeting future wife Allison... when you watch “I had a big ‘ole crush on her. I knew somebody was going to snag her!” him in action with people, doing what he does best, but spending time in the great outdoors takes him away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and allows him to reconnect with himself again.

“My dad and my grandfather were avid fly fishermen and canoers,” he says. “We’d go to Oklahoma and Missouri, the Illinois River, and spring creeks to go fly fishing and camping on the gravel banks,” he recalls.

He loves the tranquility and calmness of being in the woods. “I have so many tentacles Storme with Allison and sons Jackson and Evan in my career and life and the outdoors is another one of those tentacles for me. I’ve lost track of moved to Nashville to do and what I was trained to do,” he says. it some with the craziness of life but I notice the difference in me.

Charlie Daniels would be just the first of many good things What I’m missing. I forget how beneficial that time in the woods that would happen to Storme after relocating to Nashville in the is. It’s necessary. I don’t speak to anybody. I go by myself with a early 90s. Allison, his future wife, was a producer with Paramount fly rod for hours and just let everything disappear. I love listening Pictures Television at the time and came down to Nashville to to the wind coming through the trees. Tune out all of this stuff,” he says pointing around to the equipment. “I need to start purwork on the Crook and Chase Show.

“She flew down to produce that show and we met in the hall- posely carving that time out again. My job is to interact with ways!” he remembers. “I had a big ‘ole crush on her. I knew some- everybody 24/7. To relax, I just need the time where I can be by body was going to snag her!” His pre-planned Labor Day weekend myself. I know when I really need to get back into the woods.

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RAZORFEATURE Everything will benefit when I do that,” he adds. Anytime he can bring the outdoors and work together, he does. “We do the Crested Butte Songwriters Festival, took the boys to Yellowstone to do a two hour GAC special awhile back, went down to Key West. Whatever I can do to bring the two worlds together, I do.”

Storme with Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood

“The key for an interview for me is listening. I remember Larry King saying to me at CNN when I was his stage manager, ‘never know more about your subject than youraudience.’ It’s true. If all you’re doing is regurgitating facts that your audience already knows, you’re not learning anything new,”

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On the Sirius Set with Tim McGraw Storme with Willie Robertson from Duck Dynasty

f there is a favorite aspect of his career, it would be the face-to-face interaction he experiences with different folks. “I like communicating and I love people. I’m fascinated with people,” he says. “If I had to give things up, honestly, I think I could forgo the live event stuff in front of people, but I HAVE to interview people.”

It is the one-on-one interview relationship that he feels gives true insight into who they are and what they are about.

One of the best pieces of interviewing advice he ever received came directly from one of the great interviewers, Larry King. “The key for an interview for me is listening. I remember Larry King saying to me at CNN when I was his stage manager, ‘Never know more about your subject than your audience.’ It’s true. If all you’re doing is regurgitating facts that your audience already knows, you’re not learning anything new,” he says. Storme has discovered over the years to pose the questions, sit back, and let the person being interviewed take center stage.

Storme is about making life new every day and taking new chances. “I always want to push myself. I do a better job if I’m testing myself. The most comfortable spot for me in any aspect of my life is standing on the edge. It’s just the unknown, the risk, the mystery. I don’t know why because it’s the scariest part of life but you can’t be afraid to fail. Make horrible mistakes; but if you learn from them, I think it’s worth it.” -RNrazornashville.com 73

JAILHOU

RAZORFEATURE

THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION IS GOING TO MAKE THIS

SE ROCK

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olks from all over middle Tennessee flock to historic down town Franklin for its quaint charm, unique shopping, and street festivals. People from all over the world come for the Civil War history and the museums. Even those who have never heard of Franklin have seen its picturesque backdrop in music videos and commercials.

A New Start After a Life Behind Bars

Story by rené Alexenko Evans / Illustrations by Ben Johnson

Much of the credit for the magic that is downtown Franklin goes to the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County, the local historic preservation organization founded in 1967 when a group of citizens became concerned that the town’s historic resources were disappearing. Over the course of nearly five decades the organization has saved historic buildings from destruction, influenced the course of development, and played a major role in helping to determine what the Franklin of today looks like. Without the Heritage Foundation, it is likely that Franklin would not attract the kudos it does as a great place to visit, live, raise a family, start a business, or retire.

But in all that time, the Heritage Foundation has never had its own home. In its nascence, it lived off the generosity of others, with headquarters first in a 400 sq. ft. historic doctor’s office donated by the Fleming Williams family, and later in a 1920s post office owned first by Williamson County and later by the City of Franklin. Although it had saved or influenced the course of development of some fifty properties in Williamson County, it was itself subject to the vagaries of landlords and property values.

Then, in 2012, the ground began to shift. After leasing space at the Five Point post office in downtown Franklin for more than a dozen years, it became clear that the Heritage Foundation would soon need a new home. The city, which owned the building, was entertaining proposals for a longterm lease on the property, proposals which would include a much-needed restoration of the building. FirstBank immediately jumped at the opportunity to lease and restore the building, and the Heritage Foundation was thrilled that the Post Office would be rehabilitated. However, this meant the Heritage Foundation needed a new headquarters.

“We began looking at available properties in downtown Franklin that fit our space and location needs, and the list was pretty short,” said Mary Pearce, executive director of the Heritage Foundation. “We produce street festivals and operate the Downtown Franklin Association, so we needed to stay close to Main Street. We needed storage space for materials we use at our annual events.”

In the conversations with the board of directors, one property kept coming up. It stands on Bridge Street in downtown Franklin, between 1st and 2nd Avenues. It had been vacant since roughly 2003, boarded up and painted white, and its cube-like structure has led some, who do not know its history, to call it the Marshmallow Building. But its historic value lies in the fact that it was Williamson County’s third jail. Two others have come after it, one of which is currently in use, and one of which has been torn down.

Another, older jail, still stands right next door to this one. In Franklin’s lexicon of naming based on past and present usage, this building is the Old, Old Jail.

Remnants of an old cell and toilet (photo courtesy of Anthony Scarlati)

Sheriff Fleming Williams, Jr

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photo by Michael Gomez

Williams remembers one prisoner who would stick a mirror out the bars of an upstairs window to catch a glimpse of his wife across the street. Returning to the jail one day, Williams saw the hand with the mirror out the window, and yelled up at the offender to pull it back inside. When the man refused, Williams pulled out his .357 and shot the mirror out of the man’s hand.

illiamson County approved the expenditure of $25,000 to build the building in 1941. Some $2,000 of the cost was borne by the Works Project Administration, which dug the basement and quarried the stone. Plans called for women’s cells on the first floor and waiting rooms and men’s cells on the second floor, all segregated by race. The judge who submitted the plans to the county court noted that there would be “few, if any escapes, from the new structure,” which begs the question if that was a problem with the previous facility.

Sheriff Fleming Williams, Jr., (pictured above) was the last of eight sheriffs to oversee jail operations in the building. By the time he took office on September 1, 1970, the cells were no longer segregated. A drunk tank was located on the first floor and women prisoners were held in the basement. The men were housed upstairs. Most of the convicts were in for sentences of 30-60 days, with 11 month and 29 days the longest sentence; anything longer and prisoners were housed at the state penitentiary. It was true that escapes were not a problem, but Williams remembers one prisoner who would stick a mirror out the bars of an upstairs window to catch a glimpse of his wife across the street. Returning to the jail one day, Williams saw the hand with the mirror out the window, and yelled up at the offender to pull it back inside. When the man refused, Williams pulled out his .357 and shot the mirror out of the man’s hand.

A staff of only three kept the jail running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and often worked 80-90 hours a week. Prisoners did the cooking and cleaning. Williams recalled that the jail stayed full, housing 25-30 prisoners at a time, and that as time went on, overcrowding became a problem.

By 1973, the “new” jail was no longer adequate for the county’s needs and a replacement facility was constructed behind the current building. That building, too, was eventually replaced.

Between 1973 and 1994, the first “old” and then the “old, old” jail were used at various times for the juvenile service center, Williamson County archives, detective offices, the office of employment security, the department of safety, or a mixture of the above. After 1994, it was used to store school books for a time, and by 2003 it was completely vacant.

“We began to think this long neglected National Register property had our name written all over it,” said Pearce. “This was a building that neither the public sector nor the private sector had shown any interest in preserving. Williamson County government had owned it for years and did not have a need for it. The city had owned it since 2007 and had no plans for the building. We are the

county’s non-profit historic preservation organization and it seemed like it was a project made just for the Heritage Foundation.

In the category of ‘practice what you preach,’ it was perfect for us.”

And it was a project that only a preservationist could love, according to Cyril Stewart, AIA, president of the Heritage Foundation. As an architect, he would know. “The roof on the building has completely deteriorated and most of the membrane is missing.

Water has been dripping into the building for years, and the exterior has been sealed up. This has created a perfect environment for mold to take over. In addition, there is a significant amount of lead paint in the building, and some asbestos. All of that will need to be abated. The interior conditions in the building are the worst I have ever seen in a building that could still be saved,” he said.

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here were other considerations as well. The Old, Old Jail was located in a corner of town that had yet to enjoy the renaissance that other parts of historic downtown Franklin had experienced. A few up-and-coming businesses had crept into that quadrant, and it was apparent the area was the next frontier for redevelopment in Franklin. A new, long-term tenant would be a welcome addition and it was time for the Heritage Foundation to finally have its own permanent home. Property values in downtown Franklin were reaching the point where the town’s historic preservation organization would soon be locked out of ownership forever.

The stars aligned, and in 2013 the city accepted the Heritage Foundation’s purchase agreement. The deal closed in August for $25,000, the same amount that had been budgeted for the building 42 years earlier. The Heritage Foundation’s board has established a building committee; Street Dixon Rick has been retained as the architect and Rock City Construction has been selected as the general contractor for the project. (continued on next page)

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Drawings are currently in process and should be finished around the first of the year. From then on, it will be all systems go on fundraising. “We still don’t know how much we will need to raise for this project,” said Pearce, “but we expect it to be well over $1 million. It will be our first major fundraising effort since the completion of the Franklin Theatre in 2011 and the role we played in helping Franklin’s Charge purchase the Domino’s Pizza site at the epicenter of the Battle of Franklin. While this project is obviously different from the theatre project, it shares some similarities in that the buildings are two of just a handful of Art Deco buildings in Franklin, and we stepped in because neither project had attracted an outside party to invest in their restoration. Both properties are important to the economic vitality of the block on which they are located and both will greatly contribute to the redevelopment or continued success of their immediate neighbors. Not only is historic preservation the ultimate in recycling, the Heritage Foundation will also be seeking LEED certification for the building.”

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hile the vision for the Old, Old Jail becomes a reality, the Heritage Foundation is renting temporary space right around the corner from the project. “I can take a few steps out the front door of our temporary home, look right, and see the jail,” said Pearce. “It will be very exciting to watch the progress when it gets underway.”

“As the organization works with the architects and begin to see the potential for the building, it’s clear this is going to be an outstanding project,” adds Stewart. “Not only will it serve as headquarters for the Heritage Foundation, it will be a community resource for all things preservation, and in an area of town that is going to become vibrant over the next two years. This is a fantastic place for us to be.”

New life is being breathed into what many considered a derelict property, proving once again that there is hope for a fresh start after a life behind bars. With a new use and new clientele on the horizon, the Old, Old Jail’s best days are still ahead. -RN-

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“The roof on the building has completely deteriorated and most of the membrane is missing. Water has been dripping into the building for years, and the exterior has been sealed up. This has created a perfect environment for mold to take over. In addition, there is a significant amount of lead paint in the building, and some asbestos. The interior conditions in the building are the worst I have ever seen in a building that could still be saved.�

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l l a b e s Ba DIAMONDS:

A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND

By Kate Alger

RAZORFEATURE

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s the air begins to crisp and the World Series hovers on the horizon, I get reminiscent of when I fell in love with America’s Past Time. I was a nine-year-old knobby kneed, lanky, farm girl growing up in Wisconsin when I contracted my first crush. It wasn’t the farm boy down the road, or the kid that pulled my ponytails at recess. It wasn’t even Donny from New Kids on the Block (although he was at some point on the list of people I was destined to marry; along with every other boy in the band.) Nope, mine was far older and less likely of a suitor for this junior cheesehead. It was Robin Yount - yes, the Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers.

I had a deep crush on this man but not in the inappropriate romantic sense but rather in the aspect that he influenced my idea of what a man was and ignited my passion for the game of baseball. (That, and I was nicknamed “Robin” for a moment in time early on in my softball career.)

Brawny, tall, athletic, family man, successful, committed, loyal (he played his entire 20 year MLB career with the Brewers) and he

sported one fine, significant mustache far before the Duck Dynasty facial hair craze.

Robin Yount, Aside from the then and now career in athletics, he was a replica of my father in my eyes, the litmus test of which I held, and still hold all men. So naturally, I loved the guy.

I loved watching him make stellar plays at shortstop or center (one of my softball positions) and then in the next inning, break another hitting record. Yount was a three-time All Star (1980, ‘82, ‘83), Golden Glove Winner (‘82), three-time Silver Slugger Award winner (‘80, ‘82, ‘89) and two-time AL MVP (‘82, ‘89). He also still holds records with the Brewers for all-time hit leader, home run leader and was an early advocate of weight training to help with hitting far before it was the norm. (Early evolution to the Canseco and McGwire fiascos?) He is also the last 18 year old to hit a home run in the Major Leagues. One of the most endearing parts about Yount is that he was a just a kid that loved the game, practiced like crazy, and was able to be drafted from high school directly into the major leagues. It seemed like such a realistic, feasible path for any kid at that time.

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had always been surrounded by a male dominate, sports focused family. I vividly remember playing baseball on our front lawn with my father, siblings and cousins. The squatty pine tree acted as a fence/catcher behind home plate followed by poplar trees for first and third. Two fivegallon Kemps Ice Cream bucket lids filled in for home plate and second base. A mass of tree roots marked the pitcher’s mound. We shared just a few gloves and there were only a couple of bats. We didn’t know any better that a bat could possibly be too big for us or that a glove could be too small. We just played.

I learned the basics of the game - throwing, catching, fielding, hitting, hand-eye coordination, bunting, etc. in these front yard productions. I also was educated in the rules, the need for team effort, and that if I intentionally nailed my little brother with a bad pitch, the umpire (my father) wouldn’t think twice about handing out a spanking on the spot. His field, his rules.

Many summer afternoons were spent around the TV watching our beloved Brewers. My uncles and the rest of the family would watch with great intent, occasionally squeezing in a few cat naps when the games were slow. The TV was always on and no one dare block it during the game (there were similar rules during a Packer game) but the volume was never on. The stereo was always tuned into the local radio station so that we could hear Bob Uecker call the game. If you had to watch from home, this was the only way to do it - give or take a few Milwaukee’s Best.

I had a deep crush on this man but not in the inappropriate romantic sense rather in the aspect that he influenced my idea of what a man was and ignited my passion for the game of baseball.

Throughout any session, there was always at least one trek to Milwaukee for a game and usually as a class trip. Although once there, I was easily distracted by a brat with sauerkraut and a rootbeer that I would later regret on the bus ride home, I was still in complete awe of being in a place I only ever got to experience through the box in our living room. The grass was a majestic emerald green, the dirt was the most beautiful brown, the lines were the crisp white and good lawd, I was sharing the same oxygen as players such as B.J. Surhoff and Paul Molitor (Molly to those of us that were his close friends).

As a family, we were pretty obsessed with baseball in some way shape or form. The boys played in Little League, the girls played fast pitch softball, the uncles and older cousins played in rec league slow pitch tournaments. Those that didn’t play cheered from the sidelines. The majority of us who played were actually pretty good, so much so, one of us even got noticed.

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y cousin Eric Wozniak (no relation to Big Steve, but we sure have tried) was raised just outside of Milwaukee in Oak Creek. He was an amazing ball player. He was an unstoppable catcher with a quick, consistent bat. I often regretted just tossing the ball with him as much as I am sure he hated catching for me while I practiced my windmill.

Both of our palms throbbed at the end of either encounter. I was in awe of his abilities but knew I was pretty biased, or at least I thought I was.

One summer, Eric agreed to accompany his buddy, Dave, to the local, open Brewers tryouts. They played together for quite some time and aside from being his friend, Eric was a catcher and Dave was a pitcher so it only made sense that he go with to support and catch for him while Dave tried to show off his abilities.

At the end of the long day of tryouts, Dave was told that, while he was good, pitchers were a dime a dozen. Deflated, the boys started to pack up and head for the parking lot. But before they left, the recruiters were insistent about offering the unsuspecting Eric a contract with their minor league club. As much as this was an amazing offer to a star-eyed boy who grew up with Brewers on the brain, Eric could not accept the offer. He had already signed the dotted line with Uncle Sam and was compelled to fulfill his original commitments to the U.S. Army.

Ryan Braun

A of couple days later the recruiters called for Eric again offering him a contract. Although he could have found a way to get out of his contract with the government, he still turned down a childhood dream. We were raised to honor our word, no matter how enticing the other side may be.

Not too far off the timeline from Eric’s experience, I can only imagine that there was another young man facing similar decisions and levels of excitement. Fast forward a few decades and, you knew I would go here... Ryan Braun. It’s been a story in the headlines for months, the fall of greatness into the trap of trying to be greater. This is not the first story of its kind, but it is one that falls a bit more personally to me because of the Brewer’s association.

(Well, the McGwire incident did as well, but because of a similar NKOTB anticipated scenario mentioned previously).

Maybe as a woman, I look at this situation a bit more differently, dare I say emotionally. After analyzing stats, scores, salary implications, season pit falls, and the uniforms (I kid, I kid… sort of; the Brewers get ups from ‘94-‘99 were heinous.) I come back to the fact that Braun at the end of the day is a man. A man that forgot what commitment to himself, his family, his team, and his fans was. He forgot that at the end of the day, he could change his approach, story, choices, even his career but he cannot change the fact that he is a man. His stats, athletic success, bank account, player awards cannot equate to the components that make up his character as a man.

Honestly, as mad as I was at Braun for defiling the team that I fell in love with baseball over, learned from, spent quality family time with, for breaking the hearts of young kids and for tarnishing the name of an innocent man, I actually am now more angry at him for contributing to the continual defamation of men in our society. His actions underscore this horrific trend of men (cont.)

Honestly, as mad as I was at Braun for defiling the team that I fell in love with baseball over...

I actually am now more angry at him for contributing to the continual defamation of men in our society.

The authors beloved Miller Park, Home to the Milwaukee Brewers

being assessed on their dollar value not on their character, hard work, and contributions to the human race. He took a lazy, sissy approach at achieving more greatness and then when caught, reacted like a prepubescent boy telling a lie over a schoolyard game.

I also am sad for Braun and sad that we have become a people that obviously endorse and support amazing athletes (rightfully so because it is wickedly boring to root for sucky players) yet quickly turn on them for making ill choices to get to the level of performance we adore them for. It is like the saying about kielbasa - everyone loves them but no one wants to know how they are made.

I also then remember that he is, like everyone else, a flawed and tempted man. I can’t honestly say that I wouldn’t have made the poor choices he did or as much as I like to think that Eric wouldn’t have. How do we ever really know unless we are in that same position?

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like Braun wasn’t already a great player. 2011 NL MVP, five-time All Star (2008–’12), fivetime Silver Slugger Award (2008–’12), NL Rookie of the Year in 2007, NL home run leader in 2012, two-time memeber in the 3030 club (2011- ‘12). It was his moral character that was tested, challenged, and changed far more than his physical or professional. His desire for more drove the decision; one that we all face everyday just on a different scale. How many times have we worked longer, harder hours compromising our own beliefs and even families? How many times have we stepped on someone in

He took a lazy, sissy approach at achieving more greatness and then when caught, reacted like a prepubescent boy telling a lie over a schoolyard game.

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order to move ahead? How many times have we maxed out a credit card just to have more things? All cases of altering our commitment levels to others and ourselves not much differently than what Braun did. Only difference is, there is no media publicizing our occasionally poor choices.

I am in no way endorsing his actions, but I am also hoping that none of my litany of poor selections ever see the light of day or I would surely be run out of town. If they are, I pray that they never take on more weight than the right choices I have made.

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ow a days, I only get a chance to watch the Brewers when I am back in the motherland but my love of the game has not diminished but rather just shifted. I still go out of my way to watch the World Series, no matter who is playing. I love to go to Nashville Sounds (Milwaukee’s farm team) games with the family. I even get to live vicariously through my daughters who play softball. which is hard since they are still in the dirt digging, “where’s the snack?” phase.

As far as my cousin, Eric and his life choices, I can confidently say while he and Braun were at similar stages at one point of their lives, Eric came out with the better deal. As a devoted husband, proud father, and hardworking Veteran with an adequate amount of facial hair, he also defines for me what a true man is and exemplifies what reward there is to reap when staying true to all of ones commitments.

As much as I thought I learned from the game of baseball as a kid, I am amazed at how every year I continue to learn something else from it and, it usually isn’t a new stat. -RNPS... Yes, I am glad that while Braun was on track to take over the Brewers’ Home Run record this year, he won’t be able to claim it from Yount.

PSS... Yes, I do have cases of Robinade in my pantry.

“Shoeless” Joe Jackson

Breaking the Baseball Rules...

It Ain’t a New Thing.

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n baseball, there are a couple of old sayings that sum up the general feeling toward breaking the rules. One, "It ain't cheatin' if you don't get caught," and two, "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'." Cheating has played a significant role in the game's history, from its very beginning, and perhaps the most famous (infamous) and worst cheaters date back almost 100 years.

The story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox has been told in works of fiction, nonfiction, and docudrama. First, let's get the facts straight. In the fall of 1919, eight members of the heavily favored White Sox conspired to throw at least one game of the World Series, which resulted in a few of them, along with the knowing gamblers, making a great deal of money when the Cincinnati Reds won.

When the news finally broke a year later, the results included the destruction of a great White Sox roster, the permanent suspension of the eight conspirators, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, who would be in the Hall of Fame otherwise, and the hiring of baseball's first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis.

And the hits (or in this case we should say, the foul balls) just keep on coming. Since 2005, over 40 major league players have been suspended for PED use... cheating. The shortest suspension was ten days and the longest 211 games, recently dealt to Alex Rodriguez.

Alex Rodriguez

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Uecker in the broadcast booth

On a Happier Note

et’s talk about “Mr. Baseball”! Born in Milwaukee and eventually playing for the Milwaukee Braves (the Brewers were an expansion team in 1969 after the Braves moved to Atlanta), Bob Uecker has been calling the Brewers games since 1971. In addition to baseball, He wrote a humorous autobiography called Catcher in the Wry. He has also appeared in a popular series of Lite Beer commercials, starred in the movie Major League , and who could forget the ‘80s TV classic Mr. Belvedere!? Uecker played six major league seasons. ending with a career batting average of just .200, playing perfectly into his self-deprecating sense of humor.

Mr. Uecker, you must be in the front row! -RN-

BEACH BILOXI and the BEAU the

A Perfect Coastal Trio

Story by Rob Youngblood Photos courtesy of The Beau Rivage

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'm not going to lie, with apologies to my host and friends in southern Mississippi, I did not expect much as I headed down I-65 out of Nashville toward the Gulf Coast. I had never been to Mississippi and I had an eight hour interstate snooze fest of a drive in front of me. Plus, I am not a fan of bad casinos with their dark, dingy, smoke filled rooms that reek of bad cologne, bad luck, and bad buffet food. I am a Vegas guy. I spent many formative years at the Palms, The Cosmo, and the Bellagio.

So, when people started telling me that the Beau Rivage was like a mini version of the Bellagio, complete with the Steve Wynn seal of approval, I had one thought...”yeah right!” But, I was willing to be open minded, so I decide that this would be a perfect excursion for the boys. And when I say boys, I mean myself and my very discriminating six year old son. “Mini Me” was excited and he was fully ready to “review” the pool and the beach!

My first glimmer of hope was the drive. It went fast and smooth. Yes, it is straight interstate all the way, but what you lack in scenery, you more than make up for in speed. After all, you are not headed south for road side attractions, you are headed to the water. The trip is an easy drive with a route that literally dumps you off the exit less than a mile from the beach and the resort. So far, so good.

Pulling up to the valet was the first indication that this may not be a bad getaway after all. The Beau Rivage does, in fact, look like a Vegas casino. Guests, bell hops, and hotel staff all over the place gave a first impression that was just right. “Welcome to the Beau Rivage, VIP check-in is inside to the right Mr. Youngblood.”

Ahhh, now those are words that I like to hear.

Once inside is where the Beau Rivage really got my attention.

The soaring lobby, extensive shopping promenade, and buzz of excitement (on a Monday afternoon no less) did actually made me feel like I was in Nevada. The familiar sounds of slot machines coming from the casino floor sealed the deal. I knew I was in for a fun week.

At this point of our coastal journey together I could continue on the path of giving you a play by play of every hour of my visit but frankly, that would turn into a long winded, 12,000 word story very quickly. Plus, I really don’t think you want to hear about my hourly pool decision of should I have another margarita or should I order a sandwich? So, I will cut to the chase and make this review/travel journal easy to follow. I’ll break everything down into categories and give you all the details on the good stuff, and since there is a lot of good stuff, let’s get to it

The Hotel

Beau Rivage Lobby

Shopping Corridor

Hard to beat. We had the luxury of a king size room, with an ocean/pool view, on the 25th floor. Quiet and comfortable. Great bathroom with a separate soaking tub and a shower with maybe the most powerful water pressure of any hotel I have ever visited.

Every shower was like getting a hot massage. (room tip: request a “pool view” not an “ocean view” room. This actually puts you in the middle of the hotel with a great view of both the pool and the Gulf) The entire resort was shockingly clean, especially considering the thousands of people who pass through it each day, and the staff was first rate and very attentive. (cont.)

THE GETAWAY - Beau Rivage Resort and Casino - Biloxi, MS - 888.567.6667 - beaurivage.com

RAZORFEATURE There is a wonderful spa/salon area with all of the expected amenities and offerings as well as a large gym overlooking the pool (and I mean a real gym, not two broken down treadmills and mismatched free weights).

Speaking of the pool, head out back of the hotel and you are greeted by a large resort pool, complete with private cabanas, large hot tub/pool, waitress service, a bar, and a sun deck that overlooks the Gulf. Definitely not a bad way to spend a day, and we did just that. Be warned however, the pool fills up fast in the 90 plus degree heat and kids are everywhere. Go early if you want a little lap time. We actually went at 8 am one morning and it was perfect

BR PRIME

for swimming and playing. If you want more privacy, rent one of the ultra-chic cabanas (complete with refrigerators, sofas, and flat screen TV’s) or head out to the sun deck, make your home for the day there, catch some rays and then just walk over to the pool to cool off on occasion.

Back inside the resort, you don’t want to miss the shopping. Not a mega-mall by any means but instead, a classy collection of high-end shops as well as some casual stores and even a state-of-the-art arcade for the young ones (and the young at heart). You will find all kinds of ways to spend your gambling winnings on menswear, ladies clothing, shoes, and jewelery.

The Beau Rivage also has a very impressive line-up of meeting rooms, ballrooms, and conference areas. More than 50,000 square feet of space to house your corporate outings. It is indeed a great set up however, if you are going to a resort on the ocean for business reasons then I really need you to re-evaluate your priorities. But hey, if you want to work while your friends play, you have the option!

The Restaurants

If you know me at all, you know that I am a foodie and I love great restaurants. Well, color me surprised at what I found at the Beau. Let me just go on record, first thing, and get this out of the way. The buffet was impressive and really good. Yes, yes, I know the words “foodie” and “buffet” should never be in the same paragraph. However, when at a casino, one must try the buffet at least once. Even if it is for a slightly hung over, mimosa and omelette breakfast after a long nite at the Black Jack table (not that I speak from experience or anything). This buffet had everything that you would expect, and in mass quantities. Roasts, seafood, a great selection of southern faves (including a lunch Crawfish Boil), pastries, desserts, a salad and soup bar, fire roasted pizzas, and on and on. For a quiet and relaxing meal, sit out front in the sunny lobby atrium, away from the casino. The buffet is the perfect choice for breakfast and/or lunch on any given day.

However... it ain’t the choice for dinner. No sir-re-bob! Don’t get me wrong, there was certainly nothing bad about the dinner offerings of the all-you-can-eat variety, but there are simply other choices that you don’t want to miss. Starting with the unbelieveable experience that is BR Prime. It is the classic American steak house, with a New York meets Las Vegas vibe. Modern glamour galore or, as they say at the Beau, “Enough Swank To Make The Rat Pack Proud!”

You also have great casual Italian food at Stalla, which has the pricing of your local Olive Garden but with food that you actually want to eat. Plus, the restaurant has a great rustic, cozy, dark feel making it a perfect late night stop. The brick oven pizza and classic spaghetti recipes will also make the kids happy.

If that wasn’t enough, you also have a BBQ joint, a couple of quick bite casual stops, an ice cream shop, and a coffee shop.

Enough places to let everybody in the gang find something they love. I was really impressed with not only the choices for food but with the unexpected quality as well.

The Entertainment Let us not forget that this is, in fact, a casino. And many people, myself included, consider gambling entertainment. The Beau Rivage has you covered of course with any game you want. A large and tasteful gaming area with more than 2,000 slot machines as well as a poker room, and a high limit/VIP lounge. (cont.)

The Casino Floor

BR Prime Bone-In Dry Aged 32 oz.

Ribeye

The Poker Room

Jia Sweet Ame Ebi Salad

The menu features everything from wet and dry-aged prime beef, Kobe ribeyes, lobster tails from South Africa or Maine, and lobster tempura to seasonal oysters, stone crabs, and seafood risotto. All with five star service. This is the perfect spot to start (or end) the night.

But BR Prime is not the only high-end choice for dinner.

There is also Jia. It is a Pan-American influenced restaurant that features cuisine from Japan, Thailand, China, Korea, and Vietnam all in one very hip space and setting.

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yard layout unfolds in a majestic, almost cinematic, way. If you love the game, you don’t want to miss this course. Fallen Oak has won numerous awards as one of the best courses in the country and it is home to the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic Champions Tour event.

The course plays tough but fair and there is just nothing like having a lush fairway totally to yourself, with a caddie on the bag and a back drop of Magnolia and Pecan groves. Pure golf heaven. (continued)

However, if gambling is not your thing, no worries. The Beau also has a state of the art 1,500 seat theatre that plays host to some very big names. During our visit, the hugely popular show FUNAMBULA was running to sold out crowds. It was a theatrical Cirque Du Soleil meets slapstick comedy experience that was a first rate production.

The theatre also has a fantastic line-up set for the next few months including shows by Martina McBride, Vince Gill, comedian Ron White, and the legendary Tony Bennett. It is truly a great, intimate venue to see a show.

The Coast Nightclub

Also, on a nightly basis, you can make your own show (and judging by the intimate, inhibition-less crowd that I saw, many people do!) at the Coast Nightclub. With live music, hot dancing, and a great atmosphere, this is a spot not to be missed.

The Golf You have to actually leave the resort for this one but wow, is it worth it! Designed by legendary course architect, Tom Fazio, exclusively for guests of the Beau Rivage, Fallen Oak raises the bar for luxury, resort golf in the Southeast. The 18 hole, par 72, 7,500

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The Driving Range at Fallen Oak

FALLEN OAK

The Area

Even though you may not want to leave the resort or the golf facilities, and honestly why would you, don’t forget that you are at the beautiful Gulf of Mexico and surrounded by a huge number of other things to do and see, in and around Biloxi.

The list is long but here are a few of my favorite stops and experiences that you don’t want to miss.

WEST SHIP ISLAND

But the food, eaten on picnic tables sitting on sawdust covered floors, is fantastic and the atmosphere is one of a kind. Go for the sampler platter to taste everything and don’t miss “Momma Mia’s Mac Salad!”

THE CULTURE

Unfortunately, many of the grand old southern homes along Beach Boulevard were lost during Hurricane Katrina but, as the area is being re-built, there are still a few worth checking out. The Jefferson Davis Estate and Plantation, named Beauvoir, has been restored and is worthy of a visit. Davis was a U.S. Senator and the only President of the Confederacy.

There are numerous other museums and historic spots dotting the landscape all along the coast. One of West Ship Island the most impressive stops is the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art which is dedicated to the life and pottery of George Ohr, the Mad Potter of Biloxi. Who knew there even was a “Mad Potter of Biloxi”?

This is like having your own private beach for the day. It is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore and one of only five Mississippi barrier islands. West Ship is about 12 miles south of the Gulfport and Biloxi coast and is also home to Fort Massachusetts, a beautifully preserved brick fort completed in 1868.

THE GULF OF MEXICO

The water is warm, the beaches pristine, the sunbathing ideal, and the swimming perfect. For an added wow factor, you are sure to see dozens of dolphins swimming in the wild. We had a huge pod frolicking just about 50 feet from us for most of our day!

Check out Ship Island Excursions for daily ferry boats that take you to the Island. This is a great day trip that everyone will love.

THE SHED

“Get Fed at The Shed!” You have probably seen The Shed (and its food) on numerous Food Network shows and the place lives up to all the hype. The Ocean Springs location (where the shows are filmed) is an easy 20 minute drive from the Beau. The Shed is literally just that... a shed. Heck, you might even call it a shanty!

Other than the Beau Rivage, the beaches and the salt water were the main reasons we drove almost eight hours from Nashville (and why you will as well).

More than 60 miles of scenic shoreline which includes 26 miles of powder white sand. A chain of barrier islands limits the amount of strong waves reaching the mainland beaches, making the waters calm and ideal for swimming and family fun. You won’t find much surf here but what you will find are clean beaches, with free and easy access, just a short walk/ride from the hotel. And, as I said before, if you want that real tropical locale, isolated, “Jimmy Buffet feel” just head out to Ship Island.

The Bottom Line

Go south young man! The Beau Rivage is the perfect place for a guy getaway, a woman weekend, or a full on vacation for the entire family. The resort is all encompassing and it is great to feel like every one of your needs and wants are under one roof.

But, just remember, if you do get a little “cabin fever” there are plenty of other things to do and see just a short drive away.

My daily recommendation is below. Enjoy.

DAY ONE Pool, Food, Show DAY TWO Beach, Sightseeing, Dancing, Adult Beverages DAY THREE Golf, Food, Casino DAY FOUR (see day one) DAY FIVE (see day two) DAY SIX (you get the idea! ) -RN-

THE GULF

RAZORFEATURE

MORE DETAILS

BEAU RIVAGE HOTEL & RESORT beaurivage.com FALLEN OAK GOLF COURSE fallenoak.com SHIP ISLAND EXCURSIONS msshipisland.com THE SHED theshedbbq.com BEAUVOIR - JEFFERSON DAVIS HOME beauvoir.org OHR-O'KEEFE MUSEUM OF ART georgeohr.org MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST INFO visitmscoast.org

300 Wines. 30 Restaurants.

1 Cause.

With over 300 wines from around the world and culinary offerings from 30 of Middle Tennessee’s finest restaurants, the Franklin Wine Festival features live musical entertainment on multiple stages, celebrity pourers and a live and silent auction. In addition, there are Vintner’s Dinners held in conjunction with the festival, all benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Friday, October 11, 2013 | 7:00 pm The Factory At Franklin

Invest in Big Brothers Big Sisters today and help Middle Tennessee children succeed in our community. That means better report cards.

More confidence. Stable communities. New job opportunities. Expanded possibilities.

Advance Tickets $89

www.FranklinWineFestival.com | 615.522.5659

www.mentorakid.org

LAST CALL

from Whiskey Kitchen

THE “NEW” FASHIONED "The WK Spin On An Old Favorite"

Muddle Together Bourbon Cherries Diced Apples A Dash of Cinnamon A Dash of Fee Brothers Old Fashioned Bitters and Half an Ounce of Simple Syrup

Cover with Rocks, Pour In Two Ounces of Old Forester Bourbon, Stir, and Serve In a Rocks Glass

THE END razornashville.com

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