The best of Ellijay, Blue Ridge & Jasper 7

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"I'm proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is - I could be just as proud for half the money." - Arthur Godfrey

“The worst time to have a heart attack is during a game of charades” – Demetri Martin

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DON’T MISS The Next First Saturday Celebration August 3rd

"Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died. " - Erma Bombeck

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THIA: Have you ever walked in the door of a restaurant and instantly felt warm, welcomed and right at home? If you answered no, that's cause you ain't been to JD's yet! It's a family place, in as far as it’s run by a family, feels like family, for your family, and like a relative was cooking for you. It was a freezing cold day when we stopped by JD's and the minute we came in I was all warmed up by the heat in the place for one, but also by being greeted by at least three different staff members all with big smiles.

The two tables near us were talking about how great the food was, and then branched off into discussion of where they used to work and places they knew in common, they were strangers when they sat down, never met each other before, but they were friends by the time they left.

That's just the atmosphere set down by JD's. JD is the Dad by the way, he is a long distance trucker. Rhonda is the Mom and she seems to be the boss, although in a very sweet southern type of way. Sam is the son and he says he answers to "Hey You". All the waitresses we met seemed like cousins, friendly and happy to be there. There is lots of love in that restaurant.

A gentlemen stopped by our table when he heard we were from the “FunPaper” to tell us...

"My name is Rick and I'm from Atlanta. We discovered this place about a week after it opened.

Now it’s a weekly stop for us to enjoy the food here. I think it’s the best meat & 3, the best value, anywhere in the mountains up here. And we’re back today on our way down the road.” There you go, a completely unsolicited testimonial!

Now about the food - I chose a simple, home cooked meal of meatloaf, taters and gravy, corn, cabbage and cornbread for $7.99. Everything on the plate was delicious. I would order the same exact thing again, and highly recommend this dinner to anyone who wants a warm filling tasty meal. But I had to ask Rhonda, how do you make plain steamed cabbage taste so delicious? She told me there were a few ingredients added to that steaming water, and that made so much difference! She named em for me, but I'm not telling, you go try it for yourself. And if JD's can make steamed cabbage taste scrumptious, imagine how good everything else is!

ROBB: Meat & Three for me too! I had a hamburger steak with onions, double taters, corn, and a roll. It was delicious and plenty to eat. I love this place! The service is great! And great fried chicken! See the story in this issue.

NOTE: They’re tavern is NOW OPEN! Serving wine and beer, so you can stop in for a beverage, or for dinner, or both, but any reason you go to JD's is the right one.

JD's- Feels like family and tastes like home.

Two thumbs up! : ) 888 Old Philadelphia Road, Jasper (Behind Wal-Mart) 706-253-3031 • 706-253-3032 Menu Line

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Our great server Kacie

“I have a friend. He keeps trying to convince me he’s a compulsive liar, but I don’t believe him.” – Ben Bailey

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nce upon a time there was an amazing, adorable little boy named Kameron. He watches Scooby Doo cartoons and wishes he could have a huge pizza like the Scooby gang gets.

Kam is about to turn six and can't wait for his birthday. His Mom just picked up the latest issue of The Best of Ellijay, Blue Ridge & Jasper Funpaper and brought it home. Kam's grandpa, who lives in Coosawattee loves the paper and always reads it. Kam flipped through it and sees the story on Johnny's announcing their 72" pizza. He gets really excited and he tells his mom that is what he wants for his sixth birthday!

Of course, we (meaning Thia & Robb), have no idea all this is going on until we get a note from Kam's mom, Kelly. Kelly tells us that Kam wanted that huge pizza for his birthday ( and they already get pizza delivered from Johnny's because they love it) But when a pizza was delivered to them recently, they asked about the 72 inch one and the delivery guy said that it was a joke story.

Kelly's note said that Kameron was very disappointed when he found out he could not get a supersize pizza at Johnny's, since that is what he wanted most for his birthday.

Let me just tell you, that the last thing in the world that we could let happen, would be to disappoint an amazing almost 6 year old. So we made a date for dinner with Kelly and we worked out that we would all meet up at Johnny's and have pizza together to try and make it up to Kam. There was no way Johnny's could make a 72" pizza, but I was thinking about how we could make an huge SLICE of pizza.

I was thinking, … if they made a whole pizza and cut out one big slice, that would work…

Robb agreed that was a good idea. He called Andy, owner of Johnny's And Andy had an even better idea. They would make a slice pizza, that is even bigger than a large pizza. ( what they make to cut up to sell individual slices), and they would cut a giant slice out of that. So Andy secretly instructed his staff on what to make for Kameron.

We arrived at Johnny's Pizza at 6 o'clock. Kam, and his mom and dad, (Desi) and Robb and I all sat down and ordered our drinks and a couple large pizzas. Kameron said he wanted pepperoni pizza, so Robb snuck off to tell Steve ( the pizza maker) to put some pepperoni on this special slice.We gave Kam his presents and he got to coloring in his new Scooby Doo coloring book.

We all chatted and waited for our food to arrive.

Kameron didn't know what was coming for his dinner, and we didn't tell his parents either, so they would be surprised as well.

When Pizza Chef Steve brought out that humongous slice of pizza, (it had to be the biggest slice in Georgia!) Kameron lit up and a huge smile spread across his face. He LOVED his Johnny's Super duper Scooby Doo Slice! It was almost as big as our whole large pizza! I didn't think there was anyway he could eat that. But he tried! He took his first bite and thought it was delicious.

After bugging Kam by asking him a million questions and having him pose for pictures he wanted to dive in already! He said- “I want to be alone with my pizza!” And he did, he ate and ate! He managed to eat about a third of his slice, and he was stuffed!

Andy, the owner of Johnny’s sure did come through for Kameron & The Best of EBRJ Funpaper by coming up with this huge slice. Thanks once again Andy & Johnny's Pizza! And thanks Steve for making it! And thanks to Kam's parents for letting us make a little boy really happy, and hopefully making him a lasting memory of his sixth birthday and the biggest slice of pizza in Georgia!

Pizza Chef Steve with Kameron

'Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.' - Mark Twain

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'Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell the name will carry.' - Bill Cosby

Story By Bayou Betty Photos By Bayou Betty & Kimbie Dismuke Brown

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ong before the days of Swamp People and The Gator Boys coming into our living rooms on a weekly basis, I had an appreciation for alligators. Being a kid from South Georgia and growing up in the country with the woods as my playground, I learned very early on to always keep a look out for alligators, especially when I was playing in or near the water, or even in a swimming pool. I remember one summer an alligator ate my cousin's dog. I think I was fifteen at the time and it was my first encounter with how aggressive the apex predators really are. And though the cold blooded creatures never ended up in our pool, several ended up in my cousin Scott's pool. Scott and his family lived in a very low lying area in Jeff Davis County which isn't too far from Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp. They had built a house behind my grandmother's house and right in front of a two acre lily pad pond. The pond was fed by a black creek and a momma alligator became quite fond of using the pond for a few months out of the year as her egg laying spot. The baby alligators would hatch and many would find their way from the pond and into the swimming pool. Although I thought a gator pool was a nice addition to the property, the family eventually had to fill in the pool during the late 80’s as alligators were still on the protected list due to the over harvesting in the 50's and 60's.

Now sometime around 2000, the baby alligators had flourished so much that my cousin Scott asked me if I could help him relocate all the babies. He had found the perfect bait and it worked great on the 10 to 12 inch baby alligators. It was a plastic floating bobber that blinked. The little gators couldn't resist this flashing ball and would chase it down clamping onto it with their bigger-than-body jaws. My job would be fishing the gators hookless just using the bobber while Scott's job was to unlatch their jaws and put them in the back of his pickup truck. We managed to catch and relocate about 25 or so just down the road behind my aunt's house. She lived off the same creek but near a lot more flowing water. Though I never saw the momma of all these gator babies, Scott believed it was the same one that consumed his dog so many years before.

I had never really given any thought to hunting much of anything until that moment. But I thought of this reptile like she was some sort of rogue killer, you know, something like Jaws, striking terror in the backyards of South Georgia. However, pursuing gators would have to wait. Hunting alligators in Georgia is strictly regulated by zones and you must apply for a Georgia alligator tag and obtain an alligator hunting license before you can harvest an alligator. Nowadays if you have a problem with a nuisance alligator, you can call a state agency to come out to help as long as the alligator is over 4 feet in length. The Georgia alligator hunting season is one month and usually lasts from the first week in September until the first week in October.

My first opportunity to go on a big gator hunt finally presented itself this past season. A friend's husband, Patrick Brown, had a tag and his eye on an aggressive 13 foot plus beast. The land owner said the big gators were depleting the fish and duck populations as well as killing the small alligators in this Emanuel County back water pond. This would be my first real hunting experience and I was going to film it. Before I headed out I needed to successfully complete a hunter’s safety course, and then apply for my hunting license along with the alligator permit. I passed with a solid B. Thanks, I'll take it!

I joined Patrick's crew for several of the night hunts as well as a few day hunts. With less than a week left to spare in the season, Patrick finally got his chance at a clear shot of this trophy gator. It was around twelve in the afternoon and the gator wasn't far from the bank when Patrick shot him with a Muzzy Gator Point arrow from his bow. It was attached to a line tied to a boat buoy. The alligator then submerged itself for almost four hours without surfacing. I joined Patrick, his wife, Kimbie, their friends Curt and Weston out on the one hundred fifty acre pond in a couple of jon boats to chase down the 814 pound 13 foot 1 inch mega monster. During the time the alligator was submerged, Patrick managed to harpoon him twice putting a total of three lines in the gator. During the process of surfacing the gator, it head-butted the boats twice and did a death roll spin twisting up all the lines and crushing one of the buoys. It was an epic battle! When Curt and Patrick finally got him to the surface and dug him out from under the enormous amounts of coon tale and duckweed, Patrick dispatched the old dinosaur. We towed him in and onto a flatbed trailer. He was so large he had to be weighed at the recycling plant! He was put on ice for the night and harvested for his hide and meat the next day, nothing went to waste. Now, after all that if you ask me if I felt bad for the gator? Well, I did. But you should see the amazing hunting video I made! Tight lines and crocodile tears, BB The video will soon be made available for viewing if you are interested in seeing it. Be sure to find me on Facebook at facebook.com/bayoubetty

'I never forget a face, but in your case I’d be glad to make an exception.' - Groucho Marx

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"When a family member was looking to purchase a property in North Georgia, I really wanted to find them a great realtor to work with. As a realtor myself, I set very high standards, and was getting very discouraged after a week of research. After my conversation with Scott, I knew he would be the perfect person to work with them, and I was right!!! He is everything that you hope to find in a realtor; professional, and knowledgeable, but also a wonderful sense of service to his clients, and always going above and beyond. My family and I now consider him a friend, and I have the utmost regard for him professionally and personally."

Liz Jones, Broker Keller Williams, Asheville NC

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'I wonder if illiterate people get the full effect of alphabet soup.' - Jerry Seinfeld

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ama and I have been blessed with a weekend all to ourselves, yep no kids. Now those with young'uns can understand it is a blessing to have a bunch a kids that love you and you can share the natural wonders of these mountains with, but it's also a great blessing to have a whole weekend with just you and mama. Gotta love that. Now a lot of people would take this and run away, but gotta think about that budget.

We've got two birthdays to tend to in February, so keeping that in mind gotta stay down to earth. Still, I need to take advantage of a weekend of peace, quiet and actually getting to do what we want to do. Now there's a list made by mama for just this kinda situation, but it's been so long I ain't sure where it is, and honestly I ain't gonna look too hard for it. That list compiles chores to be done when there's times like this. Nope, ain't gonna be moving any furniture looking for that list for sure.

There is a daddy's list though, with something that does need tending to, now that the time is right and we have the time. Oh, and the mountains are willing and able to lend a hand with the scenery. Yep, it's time for a proper engagement for mama. We both know we ain't wanting to be with anyone else and all that entails, but women like to hear and see that a man honestly feels that way.

Thank God for the mountains, and places she ain't ever seen before. Man, I'd be lost without them and her.

This brings us to our location of the issue. Sea Creek Falls, yep it's too cold to get out in the creek and play, but this place ain't about that. This is a great place to swim in the summer don't get me wrong, but as far as a romantic getaway to enjoy with someone special, man it's hard to beat. An easy drive in, a very easy walk that's wide enough to hold hands along the trail, right to a beautiful show of this glorious mountain spectacle of water and rock. Sea Creek Falls, a beautiful double waterfall with a shallow swimming hole below, that even though it's cold you can still roll up your pants and get out in there. It really ain't that bad, try it. This place is tucked deep in the Coopers Creek management area, the ride alone is worth the trip. Beautiful hemlocks and white oaks line the little two lane road, no way to drive fast so you gotta take your time and enjoy. It's an excellent place to enjoy your family and an even better place to show your love for the woman of your life by asking her hand in marriage. Watching the turkeys and deer on the way in is like they are giving you the floor of a perfect natural stage to perform an act that needs no rehearsal.

It's as if the trees kinda lean over as if bowing to you as you kneel before them and God with all this beauty surrounding you as you slide a ring onto her finger hoping to hear the famous phrase you so desperately want to come from her lips. Oh yes men, she's gotta say yes to this. I mean, come on, all this beauty, you've drove all this way and ain't lost the ring. Besides, she don't know where she is, and you're her ride home! Y'all get out there and enjoy these beautiful mountains for what ever reason, they're here for a reason. Free, clean, and kids of all ages enjoy it.

New fiancee' Aby adds-"By the way, I said, YES, and I did know how to get back home!"

To read all of Matt’s Family Adventures just go to www.TheBestOfEBRJ.com and type MATT WILLIAMS into the site search window.

'Trying is the first step towards failure.' - Homer Simpson

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Always remember that you are unique; just like everyone else.

Interview with Jim Gray by Robb Newman Photos by Jim Gray

What follows is the “in print version” of what started out as an 8 page interview and layout. Though we hated to do it, we had to cut it down to five pages and leave out lots of great photos. Fortunately we have plenty of room online and you can see all the amazing photos and the entire uncut interview on our website. Go to: www.TheBestOfEBRJ.com/safari ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Robb: We’re here with Jim Grey, owner of the Gun Pro Shop, Jim recently returned from Africa where he helped set up hunting for Americans that wanted to visit and took a safari of his own.

Jim: My main reason was to do some hunting to acquire trophies to have in my store and have some stories to go along with them to share with people.

The primary animal that I hunted on this trip was a lion. I guess maybe I was a little bit naïve and not very smart going into it to not realize how big that animal is and I’ve seen pictures on TV where people got charged when the lions were hunting and I thought “you know, that will never happen to me.” Well, it did and that was way more exciting than I expected but, when you go on a trip like that you go with quality professionals who know what they’re doing; they’re experienced; they’ve done this many times, so you’re safe with them.

Robb: You’ve been to Africa several times right?

Jim: Yes. I’ve been to Africa twice before. Those times I was hunting "plains" game; antelopes and warthog pigs. Not dangerous animals. I hunted two dangerous game animals on this trip. The Nile crocodile, and the female lion. We tracked the lion for a couple of days.

The way that we would hunt was to drive on the roads and property looking for tracks. We saw tracks on the road and stopped and got off the vehicle and walked in on foot with our guns. We did-

n’t go very far before we could actually see the lion in front of us in the brush. I got a shot and I took the shot and got it through the heart, which is a killing shot, but it ran about 10 feet; stopped; then came running straight for us. At that point there were 3 professional hunters with me that had weapons and I had my own weapon. We all started firing. The guys at the back of the vehicle said it sounded like World War III be-

put more bullets in my gun.

Robb: Amazing. So they don’t come down easy?

Jim: I was shocked at how tough and how big the animal was.

Robb: I know there are lots of animal lovers in the North Georgia. So I want to make this clear, this lion, the people there eat this as a food source. It’s not just for trophy.

Jim: It is used for food and in fact the

cause we were all just shooting away.

Robb: It was coming right at you.

Jim: It came right at us and got to less than 20 yards from us before we knocked it down. It had already roared a couple of times by then but when we knocked it on the ground, it roared again and rolled over and dust was flying up everywhere and then it came up and I guess it had enough of us at that point and it ran off to the side about 100 yards. By then I was out of bullets so I

skinners and the trackers were fighting over the meat. All of the meat you kill on any of the hunts over all goes to the local people. A 300,000 acre ranch that has forty people that work on the ranch and most of them don’t get paid a whole lot, but they have a place to live and part of their compensation is to get the food. None of it goes to waste.

Robb: So, a lion is food, for the people that live there. Even though for us it’s rarity and it’s size really makes it

Why is "abbreviation" such a long word?

valuable for hunters to hunt.

Jim: Yeah Robb: If there were 600 pound chickens, you’d be over there hunting chickens and there’d be a big chicken here in your trophy room.

Jim: That would be the world’s biggest chicken.

Robb: Right. So it’s really the same thing, for the people that might get upset about it.

Jim: Well, a lot of people don’t understand this, but the fees from hunting, most of the money goes to pay for the game wardens, and animal preservation organizations in the government in Africa.

Robb: So this actually helps preserve the species. And it’s actually a good thing?

Jim: It does and it is. It’s the same thing here in the US with deer and other animals that are hunted, elk and such, the exact same thing. When we shot this lion; we knocked it down when it was charging at us, it got up and ran off to the side and then I had to put more bullets in my gun because I had shot all the ones that I had. And we went after it and and I shot it and finished it off. All of what I just described took place in about 10 seconds. I’d heard people describe it like being in the Twilight Zone and I couldn’t relate to it until I went through it myself. It’s like, you’re hearing the lions roaring, the guns are going off, but it’s almost like you’ve got cotton in your ears. You don’t really hear them and you don’t feel the impact from the gun, it’s in slow motion, but sixty yards to twenty yards took like a second. They go from zero to sixty miles per hour in half a second.

Robb: So it’s totally possible it could have got right on you.

Jim: Oh, it had every intention of doing that. A couple of days before we went on the hunt we went into a large outfitting store in South Africa and when the

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thing to parks, so that’s a very exciting , zebra, ffes gira see to n do. Very commo everywildebeests, and impala’s just moved we g nin where you go. One eve in just an from one town to another and the ng hour and a half drive, just alo 100 big highway, we counted well over d, warthogs. On the side of the roa on the yeah, just out eating the grass ay. side of the highw here.

Robb: Just like you see deer or r dee see Jim: Yeah, just like we here, turkeys on the side of the road ’t see don You gs. tho war the it’s there They’re very many of the other animals. ss. gue I , more skittish re in Robb: So, while you were thethe of re mo s wa South Africa, it plains, not really a jungle? ntry is Jim: No. A large part of the coulike a ost alm is ia mb Na very dry and ybe, desert. Some parts may get ma very so r yea a in eight inches of rain Dakota or similar to our West, like South . What dry ely rem d there Arizona where it’s ext Robb: Yeah, I bet. So, you saire. I see they call the bush looks very much like see in was a big outfitting store the not the low, bushy country that youSouth s, vie mo zan Tar the in y like ntr ica Afr Texas. A lot of the cou e the with stores.

Africa, looks like that. You do hav ital Cap the ; city big ere the in wh ins was Jim: This open savannahs and the pla a. You that of lot a e hav you of South Africa, which is Pretoribig city there’s just grass; y Ver all. at it on s fly to Johannesburg, which is a of Attree no h as well wit size the to in e ’re clos you tty en pre wh ly ting actual and it’s a different kind of hun e wid it’s e aus bec y lanta as far as total population world ntr that kind of cou so big, spread out city and it’s a 1st open and the animals can see youyou. can it but s, way ny ma in from ity y y/c awa ntr cou country they will move to getlet you get close to also be a 3rd, 4th, or 5th kind ofn the They’re not going to Africa just by traveling 200 yards dowl where them. There are parts in South we do as rain ch mu road. For example, the hospita r done where they get as terns the first heart transplant was evefrom here in Ellijay. The weather pat erent. go can You . urg diff esb y ann ver is in Joh and the terrain are very, rt ough that hospital, where the first hea yards You also have rivers running thr I did on gs thin the of transplant was done and go 200 one and as the are ple ile. I down, and there would be peo h a fire this trip was I hunted for a crocod wit n dia me see n’t did I e aus camped out on the bec one e did not tak und would going. Lots of squatter camps arobig one that I felt measured up and week the ve lea The hy. trop a the country. When you be sufficient to be bush is ple city, you’re in the country. The before I was there, the same peo as. it e to r sam ct refe y exa the what that I hunted with, in the the big ile cod cro a d kille , Robb: So how far away from ted place that I hun d close city was this lion? that was about 15 feet. It weighethey on e wer We e. driv r hou 4 en a wh ut and Abo : Jim to about 1700 pounds near of rubthe western side of South AfricaAfrica is opened it up, they found a pair th Sou na. swa Bot of der mach. the bor there’s a ber boots in the sto wonder if there a fairly developed country, but preof d kin You b: Rob m. lot of open land. The big game rywas a person attached to the ld’ve eve So, in. t hun ’t cou don y the you serves Jim: That’s the only way is in body’s heard of Kruger, which big ones. gotten in there. And it was both boots.

South Africa. That’s one of the graphic Robb: Both? That had to be somet crocoYou see a lot of the National Geodon’t body. Somebody got into tha ry. shows are filmed there, but you and do sto a dile. That’s e to you hunt there. You can go throughwatchJim: Yep. So, that brings it hom with and tos ling dea not ’re a safari, but it’s for pho in a hurry that you se for ing the animals. We organize thoover toy animals here ’re , but people as well and while you parks Robb: So it digested the person there it’s easy to go into those ger the boots... and do that. You could go to Kru phants, Jim: .....were still there because they are ele wild . That and ride around and see rubber and they wouldn’t digest pards wild lions roaming free; even leo game opened my eyes considerably. While and cheetahs; all protected in the

going to customers heard that we were need ’t don u “Yo said y hunt lions, the ’ll need but one pack of bullets, but youso we h, Yea ” . ear 4 packs of underw the trip. laughed about that the rest of en it wh ng Robb: You weren’t laughi . you was coming at got Jim: No, but you know, I never were ters hun al scared. The profession ir busiextremely calm. They know the of ds dre ness and have done it hun should times. After I think about it, I wasn’t. If I but , red sca re mo have been very difI ever go again I’d approach it ferently.

Robb: Like what? How? gun.

Jim: Well, I would take a biggerwith ng goi t hou wit go But I'd never y were people that really know what the nt to orta imp ely rem doing. It’s just ext on it. do that. You’re life’s dependinglike that l ma ani One person hunting an would be foolhardy.

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The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the ability to reach it.

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we we were hunting for the crocodiles,e sam the in us tam opo hipp saw also ... river. The reason I’m telling you this hip or ses mu ota pop hip Robb: Is it popotami? ver Jim: Hippopotami I guess. Whichea is that but it, say to t wan way you huge, huge, huge animal and they, acyou’ve heard I’m sure, they actually count for more deaths of humans in Africa than all the other animals. ?

Robb: Really? How do they get you and you Jim: They bite. They charge , big they have huge heads and big, big In ial. itor terr very y’re the teeth and fact, we saw several while we were , there and one of them was a big, big g big male and he didn’t like us bein e wer we but us, d there and he charge ve up on the bank about thirty feet abohe but us, the water and he could see was about 60 yards out in the water.

He started charging us through thesaid, water and my professional hunter we “Let’s get out of here now!” Once If got out of his sight, he backed off. ld we would have stayed there, he wou me have come straight for us. It made king wal e wer we n whe s vou ner very ld down along the riverbanks we cou re whe mud ky muc y, per slip see in the n their tracks were where they had bee and er wat the of out coming in and going up the bank and if we would le have gotten in the wrong place whi

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do, tuned in to survival and what they n relthy one was there, there would have bee hea a survive and eat. I have e no way for us to run from it becaus spect for those animals. For a big trothat ky They the mud was so thick and muc phy one, it might be 80 years old. just ly real we couldn’t have ran. It would’ve get to e take a long, long tim it run us down. large. I hunted one on this trip, but e, tub You on n see I’ve ll ting We hun b: ut Rob gives me pause to think abo you can see those videos where something that’s that old and it took there would be an animal on the king that long to get that big. I mean, it e, shore of the river there just drinthis would be impressive to have in her some water and all of a sudden it. do ’t won but I probably huge crocodile, just comes out of Robb: Just out of respect? and it bs gra the there in a flash and Jim: Out of respect. Not respect in but . rs, elde r drags it under. That could be youget you ect resp you sense that al Jim: It could be; absolutely, If you respect the fact that it’s an old anim to f stuf of down there. lot a ived eone and that has surv Robb: That could have been som get to where it is. could say wearing rubber boots.

I’m Robb: Oh! I see. Well, you th of dea Jim: That’s exactly what happened, the ng ngi that you’re ave river sure because people are on those re the man with the rubber boots. the n dow go y ves banks all the time. The Jim: Yeah, and protecting the nati ber rub e mor to fish or to wash clothes. any get sn’t doe so that he , Robb: Are the rivers full of piranha boots in his stomach. Most hunters be to g there? goin y’re the s of when they hunt aniJim: No, no piranha, but in two dayty looking for the older more mature anythir saw ly life it’s actively hunting I probab of mal that is near the end d. crocodiles. Their senses are very goo way because they make the best nora from y’ve They can hear, see and smell a- trophies, but also because the king pec huge distance. They can feel the vibr the in d mally been replace can tion through the ground and they ause order, their family order if you will, by bec r spe m hear you. You have to whi younger one’s that have pushed the if they hear you they’re going to be y out. , gone and they’ll be in the water. The Robb: So they’ve already had a nice by rs yea ion didn’t survive 100 mill rt long life. being stupid. I mean, they’re not sma Jim: That’s what the ethical hunter very animals, but their senses are

ure would be looking for; the older, matr dee with e her e sam the It’s animal. and turkeys.

Robb: So tell us about the zebra.

Jim: There are a lot of zebras over there. You know when you hunt animals you have to study them. You’re going to be a better hunter studying s and the animals’ traits and what it doe in el trav ally usu y The it. s doe how it groups and they are very smart, very elusive, very protective and they are very difficult to hunt. We hunted for two days and I could see some, but the they were always at a distance andway wind was always going the wrong m and blowing our scent towards the y. which would cause them to run awae Usually when you hunt you will hav ’ll the American hunters and then you lihave a professional hunter who is 2 ut abo s take It . censed and trained ters years to get your professional hun time license and then another period of of and a lot of tests and demonstrationous ability to be able to hunt for danger game. Normally the professional alhunters are white guys and almost ways you’ll have a black native with you who is a tracker and their senses are phenomenal. These guys can see and things that you and I just can’t see ld wou We ra. zeb my that’s how we got the be riding in the hunting vehicle and ld wou ing, eth tracker, if he saw som

clear conscience is usually the sign a bad memory.

I thinkABigfoot is blurry, that’s the problem — it’sof not the photographer’s fault.

To Advertise In The Best Of Ellijay, Blue Ridge & Jasper Call Robb At 706-889-5851

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18

Be nice to your kids. They'll choose your nursing home.

bang on the hood and we would Robb: Amazing. and look to see if we could see stop spot because it’s too big to mo ve. sees and judge whether it was what he Jim: Yeah, pretty interesting. So anyAfrican motif and all the waiters Rob b: So they let you take pictur wor th are way, we were out riding and he es going after. It happened many dre ssed up in native attire and eve all spo tted and do they skin it there? times; rythe zebra on the side of the hill he would see things that me and thing. Sort of like one of those . This Jim : The y my don Bra ’t zilia usu was n ally afte skin r 2 days of trying to hunt one it righ professional hunters didn’t see steak restaurants where they brin there. They’ll get it in their truc t .

Wh en I g the and wal kin g and k and trac got the zebra, he saw it way up king and driv meat out to the table and carve take it back to the ranch and the on the it and looking. We got out and wal ing y will side of a hill about 250 yards awa so they have all the various game off, ked skin it the y, re. in The anifirs and t thin foll g owe the d y do it and eventually I was the bush and how he saw it I’ll mals that way. after they skin it is put the anima never able to get it. l in the know because it took me five min Robb: So, there’s no McLion’s salt. So what they’re doing is you or anyRobb: What happens after you take to find it and I didn’t actually see utes thin g like that? kill an the skin off it and the ani n the ma y l like will fill tha up t? Do you just skin it until it moved. Their eyes are just Jim: No. But there are restauran and cover the whole thing with ts right there or is there like a BBQ salt. ter than ours. It’s all they do, is betwh ere you can get the meat. There’s The y’ll also live put in a disi rig nfe ht cta the nt re on at the scene, ya kno the bush and work with the ani what I guess would be conside kill any bacteria. They want to it to red our the barbecue grills and coolers w, pre ser It’s almost like they’ve got GPSmals. ve equ ivalent of jerky, they call it biltong com e it and tak ’s bui e car lt e of out the . and all? skin. The salt will They soak the into their brains too because on meat in a marinade with kill bacteria. a pre viJim : No . ous trip over there, we would be spices and salt and then they dry Robb: So that’s on the skin? it and Robb: No? It’s not like a loud ing and we would just go out andhuntyou can buy that anywhere in the cou par ty?

Jim : It’s on wal the k skin Jim n.

The : Wh rea en we killed the lion, there was son all day following tracks and we try. People love that. And they like to take it back to the camp they wou ld ma ke a bit of a par ty. to twist and turn, go left and righ sausage out of it. They’re real fon is because they have a clean env do it d irondown, across valley’s and hills t, up and Robb: Oh really? tha t. Just about every evening you of me nt wh from ere bethe y can Jim pro : Yea ces h. s What they usually do the meat fore daylight to after dark, but have a cookout around a campfir ’ll also. you kill an animal is they call for when got near the end of the day we when it they will cook the food for you. e and Robb: That’s just what I was had You get and there’ll be other guys that help jus t walked miles and were a long way to taste everything. are going to say. So they cut and from call ed skin ner make s that will drive out the vehicle and the professional Robb: So this is like a whole pac steaks and stuff? Like with bur kage where you are. If not, then the to gers would say, “ok, time to go” and hunter kin d of adventure thing? And you y will and hot dog the s? get as clos e as they can and dep black tracker would take off wal book these kinds of things? on what the animal is, they will ending Jim: Yes, they do. Absolutely. Sausage. and he would walk in as straigh king Jim : Yes eith er Robb: Lion sausage? move it or take care of it right as he could walk and we never t a line Rob b: Like someone here fro the re Jim : Yea came h. Lion or zebra and there are where it is. They brought out a out more than 100 yards from the jay, Blue Ridge or Jasper coum Ellilitte r, res tau ran ts veh the ire, you can buy game and rolled the lion over onto it cle. They are looking for grains on a plane with you and go? ld get and 6 me at in of cer san tain d sto guy res , s so carried it over to a place wh there’s turned over, leaves turned over, ket for the meat and then you cana mar- Jim: Oh yeah, absolutely. I’ve got quite we could take pictures. If there’sere thing that’s the wrong color, somsomea few people already a big go to certain restaurants and the also y cook next year. There’s a lined up to go that’s been disturbed in some wayething animal taken like say a giraffe that the fella and his meat for you that weighs about 3500-5000 you and I just wouldn’t see. and they want to go to Africa on fiancé pounds, or an was there, we . The last night that I went to a restaurant that eym a elephant, they do it right there oon and maybe do a little hun honon the specializes in game meat. It’s got an but do sight seeing and drive to ting, Victo-

I still have my Christmas tree. I looked at it today. Sure enough, I couldn't see any forests. - Steven Wright

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ria Falls.

Robb: What’s the weirdest thin Robb: And that’s what, like 100 g you’ve ever eaten?

Jim: It’s huge. It’s a half mile wid 0 feet? e.

It’s way big ger Jim: Wow. I don’t know. Probab than Niagara Falls. You see Na ica, I’ve eaten bear. Bear’s not ly right here in Amergrams about it all the time. I’vetional Geographic progood unless you cook it very good. those areas and seen them bef been over in some of ore , you can see hun Robb: So bear is barely good. dreds of wild, free roaming ele phants in a day, or Jim: Yeah, that’s right. Yep. You cape buffalo. It’s just phenomena but it’s not something you’d wancan make it edible, just don’t believe really exists, l. Things that you but the y do. want to eat. Deer is good. Elk’s t to seek out and Robb: So, this lion you got we igh s abo ut what, standing. I love to eat caribou. good. Caribou is out300?

One of the things that I wanted to taste, but I didn’t get Jim: The lion weighed 363 lbs. porcupine. Yeah. I got a porcup the chance to was Robb: Uh huh. And the zebra? and that’s going to make a phe ine on this trip also Jim: I don’t know, but probably 700 -80 0 lbs; the big mount with all the spikes stickinnomenal full body one. I actually took 2. One was a big one and then I Robb: That’s a food that com g up. had a smaller one which I’m goi es with its own toothng to hav e full bod y pick. mounted with the lion attackin g it from the rea r.

I'm Jim: Yeah. Actually, it’s a very going to display it in the middle have mounted because it’s ver expensive animal to Robb: That’ll be amazing to seeof my store y difficult to do.

Robb: Oh, I know what I’ve got Jim: Yeah, I can’t wait to get tha ! to ask you t.

Par t of the reason I you can do went on this trip was to get a trop hunting tours all over the wo . I know hy tha rld, but t I cou ld put my father-in-law is dying to go into my store to bring people in. hog I lov hun e, ting as you .I ’ve aldon’t know what his enthusias ready seen this morning, people come in and want to wants to. Are there hog hun m for that is but, he look at them ting trips?

Jim: Yes. Absolutely. You can go Robb: Yeah, I did. It’s amazi to ng. bel ow Macon. There are quite a fewSouth Georgia, Jim: I probably spend 2 hours a day places. There’s talk ing to people some in Florida tha about the animals in here. I hav t you can go to. There’s severa e gro ups of sch l up ool in Tennessee. I don’t know any kids come in here to look at the in North Georgia. ani ma ls.

Eve n som e The of the ones that are right here re are hogs here in Gilmer Cou nty. I’ve killed one in my backyard. See that big spo coyotes, people have heard abolike bobcats, foxes and tty ut looking one? the m and the y live That one was killed by one of my here with them, but have never neighbors right up the road from me. the mounts here and I take peo seen one. So, I have Robb: Really? They are viciou them. An interesting little fact, ple around and show s little suckers aren’t just about every anithey? mal in North America has antlers and ant lers grow Jim: Yeah, and one of my neighb every year and then fall off. The one of those. He was riding his ors was charged by the pronghorn and the sheep, exceptions would be 4-w as the buffalo which, like a cowthey have horns, as well running after him. Luckily he had heeler and it came , the hor ns sta y on for Robb: So, you do hog hunting a gun. their whole life and don’t fall off.

Ani ma ls in Afr ica Jim: Yeah. It’s quite exciting. Thetrips? have horns. There’s none with ant lers , so all of their are the trophies, the meat’s not really big ones that horns stay on for their entire life and con tinu e to could probably make sausage very good to eat. You grow. Like we have elk, deer, car out ibo u and the like , all be ok, but the smaller ones are verof it and it would of those fall off every year and gro y good to eat. w bac k eve ry year.

Robb: Hogs are breeding like Robb: Wow. That’s weird. Do rab wa bits. rth ogs hav e Jim: They’re breeding like hog warts? s. There are a lot of them up there. In certain places Jim: Yes. You can see it on their it’s here, I’ll show you. That’s how face. See? Come over they are destroying people’s crops. out of control and the y get the ir nam e is in here in the store yesterday talk There was a fellow those wart looking things that are the re on their face.

I’m not going to say where it was ing about an area, Robb: Rather ugly close up, are n’t the y?

Did you Gilmer County, where the hogs but, but its here in eat lion or zebra? are cro ps. He was in here getting som just destroying his Jim: I did have some zebra. I did not eat any of the to use to hunt the things with at e products from us lion, but the trackers and the skin ner s wer e figh ting and lasers to mount on his rifle night; some lights over the meat of the lion. It’s ver s so he could shoot y priz ed because the them at night. natives think it gives them stre ngt h.

The y eat the lion Robb: So, I think that’s about so big mojo in lion meat so the could possibly top the rubber it. I don’t think you that. It looked edible and it looy were fighting over ked good but I just dile story. Thank you so much!boots in the crocodidn’t get the opportunity to get any on tha t trip .

Robb: What did zebra taste like ? Don’t tell me “Like Chicken”.

Don’t forget, you can see all Jim: Zebra, it tastes good. It’s the phosor t of like bee f; a to littl s e inc lud bit stronger, but not gamey. I ing pic tu re s of the hunt and bit tough. Kudu, eland, warthothought it was a little tro ph y ph ot g os is ext alo rem ng ely with the entire goo d.

Robb: You’ve eaten a warthog? un cu t int er vie w, Go to: Jim: Yeah. Warthog is a pig. Its makes good sausage. Just like real good meat and ww w.

Th eB es tO fEBRJ.com/safari Same thing. Impala, springbokyou’d cook a pig here. , Al all so tha see Jim’s trophy room at the t is really good.

One of the best meats I had on Gu bok carpaccio. Sliced real thin that trip was springn Pr o Shop in Ellijay or go to oil, vinegar and capers and othand marinated in olive www.thebestofebrj.com/gun-p er spices. Oh, it was excellent. ro-

shop/

20 Do you think that when they asked George Washington for his ID that he just whipped out a quarter? - Steven Wright

A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one Year and out the other.

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Thia Says, “This is the stuff that Jerry puts on his FaceBook page, and it cracks me up!�

Been using my new pickup line today: Babe does this rag smell like chloraform to you?

Thought for Today: Always keep your words soft and sweet in case you have to eat them.

True love is never having to say: Honey please put the gun down..

I'm not just any stalker, I'm your stalker.

By the way, you are out of butter pecan ice cream.

My neighbor is addicted to brake fluid.. but he says he can stop anytime..

A state trooper pulls over this old man and said, "Do you know your wife fell out of the car several miles back?" Man said, "Thank goodness, I thought I was going deaf!"

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I saw on TV last night, that they found bones on the moon? Oh well I guess the cow didn't make it after all.

When buying a flat screen TV, always remember to put the box in your neighbor's trash so you don't get robbed.

Thought for Today: We need to be the person that your dog thinks you are.

Woke up this morning with a HUGE smile on my face...dang kids and those Sharpie Markers!!

I just figured out the lint in my dryer is the cremated remains of my lost socks. This explains a lot.

Do you know what a dyslexic cow says?

Ooom!

I'm missing my ex, but my aim is getting better.

I think that if at first you don't succeed, skydiving may not be for you.

Grocery list: What you spend half an hour writing, then forget to take with you to the store.

Story by Thia - Pictures by Robb

obb and I aren't big drinkers.

Generally we have a glass of wine with friends. That changed for Robb a few months ago when he was at the Pourhouse and the owner, Josh told him he should try a new local brewed beer

by Fannin Brewing Company.

Robb had one and was hooked!

Now when we go traveling around making our stops, there are a few special places, like Johnny's Pizza, Jilly's Pub, Cucina Rustica, that carry this craft beer. So Robb doesn't always order his usual diet coke anymore. Fannin Brewery company impressed Robb enough that we needed to learn more and do a story, as unlikely as it would seem for us, non-beer drinkers, on beer.

And I'll tell you what else… After we spent time with Tom Fennell, owner of the company, and learned all about how you make beer, and drank some beer with him, I too, have been converted. After a few sips of Pumpkin Spice Pecan beer, I can tell you that there is no comparison between the beer you buy in the grocery store and a cold mug

R

of Fannin Brewing Company's beer that you have fresh from the tap. I now know what hand crafted beer tastes like. And I would love to have one right now!

Thia: So you own the brewery?

Tom: Yes. Pat Walker owns the restaurant, the Blue Ridge Brewery, and when he expanded a year ago, we went into cooperation on this space. I wanted to start a brewery up here in Blue Ridge and he said, “I’m going to expand my space and they changed the laws in Georgia where you can now sell as a brew pub.”, which is what this is. This is a brew pub because it serves food. It has a different license, that now you can sell 5,000 barrels of beer, which is a lot, outside the restaurant, which is what I wanted to do. I wanted to sell in the restaurant and outside the restaurant, incubate my brewery and then move out, which I’m in the process right now of moving out. I’m moving out to a big location, here in Blue Ridge Thia: Congratulations.

Tom: Thanks. I brew for the restaurant; I have 3 beers on tap and then Pat has 3 on tap, and then I sell outside the restaurant to about 25 restaurants in our area. There is a list on our website www.fanninbrewingcompany.com.

Thia: Why did you decide that you wanted

to make beer? Why, of all things, did you decide that you wanted to make beer?

Tom: There are a couple of reasons. I started out actually as a wine maker and I had my own vineyard at my house up here in Blue Ridge; I put in about 100 vines. Also, with my job, I traveled a lot to Germany so I was going to Munich and Berlin, but mainly Munich; spent a lot of time in the bier gartens there.

Thia: Sounds fun Tom: Yeah. Spent a lot of time with Germans and learning about German beer and all that kind of thing. I just love beer. I love making beer.

Thia: So tell me how it works. You buy grain?

Tom: Yeah. Most of the grain I buy comes from Germany, the US and Canada. You create recipes, just like you’re baking.

Thia: And what kind of grains? Is it a mix of grains?

Tom: So beer is made from barley, wheat, and rye, but mainly barley. Think about it like coffee; it all comes in the same as barley. But then like coffee, this is then roasted to at least a hundred different styles.

Tom: And then you grind it, I won’t go into the whole molting process of grain but, Thia: Nah, that would be too over my head.

Tom: It’s too much. It comes already ready to go but, they have to do things. They have to molt it, they have to roast it, all those kinds of

things, but I don’t do all these; I just buy it already done.

Thia: So then you mix the recipe you made?

Tom: I mix all of these together and then we put it in this grinder and we grind it and it comes out like this because if I were to try to make beer out of that, it’s like making beer out of the seeds, because that’s what those are; they are the seeds and nothing would come out because it has a hard shell and nothing would get extracted so you have to grind it so that way, when we mix it with water, we get the essence out; the sugar.

Thia: You’re coffee analogy is good because that’s the only thing that’s making me understand what you’re saying because you can’t just put coffee beans in a coffee maker, you have to grind them.

Tom: Exactly. So, anyways, then you grind it.

We scooped it out already, we take that and we put it in here and add hot water at a very specific temperature and then we soak it for about an hour and then we pour it out, then we pump it up into here. You can go ahead and get up in there, just be careful. This is boiling right now.

Thia: So, you boil the grain in the water.

Tom: We take the grain and we soak it in hot water, and then we bring over just the juice.

What we leave behind is called ‘spent grain’ and spent grain is pretty much what it sounds like. It’s grain that we have extracted the

Half of the American people have never read a newspaper; and half never voted for president… one hopes it is the same half. - Gore Vidal

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sugar out of because that’s basically what you’re making is sugar water and this is what you’re left with and there’s still some goodness that’s in there. You have this thing that’s called ‘brew house efficiency’ I try to run it at 80% which means there’s still about 20% goodness in here Thia: And what do you do with that spent grain?

Tom: A pig farmer comes and gets it and he feeds it to his pigs. We also donate it to a community garden here for Feed Fannin; it makes really good compost and there’s a woman around the corner that makes dog biscuits out of it.

Thia: That’s cool.

Tom: So it’s mainly fiber, but there’s still some sugar in it. So anyways, when that’s done, and we’re done with the boil, we also added hops during the boil at very specific times.

Hops are like the spices in bread making.

Then what we do is we chill it. We send it through and we oxygenate it, and then we put it into the fermenter. What I have in there is sugar water and I add yeast; a very specific yeast for the type of beer we’re making; there’s like a hundred different types of yeast, and the yeast eats the sugar and it creates alcohol. And when it’s all done, which takes about two weeks for that to turn into beer and what we do is pump it over here.

And you add Co2 with this tank; and leave it for about three days and it carbonates the beer and then we keg it and it’s done. And now you can taste stuff. Do you want to taste some beer?

Thia: Sure! (We all walk to the beer taps in the restaurant, which is closed ) Tom: So then we put it on tap here at the restaurant. Right now, I have 3 different beers on tap; Hiawassee Golden Ale which is my flagship beer and it’s a kolsch style beer. Kolsch is a German style beer and a very easy drinking beer; great in the summertime but, you can drink it all year round. This beer is called Moonlight Harvest and this is a much darker beer. This is a rye

porter and the great thing about this beer is part of what I try to do with my company, Fannin Brewing Company, is that this beer uses grain from local farmers in North Carolina. This one is called Rory’s Pumpkin and I named it that because my niece's name is Aurora and she's over 21. She begged me to make pumpkin ale so I made it.

Thia: How do you get the pumpkin part in there?

Tom: Well, it’s pretty easy. I use canned pumpkin. What’s cool about this beer is that I have roasted pecans in it also, and then I put in North Georgia honey so it’s like a pecan pie in your mouth.

Thia: Where in the process do you add the pecans and the pumpkin? The boiling part?

Tom: No, in the mash part so when the grains were put in and we add all the water and then that’s when we add that and then the honey gets put in during the boil.

Thia: I want to taste pumpkin. (Tom pours me a taste) I like the way it smells.

Tom: There are a lot of spices in it. That’s got like a real unique taste to it.

Thia: It’s very cool. It actually does taste pumpkin-y and spicy. I don’t think I’ve ever had a beer that tasted that good. Here Robb, taste mine.

Robb: That’s really wow. It’s like sucking the beer through a...

Thia: Pecan pumpkin pie!

Tom: Exactly. This is what real craft beer is all about.

Robb: I’ve never tasted a flavored beer.

That does taste like pumpkin.

Tom: It’s the craft beer. There’s nothing wrong with Shock Top and there’s nothing wrong with Blue Moon, but those are beers that are owned by the major beer companies, so what they are trying to do is imitate craft breweries. This is it; this is the craft. You also taste the difference that the beer doesn’t travel anywhere. It’s served here. Beer is a food product and when it travels, it doesn’t always travel that well and it’s so much better when it’s fresh.

Thia: Do you have to put preservatives in it?

Tom: No. Absolutely not.

Thia: How long does it last after you put it into the keg?

Tom: Around 6 months probably.

Robb: Maybe that’s what I’m sensing; the freshness here.

Tom: Exactly Robb: I’m not like a beer connoisseur. I don’t know exactly what’s different about it, but maybe it’s like, it’s got a fresh kind of flavor.

Thia: Yeah, we’re not big beer drinkers, well, we’re not big drinkers.

Tom: That’s exactly what it is. It’s like bread; I

mean, there’s nothing wrong with getting bread at the grocery store, Ok? Nothing wrong with that but, you can taste the difference when you go to the bakery.

Robb: Yeah, there’s like a fresh crispness to it that I usually don’t get from a beer.

Thia: This is really good. I would have this again for sure.

Tom: Good. I’m glad you like it. So my story is that I incubated the brewery here; in June I started to distribute the beer outside of the restaurant at many other locations. I’m Thia: You’ve already got 13 locations in Ellijay, Blue Ridge and Jasper!

Tom: Yep. In two months, in August, I had to tell the distributor to stop because I couldn’t make it fast enough.

Thia: That’s fabulous!

Tom: So I knew I had to move out, so I’ve been looking for a place; found a place right here in Blue Ridge. A big building on East 1st Street that I’m going to move into it in February and I’m in the process of getting licensed so I’ll be able to crank up production a lot more than what I’ve been able to make here; hopefully service about a hundred restaurants all over Georgia and then buy even bigger equipment and make this into a large brewery that’s here in Blue Ridge that services the entire state and then beyond that.

Thia: Would you be big enough then to do tours and take tastings?

Tom: Oh absolutely. Yeah, in the new location there will be tours and tastings. I think it’s going to be really great for the community and it’s going to be a tourist attraction Thia: Another fun thing to do around here. I love it.

Tom: And the breweries are really fun to go to; because, people are really interested, just like you, in seeing how the whole process works but, also, when you’re at a brewery, what I’ll do is I’ll make a lot of beers that I’m going to experiment with and I’ll put it on tap. If you’re a beer tourist and you want to come to the brewery and you’re really into it, you’ll taste a lot of beers that you just can’t get anywhere else.

Robb: This would be a good time to

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25

26

If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?

jump in with how you can buy your beer at Out of the Blue.

Tom: Yes, they have a Growler station. I have my beer on tap there, so the only place you can actually get my beer and take home is to go to Out of the Blue and you get what’s called a growler which is a glass jug and they will fill it for you. So you can enjoy my beer in one of our local restaurants, or buy some at Out of the Blue to take home and enjoy.

Thia: The Growler Station is a brilliant idea. What’s the funniest thing that has ever happened to you in this business?

Tom: Making beer is kind of like having small children, because it will ‘pee’ on you; it will poop on you. It is extremely temperamental; one day it’s fine and the next day it’s not, so you constantly clean up after the beer; non-stop cleaning because it poops, and it pees and it spits.

Just recently, I was doing some transferring and there was something wrong with the hose.

Usually I work when there’s no one in the restaurant because it’s just easier, but sometimes I do some things in there and I had the door open and there was a number of people in there and I was on my knees at the pump and the hose came off and the beer literally shot up and shot me up my nose and these people were laughing and I was grabbing hoses; grabbing levers trying to turn things off and I got a beer facial which I’ve had many time.

Thia: I would love to see that. Too bad we didn’t get a picture of that.

Tom: Yeah, I try to avoid those.

Thia: Hey, let’s reenact it!

Tom: (Laughs) Making beer is kind of messy.

Thia: It seems fun though and I’m really happy for you that it’s obviously growing.

What’s the craziest kind you ever made? You’re going to tell me this pumpkin right?

Tom: That is pretty crazy because it has a lot of ingredients. I also have a beer called Hive Kicker, which is not on tap right now, and it is 11% alcohol and features all wheat and North Georgia honey. Oh! I made a beer/wine hybrid with Cartecay Vineyard.

Thia: Sounds like you like to experiment! Do you have a memorable beer drinking experience?

Tom: I know exactly how old I was because I was there in 1977 when Elvis died. I would have been 16. The drinking age was 18 but, you know, we were kids and we were a little bit more European I think, than we are now. Our parents were a little bit more indulgent maybe.

Beer was fine. So, anyways, my sister was thinking about going to school at Marquette University, which is in Milwaukee, so we went there. My dad took us to the Pabst brewery, and even at 16, when I’d had more than a few beers, I remember when I went there I had PBR which is not high quality beer but, when you tasted it at the brewery, I distinctly remember how good it was….I never forgot that. It was like ‘wow! This actually tastes different. It tastes really good’ and part of it again is the whole freshness factor. Freshness is a big deal with beer. Not that there’s anything wrong with imports or anything like that. I’ve spent a lot of time in Munich and I love German beer but, think about it; you know, they make their beer in Germany, they put it on a ship and it comes across the Atlantic, sits in New Jersey until it finally gets to your place; it’s been through a lot and I can attest to you that it does not taste anything like it does when you’re in Germany. But, what everyone wants is a local brewery; because, people feel connected to their local brewery. They feel like it’s theirs. That’s why I named it Fannin Brewing Company. That’s why the names of the beers are Hiawassee Golden Ale, Dahlonega Gold, and Toccoa Brown.

Thia: That's why you use natural local ingredients.

Tom: Yes. I've made a Strawberry Blonde beer with strawberries from Mercier’s. I use Georgia honey; grain from small farmers in North Carolina; the wine juice from Cartecay Vineyards. I mean, not every beer, obviously, but that’s a big part of what I want this brewery to be is that it’s truly connected to North Georgia and this part of the world.

Robb: So, freshness is the key though?

Tom: Freshness is a huge part of it. My beer is unfiltered and un-pasteurized. Unfiltered is also a big part. I don’t filter my beer. When you filter, it makes it a little bit more stable; it makes it a little bit easier to ship but, also when you filter you also take away a lot of the taste Thia: I heard you were moving.

Tom: Yes we’re moving to a bigger location and I’m doing a Kickstarter campaign and it’s to pay for a lot of the expenses to move. The Kickstarter campaign goes live February 8th, so, if people could go on kickstarter and look for Fannin Brewing Company and make any kind of contribution I would appreciate it. Our new address will be 3758 East 1st Street, Blue Ridge. We expect to be open in that location by June, and have brewery tours and tastings on the weekends.

Thia: That's cool idea.

Robb: Any truth to the rumor that Fannin Brewing Company is going to hire that Norwegian bikini team?

Tom: Yes. But it's a German team. (laughs) And only if my wife approves.

n have a c u o y Now r raft Bee FRESH C e! at hom

If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?

27

or me, there are a few things I must have when it comes to hiking; a good walking stick, a good mountain man hat and a good dog. A good dog is more than just a dog; it’s a companion, a part of the family and a friend while on the trail. You know what its thinking and it knows what you’re thinking. You eat together, you drink together and you rest together. And, me, I carry on complete conversations with my good dog. You may think I’m crazy for saying this but the dog understands what I’m saying. Sure, he’s more of a listener than a talker, but somehow at the end of the conversation, he’s said exactly what he needed to say, and the world is just a little bit better for it.

My good dog is Gus, a Heinz-57 to the tenth power.

The proper term I suppose is “Mixed” as that’s what’s always circled for official vet visits.

We’ve had Gus for about 7 or 8 years and he has my wife’s total heart. She’s never said it, but I’m pretty sure she loves that dog more than she loves me. I probably should be jealous, but I understand. He’s just the perfect dog.

However, I do remind her on occasion that I’m the one that initially wanted Gus. If it were up to her, we would’ve ended up with the “Conner”, the charmed wonder-dog of probable royal bloodlines. We’d been considering adopting another dog and happened upon an adoption event.

After playing with the dogs, walking away, coming back before walking away and coming back again, there were two being considered.

The decision was down to Conner, this Peekapoodle/Pugapoo/Magnadoddle designer dog that was most certainly created by some beaker wielding mad scientist specializing in the morphing of canine gene pools into cute cuddly concoctions of desirable dog parts, or Gus, the dog discovered in a trash filled dumpster somewhere in south Georgia.

Let me stop here a second and say that I’m certain there’s some out there that like these designer dogs or have maybe even “built” a couple of litters of these Franken-dogs yourself.

Sure, there’s a place for dogs like this; malls, couches, luggage (as I’ve seen these dogs being carried around in bags and purses), sitting in laps, etc. And I am a dog lover for sure, so I love every 4-legged one out there, regard-

F

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less of size, shape or combined gene pools.

Me though, I prefer dogs that have some swagger. Dogs that carry themselves with confidence, are self-assured and eat leftovers on the back porch from an old cake pan.

Back to Gus, the dumpster dog, and Conner, the pompous prince of doggy-dom. My wife and I have 4 rescue dogs. With every decision like this, we work to make it mutually agreed upon. That said, the last two dogs we rescued seemed to be more my decision at the end. That said, I tried to take a more passive approach this time around which is how Conner of the golden locks and dashingly good looks made its way into the final two. And, it must be said, Conner was far ahead of Gus in my wife’s decision making process. Conner was cute, well-behaved and was doing all the right things in terms of wagging its tail, playing with a ball, etc. It was as if this dog had graduated with honors from some “How To Be Adopted” class.

Gus though, was barking at anything and everything, doing unmentionable things when it comes to scratching and chewing, trying to break away from its leash and generally being an annoyance to everyone. Clearly, if a “How To Be Adopted” class did exist, Gus was the unruly class clown.

It came time to make a decision and it was, much to my chagrin, going to be Conner. We waved down one of the volunteers and then pointed at the dapper dandy of a dog

as the one we wanted.

Then, in almost slow motion, it happened. One of the most beautiful, touching moments I’d ever witnessed. Hallmark has cards about this type of stuff.

One of the rescue volunteers came over and reached for Gus’s leash – essentially signaling the search was over and Gus came out on the losing end. This probably wasn’t the first time this happened to him and he likely knew this meant he came in second again to a fancier, fluffier dog and he was headed back to the shelter.

Or, maybe he knew he was about to miss his chance.

Maybe he became desperate. Maybe he just really liked us. We’ll never know, but the moment will have a warm, special place in my heart forever.

Just as my wife handed the leash to the volunteer, Gus rolled over on his side and pawed gently at my wife’s feet.

The sun then parted the clouds, angels were singing, flowers bloomed and a golden light beamed down from the sky. A small tear welled up in my wife’s eyes and she melted. Gus was going home with us! We filled out the necessary paperwork and literally dragged him across the parking lot as he pulled, tugged and growled in total protest of being on a leash. Fighting his kicking, pawing and chewing, we crammed him into the back seat and hauled him home.

That night, he ate the Corn Plant we had, had, in the living room and promptly proceeded to destroy his crate and everything within three feet of it.

He closed out that first night by expressing displeasure for his chosen meal of Corn Plant by providing evidence of its apparent indigestibility throughout most rooms of the house.

Thankfully, he has come a long way since that first night. And, over the years, I’ve been privileged to have hiked many miles with him and look forward to the many more trails we’ll travel together. And, most importantly, Gus will always just be Gus…the best darn dog around.

If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?

An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys.

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30

I was wondering why a frisbee appears larger, the closer it gets......and then it hit me.....

I

spend seven months a year in the North Georgia Mountains. Then it's down to Florida to escape the cold for five months. So writing a column about winter when you’re in Florida is not easy. It’s hard to get that winter feeling when the temperature is 90 degrees and you’re sweating. This morning the weatherman was warning us that a cold front is coming in tonight.

He was telling us to be prepared and get out our heavy jackets. The temperature will dip down into the low sixties.

People are freaking out. Lowes is afraid they’re going to run out of space heaters. By contrast the weather this morning in Ellijay was going to be in the teens. If that happened here, they would bring out the National Guard.

A cold front in the low sixties! That’s not cold. I know cold because I grew up in New Jersey. Right after breakfast, before I went out to play in the snow, my mother dressed me in so many clothes that by the time I put them all on, it was time for lunch. I could barely move in all that stuff. Good thing I didn’t live where there were any avalanches. Running was not an option. I could barely walk. When I got back home and took off all the clothes I had on, my body looked like one big chafe mark.

With today’s technology the weathermen "think" they know if it’s going to be a hard winter or a mild winter. The natives have their own way of knowing this. Up in Ellijay a telltale sign it’s going to be a hard winter is when the squirrels, bear and deer eat an abundance of food to fatten up for the winter. Down here in Florida a telltale sign of a hard winter is when the “snowbirds” gorge themselves on the early bird specials to get fat for the winter.

You can tell other things by just being observant. In Ellijay it’s easy to tell a

leaf picker. First, they have leaves in their hands and second by how many bags of apples they carry around. In Florida it’s easy to tell a tourist. First, because when it is in the low sixties, they are the only ones in the ocean, and second, because they smell like coconut oil and are the only ones with a sunburn.

So here I am writing this column sitting in a beach chair (oddly enough at the beach) with a laptop on my knees. I realize this may sound like fun to some of you, but it’s a tough job writing a column. There are a lot of obstacles to overcome. Sand gets stuck between your toes. Sweat gets into your eyes. You have to wear sunglasses because of the glare. The noise of the ocean waves interrupts your concentration. The ice in your margarita melts way too fast, did I mention the 90 degrees? The young women walking past in bikinis can be distracting also. I tell my wife the beach relaxes me and helps my thought process.

Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the bikini thing. My wife might read this column. Naaaaa. Not a chance. She’s too busy shopping at the mall.

Speaking of thought process, I just this second got a random thought.

Don’t ask me why, maybe it’s the beach chair, or maybe it’s the piece of coconut that’s caught in my teeth. I don’t know about you, but I think I’m getting ripped off every time I go to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned. I have a partial plate of eight teeth and two of my teeth have been extracted. That leaves me with twenty two teeth. Why am I charged the same as someone with thirty two teeth? It takes less time to clean them, I should be charged less money. Why don’t they charge by the tooth? That way it would be quick and easy. I can see it now. One office visit @ $35.00 Two teeth @ $2.00 comes to $39.00. That would work for a lot of people. I hope my dentist doesn’t read this. He’s a nice guy and a good dentist.

Maybe he won’t see the name on the column. Damn forgot about the picture. Hey Robb could do me a favor this issue and give me a beard? And another thing, yesterday I read an ad saying come in and get your “free gift” aren’t all gifts free? Isn’t that why they call them gifts? When did you have to pay for a gift?

Well I just finished my margarita, there are no more bikini girls walking by, the clouds are rolling in and I’ve stopped sweating. Better get back to my house and get out my heavy jacket, a cold front is coming. Good thing my mother isn’t here. "Bless her heart" See y’all in the spring!

Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

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C

alifornia Dreaming gives you music to stir up old memories and make new ones. This third concert in Gilmer Art's B.E.S.T Series will bring you back to the days of 60's and 70's hippy rock and roll. The seven person cast takes you on a musical journey with songs by the Beach Boys, Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Byrds and the Mamas and the Papas. I caught up with the youngest cast member, 23 year old Tyler Sarkist, to learn what it's like to be doing some California Dreaming.

What is the cast like on this show?

We are a very eclectic group of people. We all come from different walks of life. Our lead guy is from New Zealand and he is in his late forties. And I am in my

twenties from Kentucky. I am getting to know all these different people, who have done different things, gone different places. But they are all so fun and energetic.

We fight like brothers and sisters, but we all love each other a lot.

Can you describe the show?

It's more of a concert. We sing the Mama and Papa's, The Fifth Dimension. All the songs we sing have great messages behind them. We are really attached to the songs.

You are obviously not old enough to have heard these songs when they came around the first time.

No. They sent me a list of them, and I'm expecting to know a couple of them. But I didn't know any of them.

How did you learn the songs?

They sent us a CD and I put it on my iPod and played it through my headphones on repeat for a couple weeks. I didn't latch on to them until we started doing rehearsals, and then I was like, these are amazing songs.

So did your parents know these songs?

They said they were turning into teenagers. But they

knew all the songs because their parents listened to them.

How did you end up starring in this musical?

Most of the people in this show had auditioned at a theater conference. But the pianist they hired couldn't do the show. So they talked to a friend of mine who suggested me, and I sent in a video and they said, "So do you want to be in the show?" It was the easiest process I've ever been through.

How do you like it?

I'm having a blast!

How is the show going?

We did two weeks of performances in Columbus. And it went really well. Everybody loved it. This is the first time I don't have to be in character. Our director, Paul comes out on stage before the show and says if you want to dance in the aisles or take pictures with your cel phone, go ahead.

There has to be some funny stuff that happens when you do a live show.

Oh my gosh. The funniest one was, I play the piano for

t t h l it a t T W b S N S Y H D I I s I t

he show, there is an egg shaker (percussion instrument) hat sits on the corner on my piano. I came out from behind the piano and I knocked it off. I didn't think it was oud, so I just pretended it didn't happen. But apparently t was really loud, because the entire cast stopped, turned and looked at me and the audience cracked up. I thought o myself, well this is awkward!

That stuff has got to happen.

We all can laugh about it. And I love the style of the show because we can do that.

So nobody has fallen off the stage yet?

No, but I'll probably be the first one to! (laughs) So in the show you are a singer, a musician, an actorâ&#x20AC;Ś Yes. What's funny is typically I am a dancer.

How did you decide this was what you wanted to do?

Did you know when you were a little kid? got started in high school. I am from Louisville, Kentucky. hung out with a lot of the theater kids. I auditioned for a show and ended up being the lead, and kept doing shows. went to college for English Education and after a year I ransferred schools and went into musical theater.

TYLER

You are lucky to be able to work in your field. Those aren't easy jobs to get.

I am so lucky and fortunate.

Obviously talented too. But that's one of those jobs that are few and far between.

I am the one of the only people from my graduating class working right now.

What is the best thing about your job?

The people. I really love the people. There is always somebody in the cast or production team where you can see it in their eyes that they love what they do so much. We don't have a normal 9 to 5. We actually get to change people's lives. It's really cool to watch. Especially this show.

It's a trip down memory lane. It's very cool to take people somewhere else for a little while.

I've always wondered what it is like to be on stage in front of an audience. Do you get energy from the crowd? Are you looking at individuals while you are performing?

Oh absolutely. In a quote, unquote, normal musical theater show, I try to stay in character and focus on the actors on

stage. But in this show, I get to look around and make faces at people in the audience. When the audience is really into it, we can feel it and it pumps us up. Everyone is happy and laughing.

I imagine people bring their kids to this kind of show.

It's been cool to see them. Some are in the teenage thing where they sit there with their arms crossed. But one night there was an entire row of maybe ten year olds who stood up and danced the entire show, and they had never heard the music, they were just enjoying it.

We are looking forward to seeing it Tyler! I'll see you in February.

Thank you so much. I'll see you then. I'm looking forward to visiting you in the mountains, and hopefully missing the snow!

At press time there are still tickets left for the February 15th show, but we are pretty sure this will sell out. So get your seats while you can by calling Gilmer Arts 706-635-5605

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If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?

Sometimes life is funny by accident.

Something unexpected happens that cracks you up and you just have to tell the story again and again and again because it’s too funny to be true, but it IS true. Or sometimes, it’s something SO touching or cute you just have to share.

If you have a story like that, a true one, send it to us, preferably with a picture that goes with it and we’ll feature it here.

Send yours to: TheBestOfEBRJ@Gmail.com Sue Curtis Hansard I had such a good giggle at Publics in Hickory Flat a few minutes ago.I was waiting in the car for Tom to go get some ice cream to go on the peach pie I'm baking tonight. This lady came in front of me with a loaded cart of food. She was walking fast. She went way down the lane. Then she came back in front of me again and down by my car and down the lane behind me then stopped and got her keys and started clicking the locks. Her car was in the very first parking spot across from me. When it beeped she shoved her cart toward the car and started to smacking her head. I ask now how can you forget you got the first parking spot? I'm glad she ran and got the cart before it hit the other cars. Needless to say I was very entertained. Plus she was doing all this on spike heel shoes!

Danny Tatum I'm on my way home from work tonight on my motorcycle and I am going down this little road that kinda acts as a shortcut between 140 and 411. I see this little girl on her bicycle and she looks back at me and grins. I thought what is she up to? As I got closer I could tell what she was thinking. So I revved up my bike like I was going to gun it and man off she went! She was peddling for all she was worth. You could tell she was laughing as hard as she was peddling. I stayed back as long as I could. When she got to the end of her yard she stopped and smiled and waved. I waved back and went on. It was just then that it hit me, I once knew another kid just like that. His name was Danny. I laughed and cried at the same time. I remembered being that kid and dreaming big. Peddling for all I was worth. I used to think those guys on those old triumph Choppers probably didn't even notice or care. But In my world I would give them a run for their money on my Western flyer. It was then as I laughed and tears rolled down my face that it hit me. I'll bet some of those guys might have seen a 8 year old version of themselves rolling thru my front yard too. Dreaming big and peddling for all they was worth.

Jenifer Hendershot Sooooo Finn thought it was funny to write a big red 'A' on Grady's head since he fell asleep first....

I said to Finn - "Who did you think he was?

Hester Prynne? Are you training to be a Puritan?"

Finn - "No. I was thinking Alvin and the Chipmunks" Raland Patterson You know everyday I learn more about the English language. My wife Ann taught me that when a woman says "Fine" that it is as far from fine as it gets. Yesterday I was doing a book signing at Mercier when a grandmother came in with her 5 grandchildren. Seeing she needed a little help I suggested the kids try on my old Helicopter helmet. They loved it. Then I showed them a picture of me when I skinny. They didn't care about an old picture. I then joked, now I'm old and ugly! The 5 year old said you're old, but you are nice. I must have looked surprised for Grandma said. "He thinks ugly means MEAN!" Well who am I to argue with a five year old!

I bundled up in my winter coat, scarf and boots and traveled to downtown Blue Ridge for my first visit to the Ice Skating Rink. Because I sprained my ankle this summer and it was still iffy, I didn't take the plunge onto the ice.

But I still had a lot of fun! So many people were skating and laughing, and I was surprised that not too many were falling. (If I was out there, half my time would be on my butt!)

Some people were just watching. Everyone was friendly and happy to be there. The place was bright and clean. We met up with a big group of family and friends that were having two birthday parties. Happy Birthday Scarlett & Savannah! I even got to make my first of the year snowball, and of course hit Robb with it! Don't miss out on a really fun thing to do this winter. Go Skating! They will be open through February 18th. - Thia

If a cow laughed, would milk come out her nose?

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Interview by Thia Photos by Robb & Daisy Chain

A

rainy Wednesday night… yuk! I needed to do something fun. I heard Daisy Chain was playing over at Rocco’s in Jasper and thought about all the places on earth I could be on a Wednesday night… and then decided THAT was where I would head. So you KNOW I like Daisy Chain and you KNOW I like Rocco’s Pub! Daisy Chain did not disappoint. I was delighted to see they brought the bass drum. It’s like their trademark. The first time I ever encountered them was at an outdoor event in Ellijay. In the distance I heard girls singing, like hearing the voices of angels, beautiful harmonies, only accompanied by the driving beat of a bass kick drum. I remember thinking to myself… “What the %$#@&?!” It was a sound like no other I had heard before. I was an immediate fan. I have followed them around ever since. Be on the lookout for their performances here on our site ( http://www.thebestofebrj.com/whos-playing/ ) If you haven’t heard them , check them out.

I asked Michelle......

How old were you first picked up an instrument and started to play, and what instrument? How did it happen?

I Was 8 when I started to play guitar, but it was my dad's guitar I first laid eyes on. He let me strum around on it and I eventually got a guitar of my own. It was a half size Suzuki guitar. I still have it too.

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Are you naturally talented? Did you take lessons?

I never took lessons. Back then there wasn't Google or Youtube. I would listen to the radio, pick out the base line, and eventually form a chord. Boy do I feel old!

Monica called me a dinosaur.

Did your parents encourage your music?

My parents always encouraged me. Hell, they bought most of my musical instruments, including my drums. With help from them and a chord chart, I learned the basics.

Did you put on shows around the neighborhood when you were a kid?

I was a pretty shy kid. I was known however, to do the moonwalk and Elvis impressions sometimes.

When were you first in a band?

First band is the present band. This is the one and only.

When did you decide you wanted to be a musician as your career?

Music has always been a passion if mine. I feel I've always known.

Where did you get the idea of playing a bass drum and a guitar at the same time?

I was around 12 when I got a set of drums for Christmas. After learning basic rhythms, I got curious what putting the two together would sound like. It was cool to feel like a one-man-band.

I asked Monica......

What song do you first remember singing?

Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?

I don't remember the very first, but my favorite song when I was little was Rock the Cradle of Love by Billy Idol. I would sing it all the time. I was also really into Garth Brooks. I loved the song I'm Shameless, but when I was little I thought it said I'm Shaveless. I am sure my family got a kick out of that!

Did your parents encourage your singing?

They didn't really know that I enjoyed it as much as I did. I was always very shy about things when I was little.

Were you involved with things like Choir at school when you were a kid?

I started chorus in 8th grade and loved it. When I got to high school I continued chorus in 9th and 10th grade. I never tried out for solos. I was always to afraid to.

When did you decide you wanted to be a singer as your career?

I wish it was my sole career. Michelle and I started playing around with music one day and we both really enjoyed it. I pulled her out of her shell and she pulled me out of mine. After that we decided to do an open mic night at the Blue Door, and we have been doing it ever since.

When did Monica & Michelle decide to play together? How did you come up with the name Daisy Chain?

We were just hanging out one day and Michelle finally let me hear some of her original stuff. I really liked it so we just both started playing around with all types of music and the passion for music grew. Michelle says after our divorces we finally got serious about music. We both love The Beatles so we scoured lyrics until we found DaisyChain in Dear Prudence. daisy chain is also a term used for

wiring cords.

What places do you play around here?

We have played Jilly's, Wolf Creek, Blue Door, JJ's, Pourhouse, Rocco's in Jasper, and Friends in Alpharetta. We have also played some private events. We are always looking to expand our horizon.

How do you pick which songs to play?

We don't have a set way to pick songs. If we like them we will try it a couple times. If it feels right we keep it in the song bank.

What is the funniest thing that ever happened while you were on stage?

The funniest thing that happened on stage was at Ellijay Under the Stars.

Michelle got up from a chair and it toppled over.

What do you remember as the best show you ever had? and why was it the best show?

The best show would have to be at Jilly's. The crowd is so much fun and there is always crowd participation.

Do you do any original music?

Yes, we have a book of lyrics and chords. We were able to nail down some of the old music and now we are creating more.

What are your future plans in music?

We plan to tour Europe next year!!! HaHa we do plan on playing more venues in Georgia. We will see where the wind takes us.

Contact info- www.facebook.com/daisychain1986

STOP THE PRESSES!!! This Just In!!!! Daisy Chain will be hosting Open Mic Night at The Pourhouse on Wednesdays!

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G

rowing up in a small mining town sounds like it might be something out of a western novel.

It was actually how I grew up in Ducktown, TN. I remember, as do many, the red hills that once made up the hills of Ducktown, Isabella, Copperhill and surrounding areas. I remember hearing the mining whistle warning of upcoming blasts, then the sound of "thunder" as the blast went off miles away from my house. Sure, I didn't really understand it all when I was a kid. I didn't really know the magic of the time I was living in. I didn't know that one day it would be gone; but it is now...all except the memories. Well fortunately those memories are kept alive at the Ducktown Basin Museum on top of Burra Hill in Ducktown, TN. You can't see this tiny building from the road, only the sign, but when you wind around to the top of the hill, passing the Hoist House and actual mining memoribilia on the way, you will see this little white building that used to be a part of the mining era itself, now sitting quietly on top of the hill waiting for guests to come in.

It might surprise you when you see it. There can't be much in there, can there? Well, I'm here to tell ya, it is packed full of history, mining equipment, pictures, documents, films, books, gifts, but mainly history; beautiful, irreplaceable history of what made up the Tri-State communities. Ken Rush, the curator of our local museum is full of knowledge. You want dates, facts, stories (both sad and funny), this man knows it all and is more than happy to share it with you. I have known Ken for years, as well as Dawna and Joyce, the office staff and all the friends I share the museum Board of Directors seats with. What a crew we have. The beauty of it is, we all love our little town. We all love our history. We all love our little museum.

Every time I walk in there, I see pictures of people I remember from my childhood, many already passed on. I see pictures of events that used to fill our streets, like First Tuesday, where I used to clog my little legs off with all my friends from the Ducktown Sweetheart Cloggers. Just thinking of things like that and Christmas in Ducktown where colored lights zig-zagged there way up the main street of Ducktown. It was breathtaking at how beautiful that one street could become!

It was filled with carolers, dancers and happy, happy faces, most belonging in some way to a miner or miner's relative. Yes, our little town was once as large as a large metropolitan city, at least in my eyes. Again, at the time, I didn't fully realize the magic of our town.

Yes, there are pictures and memories of all these things and more inside the museum. There are memories to the great people of the Basin such as family doctor Dr. William Lee and his wife Lorraine. They are true celebrities of our town, now both in their nineties, and forever respected and revered inside the Ducktown Basin Museum.

Sure every place has history. Sure many places have museums, and sure everyone has their own stories of the past. But I'm here to tell you, there's something special about Ducktown. There's something special about the Ducktown Basin Museum. There's just that special "feeling" you get when you step out of your car and look down

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from the overlook at the once barren red hills, now nearly covered with pine trees. There's just something really special about walking into this tiny building and knowing that every trace of the community's foundation is found inside its walls.

There's something sacred about the faces that stare back at you from the pictures; miners and their families, and the community they formed. There is something eerily beautiful about the images of the old mining structures that once made up our landscape, of which only a few remain. It's just spectacularly heart-warming and wrenching to those of us who remember how it once was and how it will always be in our hearts.

Come see what I'm talking about. Come shake hands with the past that made our community what it is today. There is a wonderful treasure sitting on top of Burra Burra in Ducktown. It's called the Ducktown Basin Museum.

For more information about the museum please call the office at 423-496-5778 or visit http://www.ducktownbasinmuseum.com/.

- Jennifer Danner

If corn oil comes from corn, where does baby oil come from?

When you choke a smurf, what color does it turn?

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T

he Pryer family had lived in their beautiful rental home in the country for five years. It was filled with treasured memories and a warm family life. They were getting ready for Christmas and many presents were already bought and wrapped. On Dec 1, 2013, tragedy struck. They awoke to their house on fire. Everyone in the family got out safely except there much loved dog Cece. She perished in the fire, and so did ALL the family’s possessions. They lost everything but the clothes on their back and each other.

The Red Cross put them up in the Stratford Inn for a couple nights, but they had no where else to go, and all the things we take for granted now had to be replaced. Imagine trying to get a new ID when you have nothing to prove who you are. Imagine all your pictures and kid’s beloved stuffed animals GONE! The mom, Sandra Pryer posted a note with a couple pictures of her now burnt down home on Facebook to tell all her friends what had happened, and that note spread all over the North Georgia Community. Within one day, people began dropping clothes off for them. Soon some more days at the hotel was paid for by caring strangers. Then they were taken to Walmart shopping to get all their basic need items replaced. Toys arrived for the kids. The wonderful place where we live took good care of the Pryor family, and within a few weeks they were in a new rental home, with all the basics and most furniture provided. There was even a decorated Christmas tree with wrapped presents underneath.

While this certainly was a devastating event to live through, the Pryors are now coming out the other side and are very grateful for all

the love they were given. Sandra says on her Facebook page- As you all know, we had a house fire and lost all we had. Yesterday morning we got a house. As we walked into this house, we was amazed and all I could do was cry. It was filled with furniture and beautifully decorated. I can’t thank you ALL for what you have done for my family. I wasn’t a big believer on miracles and stuff but since the fire, I am and I know that God does work threw people in time. My life has changed a lot since the fire (for the better) and I know God has a plan for us. I want to thank every one in these 2 groups for what all you all have done, the work, the food(was great btw) .

Pryor Family (OFFICIAL PAGE) and also Pryor Family Miracle page. I never would have thought people would or could care so much for strangers. I don’t know how we can every thank you all enough for what you all have done. There are so many people that have helped us I can’t post them all so I just thank YOU ALL and GOD BLESS YOU ALL. Mrs Pryor sends me a note to add some thanks- We would like to thank Gilmer Fire dept for their services, the Red Cross, Stratford Inn, Pizza King, The Budget Inn, Lock guys and everyone in the Gilmer County community that helped us during our struggle.

Now this is a story with a happy ending. Don’t you love those?

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How come we choose from just two people to run for president ...and 50 for Miss America

When we started this paper one year ago, our first big story was an interview with Steven Monk, Director of Georgia Bigfoot Society. That story was so popular that we are still getting comments about it. So we thought what better way to help celebrate the start of The Best of EBRJ's second year, then to do another big foot story. Here you have a new update on what's new with Sasquatch followed by the original story!

When is a Bigfoot not a Bigfoot?

Story & Pictures by K. Steven Monk, Director of Georgia Bigfoot Society Jasper, Georgia.

W

hen he's considered by science to be something else. Meet Homo Sapiens Cognatus. That is the scientific name for Sasquatch that has been assigned to it by ZooBank, an organization that is responsible for assigning Latin names to newly recognized species.

I am often asked by people who are curious about the research I do on the Sasquatch, what would I do if I were ever to come face to face with a Sasquatch.

My response has always been, "Whatever he wanted me to do." Knowing what I know about the Sasquatch, that is not so much a humorous jest as it is a statement

of respect for these incredible beings. They have survived for thousands of years, living their lives apart from ours in an environment that we hairless humans are ill equipped to survive in. The wilderness is their home, not ours, and whenever we venture into it we should show them the same degree of respect that we ourselves would expect if a stranger were to come into our home.

While the statement I made above is not so much a description of what the Sasquatch beings are as it is merely a funny line, a recent report by geneticists researching the DNA of the Sasquatch most certainly is. For the past five years Dr. Melba Ketchum of DNA Diagnostics in Texas and her team of experts, using over 100 samples of Sasquatch tissue collected in the field by numerous researchers from across the country, have conducted a DNA study not only on what the Sasquatch is, but where he may have come from as well, at least on an evolutionary scale. Using the samples collected in this study, Dr. Ketchum and her team were able to trace three complete genomes in the Sasquatch that reveal that the specie originated about 15,000 years ago as a cross between a human female and an unknown primate male whose nuclear DNA contains unknown human elements. Essentially, what this means in layman terms is that the Sasquatch is a human hybrid cross, like us, but different, and in ways that science has yet to understand.

And just what are some of the ways in which the Sasquatch may be different from us? Well, if the work of some researchers that are known as habituators has any validity at all, then it means that the Sasquatch beings have certain powers of mind that we hairless humans don't possess, at least to the degree that the

Sasquatch do. I have had many of these habituators to tell me that the Sasquatch have telepathic powers by which they are able to read the thoughts of other humans and, in some cases, actually able to communicate with them in this way. This means of communicating with other humans telepathically is known as mind speak.

I tried testing this theory once myself, even though I am not particularly what you'd call a clairvoyant person. For a long time I had been wanting to encourage a habituation with the Sasquatch here on the property where I live in Jasper. I was curious to know whether or not this thing called mind speak would work on inviting them here in these woods so that I might establish a habituation with them. So, setting down quietly one evening at my desk, I let my mind become as relaxed as I possibly could. When finally I had achieved a purely meditative state of mind, I began to transmit thoughts to the Sasquatch beings. I asked them to let themselves be seen by me or at least to let me know in some way that they were here.

It wasn't two weeks until I had their answer.

One afternoon as I was walking down the ramp from the deck behind my house, I happened to notice something lying in a thicket of small pines. I climbed over the rail to the deck and went to investigate.

There, lying on an embankment in the pines, was a small pine tree of about fifteen feet in length. It had literally been pulled up by its roots and laid there in that spot by something (or someone) so that I would see it. This small pine tree had not been cut or twisted off in any way. It had simply been pulled up by the roots.

Now I have tried pulling up even small pine saplings before and I can tell you it's no easy job. But here was a good sized little pine tree that had been pulled up by

its roots. I don't know of any human that has the strength to do that. There was no evidence of a nearby hole where the pine had been pulled up from, so I am left to believe that it had been pulled up at some other location and then left there for me to find. Sasquatch's calling card?

Well, I sure don't know of anybody else who could have left a calling card like that.

I know that this raises a lot of questions for some people. It has for me too. If the Sasquatch do indeed possess such powers of mind, then why would they want to communicate with us by using them?

What would be their purpose in doing that? Do they have some sort of message they want to tell us?

Here's what I think. In the end the Sasquatch people will go on living their lives the way they always have, although we hairless ones may not be here to witness it. We are well on our way to the destruction of our environment because we have tried to change it into something that suits our needs, instead of learning to live with it as the Sasquatch have done.

This is folly because nature will eventually revolt on us, and it will win that revolution, leaving us as the vanquished. But the Sasquatch people will survive as they always have, and nature will slowly heal its wounds as it too always has. This is the message that the Sasquatch have been trying to tell us, but we have not listened.

But regardless of what you believe, the search for Sasquatch continues, not only for more physical evidence of this new species of man, but who he is and where he has come from. And with that discovery, we just may find clues to our own origins as well.

For more information check out www.GeorgiaBigfootSociety.com or contact Mr. Monk at kstevenmonk@yahoo.com

STOP THE PRESSES!!!!!!!!!!!! Major Update To This Update! Just as we are about to go to press with thia issue (conâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t) 41

Thia: Dinner at the Pourhouse?! Who would have thought of that? We have had their fantastic chicken wings and crispy potato skins and other snacks many times when we stopped in to hear the live music or karaoke. We had seen the signs for various dinner specials, but we kept forgetting to actually go to the Pourhouse for dinner, at least, until we finally did. And we wished we had done it sooner!

We have now had dinner at the PourHouse several times. I usually get steak. The Ribeye is delicious. This time I thought I would try the Flat Iron Steak Special.

It comes with steak, shrimp or chicken and french fries. My beautiful chunk of beef was about 2 1/2 inches thick and cooked perfectly medium pink in the middle. (Thanks Diana!) I ate half of it before I realized I was supposed to be using a steak knife ( because Robb accidentally used my set of silverware) I was cutting this thick juicy steak with a little ole dull butter knife and it was working just fine! And those breaded shrimp poppers were the good ones, all meat, no tails. I dunked them in tangy cocktail sauce. If you don’t like shrimp you can get chicken tenders instead.

Plus some hot crispy french fries, makes me wish I had this dinner all over again right now! And it was ONLY $9.95! (It was on special, the regular price is just one dollar more. ) Robb wants to say that he loves the chicken wings, ( I love the chicken wings - Robb) and is going to get them whether it is for a snack or supper. He usually gets a large order of mild with extra sauce on them and an order of fries. This last time we were in for dinner I convinced Robb to try something new, and he did! He ordered the philly cheese steak sandwich. It was hot and delicious! Real chunked up steak, topped with onions, peppers and melty american cheese on a toasted hoagie roll, with a side of onion rings and a pickle it hit the spot. When I asked Robb to give me a comment on what he thought of the food at the Pourhouse, he said simply, "GREAT!" The Pourhouse is a morphing entity, it’s a bar with music, live bands, karaoke, drinks, pool playing and it's one of the few places in Ellijay where you can get some food late. But it’s also a place to have a "GREAT" dinner. So when you think of wanting a delicious steak, at more than a fair price, remember to think of the Pourhouse! You will be glad you did.

Robb: Can I talk now? We give it two thumbs up!

Pourhouse Bar & Grille 12 Hefner St. (Offf Maddox Dr.) East Ellijay 706-515-7687

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Why do they call it the Department of Interior when they are in charge of everything outdoors?

ow "Big" is Bigfoot? REAL big!

HUGE! Almost as "big" as The Beatles and he's been around for centuries, even longer. Google The Beatles yand you'll get "About 241,000,000 results". Now Google Big Foot and get about 145,000,000 ...Sasquatch 10,900,000 ...Yeti 52,600,000 ... Abominable Snowman, about 1,170,000 results and he blows away the Loch Ness Monster coming in at about 3,940,000 results. There's Bigfoot chatter all around the globe and it seems to have been going on as long as we humans can remember handed down in the form of tales and legends from before they could even be written down.

He's a movie star! Remember "Harry & The Hendersons"? The movie info website www.imdb.com lists 63 titles under "Bigfoot" and another 24 under "Sasquatch". As part of my preparation for this article I rented "Bigfoot" the original Syfy Channel production from Ingle’s video store. It was the documentary I hoped it would be, though, I guess its stars Danny Bonaduce (Danny Partridge), Barry Williams (Greg Brady) and Howard Hesseman (Johnny Fever/ WKRP) should have been my first clue!

He’s a TV star! Animal Planet's "Finding Bigfoot" series is about to launch its third season!

I myself, am skeptical. Like many, it seems to me that after all this time... someone.. would have snapped a clear, identifiable picture of the creature yet all we have are what local Bigfoot researcher Steven Monk, director of the Georgia Big Foot Society (www.GeorgiaBigfootSociety.com) calls "Blobsquatches", you know, those fuzzy,

H

grainy, photos that kinda/sorta looks like something like what you think Big Foot looks like off in the distance seventy-five percent concealed by trees and brush.

As Paul Simon sang in "The Boy In The Bubble"... "These are the days of miracles and wonders.... of lasers in the jungle.. of the long distance call.... of... staccato signals of constant information", yes these are the days of high-tech solutions to old problems, solutions like "Trail Cams". Google "Deer Cameras" and get About 9,730,000 results.

Just go to www.TrailCam.com and take your pick, there are many models to choose from.

They are cheap, digital, easy to use, and triggered by motion. They take crystal clear pictures day or night and some have multiple shot or even a "burst mode" which takes a rapid-fire sequence of photos, some even take video. On these sites, www.trailcampro.com for instance you'll see samples of crystal clear, multi picture sequences of deer on the trail, (Go to: http://www.trailcampro.com/samplephotos/R econyx/RM45_Buck_800x600.gif) so why haven't we been able to get anything better than a "Blobsquatch" in the decade or so that this type of technology has been available? Just say'in...

Of course, that's not to say it's not... possible.... that they exist. I'll keep an open mind and for good reason. New species are discovered all the time, species that have lived on this planet with us for very long periods and yet have gone previously undetected. Much more to the point, there have been cases where creatures thought to be extinct for millions of years have surfaced, literally in the case of a fish called a Coelacanth known to have been around for 400 million years or so but thought by scientists to

have gone extinct 70 million years ago... uh... that is until fishermen off the African coast caught one... alive... in 1938. So I guess it's hard to say Big Foot is not... possible.

But then again, there's good reason not to believe. Hoaxes, lots of them. One huge and very infamous one was (almost) pulled off right here in Georgia and hit the 24 hour news cycle back in 2008. The website www.bfro.net/hoax.asp gives all the dirty details regarding "The 2008 Dead Bigfoot Hoax from Georgia" and it sure does Bigfoot research and researchers no favors. The site reports "The Georgia Hoax was the biggest bigfoot story of 2008. The story was followed by a few thousand newspapers around the world, including every newspaper in the English speaking world." Wikipedia explains that two Georgia men claimed to have a dead Bigfoot body frozen in a block of ice. They got $50,000 advance money from Searching for Bigfoot, Inc but when it was thawed out it was found that the hair wasn't real, the head was hollow and the feet were made of rubber. As Dr. Phil often asks... "What were they think'in?!!!!

Sadly one attempted hoax went horribly wrong this August when a man in Montana dressed in a Bigfoot costume was run over and killed after being hit by two cars while crossing a highway. There were and probably will be many more.

True or not "Big Foot Mania" is every bit as real as was "Beatlemania" and it has been going on longer and there's no end in sight. Countless websites and forums can be found. (http://www. bigfootevidence.blogspot .com/) There are Bigfoot Research groups in many of the United States and all around the world. The Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigfoot is packed with information citing information from many of the books that can be found on the subject. An Amazon.com search brings up 6,591 results, book after book, video after video. There's even Bigfoot toys! Fisher-Price makes a remote control, talking "Bigfoot Monster" that can even play ball with your "little monster"!

I recently met up with local Bigfoot researcher K. Steven Monk, director of The Georgia Big Foot Society at Johnny's Pizza in Jasper, or as I call it "our Jasper office", any excuse to go to Johnny's is a good one.

Steve had a slice of Hawaiian pizza with huge chunks of pineapple and what looked like large sheets of ham. It was an impressive creation. I had two slices of plain, original New York thin crust with a seemingly perfect ratio of crust to sauce to cheese.

I also had the proud honor of being

the very first to try a new item on their menu, mozzarella stix. Yet another really good reason to go to Johnny's (as if I needed another).

It turned out Steve knows great pizza when he eats it and he knows about Bigfoot. He knows a LOT about Bigfoot. As we waited for our food to arrive I received an education about Bigfoot in general and, more importantly, regarding Bigfoot right here in Ellijay and surrounding areas. To BElieve or not to BElieve..... THAT is the question. I'll let you decide for yourself.

The "About Us" section of www.georgiabigfootsociety.com reads "The Georgia Bigfoot Society is an organization of members who are dedicated to a quest for knowledge about and understanding of the creature known as Sasquatch, particularly as he occurs in the state of Georgia.

We are firm in our belief that the best way of achieving this is through repeated encounters with these creatures in their natural environment, therefore, we are opposed to the killing or capturing of an individual specimen.

K. Steven Monk Director, Georgia Bigfoot Society Jasper, Georgia.”

The group has twelve members currently and this excerpt from their "Mission Statement" explains their goals and concerns: "We are a "no kill" and "no cature" organization. Having preservation of this specie firmly in mind, we believe that the most effective way to learn more about them is through ongoing interaction with these creatures in the field and at protected habituation sites. Due to the extremely elusive nature of the Sasquatch, we realize that official recognition of the specie may never be forthcoming. Therefore, we have set as our goal the achievement of a "de facto" recognition of the specie through individual encounters with these creatures. While we realize that this approach may not ever achieve a more universal recognition of the specie, we believe, nonetheless, that it may be enough to effect a general program for its protection."

Robb: Why do you have such an passionate interest in Bigfoot?

Steve: My initial serious interest in it developed probably back in the mid to late 70s, a friend of mine who was from Michigan told me a story about an encounter that he had while hunting with his dad. He was not the kind of fella that would just make up these kinds of wild stories. When he told of this encounter I pretty much took it for the truth and I've been interested in it since then.

Robb: Tell us about that encounter.

Steve: While they were out hunting they saw one of these things, he shot it, it fell over into a stream, they tried to retrieve it but they never were able to because the creature was swept away by the stream. Before this time I

A major news story broke. A Bigfoot hunter claims he shot and killed a Bigfoot creature! (con’t)

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had seen the "Patterson Film", (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterson-Gimlin_film) that's the one, I guess you could say, started it all, well it started way before that but that was the pivotal film, a fella named Rodger Patterson and his partner Robert Gimlin were riding on horseback in an area of California [on the Klamath River outside of Orleans, California] Patterson had with him a 16mm film camera to create a documentary on the Bigfoot phenomena. There had been a lot of footprints found, and sightings so at the time it was already quite the phenomena. Paterson had done a lot of reading and studying on it and got very interested in it and wanted to do a documentary. They were riding down [the river] when they came up to a bend in it when all of a sudden there was one of these creatures they were looking for, it took them buy surprise. They were expecting it but not really expecting it I guess. Patterson's horse stumbled and threw him. Patterson managed to retrieve his camera and in the next 60 seconds created that immortal footage of film known as the "Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot Film".

Robb: That was probably the first "viral video" in the world really. Long before the internet. A lot of people have seen that footage.

Steve: That was the first real pictures of it.

There have been lots of pictures of it even some videos but none of them usually very high quality. Usually when you look at one of these photos you see what we researchers call a "Blobsquatch". Just a fuzzy looking figure out there in the bushes somewhere or maybe something that's on the run and kind of blurred but through the years we've learned it's extremely difficult to get good photographic images of them.

Robb: Are there any other photos or videos as clear or as famous as that Patterson film?

Steve: There have been a few, there were some clearer pictures of it that were made by a fella named Todd Standing but those are generally believed to have been faked. As far as good reliable photos of a very clear, definitive nature, none of them that I'm aware of, at least that have come out in print... I've heard down through the grapevine from some of these other organizations or individuals that in the course of their research they have acquired some rather good images of Bigfoot but they haven't released them yet for reasons of their own... probably waiting for the release of some book that they're preparing or maybe some film or big expose but anyway these highly definitive photos of Bigfoot have not yet been released to the public.

Robb: What's the difference between Sasquatch and a Yeti? Are they all "Bigfoot"?

Same creature?

Steve: It's the same type of creature. In other words, ape-like, human-like primate that walks on two legs covered profusely with hair. The Yeti was probably the original Sasquatch as far as the phenomena goes, it was back in the early 1950s, maybe before, that some explorers attempting to climb Mount Everest came across some tracks of the Yeti. Sasquatch is an Indian word derived from tribes up in the Pacific Northwest.

Robb: So the Indians had stories long before, the stories go way back.

Steve: The Indians were the original witnesses. The Indians knew the creatures quite well. They had many interactions with them.They knew them better than any white man or any other people could because the

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Indian's way of life was so much in tune with that of the Sasquatch consequently you will find stories of these creatures in their tales and legends going back through the ages. As long as there were Indians on the North American continent there has been Sasquatches. Some scientists theorize that the Sasquatch that we know today is descended from a creature over in Southeast Asia know as Gigantopithecus which was a giant ape-like creature that existed about a hundred thousand years ago and they know this creature from teeth and jaw fragments found in China. It's well known by anthropologists that this creature existed at the same time as early men did so its doubtless there were interactions between humans and this large ape. It's theorized that Gigantopithecus came across a land bridge that has existed from time to time in the last million years or so. (Between Russia and Alaska - See: "Bering land bridge" http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Beringia) It is believed that Gigantopithecus may have migrated to North America and eventually evolved into what we know today as Sasquatch. This is all theory, but, personally I think it's a very good theory.

Robb: Ok, that gives us a good bit of the history of Bigfoot, let's turn our focus to Bigfoot here in Georgia. You say you have a cast of a foot print?

Steve: (Removes plaster cast from a small cary-on suitcase and unwraps it - See photo) Robb: Wow! That's pretty big!

Steve: Yeah, it is. Actually it's about 151/2 inches long by about 9 inches wide.

Robb: Please, tell us all about that, where you found it, what you think it is....

Steve: This footprint was discovered by one of our members up near an area near Chatsworth out on a creek bed. He and his brother made a cast of the footprint. We take plaster of paris and pour it down into the depression of the footprint, let it harden and then pull it out clean up and you have an inverse copy of the footprint it was taken from.

One really significant thing about this footprint, if you look closely you can see it, these little lines coming across right here, these are known as dermal ridges, these are like the fingerprints the FBI works with. On your fingertips and your hands. All primates have these dermal ridges on their hands and on their feet. That way we can tell it was from a real live creature, it was from a primate.

These dermal ridges are something, by the way, that are extremely hard to fake, such detail as that in the print there. You can see from the size of the print this is no ordinary individual. Even someone wearing a size 10 shoe his foot is not going to be as big as this.

This is a considerably large creature that made this impression.

Robb: Is there a reason there's no toes?

Steve: You can see from the overall impression of this cast it is rather rough, it is not probably the best cast that has ever been made, except in places, you can see along the edges here where the foot pushed aside some of the clay or whatever it was that he was standing in, although there is some faint definition of toes if you look closely.

Robb: Oh, I see, I was thinking this whole thing was the pad of the foot and the toes should be outside the cast but I see what you are saying, I see now where the ball of the foot is and a slight dip where the big toe would be...

Steve: Yes and this right along here would be what we call the mid-tarsal break where it goes from the ball of the foot on to the

frontal part of the toes and so forth. It's a particular characteristic of primates to have this mid-tarsal break in their foot.

Robb: I noticed in some of the pictures you sent me it shows what you say are some kind of structures you found? What makes you say those are built by a Sasquatch?

Steve:: Basically because of the rather extensive and orchestrated nature. Of course you can walk through the woods, particularly after a storm and you see a lot of these trees that are blown down, been knocked over by the storm, and so forth, but they usually adopt a random nature, these stick structures, like the one in the photograph, appear to have been organized in sort of a tee-pee-like fashion. One stacked against the other in kind of a conical shape and not just randomly strewn about. Also you can note by the photo that these tree limbs that are bent over and stacked like that are a fairly considerable size so it had to be something of pretty great strength to have done that, to arrange those logs in that fashion, something a lot stronger than you and I or a normal man could do Whenever we're out there in the woods and into a prime area where we know or suspect that there's Sasquatch activity and we see evidence of these stick structures that's always a good indication that there is, in fact, Sasquatch activity in that area.

Robb: Another thing I noticed in those pictures... to put it politely... is Sasquatch poop.

You actually found Bigfoot's big poops? I think you called it "scatt"? I never heard that term before. But I'm no poopologist or poop expert.

Steve: Scatt... yeah.. that was photographed out there on Fort Mountain.

They used some car keys to show the scale... it's large. My experience says it doesn't look like a bear's at all, I really don't think the scatt would have been that large had it been a bear and it's certainly not any smaller animal like a fox or coyotte so that lead me to believe that it was probably a Sasquatch that left that there. Of course, I guess, there's no absolute positive way of knowing unless you got a sample and could run a test on DNA. We may eventually know not only what these creatures are but where they come from. A pioneer in this sort of research is Dr Melba Ketchum, she is getting ready a paper that she hopes to get peer reviewed based on testing sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s done on actual samples of tissue and whatnot that sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s obtained from different people around the country involved in the research of these creatures. As that comes to fruition (See update at end) we may eventually have some real answers on these things.

Until then we just get out there in the woods as much as we can, you never know. You might just be driving home from a ball game one night and all of a sudden... there it is, something you never thought existed before and maybe what you never believed in will be looking you right in the eyes.

Google Search: Bigfoot Hunter Rick Dyer Claims He Killed The Hairy Beast And Will Take It On Tour

Thia: Robb and I spent a cozy evening tonight at The Vine. This friendly little venue is always fun and entertaining. It's beautifully decorated, warm and comfy. If you are in the mood for a friendly conversation, you can strike one up with the person sitting next to you. Seating less then 50 in the whole place, everyone talks to everyone. People are there for the casual atmosphere and the amazing variety of wines. So, if you are a wine lover, this is your place. There is a large choice of all types of wines, that range from $6 per glass for the house, up to $16 for the high end vintages. Full bottles are also available. You can sample, you can join the wine club, you can discuss wine with the knowledgeable staff and other guests.

But there is more to the Vine, than the wine.

There's also live music! Mark Osbourne's beautiful voice and guitar strumming was relaxing and enjoyable, but didn't overpower the conversations going on. People loved his music and gave him plenty of applause, but you can also talk to him between songs, or feel free to make a request. His jar, full of tips, showed how much he was appreciated.

There's also Hors d'oeuvre! The menu is small, which keeps the food freshly made and delicious.

Twice now we have ordered the Sampler Plate which is $18, and a plenty big snack for two. It has so many tastes, from warm pita bread with olive oil and seasoning to dunk in the just made hummus with Tabouli on the side. Then there is the hand made spicy pimento cheese spread and crackers. We also had the flat bread margarita pizza which was a generous portion topped with fresh plum tomatoes and lots of cheese and spices. YUM! Robb also had the chicken sliders, two mini roasted chicken sandwiches with lettuce, tomato, on fresh rolls.

There's also an outside patio!

When it's warm enough outside, there is a large picturesque outdoor seating area, that is pet and smoking friendly. If you treat my dog well, (and they did) I like you already! We visited in the fall, and by the time we finished our drinks we felt like we knew all of the other guests and the staff by name. There was lots of cross conversation and laughs between tables, and our dog Lexi got plenty of attention, a snack and a bowl of water.

So whatever season you choose to stop by, for wine, or music, or snacks, or the vista, the friendly conversation or all of them, a visit to the Vine is a visit with friends.

Robb: I say the Vine is divine, 2 forks up!

The Vine: A Wine Bar & Bistro 632 E. Main Street in Downtown Blue Ridge 706-946-VINE (8463) www.thevineofblueridge.com

I'll never need a shrink as long as my friends tell me what's wrong with me for free.

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I

have a dear friend whose daughter made this casserole when she came to visit from Florida. It was delicious. I have her permission to use the recipe. This makes a large casserole and when I had so much, I offered to share with my neighbors, who are from New York.

Needless to say they had never had grits. They expressed their dislike for grits, but I sent some over anyway, asking them to just give it a try. My neighbors are now big fans of grits!

Ingredients 6 cups of water 1 cup butter (unsalted) 1 1/2 cups stoneground grits ( do not use instant) Velveeta (small block) 4 eggs (tempered) 1 jalape単o (remove seeds for less heat) 4 strips of bacon Bring water and butter to boil, slowly add grits, stirring until grits are mixed. Lower heat. After a few minutes, stir in cubed Velveeta, until melted. Whip eggs in separate bowl. Temper the eggs and stir in quickly. Add jalape単o. In a greased casserole bake for 1 hour at 300 degrees. While casserole is baking, cook the bacon. Chop and put on top of casserole before serving.

You can garnish with basil, cilantro or parsley, I have tried it several ways. Depends on what you have on hand.

This is good for breakfast or served with a salad for lunch or dinner. Just as tasty when warmed up the next day.

Enjoy!

Nan

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The cool part about naming your kid is you don't have to add 6 numbers to make sure the name is available.

Robb: In November Spike TV announced it is offering $10,000,000 “bounty” for irrefutable proof of BigfootIt is the largest cash prize in television history for its new reality show, "10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty.", so I think a lot of very real scientists may get involved now. The headline on a "Science on NBCNEWS.com story read "Idaho scientist seeks to launch aerial Bigfoot search with blimp" and reported... "An Idaho scientist shrugging off skeptical fellow scholars in his quest for evidence of Bigfoot has turned his sights skyward, with plans to float a blimp over the U.S. mountain West in search of the mythic, ape-like creature.". It seems science is starting to take Bigfoot serious.

Steve: There’s a lot of research being done, we keep getting closer and closer every day, I believe that eventually we’re going to find out the truth.

Robb: How do you think these creatures have been so good at avoiding, not only capture, but conclusive documentation all these many years?

Steve: That is a mystery, I agree. For one thing, these creatures, for whatever reason, don't want to have anything to do with humans. If you were to look back at the history of human intervention on this continent you kind of see some of their reasons for not wanting to associate themselves with humans. Then because of all the wars and killings that we've done, if you stop and consider some of the things the white europeans did to the native Americans when they came to this country, more or less a genocide, everywhere you look humans were fighting and killing each other, just not the kind of people Sasquatch wants to associate themselves with. Through a long process of evolution these creatures have become extremely adept at avoiding human contact. They are extremely adept at avoiding being photographed. I really think that because of some powers of perception, or mental abilities that they have that we don't have or haven't as well developed yet that enables them to virtually appear out of nowhere and then just disappear the same way. It's one of the things that makes them so elusive. I've heard numerous stories from witnesses that were looking right at one of these things and then for a moment they blinked or looked away and when they looked back it was just gone. It totally just disappeared. Not just kind of vanished into the brush but just truly, virtually disappeared right before their eyes.

So, there's something going on there. There's some kind of ability that these creatures have that we don't have that enables them to avoid detection. When we do see them it's probably because they want to be seen for whatever reasons.

I've been doing a lot of work with researchers that we call "Bigfoot habituators". These people have been nurturing and encouraging contact with these creatures on their property by putting out food and different items that the Bigfoot seem to like. And in a lot cases, if you can believe it, some of these habituators have developed, more or less, a kind of relationship with these creatures.

They sometimes see them, in fact, we get more reports from habituators then we do

with any kind of person with a chance encounter. But even though they've developed relationships with these creatures the creatures themselves are still kind of shy, they hold back, just into the shadows, just in the bush, just out of sight. They let the hosts know that they're there when they want to. If one of these creatures wants to make it known that he's there, known he's watching, that's fine he can certainly do that. Although the host may not see them all that much or may rarely see them. None of them have been able, to my knowledge, have been able to get a photograph of them, at least not a reliable photo. That is something that is the most confounding, as to how these creatures are able to avoid having their picture snapped. I don't know if it's some kind of ability they have to sense electronic equipment, in tune with vibrations or frequencies this equipment is putting out or just that they are intelligent enough to see a camera and know what it is and what it does... and they are highly intelligent creatures, probably even smarter than we are in a lot of respects.

It's just amazing, their ability to avoid detection.

Robb: I'm sure that's incredibly frustrating for you, I'm sure you want to see one already!

To have a picture, to have proof, to know for certain.

Steve: That was my goal to get a picture of one, to have proof positive for myself and be able to say... here it is, these things exist and here it is right here in a picture... but the more I study them the more I've come to the realization that that's probably impractical at best and maybe impossible in the worst scenario. Also I've begun to wonder whether or not it were a good thing if these things were discovered officially by science because that would bring a lot of unwanted attention upon what is undoubtedly an endangered species and that might not be such a good thing. My frame of mind now and the focus of my re-

search is to simply learn as much as I can about these creatures by encountering them in their own habitat and on their own terms.

Whether or not I ever prove the existence of these creatures or somebody else ever proves that these creatures exist is not really something that really matters to me so much anymore. I don't see that as an important objective.

Robb: How about all the hoaxes? Right here in Georgia in 2008, the guys with a Bigfoot corpse in the freezer and let’s not forget the “Great Downtown Ellijay Bigfoot Hoax of 2012”! (I’m just kidding!)

Steve: When the thing came out and I saw that photograph of that Halloween costume or gorilla suit or whatever it was and the freezer stuffed with possum guts, I knew right then, of course, it was a hoax. It annoyed me even more, I suppose, that these were two Georgia boys that were doing this and I just got thinking to myself the good people of Georgia deserve better than this in the way of responsible Sasquatch research and I for one am going to do my best to provide that for them. So, although that Georgia Bigfoot fiasco was a bad thing, sort of a blight upon the good researchers here in Georgia. It was the inspiration that lead me to form The Georgia Bigfoot Society.

Robb: And that hoax and the many others, don't dampen your belief that Bigfoot exists or your resolve to prove that it does?

Steve: No, that doesn't dampen my resolve, in fact, if anything, it makes me more determined to really prove that these things are real, to prove that this whole phenomena not just some big joke. These creatures exist, they're out there. The State of Georgia knows that they're out there. They've confided that to one of my friends and researchers... I won't mention any names... he was out at Fort Mountain one time doing a little research, looking around and one of the rangers confronted him and said "You can't be doing this... you're off the trails and we don't want you looking for these things up here... we know that they're here." But, for whatever reasons the government has they deemed it in the best interest of the public that they don't know about that. So as far as the government is concerned it's just a myth.

Robb: Maybe it is ajust a myth.. then again... maybe not. I suppose we’ll see sooner or later. So here we are at Johnny's... what does a “Bigfoot hunter” like you think of Johnny pizza? lol.

Steve: I think it’s a place that the big guy could appreciate, ya’ know. I can see him sitting down in here ordering up a cold beer and maybe a slice of that good’ole New York style pizza. I definitely give Johnny’s the thumbs up. A great place to come and eat and talk about Bigfoot or whatever.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– UPDATE: After meeting with Mr. Monk the news broke world-wide that Dr. Melba Ketchum had indeed after all issued a press release “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - ‘BIGFOOT’ DNA SEQUENCED IN UPCOMING GENETICS STUDY” which opens “Five-Year Genome Study Yields Evidence of Homo sapiens/Unknown Hominin Hybrid Species in North America” DALLAS, Nov. 24–A team of scientists can verify that their 5-year long DNA study, currently under peer-review, confirms the existence of a novel hominin hybrid species, commonly called “Bigfoot” or “Sasquatch,” living in North America. Researchers’ extensive DNA sequencing suggests that the legendary Sasquatch is a

human relative that arose approximately 15,000 years ago as a hybrid cross of modern Homo sapiens with an unknown primate species.

The study was conducted by a team of experts in genetics, forensics, imaging and pathology, led by Dr. Melba S. Ketchum of Nacogdoches, TX. In response to recent interest in the study, Dr. Ketchum can confirm that her team has sequenced 3 complete Sasquatch nuclear genomes and determined the species is a human hybrid: “Our study has sequenced 20 whole mitochondrial genomes and utilized next generation sequencing to obtain 3 whole nuclear genomes from purported Sasquatch samples.

The genome sequencing shows that Sasquatch mtDNA is identical to modern Homo sapiens, but Sasquatch nuDNA is a novel, unknown hominin related to Homo sapiens and other primate species. Our data indicate that the North American Sasquatch is a hybrid species, the result of males of an unknown hominin species crossing with female Homo sapiens.”... ““Sasquatch nuclear DNA is incredibly novel and not at all what we had expected. While it has human nuclear DNA within its genome, there are also distinctly non-human, non-archaic hominin, and nonape sequences.....” ... “Ketchum calls on public officials and law enforcement to immediately recognize the Sasquatch as an indigenous people...”

I asked Steven K. Monk to comment on the latest news... “Yes, that is fantastic news for all us guys who have been trying to prove to everybody that this thing is real. I know the researcher who did this 5-year study on Bigfoot DNA. She is one fantastic lady who has put a lot of hard work into finding the answers on the mystery of Sasquatch.”

Of course this doesn’t settle anything... yet.

The paper will have to go through peer review now. So, we’ll see.

Update to the old update....refer back to the new update at the start of this.. ahem... update.

Suggested reading for those in Georgia: Bigfoot In Georgia

by Jeffery Wells - 5 stars on Amazon.com reviews “Jeffery Wells explores the mystery of Bigfoot in Georgia from the earliest Native American legends through the latest Bigfoot hoax. He reports on encounters throughout history, the Elkins Creek cast, and the fascinating people who are searching in Georgia today for clues about the elusive creature, better known for its exploits in California and the Pacific Northwest.”

If Superman could stop bullets with his chest why did he always duck when someone threw a gun at him?

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D

addy was born in May of 1929. He was a “town boy”, his father ( my grandfather) had asked for his inheritance so he didn’t have to farm.

With that money he purchased a general store, which our family, by the time I came along, called a grocery store. At the time of the land purchase, he bought several city lots, selling most of them off, making a neighborhood that still stands today. This particular side of my family moved to Gilmer County around 1850. It pains me to know the land I purchased where my house sits, was once owned by my greatgreat-great grandfather, included in a ten thousand acre buy, reaching to Salem Church on Boardtown Road, over to the Zion Hill Community on Chatsworth Highway. In fact, the creek that runs behind my house is Harper’s Creek. Harper is a family name. Jessee Harm Harper and Betsy Minton named a son Jesse Franklin, who named a son Jesse Harm II, whose son John Henry, had James Leon, my father. I’m beginning to sound like the begats in the Bible, so let’s move on!

My grandfather’s mother was from Dawson County (the only great-grandparent I have born outside Gilmer County). She was half Scots and half Cherokee, his father was Scots-Irish. My grandmother’s mother was half Cherokee and Scots-Irish, her father of Irish descent. My grandparents married in 1919. My father was born ten years later, the only boy and the baby of the family. His father was of the Victorian era, “spare the rod and spoil the child”, and he was exceedingly rough on my daddy.

My grandfather had been a sniper in World War I and perhaps this had worn on him, too. Some of the stories my daddy told would be child abuse by today’s standards, back then it was the standard of the day. To make up for this, my grandmother spoiled and babied him.

My father looked like a full blooded Cherokee, with raven black hair, eyes just as dark, and copper colored skin. He was well liked, but ran with a rough crowd. He smoked, drank, and was a constant at cockfights. He was also generous to a fault, had a wicked sense of humor, and read constantly.

A lot of my memories are of him with his nose stuck in a book. He was on the first football team Ellijay High School had. He made the first touchdown, too.

But because he got kicked out of school that year for fighting, they didn’t give him the honor in the annual, although, according to my mother, “It didn’t matter. Everyone knew it anyway.”

He went to Young Harris and got kicked out of there too. Of course, my mother, an only child and daddy’s little princess was drawn to him like a magnet. I remember being with Daddy a great deal when I was little. He was able to take me to work with him a lot, as he used his own car when traveling around the area. I had a blast.

Our family camped frequently. I remember sitting on his shoulders as he fished in the river for trout.

His mischievous streak got him trouble.

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Being as you get what you give, friends often made sure he got paid back. Once, coming home in the middle of the night from his job at Lockheed, a state patrolmen appeared suddenly, red lights flashing, bull horn warning him to step out with his hands up. Daddy had riders in the car with him, and they were still as dead men. The state patrolman was gruff and threatening as he was approaching the car, accusing Daddy of who knows what and saying he was writing out a speeding ticket for going one hundred and twenty down the road. (He wasn’t). I can’t imagine how my daddy was holding his tongue at this point. The patrolman finally got close to my daddy and grinned. He was a friend who had recently become a State Patrolman and recognized Daddy’s car. Apparently the riders had been in on the joke, and everyone was laughing so hard they were crying. Except my daddy. He was cussing a blue streak!

Another time that stands out in my memory is right after my twin brothers were born. Daddy and I were in town running errands getting everything ready for Mother and babies homecoming. Things had to be purchased unexpectedly, as two babies were a surprise! I was waiting in the car, getting aggravated because he was taking so long. There was still snow on the ground from a few days prior, and the wind was frigid. I was starting to get really uncomfortable. I turned around looking for him and my eyes got big as saucers. He was coming down the sidewalk at a clipped pace. His pants had been cut off just above the knees. He looked pretty cold, too! He’d been ambushed in the store by buddies. They’d held him down and sawed off his pant legs with a butcher knife. What a way to congratulate the new father! (They pitched in and bought a new pair of work pants to replace the ones they ruined.)

Because of his love of playing tricks, it was hard to trust him. While Mother was in labor at the hospital, I was home with my grandfather awaiting news. Daddy pulled into the driveway on two wheels, threw open the back door, snow in his hair, a grin on his face, announced, “Twin boys!” My shoulders slumped. My grandfather said sternly, “Now, Leon, this isn’t a time to joke.” “No, Dad! I’m tellin’ the truth! We got us twin boys!” My grandfather’s stern look melted. “Well, I’ll say!” I was squealing like a puppy. Daddy related saying, when the doctor came out to tell him that Mother had delivered twins, “You’re a damn liar!” You see, the doctor was a good friend of my daddy’s…

As I got older I believed Daddy did not behave the way I thought daddies should. He still drank too much on weekends. He smoked. He cussed. He still went to chicken fights. But as an adult I learned he wasn’t any worse than many daddies.

He just lived his life, mistakes and all, out in the open. Other men behaved poorly in the darkness and showed up for church on Sunday morning.

Give me honesty any day.

Daddy died in 1988 at age fifty-nine. The age I am today. We buried him on June 7, and two years later, on June 7, my daughter – his granddaughter – was born.

Did he ever grow up? Well, he quit drinking and chicken fighting. He tried many times to quit smoking. But grow up? My daddy? Nah.

WARNING: The consumption of beer may make you think you are whispering when you are not.

Lazy People Fact #5812672794: - You were too lazy to read that number.

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Story by Robb Fried Chicken Eaten By Robb

W

e decided we wanted to do a story on finding the best fried chicken in the area. We thought, “How many places will we have to check out with great fried chicken? Maybe five?” Then we asked our friends on Facebook for their favorite place to eat fried chicken and we found out there were a few more than that. We got lots of answers. Our thoughts of an "easy five" quickly turned into "maybe eight" places with great fried chicken. So we got on it. As we progressed, we got more suggestions, and we ended up with TWELVE places that have great fried chicken.

We’re not saying we didn’t miss any. Please let us know if we did.

Really, the story should have been titled “The search for the Best Fried Chicken as in a “traditional” meal in a sit-down restaurant that has fried chicken on the menu all the time excluding fried chicken tenders, fried chicken breast sandwiches or nuggets.” That was basically our criteria. The restaurants are shown here in random order and please note I tried to go when the least amount of people would be there so as not to freak people out when I took pictures of the place. On our website www.TheBestOfEBRJ.com search the restaurant’s name for more pics and info.

We visited each restaurant we'd heard about... actually it was me most of the time, Thia was still traumatized from our “Magical BBQ Tour” for which we ate at every BBQ place in the three counties in a month. Not that all of it wasn’t great, it was, but eating it every day?

Sometimes two times a day? Thia said she’ll do “The Search For The Best Salad Bar”.

So I was basically on my own most of the time.

(Tough job but someone has to do it.) At each place I ordered the fried chicken and some sides. I’m happy to report there was not ONE place that had bad fried chicken! As a matter of fact, every place we/I ate had GOOD fried chicken. So how do you pick the best? With so many factors to consider, we really weren't sure what we should count.

Do you JUST judge the piece of fried chicken? How good it tastes, how fresh it is, how big and juicy, how tasty the breading, how greasy, how hot it is served?

Do you judge the whole plate and what comes with it?

Do you judge it based on price? Should a dinner that costs $5 be compared equally to a dinner that costs $15? Do you judge how good it looks? How well decorated and clean the restaurant is? How friendly the server/cashier is?

Are the choices of what comes with fried chicken important?

Biscuit, roll, cornbread?

How about the side

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Annie’s Country Cooking 526 Maddox Dr. (Near Pink Fitness) Ellijay (706) 273-5726

Southern Charm Restaurant 224 W Main St, ( Across the tracks ) Blue Ridge (706) 632-9090

JD’s Country Cooking and Tavern 888 Old Philadelphia Road - Jasper (706) 253-3031

Toccoa River Riverside Restaurant 8055 Aska Rd, Blue Ridge (706) 632-7891

If the Mayans have taught us anything, it is that if you don't finish something, it's not the end of the world.

dishes that are offered with the chicken, how many and how good they are?

With all these things to consider, we decided we had to just consider the chicken or else our heads would explode trying to compare considering all those factors.

Me personally, I lke a big juicy breast with lot’s of crispy, tasty breading. But then again, some times I enjoy a wing, thigh and drumstick, or maybe a nice boneless breast. Decisions, decisions.

How could I choose “THE BEST”? Who cares what I think?

We decided it would be best to include our readers in this quest. We went back to FaceBook and asked YOU what you look for in your fried chicken, what kind of bread goes with it and your favorite side dishes, because after all YOUR opinion is what really counts…

What do you look for in your fried chicken?

Kathi: I don't want skin on mine. It can still be crusty without it, and taste better, in my opinion.

Linda: My mom fixed fried chicken and gravy and biscuits for breakfast for us!! MMMMM! I Asked for that at a restaurant one morning and the Lady said she remembered having that and said now that is a country breakfast!!

Tom: I look for some chicken in my fried chicken! lol (< Oh... a wise guy!)

Shannon: Crispy crust and the chicken moist not dry! My mama made the best fried chicken ever! Wish she was still here to make it!

Crystal: Locally pasture raised chickens please.

Tina: I want it really crispy on the outside and extra juicy on the inside.

Lilly: I like mine with a little hotness to it. Add some cayenne pepper to the breading.

Nat: A big fat drumstick, that's crunchy and makes the fat run down my arm.

Laura: I don't want bones or

The Village Restaurant 4131 E First St Blue Ridge (706) 632-2277

White Columns Restaurant 200 Industrial Blvd, (Piggly Wiggly Plaza) Ellijay (706) 273-7135

Yellow Jacket Restaurant 2755 Blue Ridge Dr, (Past Mercier Orchards) Blue Ridge (706) 492-3475

Davis House Restaurant 449 Industrial Blvd (In Spring Plaza) Ellijay (706) 276-7340

Honesty is the best policy. Unless you want people to like you.

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skin! I want pure white meat. It's got to be a fried boneless, skinless chicken breast.

Thia: Lots of crunchy breading, not salty, and a little greasy is good! (HEY! How did you sneak in here?!)

Tammy: It's gotta be moist and juicy. Even the wings should be soft inside. I don't want no dried out chicken.

Sometimes when they reheat it, that's what you get. I want mine made fresh right before they put it on my plate.

Cathy: I just want a lil flour & egg coating on mine and fried up quick.

Mike: I don't eat fried chicken no where but at my Mama's house. No one makes it like her.

Mary: It should have the slightest taste of buttermilk in it, and I like cold the next day, right out of the refrigerator.

Anna: Sometimes it's too plain tasting. I want mine to have some pepper in it, some kick to it.

Joan: Just simple coating and chicken cooked to perfection.

And that’s just a few of the responses! It seems like beauty, “The Best Fried Chicken” is in the eyes (mouth & nose) of the beholder.

All I can tell you is, I had fried chicken at every one of these restaurants and though all were just a little bit different all were very good. And just like I found with the BBQ restaurants every restaurant takes their fried chicken very seriously and is proud of what they serve.

As far as “The BEST”... stay tuned, we plan to let YOU our readers decide by vote which fried chicken ( & everything else) is THE BEST.

The Pink Pig 824 Cherry Log St, Cherry Log (706) 276-3311

Mike's Ellijay Restaurant 351 Tails Creek Rd, Ellijay (706) 635-4381

Mary Ann's Country Cooking 408 East Church St Jasper (706) 253-2225

Sue's Log Cabin Restaurant 2693 Tails Creek Rd, Ellijay (706) 635-5500

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"Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song?"- Steven Wright

First you're telling me to be myself, then you're telling me to stop being an idiot. Make your mind up.

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T

his issue’s craft was decided by the weather. The kids decided it was cold enough for snow however living in Georgia we don’t have any just yet. We are making snowmen!! They are super cute and very simple to make. The cutest part to me is that they are mostly made from a sock and some rice. Today’s participating kids in this craft are Tristan who is 7 and full of energy, Gracie who is 8 and full of questions, Breanna who is 10 and thinks she can do everything by herself and Draven my nephew who is over to visit and is 3 years old and just wants to be as big as everyone else.

We get out our supplies and the impatience sets in as everyone wants to know just how I plan to make a snowman out of a sock.

The fun begins with filling the socks with rice. That is a messy but yet very exciting part of the craft. We poured the rice into small flexible cups so the kids could easily use them to poor the rice into the sock. With one hand you have to hold the sock open while pouring the rice from the cup into the top of the sock. When the sock was filled up about ¾ of the way we used clear small rubber bands that you can find in the hair care section of any local store to tie off the sock to keep the rice inside. This was quite a show as the kids would try tying it off and the rubber band might flip off and rice would spill. Gracie just handed it over and let me tie hers but the always independent Breanna decided she could do hers on her own. After helping Tristan, Draven, and Gracie tie off the top and giving them 2 more rubber bands to tie off the head and to separate the middle and lower sections of the snowman, we now had a 3 part snow man and a little left over sock above the head. At this point Breanna finally decides to allow me to help her as well and everyone has a completed body and is ready to decorate.

For the decoration part of the snowman Tristan decides we need buttons for his snowman’s belly, Draven wants red dots for his snowman’s nose, and we all decide googly eyes are a must! We folded down the top of sock to make the snowman a hat. I decided that we would hot glue all the parts so that the kids could play with them right away however you can use regular school glue to put them together but it will require them sitting to dry overnight before the kids can play with them. We folded the top down about half way over the head and hot glued the top down so that the hat would stay in place.

Everyone began to pick out their buttons and noses to decorate the snow man. Draven loves red so he wanted the nose and all 3 of his buttons to all match in the red velvet buttons. Tristan, Breanna and Gracie want red velvet nose buttons and bright colored real buttons for their snow man belly. I help them hot glue all their decorations on making each one unique. Then it is time to attach the googly eyes so our snowman can see us.

Looking at our snowmen we notice something is missing. Our snowmen have no arms!

We begin looking through the craft supply box to see what we can find that might make for great snowman arms. All of a sudden it becomes a unanimous decision that the snow man would look great with Popsicle stick arms. We take a colored Popsicle stick and break it in half and glue half on each side of the snowman giving him beautiful arms.

Now you would think that we would have wonderfully completed snowmen but no not with these kids. They begin to brainstorm on what would be the next step to take for their snowmen to be perfect.

Being the smart and creative kids that they are they decide every good snowman needs a cool name. Draven is three years old and keeps it really simple naming his snowman Mr. Snowman, Tristan gives his snowman the name Nick, Gracie decides that Frosty is a fitting name for her snowman and last but not least we have Breanna who has bestowed the name Billy Bob upon her poor unsuspecting snowman. They spend the next thirty minutes sitting at the table making their snowmen talk to each other and laughing about the names they have given them. They also take their snowman and show him to everyone in the house introducing him by his name and waiting for a greeting back from them all.

The best part about this craft was watching all the creative thinking going on from the decisions on how to get the rice into a sock the best way and make it look like a snowman with the rubber bands, to picking out the best decorations and names to give their snowman to make them as unique as their creators. Crafting with kids often teaches me more than I am teaching them. They are full of life and fun! I think we get very busy in life as adults and forget to have fun and take things lightly. Who knew that spending an evening making snowmen out of socks with a bunch of kids would put life back into perspective.

If you do not have snow where you are this would be a great idea for your kids to get to build a snowman as well. If you do have snow but don’t want to get cold and wet then this could be great for you also. Take some time before you begin to decide what supplies work best for your family to decorate their snowman. Often anything you may have lying around your house make better decorations that going out to buy supplies. It is not about making the perfect craft but rather about making the best memories. Have fun crafting and I look forward to sharing more crafts with my kids with you again next time.

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Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to have a job. I just wish it wasn't THIS job.

L

iving in the beautiful north Georgia Mountains, from time to time we come across visitors to the area who appear to be what you might consider geographically challenged.

Many are drawn to the area for the fall leaves or the abundance of apples and apple products.

Many enjoy the quiet, small town atmosphere.

Some arrive to visit relatives they haven’t seen in years or perhaps just take that wrong turn and end up figuring out it was the best mistake they’ve ever made. A lot of times, you will see them scouring through the cornucopia of stores located around the square looking for that certain gift for that special someone.

I know many of the stores located downtown around the square offer unique gift ideas and many of the antique stores hold items that take them back to a simpler time before everything got so busy. I wonder if they ever think about why we call it “the square” when it’s actually a roundabout.

The one thing each of these visitors has in common is their ability, or lack thereof, to successfully maneuver around our beautiful town and surrounding area. Perhaps the area they hail from does not offer the chance to drive narrow, winding country roads through the mountains or perhaps it is the first time these visitors have encountered steep inclines. We locals have noticed a lot of visitors driving around with their left turn signal on. Now that seems a little strange to us around here, but I have it on good authority it is perfectly legal in some states. It is referred to as “an eventual left”.

There’s been many a time, I have spoken to a complete stranger as we pass on the street, and using the manners I was taught, say "hello", or maybe "how are you doing today?" I will always include a sir or ma’am. Often, they will look at me with bewilderment and confusion. I think they are trying to figure out if I am actually speaking to them or if I’m up to no good. I guess where they come from they don’t have too many friendly people around.

I get the feeling a lot of them think they know about us country folk from the movies and televi-

sion shows they’ve seen. That may be the reason they look at us so funny when we speak to them.

But to tell the truth, many of us locals have a pretty good idea in our heads about you city folk from the movies and television shows we’ve seen, so I guess it all comes out in the wash.

Being from this area, I can assure you, there are those locals who are best left alone. It’s not that they’re dangerous or threatening. They just prefer to be left to themselves and care nothing about interaction with “city folk”. That being said, those same people would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it, and, should your car break down, they would be the first to stop and lend a hand. That’s the funny thing about most locals. We go about our business day after day not bothering nobody but if someone is in need, we’ll drop whatever we’re doing and try to help them out. It really doesn’t matter if they grew up here or are just passing through.

It is amazing how fast the ladies at many of the local churches can throw together anything from a casserole of some sort to a whole dinner and have it delivered piping hot without being asked. That’s just the way they were raised and they know if they need something, they would not have to ask, it would just be taken care of.

We love our little piece of God’s green earth and don’t mind sharing it with y’all, as long as you don’t try to come in and start changing everything. We like it the way it is and want it to stay that way for our kids and their kids. As a matter of fact, a lot of our “locals” now were once just passing through these curvy mountain roads wondering where in the Sam Hill they had ended up. Perhaps something caught their eye or touched them deep down somewhere and they just “knew” this is where they should be.

It’s not something you can easily put into words but like they say, “When yer touched, yer touched” and you’ve just gotta go with that feeling.

So, as you’re passing through our quiet little hamlet, don’t judge the “locals” too quick. You never know how many of them only came to visit and ended up stayin'.

And when you are out there on those winding roads, please be careful. Watch how the locals drive and follow their lead. You might just start to fit in. Then all we would have to work on would be how y’all talk, cause it’s pretty funny.

I'm sorry I got angry and said a lot of things I meant but shouldn't have said.

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Gas prices aren't really that bad when you remember that you're essentially buying badass dinosaurs in liquid form.

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ric Young has been in wrestling for more than sixteen years, and on TV as a member of TNA for at least ten. Eric was recently in Blue Ridge to do a Deep Southern Championship Wrestling match with our own local wrestler, Showtime. We love DCSW and couldn't wait to bring our friend and columnist Bayou Betty out for an evening of fun that included watching some rasslin' and interviewing Mr Young. Eric is also the host of Animal Planet's Off the Hook: Extreme Catches program. Betty & Eric found out they had a few things in commonâ&#x20AC;Ś fishing and alligators!

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A Tag Team Interview With Wrestler/ Extreme Catch Host Eric Young Interview by Thia, Robb & Bayou Betty Photos by Robb & courtesy of Discovery Channel Thia: Tell me about your new insane show on Animal Planet!

Eric: It's called Off the Hook: Extreme Catches. I'm the host. They come up with all this crazy stuff. They asked, "Hey would you do free diving under the ice?"

I said sure! We did three free diving episodes this year. Free diving under the ice. Free diving for octopus in Hawaii. Free dive spear fishing in New York.

Thia: Free diving? That sounds outrageous enough.

But under the ice? That's scary stuff!

Bayou Betty: You have to be in incredible condition to do those kinds of crazy stuff.

Eric: I'm a pro wrestler first, so I am prepared for it.

Thia: What is the craziest thing you have done on the show so far?

Eric: Under ice, free dive, spearfishing. Free dive is where you hold your breath. You don't have a tank.

You have one breath of air. You cut a hole in the ice and dive under it, and you swim way under the shelf.

That's where the Small Mouth Bass hide. It's so cold so they just sit there.

Thia: So they are pretty easy to catch.

Eric: Once you find them they are easy to get.

Bayou Betty: Have you seen the movie, The Big Blue?

It's one of my favorite movies. It's about free diving.

Eric: Yes. It's awesome. I fell in love with free diving.

Bayou Betty: What is the deepest you ever did?

Eric: I did 75 feet in Hawaii. I was under almost three and a half minutes.

Bayou Betty: That's on one breath y'all!

Eric: I free dived five times.

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Thia: Did you practice in the bathtub?

Eric: No, I don't have a bathtub, so that makes it hard.

Thia: When you dive under the ice, what if you can't find the hole you went down into when you wanna come back up?

Eric: You die! Luckily that didn't happen. I'm here. You cut a big hole and you hope for a sunny day so the sun comes through the hole. It looks like another world when you are under there. You are seeing the bottom of the ice. I've never seen anything like it. It's so cool. And only twenty or thirty people in the world have ever done it.

Most people that dive under ice use compressed air. It's so cold it's hard to hold your breath. And you have to have special gear, like a 7 mill free dive suit, and we had custom masks that have a little hole for your eyes. Because you get brain freeze. It's super cold.

Thia: So you are obviously brave, courageous or crazy.

Eric: Stupid is what my mother would say! There is a thin line between bravery and stupidity.

Thia: I can't wait to see your show.

When is it on?

Eric: My show is in re-runs right now.

We had eight new ones showing last summer, and we will have twelve more that start in March or April. River Monsters will air from 8-9, mine will air from 9-930. We started filming a new set in November, it will have fishing, but other crazy stuff too. I think this season's pilot will be on the underground street luge society in San Francisco. A Luge sled is this little wheeled cart that slides on the ground. We wear leather suits and helmets.

Thia: That sounds exciting! Betty, I know you want to ask about fishing.

Bayou Betty: Can I ask you what is the biggest large mouth bass you ever caught?

Eric: It would be Devilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s River in Texas. We did a kayak trip. It was about 11 pounds. They are really hard to catch because it is very protected, so no one fishes and they are very skittish . We came down these rapids and as soon as you hit, they are in these pools on the bottom. But if you make too much noise they just take off. I think I caught 3 the entire weekend.

Mine was the biggest one we caught. I got lucky. We do mostly salt water on the show because that is where all the crazy stuff happens. We caught a nine foot hammerhead from the beach this summer. That was wild. We caught a thirteen foot seven gill shark in Oregon.

Robb- What is the most extreme thing you have done?

Thia: Eric said it was fishing under the ice Eric: That is the most dangerous. That and one other thing. So in Hawaii the premise of the show is that I am going to throw a luau. So we are collecting the stuff for the feast. There are always two stories for each location. So in Hawaii, one is free diving for octopus.

We caught a bunch. Then the second was, we did Opihi (O-P-High) picking which is a shellfish that is along the shore line. It's really dangerous. They say more people die a year doing that then couch or crab fishing. But not too many people do it. It's a very traditional kind of Hawaiian thing. You have a butter knife and these special boots and you climb along the rocks. You are picking these shellfish off and these waves are coming in and crashing over you. It's you versus the ocean and you lose. I've been wrestling since I was 17 and I'm 33 now, and I've never been as beat up ever, as I was that day. I had cuts everywhere. I got four stitches in my head from getting thrown into the rocks. It sounds sweet doesn't it?

Opihi picking. It's the most dangerous thing I've ever done. It's wild.

Thia: Sounds wild! Bayou Betty just went alligator hunting. (Bayou Betty talks all about her alligator hunt in her column in this issue.)

Eric: We did an alligator hunting show. There is a place in Florida called Gator Quest. It's three square miles and they say there are 1400 alligators there. We were catching them to move the gators from a pond to the holding area. We used rod and reel and caught one that was eleven feet. It was cool.

Jumping on the back was pretty crazy.

We had caught three that day, 7 feet, 9 feet and 11 feet. It's a dinosaur. Sitting on it's back, I could feel it breath.

It was awesome. I'm glad I did it.

Thia: That's cool. Bayou Betty kissed 'em.

Bayou Betty: I went to film an alligator hunt. We'd been out for five nights. We actually did two day hunts and the second day hunt we got em. 13 feet 1 inch 814 pounds. I got on him. He was still growling. I kissed him. He outweighed the Georgia record by two hundred pounds.

Eric: Very cool. I'd like to see the pictures.

Eric and Bayou Betty shared pictures of their adventures and then Eric went to wrestle. It was really cool to meet and talk to him. If you want to know more about his adventures you can watch his program on Animal Planet.

Caller ID should be more detailed~ "Wants Help Moving" "Going to Whine" "Will Ask to Borrow Money"

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62 "Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value." - Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre

Excerpt from local author Raland Patterson's Book, Silver Bullets for Managers

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n my quest to find the best illustrations for my ponderings, I recalled a number of stupid things I’ve done in my life. It is true that everyone makes mistakes from time to time, or participates in foolish acts. Nevertheless, one particular stupid decision I made as a child still bothers me as an adult, simply because I didn’t feel my decision was stupid at the time. In fact, I felt inspired by my brilliance in discovering an immediate solution to my problem.

I was born and raised on a small 200-acre farm in northern Georgia. My family raised cattle, horses, pigs and corn. At one end of our meadow we had three haystacks, each rising approximately twenty feet in height. I had friends who lived “in the area” (I can’t say neighborhood because city folks think in blocks).

We thought in miles. However, I don’t remember losing a lot of time worrying about walking to my friends’ houses.

One afternoon my friends and I decided to have a corncob fight around those twenty-foot haystacks. Once the corn was removed from the cob, the cob was very light. What this meant to the thrower was that the cob lost momentum and distance very quickly. The hitting distance, or “kill-zone”, was twenty feet or less. Even at this short distance, healthy farm boys could quickly move out of the path of an on-target cob.

The problem as I saw it was that the corncobs were just too light. The next time we went to the corncrib to reload our arsenal, I was inspired with a solution that would increase the weight of the corncobs. I knew there were plenty of leftover corncobs in the pigpen. The difference between the cobs in the pigpen and the ones in the corncrib was that the cobs in the pigpen were wet! I knew wet cobs were heavy, and heavy cobs fly faster and farther. How’s that for inspiration?

Fully loaded, we all moved back to our fighting positions. James was going to be my first victim because he was predictable. (You do not want to be predictable in a corncob fight.) Every time I threw a corncob that whizzed past him, he would immediately stick his head out from behind the haystack and throw his cob. My plan was to lob a dry corncob underhanded with my left hand and then throw the wet one with my right. My plan worked. Just before the dry cob hit the ground, I hurled the wet cob as hard as I could at the place where James always stuck his head out. This time was no different; his head was exactly where I predicted it would be. The cob hit James directly on the left temple, and he dropped like a rag doll. The other boys saw the blow and ran to James’ side.

One announced, “I think you killed him!”

I was in shock. To make matters worse, James’ entire body began to shake.

At the time it reminded me of a chicken with its head cut off. The first thing that ran through my mind was: How am I going to tell Daddy I killed James?

Luckily, I never had to confess to corncob murder. James woke up, and he didn’t even cry. All he said was, “Don’t you go telling my mother!”

I stood there in a daze. I tried to relax and think about what my dad would say or do. That was easy. He said the same thing every time I did something stupid: “Son, did you learn anything from this?”

My answer was always, “Yes, sir.” In most cases I was glad he didn’t ask me what I had learned because I didn’t know. In this case the obvious answer to Daddy’s question was, “Don’t hit your friend in the head with a wet corn cob.”

What I learned in a broader sense is that my first solution to a problem is not always the right one. Later on, I realized this lesson applied to quick fixes in business also. I discovered that the quick fix was almost always wrong.

Read Our Story On Rayland - www.thebestofebrj.com/patterson/

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."- Charles Duell, Director of U,S, Patent Offive, 1899

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“And In The End... The Love You Take, Is Equal To The Love... You Make.” - The Beatles