Metro Spirit 12.19.2002

DEC. 19-25

The Metropolitan

VOL. 14/ ISSUE 20

W W W. M E T S P I R I T. C O M

A Canal Runs Through It PAGE 22

Arts, Issues & Entertainment

Rural Metro:

No Fear Factor

An Open Letter to Billy Morris State Sen. Charles Walker

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Contents The Metropolitan Spirit

DECEMBER 19-25

❘

F R E E W E E K LY

❘

M E T S P I R I T. C O M

YES, WE'RE OPEN

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day 5pm-Until

D O O F SEAUFFET B

Rural Metro: No Fear Factor

By Stacey Eidson .............................................18 Cover Design: Stephanie Carroll Photo: Brian Neill

FEATURE

A Canal Runs Through It By Brian Neill ...................................................22 Opinion

D E C

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Whine Line ......................................................................4 Words ..............................................................................4 This Modern World ........................................................4 Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down ..........................................6 Suburban Torture ...........................................................8 Guest Column: State Sen. Charles Walker ................10 Austin Rhodes ..............................................................12

GERALD JONES HONDA ALL 2003 MODELS ARE ON SALE NOW!

Metro Beat UpClose with Belle Walker ...........................................14 Curtis Baptist Opposes Downtown District ................16

Arts

Camaraderie Characterized The 12 Bands of Christmas ......................................................................26 Nell Morris and Her Healing Harp ..............................34 St. Paul’s Pipe Organ Featured on Holiday CD ..........36

“The Two Towers” Is Quality Entry in Epic Trilogy ..................43

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Movie Listings .............................................................38 Worthwhile Movies of the Holiday Season ...............41 Review: “Star Trek: Nemesis” ...................................42 Review: “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” .........43 Movie Clock ..................................................................43

Music

Fusion Drives Cast Iron Filter’s Dynamic Sound .......44 Say Hello to 2003 .........................................................44 Music by Turner ............................................................46 Nightlife .........................................................................48

Stuff Dining Out: Azalea Inn .................................................24 News of the Weird ........................................................51 Brezsny's Free Will Astrology ......................................52 New York Times Crossword Puzzle ............................52 Amy Alkon: The Advice Goddess ................................53 Classifieds .....................................................................54 Date Maker ...................................................................55 Automotive Classifieds ................................................57

EDITOR & PUBLISHER David Vantrease ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Rhonda Jones STAFF WRITERS Stacey Eidson, Brian Neill ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Joe White ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Kriste Lindler, Jennifer H. Mar tin PRODUCTION MANAGER Joe Smith GR APHIC ARTISTS Stephanie Carroll, Natalie Holle ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER Meli Gurley RECEPTIONIST/CLASSIFIED COORDINATOR Sharon King ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ASSISTANT Lisa Jordan CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Meli Gurley SENIOR MUSIC CONTRIBUTOR Ed Turner CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Chuck Shepherd, Rob Brezsny, Austin Rhodes, Amy Alkon, Rachel Deahl CARTOONISTS Tom Tomorrow, Julie Larson

THE METROPOLITAN SPIRIT is a free newspaper published weekly on Thursday, 52 weeks of the year. Editorial coverage includes ar ts, local issues, news, enter tainment, people, places and events. In our paper appear views from across the political and social spectrum. The views do not necessarily represent the views of the publishers. Visit us at www.metspirit.com. Copyright © The Metropolitan Spirit Inc. Reproduction or use without permission is prohibited.

Phone: (706) 738-1142 Fax: (706) 733-6663 E-mail: spirit@metspirit.com Letters to the Editor: P.O. Box 3809, Augusta, Ga. 30914-3809

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Whine Line D

on Cheeks is sneaky and is in government to enrich himself.

His new political career as boss will be a short one. Don, we know you and will be coming for you.

Sue Burmeister has done more in her first two years as a state legislator than Ben Harbin and Joey Brush have in their combined 18 years. Harbin’s yearly promises for an Augusta Tech in Columbia County and Brush’s annual attempts to repeal the motorcycle helmet law are two examples of their “do-nothing” legislative work.

First off, let me state that I am white and I work for the fire department. Also, I believe in giving people their credit when due. Most of the public has not read the history of the fire department that black commissioners are pitching such a fit about. If you read the report it is a history of the Augusta fire department, not the consolidated department which Few was a part

of. I was a member of the county fire department and nothing was said of my department but I’m not a glory hound like Williams. I want to speak of another black man that did something for the fire department: George Johnson. He was a battalion chief for the Richmond County Fire Department and also helped establish the east Augusta fire department. I worked under him and he was a fair man. It’s a shame he is no longer with us.

Commissioner Williams has done nothing for the fire department and deserves no credit. Ronnie Few did nothing but put fools in our administration that will take us years to get rid of.

Jimmy takes the cake! Yes, Jimmy bails out as a citizen and demands America show restraint. Hmm, Jimmy, were you trying to kill another rabbit on Sept. 11, 2001? Or do you still stand by your decision to allow Americans to be treated like crap while you look on with concern? Jimmy Carter will

Words “Let’s stop saying there’s no divide.

There is a divide.”

— State Rep. Henry Howard (D-Dist. 98), as quoted in The Augusta Chronicle at a recent legislative breakfast hosted by the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce. Howard also said the mayor needs to learn to communicate with the Augusta commission, the article stated.

“As long as I am in office, we will leave no white person behind.”

Former Vice-President Al Gore, imitating U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, in a “Saturday Night Live” spoof regarding the latter’s recent comments praising U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond.

go down in history as the most pathetic chief executive this country has ever had.

If she were upscale, wouldn’t that mean smart? But, if she were smart, wouldn’t she think to carry a lint brush in her oversized bag? She’s an upscale girl. (Wink.)

I went to the movies the other evening, at the cost of $15.50 for my date and myself.

During the movie there were three cell phones constantly ringing, but they also had the nerve to indulge in conversations.

This kind of total ignorant behavior is the reason why I stopped going to the movie theater for a long time. There was also a baby in the theater, but I could stretch to understand that maybe the parent(s) could not find a sitter. My fellow Augustans, have we gotten so inconsiderate and non-caring of each other that it is OK to disrespect the enjoyment of the movie for others? To the movie managers: At the price of $7.75 per ticket, there should be someone to escort the parent(s) of an unruly child and the adult who feel it is OK to have a conversation on the phone, while the movie is going, out of the theater. And this would allow sensible people to get what they pay for.

As a student at Augusta State I am wondering who in the world picks out the paint scheme for the buildings. I have seen two historic buildings with the interior painted the most awful colors this semester, and wallpaper that belongs in the tropics, not a Civil War-era building. Maybe they are trying to get on “Trading Spaces”?

Marion Williams needs to do his job and quit complaining about racism every time he opens his mouth. People shouldn’t just look at him like he’s from outer space.

They should look at him like he’s a racist from outer space.

Welcome to Augusta, Chief Gillespie!

Augusta would be a better place if Marion Williams, Lee Beard and Willie Mays

would resign from the city commission.

They see everything in only two colors — black and white.

Congratulations to the man at Regal 20 cinema who stood up for his rights this weekend. It is about time the people who ruin movies for paying customers with crying babies or cell phone conversations are held accountable.

Mayor Trudeau in a speech to revelers at the Grovetown Christmas Tree Lighting announced that he “will be the biggest Republican” when it comes to getting state funds to Grovetown. Does that mean he has crossed over too?

Man, please! Just because you work for the government doesn’t mean you can expect to stand in line and stick your hand out for a Christmas bonus every year. I work in the private sector, and I’m not getting any $50 giddyup for this season. But I sure am glad I have a job. You heard the president: No federal raises or bonuses this year. May as well mean the state or local levels too. You think it’s tough now? You ain’t seen nothing yet. This generation can’t conceive of the concept of sacrifice. Wait and see what happens if we go to war.

My whine is about the new weights and measures being forced upon consumers.

What’s with this 1 3/4 gallons of ice cream and 4 lbs. bag of sugar? For over 30 years the common measure is 5 lbs. of sugar and 1/2 gallon ice cream. What’s next, prices for 1/2 gallons of gas and 1/2 lbs. of hamburger? I refuse to buy any product that resorts to these consumer mind games.

I wish the city would check the Christmas lights downtown for burnt-out bulbs before they put them up. It is an embarrassment! It looks like white trash Christmas down there; some of the sculptures aren’t even on. I have to go all the way to Aiken to see a good-looking display. continued on page 6

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Austin Rhodes is an idiot. I am sure of it. I try very hard not to respond when he pens his stupid comments in your paper each week, but I would pay big money to see him come face-to-face with Marion Williams and repeat what he wrote in the opinion section this week. I think he is a gutless blowhard coward, and hides behind your paper to spew his divisive B.S. If you could arrange this showdown, I know that Marion Williams (even though he is a minister) would clean Rhodes’ clock.

It’s become very obvious to me that Clyde Wells needs to run for mayor in 2006. This is a man who knows the issues. He can build bridges to unite the black and white communities and he has a very substantive vision to make Augusta a better place to live. So what do you say, folks? Let’s get Clyde to run. Don’t you just know the idea of Wells as mayor would give Billy Morris a fit!

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continued from page 4

Channel 4 Thursday, Dec. 19th • 5pm Friday, Dec. 20th • 5pm Sunday, Dec. 22nd • 1:30pm Monday, Dec. 23rd • 7:30 & 10pm Tuesday, Dec. 24th • 10pm Wednesday, Dec. 25th • 9:30am & 9pm Thursday, Dec. 26th • 5pm Friday, Dec. 27th • 5pm Sunday, Dec. 29th • 1:30pm Replays: Daily at 12 Noon, 3pm, and 10:30pm on

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Maybe the reason Stan Fink’s business is suffering is because he obviously has no concept of what the free market system is all about. It’s interesting that there are so many antique stores that are thriving on Broad Street. If anything, they have greater visibility with more and more people going downtown because of the restaurants and pubs. It seems Fink has a case of sour grapes. He can’t cut it in the free market system so he wants to blame others.

So, there really are folks out there who still believe this “ liberal media” nonsense.

Please, if you would, respond with an example of this “liberal media” and share it with the rest of us. We’re dying to see you cite an example of this in the past few years. Or, do you really believe everything these nuts like Rush tell you? I think I know the answer already.

News Times editor Paschal thinks the rain tax procedures should not change, per Commissioner Mercer, and recommends that Chairman Cross listen to Mercer since the problem is THTH (too hard to handle).

Mercer also thinks a separate Chamber is THTH! I would advise Mr. Cross to consider the following: (1) No new sales tax programs. (2) Keep the assessments where they are. (3) Reduce county spending by 0.5 mils. (4) Use the 0.5 mils in a fund for the solution of runoff problems.

To the parents who live in Merrick Apartments: Please teach your children to be ready when the school bus comes! Just about every day I have to wait for children that are spaced 50 feet apart dragging to the bus, only to find that there are two

Thumbs Up Outgoing Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, is planning to go to work for a nonprofit group that offers legal advice to the poor after he leaves office in January.

The agency, the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, reportedly represents victims of real estate fraud as well as lowincome HIV and AIDS patients.

Thumbs Down Anti-abortion fanaticism reached a new high recently when Georgia state Rep. Bobby Franklin (R-Marietta) introduced a bill that would require a woman seeking an abortion to stand trial and have a judge sign a death warrant to have the child executed, the Associated Press reported.

Those criticizing the bill said such legislation would only serve to make women seek illegal, and potentially unsafe, abortions.

more groups of children (spaced the same way) slugging along. Riding a bus is a privilege and those who aren’t prompt should be left behind for the parents who don’t enforce this to take them to school.

That city worker who stated “our families will get very little because you took away our $50 bonus,” should really fight for a raise if they think that an additional $50 will vastly improve their Christmas.

Let’s hope Senator Joey Brush continues his work on sign ordinances. Perhaps even renaming the portion of I-20 between Augusta and Atlanta the “Joey Brush Speedway” for his fast-driving habits would be a good start. That way, Brush will not get in the way of Senator Don Cheeks, who is capable of getting real legislation passed.

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ping carts, take one from the parking lot into the store with you. Why? At this time of year, it may be the only way you can be sure you’ll have one to use for your shopping. Plus you’re helping the store employees bring in the carts, clearing the lot for others to park safely, and as you’re crossing the main drive to get to the store, you are more visible to other drivers! If you get in the habit of doing this now, you might keep it up even after the holidays.

There are businesses in Augusta who let their employees ask you if you are 55 or older. These businesses will never get another dollar from us. It is none of your business what my age is. I thought people in the South were well-mannered. I have never heard of anything so rude in my life.

Stan Fink is closing his business because people are sick of high prices! To blame it on bars and liquor is just a desperate attempt by him to place the blame on someone else! Good riddance!

Martha Burk and Linda Schrenko need to team up. If Burk wants the Augusta National to have a woman member, she should recommend Schrenko. Since Schrenko won’t be in Atlanta cleaning the Statehouse, perhaps an invitation to “clean” the Augusta National Clubhouse might be the correct remedy. Hootie and Schrenko mopping floors would make a great team!

Why don’t you ever print whines about the Richmond County Board of Education?

Could it be that you are afraid of offending your friends?

If Stan Fink wants to be surrounded only with what he deems to be family-oriented businesses, then maybe he should open his antique store in Disneyland. But last time I checked, taverns and pubs were legal in Richmond County and they have always been an integral part of downtown. If one particular business breaks the law such as selling to minors or repeated offenses of disturbing the peace, then his liquor license can be revoked. But to dictate that only certain businesses that you agree with should be allowed to operate is unAmerican and sounds like something one would expect from the Taliban.

Austin Rhodes’ so-called humor is nothing other than blatant racism, anti-Semitism and sexism. He’s an extremely divisive demagogic voice in a city that needs healing and unity. As a white person, I request you ask Ed McIntyre to write a weekly column to balance the rightwing radicalism of Rhodes.

- Call our Whine Line at 510-2051 and leave your comments. We won’t use your name. Fax your whines by dialing (706) 733-6663 or e-mail your whines to whine@metspirit.com.

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ecently, you ordered one of your henchmen from The Augusta Chronicle to call my office and ask me if I was going to resign from the ANIC board and the Richmond County Development Authority. The answer to your arrogant question is no. While I am not surprised by your audacity, I am shocked by your impertinence. What gives you the right to even suggest to a citizen or elected official that they should or should not serve on a board or authority? Are you so delusional as to believe that you and your newspaper have that right?

This community has been under your thumb for some 45 years. Throughout that time, you have ruled through fear and intimidation. You have bullied our elected and appointed officials. Many of our citizens are reluctant to offer for public office for fear of your wrath.

Your reporters and newspaper take unnatural pleasure in lording over our citizens. As a result, you have become the worst imaginable personification of the schoolyard bully. You and your newspaper have held this community at bay. For too long our business leaders have been made to kowtow to your abusive authority for fear of retribution. They have failed to move forward because they were afraid to move forward.

Billy, you have terrorized our doctors. You push our civic leaders around and you divide our community along racial and economic lines. You want to tell us what and when we should think. If it is not your idea, then it is not a good idea.

I know that I speak for a large segment of our community when I say enough is enough. You no longer have any real power over this community; it is only a myth. The time has come for this community to stand up. We encourage all citizens of like minds to speak up and stand up. The hour has come for your grand unmasking.

You have commandeered our tax money and spent it on your hotels and riverwalk projects, airport hangars and your ponies.

You have promised us leadership and given only hardship. The political graveyard is full of casualties because they failed to fight back against your assault. Men like Don Johnson, Ed McIntyre, Hobson Chavous, Sam Sibley, Doug Bernard, Ronnie Few, soon to be Don Cheeks, along with many

others have been politically assassinated by your poison pen.

For years now, Billy, you have sent your coon dogs to do your bidding. You have beaten your opponents down and broken their spirit. You will not and cannot break my spirit.

We know about your moral standards.

Didn’t you sue members of your own family? What moral high ground can you claim after such a despicable act? You, sir, are no role model and you certainly are no hero.

You have demonstrated that you will do anything to anyone when it suits your purpose.

Your methods are crude. You will not hesitate to attack a person’s integrity; you will not hesitate to assassinate their character with impunity and you will do so in a cowardly fashion.

Here is something I want you to remember for the rest of your days.

It is not the size of the dog in the fight; it is the size of fight in the dog. You buy your ink by the barrel; we buy ours by the cup.

But you should take no comfort in that. If you want a fight, be prepared to fight. Our period of silence is over. We will print the truth and we will print it often. We will respond to your attacks point by point and we will not be moved.

You have kept your fingers in our eyes, your hands in our pockets and your foot on our necks. It is over.

— Senator Charles W. Walker, publisher, The Augusta Focus

This community has been under your thumb for some 45 years. Throughout that time, you have ruled through fear and intimidation. You have bullied our elected and appointed officials.

Many of our citizens are reluctant to offer for public office for fear of your wrath.

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Opinion: Austin Rhodes

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oon-to-be former state Senator Charles Walker is a self-centered, heavy-handed megalomaniac who used his political position to fashion a personal fortune while thumbing his nose at Georgia’s weak ethics laws.”

Coming from a loudmouth talk radio host, that would be a run of the mill, par for the course description of Charles Walker.

Coming from his former chief of staff, it is big news.

Robert Finch worked for Walker for 16 months, until he resigned in October of 2001. He says the resignation was something he knew was going to happen about two months into his tenure.

“I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” Finch told listeners of my radio program this week.

Finch was fresh out of law school, and a neophyte concerning Georgia state politics, when he joined the senator’s staff. He was hoping the position would be a springboard for future political endeavors. Now, Finch is doing all he can to distance himself from the Walker legacy.

Finch pulls no punches when he explains the timing of his soul-bearing. Walker is now a defeated politician, and therefore, has little of the influence he once used to squash his political enemies.

“I knew there was no way I could get a job in public life with Walker in power,” Finch explained. “Not if I told what I knew.”

And exactly what did he know?

Finch has details, but he is not ready to get specific yet, not publicly. Finch did confirm for us on the air that he had been interviewed by law enforcement concerning Senator Walker’s activities, but declined to discuss details. “There is a lot I cannot say right now, but I can tell you I have had discussions with investigators.”

Senator Walker has been asked numerous times about current investigations into his political and business dealings. While I would love to quote him verbatim, The Spirit’s publisher will not allow it. Suffice it to say Walker’s responses have been loud and colorful, asking a holy entity to personally “damn” the inquiries, and, comparing the claims to bovine waste matter.

The investigations were first publicly revealed in this column weeks ago. Recently, Sylvia Cooper of The Augusta Chronicle also mentioned police involvement in a story she did on Walker.

What I found most interesting in my 80minute segment with Finch (which will be replayed Dec. 26th on WGAC), was the insight into Walker’s mindset and motivations. Finch reported that whenever anyone met with the “Leader” ( Walker’s nickname among staffers), and asked for assistance with any state business, Walker would rub the head of a stuffed green dog he always had perched on his desk and ask, “What’s in it for my friend here?” Finch says if you wanted any help from the Leader, the green dog had to be fed.

The former chief of staff describes a clear case of quid pro quo for almost every deal the Leader was in on. The formation of the Augusta Neighborhood Improvement Corporation, Finch says, is Exhibit A. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how the oodles of dough the state sends ANIC’s way often finds its way into Charles Walker’s pockets. The trail has been well established in reports by The Chronicle and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Finch says state political insiders laugh out loud at the audacity of Walker’s tactics. “You should hear how they talk about him, but everyone was so afraid of him, no one challenged him on it.”

Until now.

What does Charles Walker think about Finch’s claims? He told reporters from both Channel 12 and 26 that he fired Finch, and that he never worked as “chief of staff,” that Finch made up the title, and even the position itself. Walker said there was no such thing. Funny, Finch has a box of state-furnished business cards that list him as “Chief of Staff, Office of Senate Majority Leader,” and a current state Web site lists another individual as the current “chief of staff.”

Someone is lying.

Walker also told both TV stations that Finch had been accused of other wrongdoing, criminal in nature. Walker had no answer when asked why he didn’t seek charges against Finch if the allegations were true. Reporter Joshua Quinn said, when pressed, the senator admitted there was no substantiation to any such allegation against Finch. Fine. Then why bring it up?

Another item Finch confirmed was the motivation behind the redistricting that saw state Senator Don Cheeks put into a very unfriendly new district, and a congressional district drawn specifically for Walker’s son Champ. “I was in on the drawing of those lines. There is no doubt, unequivocally, that those plans were designed to kill Cheeks, and promote Champ in his race. I even asked the Leader if he was sure he wanted to give up his solid base to help defeat Cheeks.

He said absolutely.”

Finch himself ended up running against Champ Walker for that 12th District congressional seat. If Walker had damaging information about Finch, why didn’t he use it then? Two reasons: Finch was not considered a serious threat; he was underfunded and unknown. Also, Walker did not want Finch doing what he is doing now: telling the story.

Walker’s little green dog has been put to sleep. It is Finch’s hope that it is a permanent condition.

“I hope we can rewrite Georgia’s sorry ethics laws to curtail the activities of people like Charles Walker, and I am willing to tell this story to everyone in this state.”

Indeed he is.

— The views expressed in this column are the views of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. The archived Austin Rhodes columns can now be seen at www.wgac.com.

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UpClose With Belle Walker

BY RHONDA JONES

B

elle Walker is about to turn 100.

For just over 10 years, she has lived at Brandon Wilde, an assisted living facility. She is a charming lady, with a ready smile and sparkling eyes.

Interesting things happen when one has lived as long as Walker, as she is finding out. The retired educator, who taught citizenship at Tubman Junior High School for 45 years, has met several of her former pupils in the halls of Brandon Wilde over the years – as fellow residents.

Sometimes they say hello, but she had a lot of students over the decades, and they’ve certainly changed a lot by the time they get to Brandon Wilde, so she doesn’t always remember them.

She recalls one meeting in particular.

“I said, ‘How do you know me?’ And she said, ‘Miss Walker, you taught me at Tubman.’ I was so embarrassed.”

Walker never married or had children of her own, so those many students became “her” kids. In addition to her teaching duties at Tubman, she worked as faculty advisor for the student government. And in church, at First Presbyterian, she was involved with the youth.

“My life has been teaching young people,” she said.

Her time with kids has given her some big laughs over the years. She told about a field trip to Savannah during which she took her students to lunch at a nice restaurant. After munching on the crackers that were on the table, when it was time to order, the kids announced that they couldn’t afford to eat there. So Walker had to find a way to get them out of the restaurant and save face so they could go somewhere less expensive. She chalked it up as just one of those things that can happen with a room full of adolescents.

“A person has got to have some unusual experience in their life,” she said. “No matter how careful they are.”

Her cousin, Isabelle Thomas Goodwin, five years her junior, sat nearby, providing a detail here and there, reminding her of things. She asked Walker if she remembered when fire trucks were pulled by horses.

“No. But I can say I do,” Walker replied with a chuckle. “Isabelle knows more about me than I do.”

At the death of her mother when

Walker was 2, Walker’s father moved the family in with Walker’s aunt, for whom she was named. The two cousins grew up as sisters, and that’s exactly what Goodwin called the other girl – Sister.

Walker enjoyed the fact that the family servants called her that as well, sort of.

Their name for her was “Miss Sister.”

As that memory loosened and toppled out, it brought others with it. Walker began to recall details, like what family dinners were like. “Al was the butler, and he wore a white coat when he served us.

And there were eight people at the table every night.”

Two things you will notice about Walker if you ever get the chance to meet her, are her modesty and her sense of humor, which often make an appearance at the same time. She expressed concern that an article about her might somehow give her credit she didn’t deserve.

“I talk too much,” she said at one point.

“I don’t want to give you too much to write. They’ll think I’m a princess.”

When she thought she had given enough details to make a pretty good story about herself, she said so. But those details aren’t written in stone as far as she’s concerned. “Add some more if you think it’s better,” she said with a smile.

“But don’t make it boring for other people. They’ll think, ‘Who is this? We never heard of her.’”

Well, now you have. Walker again expressed satisfaction with the way her life turned out. “I’ve never been to Europe and I don’t care now if I ever get there. I’ve had good family and friends here. I think if you’ve got good family and friends, you’ve got the world.”

Walker’s birthday will be Dec. 29. The staff and residents of Brandon Wilde will help her celebrate it the day before.

15

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MetroBeat Curtis Baptist Opposes Downtown District

M

ark Harris, pastor of Curtis Baptist Church on Broad Street, should be nicknamed “The New Terminator” because when his church doesn’t support something downtown, he’s not afraid to warn Augusta commissioners, “I’ll be back” when the final vote is scheduled.

On Nov. 17, City Administrator George Kolb requested that the commission consider sending his proposal for a downtown entertainment district to the AugustaRichmond County Planning and Zoning Commission to be drafted and submitted for public review.

Once the planning commission finished drawing up the details for the downtown entertainment ordinance, the proposal would then have to go before the Augusta Commission again for final approval and a public hearing.

Within this proposed entertainment district, Kolb asked that the city drop the requirement that nightclubs be located at least 100 yards away from places of worship, parks or schools.

Instead, Kolb suggested that the bars or nightclubs be allowed to locate within 25 feet, or approximately eight yards, from such religious or educational establishments.

Also included in Kolb’s recommendation was a proposal to amend the current city ordinance so as to prohibit any consumption of alcohol in public places.

The only exception would be if an organization were given a special events permit that would allow alcohol consumption only within a defined area, such as the Riverwalk or the Augusta Common.

The proposed entertainment district includes the downtown area within the

boundaries of the Savannah River, the south side of Ellis Street, Fifth and 13th streets.

Harris said that his church, along with a number of local religious organizations and a few antique store owners, strongly object to the proposal of a downtown entertainment district.

“It’s our understanding, once it goes to the planning commission, they’re actually to draft the ordinance,” Harris said. “They’re to draft the law that we will then find ourselves simply discussing. And after a whole lot of time, a whole lot of work, a whole lot of effort, we’ll be right back here again for you to vote this entertainment district either up or vote it down.”

Harris said before the city goes to all that trouble, he believed the commission should hear the three main objections his supporters have to the establishment of the entertainment district.

First of all, Harris said he did not support the commission’s suggestion that this entertainment district would promote commerce. He said the objections from several longtime business owners in the area should prove that not all commercial establishments see this new entertainment district as a plus.

“They have concerns as well as others downtown that it would lead to the removal of our retailers and merchants exiting downtown,” Harris said, adding that the entertainment district would simply attract more bars downtown. “And it’s not only an issue of commerce, but it’s an issue of crime. We just believe with all of our hearts that there’s going to be a certain amount of criminal element that will come with the establishment of this very district.”

“

BY STACEY EIDSON

In fact, Harris said, he’s been assured by Richmond County Sheriff Ronnie Strength that the sheriff’s department will not support creating a new entertainment district.

Finally, Harris said his supporters objected to the entertainment district because of the issue of “community.”

“I’ll be honest with you, I’ve stood before you guys before. You know, I’m no stranger here,” Harris said, referring to Curtis Baptist’s objection to an alcohol license request by Judy Tyler, owner of a former restaurant on Broad Street called Off Broadway.

In October 2000, the Augusta Commission turned down Tyler’s request for an alcohol license after more than 200 members of Curtis Baptist Church came to a commission meeting in opposition to Tyler’s wish to serve alcohol in her restaurant.

A local superior court judge eventually forced the city to award Tyler an alcohol license, but within a year after receiving its license, Off Broadway closed.

Harris said Curtis Baptist Church is interested in issues facing the commission, like the establishment of an entertainment district, because it cares about the welfare of the downtown community.

“We have sought to deal with this thing because, I agree, we need to come to terms with the downtown where it’s not constantly a battle between the religious community and a battle with the merchants that always ends up in court,” Harris said.

But Harris said, if the commissioners expect people to work together, they need to be honest about their motives behind establishing a downtown district.

“I’m not really opposed to a fine restaurant downtown,” Harris said. “If an Olive Garden, for instance, wanted to come and plant down right beside Curtis Baptist Church, I wouldn’t be opposed to that.”

But he said this ordinance has nothing to do with promoting restaurants downtown because restaurants do not have to meet a distance requirement from churches or schools. Those distance requirements only deal with bars or liquor stores.

“Gentlemen, if that’s the law, then let’s be truthful about this,” Harris said. “This isn’t about establishing an entertainment district to attract fine restaurants like Red Lobster or Olive Garden. This is about setting up zoning that will allow bars to go in every place, anywhere, anytime and any way.”

That type of ordinance is one that Harris said his supporters can’t stand behind.

“We want to see downtown flourish, but we don’t want to see it become something that we will all regret,” Harris said. “If you choose to send this to the planning commission, I guess all I’ll just say, we’ll be back and we’ll be back in force when the time comes.”

The commissioners either enjoy seeing Harris’ face or were not intimidated by his warning, because with a vote of 6-4, they approved sending the proposal for an entertainment district to the planning commission for review.

Commissioners Lee Beard, Richard Colclough, Marion Williams, Willie Mays, Andy Cheek and Steve Shepard supported the motion, while commissioners Ulmer Bridges, Tommy Boyles, Bill Kuhlke and Bobby Hankerson opposed it.

“This isn’t about establishing an entertainment district to attract fine restaurants like Red Lobster or Olive Garden. This is about setting up zoning that will allow bars to go in every place, anywhere, anytime and any way.”

– Mark Harris, pastor of Curtis Baptist Church

“

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RURAL METRO:

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“There's no fear factor.”

B Y

S T A C E Y

E I D S O N

2 0 0 2

“A

backup ambulance is en route from Burke County.”

Those are words that Augusta commissioners don’t want Richmond County emergency dispatchers to have to tell any local citizen who dials 911 in desperate need of medical assistance.

But that scenario could become a reality under the city’s $760,000-a-year ambulance contract with Rural/Metro, set to go into effect on Jan. 1.

In the rare instance in which Rural/Metro’s eight contracted ambulances are tied up with serious medical emergencies and are unable to be redirected to another 911 call — a situation known as “Status Level Zero” — emergency dispatchers will then be forced to turn to Rural/Metro’s mutual aid providers for help.

Currently, those mutual aid providers are Burke County EMA and Lincoln County EMS. Rural/Metro is also in negotiation with Aiken County’s EMS provider concerning

a mutual aid agreement, but Aiken County’s public safety committee is not scheduled to consider the matter until the first part of next year.

“The whole issue about mutual aid is, you never know when you are going to have an incident that needs more than the resources that you have,” said Douglas Hooten, division general manager for Rural/Metro. “It’s always better to have as many mutual aid agreements as possible ... and we are taking every necessary precaution.

“But to quote Commissioner (Willie) Mays, this is a once-in-a-blue-moon situation. It certainly could happen, but it’s very, very rare.”

That explanation doesn’t sit well with many Augusta commissioners. Several have told Rural/Metro that they don’t care whether a Status Level Zero situation is as common as the return of Haley’s comet; they want to have a mutual aid ambulance provider located in Richmond County.

The problem is, Gold Cross EMS, the only other EMS

provider in Augusta, informed Rural/Metro and the city earlier this year that it could no longer respond to mutual aid, emergency calls in Richmond County without being financially reimbursed by the city.

“We did have a mutual aid agreement with Rural/Metro,” Gold Cross CEO Tom Schneider told the Augusta Commission on Dec. 17. “And we were getting three or four calls a day, not every day, but three or four calls a day to come into Richmond County.”

In September, Schneider wrote Augusta Administrator George Kolb requesting payment for three emergency calls in Richmond County that Gold Cross handled all in one day. Kolb informed Schneider that it was not Augusta’s responsibility to pay for those calls.

Schneider then turned to Rural/Metro for answers.

As the primary EMS provider for Columbia County, Gold Cross offered a revised mutual aid agreement.

“I wrote Rural/Metro and told them that we would pay them for any call that they answered in Columbia County

and they could pay us for any call that we answered in Richmond County at the Medicare prevailing rate which is about $187 a call,” Schneider said. “Now, they countered with a rate based on their subsidy (from Augusta-Richmond County) and the number of calls (Rural/Metro receives a year), where they would pay us $25 a call and we would pay them $75 a call if they ran in our county.”

Gold Cross felt like that was not much of an agreement.

“We have not called on Richmond County or Rural/Metro in that 15 or 16 months that we’ve been in Columbia County. We have not called on them for backup once, but Richmond County has called on Gold Cross numerous times for backup,” Schneider said.

However, Hooten disagreed with Schneider’s assessment of the situation. He acknowledged there was one incident at least three months ago in which Gold Cross was called for backup to Rural/Metro three times in one day, but he said in no way was it a common occurrence.

“We have certainly offered to try and work out an agreement with Gold Cross,” Hooten said. “We offered whatever subsidy that we get for a (911) call.”

Hooten estimated that the city pays Rural/Metro,

through its annual $760,000 contract, approximately $27 per emergency call for the 24,000 calls it handles each year.

“But that was unacceptable to Gold Cross,” Hooten said.

“And at the end of the day, that’s their decision because that’s their business.”

Hooten said Rural/Metro had no other choice than to look to other EMS providers in the surrounding area for mutual aid.

“I think Aiken County will be a good resource for mutual aid,” Hooten said. “Gold Cross would be too, but they just have some issues with money.”

“Typically, mutual aid isn’t about money,” Hooten added. “For them it is. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong.

But if you look at all of our mutual aid agreements, it very clearly states money is not an issue. We can’t put money in front of public safety.”

In fact, Hooten said, despite Gold Cross’ rejection of Rural/Metro’s mutual aid proposal, Rural/Metro will continue to provide support for Columbia County.

“We sent a letter to Columbia County letting them know that

“Typically, mutual aid isn’t about money. For them (Gold Cross EMS) it is. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong. But if you look at all of our mutual aid agreements, it very clearly states money is not an issue. We can’t put money in front of public safety.”

– Douglas Hooten, division general manager for Rural/Metro

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even though their provider has canceled their mutual aid with us, if Columbia County needs us, we will continue to respond if requested by Columbia County at no cost to their citizens,” Hooten said.

But Schneider also assured the Augusta Commission that Gold Cross is not going to leave Richmond County high and dry in the case of a major catastrophe.

“If it’s a major disaster, we will send you everything we possibly have,” Schneider said. “Whether it’s hurricanes, plane crashes or what have you, but we cannot continue to send ambulances to Richmond County for free.”

Schneider said he simply wanted his company to be reimbursed for the medical service it provides.

“What we will propose to you is, if Richmond County 911 calls Gold Cross for backup emergency service, Richmond County will pay Gold Cross $200 per call,” Schneider told commissioners.

And it’s a proposal that Schneider said the city should continued on page 20

19 M E T R O S P I R I T D E C 1 9 2 0 0 2

20 continued from page 19 M E T R O S P I R I T D E C 1 9 2 0 0 2

seriously consider, because otherwise he doesn’t believe the city will be able to handle its volume of emergency calls during peak conditions with only eight Rural/Metro ambulances on the street.

“I’ve got family in this county. I was born and raised in this county, but honestly folks, you don’t have enough ambulances in your county,” Schneider said, adding that it’s not Rural/Metro’s fault. “Your new contract doesn’t call for enough ambulances in your county.”

Commission Calls for Compromise

The city’s 2003 contract with Rural/Metro clearly states that Rural/Metro will “secure mutual aid agreements with other ambulance services in or near the service area, subject to the city’s approval.”

Well, many commissioners representing the city aren’t approving.

“Rural/Metro has brought a letter in saying that they have or could possibly have a mutual aid agreement with Aiken, South Carolina or Waynesboro or Lincoln County,” Augusta Commissioner Marion Williams said. “That’s not acceptable in my mind.”

Williams didn’t care if Status Level Zero occurred once every 10 years. As chairman of the Augusta Commission’s public safety committee, he said he expects Rural/Metro to have a local mutual aid provider. “(Status Level Zero) may not ever happen,” Williams told the commission.

“But if it did happen, and if it was my daughter, or my son, or your wife or your child, Mr. Mayor, one is one too many.

“So, for us to sit here as commissioners and say it’s OK to have a mutual aid agreement with an agency that far away is crazy.”

Augusta Commissioner Willie Mays, who has been trying to get the city to address the mutual aid agreement for the last two months, said the commission should not play games in a “life-and-death situation.”

Mays said all that needs to happen to spin the city’s 911 service out of control is for a simultaneous chain of events to occur such as a tractor trailer overturning in south Augusta, at the same time a shooting occurs in the inner city, a person experiences a heart attack on Highway 56, cars pile up on Washington Road and there’s a chemical spill in east Augusta.

“Then, you’ve got hell on your hands right here in this county,” Mays said.

He told representatives from

Rural/Metro and Gold Cross on Dec. 17, it was time for them to sit down with the city and work something out.

“I think quite frankly that it has gotten into nothing more than a professional peeing contest,” Mays said. “I think (this problem) is one that ought to have been worked out in about five minutes. It could have been settled, but there’s a lot of B.S. going on with the whole thing.”

Mays said that he refuses to tell constituents not to worry if Rural/Metro is tied up, because mutual aid is on the way ... from about 30 miles away.

“That is a very sorry answer for someone who’s waiting there with a loved one who needs an ambulance,” Mays said. “What we have on the floor is a mutual aid agreement that is unacceptable ... and I’m mad as hell.”

The commission voted 7-2-1 for representatives from Rural/Metro and Gold Cross to sit down with Deputy Administrator Fred Russell and come to some type of mutual aid agreement by Dec. 23 that satisfies the commission.

However, Augusta Commissioner Bill Kuhlke said he believed the only way the city could resolve the matter was by opening its checkbook.

If Schneider is asking for $200 per emergency call and Gold Cross actually receives approximately three emergency calls a day from Richmond County, Kuhlke said that the city needs to consider providing approximately $219,000 to cover Gold Cross’ costs.

Otherwise, he said, any negotiations between Rural/Metro and Gold Cross seem futile.

“How are you going to work it out, unless this commission is ready to go ahead and give a couple hundred thousand dollars to be able to get backup service from Gold Cross?” Kuhlke asked.

Performance Bond Woes

Rural/Metro’s mutual aid agreement was not the Augusta Commission’s only concern with the 2003 ambulance contract.

On Nov. 6, Williams also voiced some concerns about the one-year performance bond issued by American Safety Casualty Insurance Company that Rural/Metro was required to provide the city to secure its three-year contract.

The $1.5 million performance bond submitted by Rural/Metro is designed to protect the city from monetary loss if Rural/Metro were to ever fall into default on its contract.

In November, Williams said he could not

understand the language included in Rural/Metro’s performance bond.

But Williams wasn’t the only one.

Davenport Bruker, a partner in Sanford, Bruker & Banks, Inc. – a local insurance agency that deals with bond writing – said the wording of Rural/Metro’s performance bond was “absurd.”

“You have a bond that is worthless,” Bruker said, looking at a copy of the performance bond dated Oct. 31, 2002.

“This bond doesn’t give us as taxpayers any protection. I just don’t think you could file a claim under the bond. I really don’t.

“Whoever drafted this stupid bond form is trying to make it very difficult to put (Rural/Metro) in default.”

There were two main sections of the bond that troubled Bruker.

The first concern was a sentence that stated Rural/Metro and American Safety Casualty Insurance Company were “held and firmly bound unto the City of Augusta in the State of Georgia, to the extent acting unanimously, ... in the maximum total penal amount of $1.5 million.”

Bruker questioned whether the wording “to the extent acting unanimously,” meant that all Augustans would have to unanimously vote and agree on any issues involving the bond or contract.

If so, he said, that was ridiculous.

“Obviously the wording means something to somebody, but nobody knows what,” Bruker said, laughing.

“Anytime you put words into a contract, which is what this is basically, a contract, there is a reason for putting it there. So, the question is, why? And damn if I know.

It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Bruker’s second major concern was the fact that Rural/Metro’s performance bond with the city included a section that stated four specific conditions must be met before the city can collect on the bond.

For example, the bond stated the city could not file a claim until Rural/Metro’s license was “fully and finally” revoked.

“In other words, if their license was being revoked, they could appeal it and tell the city, ‘Well it hasn’t been finally revoked because we’re appealing it,’” Bruker said. “And therefore the city could never collect a dime.

“The bottom line is, if I was the city attorney, I wouldn’t accept this bond form.

I don’t think it’s worth the paper it’s printed on.”

In fact, County Attorney Jim Wall did not accept the Oct. 31 version of the performance bond submitted by Rural/Metro.

“When I had an opportunity to review

“I’ve got family in this county. I was born and raised in this county, but honestly folks, you don’t have enough ambulances in your county.”

– Gold Cross CEO Tom Schneider

the bond, I knew immediately there were changes that needed to be made,” Wall said. “The wording, ‘to the extent acting unanimously’ should not have been in there, and that has been changed.”

Wall said he also included a statement in the revised performance bond which provides that the city could collect on the bond if Rural/Metro suffers a “Class A Default.”

A Class A Default as outlined in Rural/Metro’s contract includes such situations as Rural/Metro failing to comply with minimum employee salary requirements, or not maintaining or replacing equipment that endangers the public’s health and safety.

These new changes, Wall said, now protect the city in case of a default by Rural/Metro.

“So, the concerns that I had about the bond that was originally presented have been resolved,” Wall said. “I’m now satisfied with the bond.”

Hooten, from Rural/Metro, said the citizens of Augusta-Richmond County should feel confident with Rural/Metro’s performance bond.

“We have performance bonds all over the country, and the surety company that we use has a standard performance bond that they use in the ambulance industry,” Hooten said. “Jim (Wall) had an opportunity to look at it and there were some initial concerns that the commission and Jim felt that needed to be addressed.

Those issues have been resolved.”

Hooten also assured citizens that the performance bond will never have to come into play when it comes to Rural/Metro’s service to the city of Augusta.

“In the 50 years that Rural/Metro has been in the business, we’ve never defaulted on a contract,” Hooten said. “So, we’ve never had to have anyone act on a performance bond.”

While there have been several questions and concerns about the Rural/Metro contract voiced by commissioners during the last few months, Hooten said Augustans should feel confident that if they are ever faced with a medical emergency, Rural/Metro will be there.

“For six and a half years we’ve provided service to this community, and I believe Rural/Metro has proven itself to be a good community citizen,” Hooten said.

“Rural/Metro is committed to this community. There’s no fear factor here.

“The citizens of Richmond County should feel comfortable that if you dial 911, you’re going to get good care.”

21

The Comfort Times

Welcome home for the holidays!

M E T R O

Aldersgate

S P I R I T

Local Heating Contractor Announces

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A CANAL RUNS THROUGH IT

"

B Y

Several things went through local historian Ed Cashin’s mind when the idea of writing a historical account of the Augusta Canal was first posed to him.

But one of the foremost was the question, why?

Initially, Cashin says, he thought the Augusta Canal was but a blip on the radar screen of Augusta’s history.

“That was exactly my thought. And my other thought was, when you write something, you can’t make it more interesting than it essentially is,” Cashin said.

“If something isn’t basically interesting then you can’t make it interesting.”

But as Cashin tossed the idea around in his mind and actually began to walk the tow path of the canal, his mind reeled with questions, thus leading him to some interesting revelations.

“There was enough in the canal that I think is interesting that was new and I think will be new to a lot of people who may have taken the canal for granted,” Cashin, a native Augustan, said. “We never were sure of a lot of it, you know?

B R I A N

We never knew for sure exactly who was responsible for (constructing) it.

“So there were things that were not known by me and I don’t think known by most Augustans, that I was able to find.”

The culmination of all this enlightenment is Cashin’s new book, “The Brightest Arm of the Savannah: The Augusta Canal, 1845-2000,” a 320-page telling of the waterway’s history, published by the Augusta Canal Authority.

To someone first reading the book, it might seem odd that Cashin, professor emeritus of history at Augusta State University and director of ASU’s Center for the Study of Georgia History, begins his account of the canal nearly 70 million years ago, with the shifting of Earth’s tectonic plates during the Continental Drift.

But Cashin points out that the geography of the area is inextricably linked with the region’s history. The fall line created by the shifting of rock and earth shaped and formed the flow of the Savannah River and created an inland

N E I L L

head of navigation, Cashin writes.

Cashin also draws an interesting parallel between the way the indigenous people like the Chickasaws and Apalachees utilized the life-giving water of the Savannah River and the important place water continued to hold over the course of the canal’s development and even in the modern day.

Once completed, the canal served to carry the elongated Petersburg boats, loaded with cotton, from Augusta to the now-extinct town of Petersburg, Ga. The canal also served to generate electricity for the textile mills.

Cashin details the expansion project that went on in the late 1870s to enlarge the canal, thus increasing its flow and navigable size.

Here, Cashin debunks the commonly held belief that Chinese workers built the canal.

Actually, roughly 200 Chinese workers were employed by foreman and former Erie Canal engineer, Charles A. Olmstead, for the Augusta Canal enlargement work.

“A crowd gathered at the depot to gawk

at the curiously dressed men wearing their hair in pigtails when they arrived on November 4 [1873],” Cashin writes.

“Olmstead put the first contingent of thirty-five at work on the headgates.

Despite their small stature, they carried heavy loads and worked quickly.”

The newly enlarged waterway was a boon to Augusta.

“New factories mushroomed, farm families flocked into the ‘mill villages’ to find work, the city’s population more than doubled from 15,389 in 1870 to 33,300 in 1890,” Cashin writes. “The canal vindicated its boosters and silenced its critics.”

However, there were plenty of times over the canal’s history when critics’ voices were heard the loudest.

Cashin follows the maneuverings of Henry Cummings, the local civic leader who spearheaded the canal effort, and the one who had to convince the townspeople that spending precious dollars on the venture was worth it.

Cashin also devotes an entire chapter, entitled “The Canal as Nuisance, 1940-

“There was enough in the canal that I think is interesting that was new and I think will be new to a lot of people who may have taken the canal for granted.”

— Local historian Ed Cashin

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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE 1980,” to the canal’s former status as an eyesore and liability.

For instance, in the 1960s and ‘70s, many residents complained about noxious odors from the canal, owing to the fact it hadn’t been dredged and cleaned in years.

At one point in 1969, some city planners welcomed the prospects that the canal would be drained and the future John C. Calhoun Expressway would be run down its dry bed, Cashin writes.

“I grew up in the time when the canal was not highly regarded, let’s just put it that way,” Cashin said, seated inside what will soon be a $3 million Augusta Canal Visitors Center at Enterprise Mill. “I think it was certainly wrong for us to assume that it was the canal’s fault that it was dirty, when we were dumping sewage in it. Really, it was our fault that we were messing up this rich, natural resource.”

Today, the canal’s earthen banks are a draw for walkers, joggers and bikers, alike. In the near future, replicas of the Petersburg boats will be in place to take

visitors on a historic tour of the waterway.

In a unique arrangement, the canal also powers generators inside Enterprise Mill that provide electricity for the apartments and businesses inside.

Eventually, in accordance with the Augusta Canal Master Plan, sections of the canal near the Laney-Walker area, historically known as the third level, will be re-watered and refurbished.

With the potential economic impact the canal improvements will have on the community, Cashin said he thinks the days of complaining about the unique waterway are over.

“Water has an appeal and if you have a clean waterway through the town it just enhances the quality of life of the town,” Cashin said. “And I see that more as the future of the canal.”

Cashin’s new book sells for $18.95 in paperback and $27.95 in hardcover and is available at local bookstores and the Augusta Canal Authority offices inside Enterprise Mill.

The Metropolitan Spirit has a full time, entry level sales position available.

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Dining Out

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avid Tremaine loves the personalities of the homes he and co-owner Andrew Harney have turned into a lovely, turn-of-the century bed and breakfast. When they went in to refurbish the houses three years ago, the two found that the old Victorian-style buildings were full of delightful treasures and quirks. One of them, for instance, has a ground-floor wall that angles in from the fireplace to the front of the house. Yet the corresponding wall on the floor above is straight. Tremaine said that allowed the house to fit the allotted property line when it was built.

Tremaine also likes to show off the knob at the bottom post of the banister in one of the houses. Once upon a time, houses of that era were knobless until paid off. Then the bank would deliver the deed, which was placed inside the post, and the bank would add the knob to seal the deal.

It’s all very charming. But spending the night at The Azalea Inn gets you more than just a good night’s sleep in a romantic, Victorian atmosphere. The three-house guest abode is nestled among some of the best meal-stops in Augusta.

According to Tremaine, The Azalea Inn’s partnership with La Maison on Telfair to provide a room-and-dinner package is an ideal arrangement. And that’s because of the two words that most aptly describe the inn.

“Romance and elegance,” Tremaine said.

“And I would say the same for La Maison.

That’s why we do so well together.”

The restaurant/wine bar and inn join to provide a nice, quiet atmosphere for people who want to relax in beautiful places, to treat themselves to affordable luxury.

“We just package the room and dinner together,” Tremaine said. “And that way, you just pay for one price, one night.”

Rooms at The Azalea Inn run from $99 to $149. With a major credit card, you can add your La Maison dining to your room bill, so that, once you check in, all you’ll have left to do is enjoy your stay at the inn and prepare your palate for a luscious seven-course meal at La Maison.

First, the appetizers. You will be able to choose between such items as a Trio of Baked Oysters – Rockefeller, Casino and Imperial; Oysters on Ice; La Maison’s Sensational Crab Cake, served with Pommery Honey Mustard Sauce and Tropical Slaw; and Escargot en Croute, in garlic butter, topped with flaky puff pastry crust.

The second and third courses are salad and soup, with sumptuous ingredients that you won’t get in just any soup or salad. Fourth course is a nice, palate-cleansing sorbet.

The star of the show, fifth course, offers choices like Pecan-Wood Smoked Salmon in potato crust with fresh herb cream sauce; Wiener Schnitzel, which is a thin loin of veal, pounded, breaded and sauteed, then drizzled with lemon butter; 6- or 8-oz. Filet Mignon served over a bed of fresh corn.

Sixth course is a cheese board, with a fine selection of cheese and fruit, and the seventh course is a dessert sampler.

The next morning, your hosts will bring to your room a deluxe continental breakfast of juices and hot beverages with fresh-baked goodies, seasonal fruit and yogurt, which you can enjoy at your leisure.

But what about the accommodations? The rooms feature fabulous four-poster Rice beds. Some suites offer glassed-in sun porches, and there is a honeymoon suite in each house, with comfortable tubs, roomy enough for two. Some rooms even have fireplaces, not only in the bedroom itself, but in the bathroom as well. Some rooms feature hardwood floors and bay windows.

Part of The Azalea Inn’s charms are all those things that separate it from large hotel chains, such as access to the owners, and freedom of choice. “People can pick their own rooms,” Tremaine said.

So if romance or rest and relaxation are what you’re after, try out this quiet little getaway. It’s no farther than Olde Town.

The Azalea Inn is located at 312-316 Greene Street in Augusta. Telephone (706) 724-3454 or visit them online at www.theazaleainn.com.

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26 M E T R O S P I R I T D E C 1 9 2 0 0 2

Arts

& Entertainment

Camaraderie Characterizes The 12 Bands of Christmas

“W

e’re ready to rock,” says Coco Rubio, owner of downtown’s Soul Bar and organizer for this weekend’s The 12 Bands of Christmas.

Following the success of last year’s event, Rubio and other members of the Augusta music community are once again bringing together 12 local bands for a benefit show at the Imperial Theatre.

“Last year was great,” he says. “I think it surprised everybody when we had a sellout at the Imperial. We had almost 900 people come out.”

That sellout crowd is a testament to the current state of Augusta’s music scene, which is surprisingly unified – a fact that not one of the musicians interviewed for this article failed to mention.

“There’s no money involved, no egos,” says Doug James of 420 Outback, one of the acts involved with The 12 Bands of Christmas last year. “The vibe backstage is one of brotherhood. Everybody’s on the same page, doing a single act for the same cause. I’m really happy to be a part of that bonding spirit that all the bands have.”

“It is almost a band/family-type atmosphere,” says Joe Stevenson. He’s a member of People Who Must and manages The Big Mighty, both of which are slated to play the show. Though People Who Must began performing again earlier this year after a brief

hiatus, Stevenson was involved in a different way last year – through the 95 Rock Homegrown show, which will be broadcast live from the Imperial Theatre. “A lot of us have been playing around Augusta for years.

The band name might be different, but the musicians are the same.”

Mindy Stephens, one half of the husbandand-wife duo The Livingroom Legends, is excited about the show. “They’re a great group of people,” she says. “Thanks to Coco for asking us to play in it. I feel like we’re a little different than most of the bands, just a different kind of music altogether, but nobody seems to care. It’ll just be fun.”

Even though the lineup is fairly rock-oriented, acts like The Livingroom Legends, Black Eyed Susan and El Dorado Deluxe offer entertaining variations.

“It works really good,” says Rubio. “It’s only two bands an hour, so the bands are playing 20-minute sets with 10 minutes to switch over. It moves really quickly.”

It’s fitting that, in the season of giving, The 12 Bands of Christmas is a benefit show for the Empty Stocking Fund. The $5 cover at the door goes straight to charity.

“I just think anytime you can do things for kids and families in need, I think it’s a good thing,” says Stevenson. “What better way to donate your time than to play music?”

Stephens agrees. “It’s a good feeling, because there’s only so much time you can

give to any kind of benefit, and we try to do as much as we can. If somebody asks us to do a benefit, we’ll do it if we can. I wish we could do more, especially around the holidays. It’s nice to be able to be a part of something like that.”

Not only does The 12 Bands of Christmas benefit those helped by the Empty Stocking Fund – it benefits the musicians participating as well.

“It’s not about how much money we’re going to make; it’s about getting together,” Rubio says. “It’s almost like celebrating the local music scene during the holidays.”

And everyone’s welcome to join in the celebration. The 12 Bands of Christmas is an allages show, so those who need a fake ID to see one of Jemani’s regular shows get to leave it at home for this special holiday treat. But if you’re over 21, the Imperial Theatre offers a full bar, so, like Rubio says, “The event really caters to everybody.”

As one of Augusta’s strongest supporters of downtown business, Rubio seems thrilled that the Imperial Theatre is willing to host events like The 12 Bands of Christmas. “Just thanking the Imperial Theatre for being open to the idea, and showing their support of the local bands,” he says. “The Imperial is improving and making it nicer to see shows downtown.”

But somebody else deserves praise as well, say the musicians. “I’m really glad that Coco was able to get the ball going for this

Top, L-R: Black Eyed Susan, Andrew Benjamin of the Hellblinki Sextet, The Livingroom Legends, People Who Must, Jemani; Bottom, L-R: The Big Mighty, 420 Outback

BY LISA JORDAN

year,” says James. “It’s really good for the music community, as well as for the kids that this benefits.”

Stevenson adds, “I have a lot of respect for Coco, and I just think that he does a great job putting things together. I know that Stoney (Cannon) has been involved in this whole deal in the past, as well. It kind of makes it even easier to get involved.”

All the Info You Need To Know The 12 Bands of Christmas show will be held Sunday, Dec. 22 at the Imperial Theatre.

Admission is $5 and will benefit the Empty Stocking Fund. The show is open to all ages, but only those 21 and up with ID can partake in the Imperial’s full bar. Doors open at 5 p.m., and the band schedule is as follows: El Dorado Deluxe – 6 p.m.

Happy Bones – 6:30 p.m.

Black Eyed Susan – 7 p.m.

The Livingroom Legends – 7:30 p.m.

Neato Torpedo – 8 p.m.

420 Outback – 8:30 p.m.

Hellblinki Sextet – 9 p.m.

Deathstar – 9:30 p.m.

People Who Must – 10 p.m.

Redbelly – 10:30 p.m.

Jemani – 11 p.m.

The Big Mighty – 11:30 p.m.

For more information, check out www.soulbar.com.

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8

Days A Week

Arts

Auditions AUDITIONS FOR “WHEN THE REAPER CALLS” Jan. 6-7, 7:30 p.m., at For t Gordon Dinner Theatre. Par ts are available for two men and three women ages 25-45 and per formance dates are Feb. 14-15, 21-22, 27-28 and March 1. Open to the public; all civilian par ticipants must have a photo ID to enter For t Gordon. Call 791-4389 or visit www.for tgordon.com/theatre.htm#reaper for details.

HORSEPLAY CALL TO ARTISTS: Ar tists from the Carolinas and Georgia are invited to apply for downtown Aiken’s upcoming Horseplay exhibit, which will feature 30 decorated life-size fiberglass horses. Submit your resume by January for consideration. Call (803) 641-9094, ex t. 207 or e-mail HorsePlayAr t@yahoo.com for details.

AUGUSTA CONCERT BAND rehearses Monday evenings and is looking to fill vacancies on most band instruments.

Interested par ties should contact Ben Easter, (803) 2020091 or e-mail bandforaugusta@aol.com.

SWEET ADELINES PEACH STATE CHORUS OPEN REHEARSAL for singers each Thursday at 7 p.m. Held at 600 Mar tintown Road in Nor th Augusta. Contact Mildred Blain at 736-7740 or Mary Norman at (803) 279-6499.

Education GERTRUDE HERBERT INSTITUTE OF ART APPLICATIONS FOR TUITION ASSISTANCE are being accepted through Dec. 20. Scholarships are available for the Winter Quar ter, Jan. 7March 6. To request an application form, call 722-5495 or email ghia@ghia.org.

CERAMICS CLASSES at the Weeks Center Ceramics House in Aiken. Fees include one class per week and students can choose any class time: Mondays, 9 a.m. to noon or 6-9 p.m.; Tuesdays, 6-9 p.m.; or Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to noon. $30 per month. Call (803) 642-7631 for info.

USC-AIKEN MUSIC CONSERVATORY PROGRAM now open.

Students of all ages and experience levels welcome. Private lessons available for musical instruments and voice; instructors are USC-Aiken faculty and have at least a master’s degree in their per formance area. (803) 641-3288.

Exhibitions FINE ARTS EXHIBITION Jan. 4-30 at the Lucy Craf t Laney Museum of Black Histor y. Call 724-3576 for more information.

THE ARTWORK OF NANCY BANNISTER is on display at the Raging Bull, 828 Broad St., through the end of Februar y. Bannister specializes in landscape and abstract ar t, as well as interior/ex terior murals. Call 722-0444 for more information.

ARTWORK BY BILLY S is on display at Borders Books and Music throughout December. Call 737-6962 for information.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GINNY SOUTHWORTH will be on display through Jan. 13 at the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall

of Fame and Museum. For information, call (803) 642-7650.

NORMA MCCOMBS will exhibit her paintings at the Gibbs Library in December. For information, call 863-1946.

DAVIDSON FINE ARTS EXHIBITION through Dec. 30 at the Lucy Craf t Laney Museum of Black History. Call 724-3576.

AT THE MORRIS MUSEUM OF ART: “Charleston in My Time: The Paintings of West Fraser” are on display through Jan. 5; “Rituals: Works on Paper by Romare Bearden” will be on display through Jan. 5 in the museum’s Coggins Gallery. For information, call 724-7501.

JOHN BRECHT displays works at the Etherredge Center Lower Gallery through Dec. 20. (803) 641-3305.

AT THE GERTRUDE HERBERT INSTITUTE OF ART: “WalkerMackenzie Studio First Anniversary Exhibit: Student Accomplishments Throughout the Year” is in the First-Floor Gallery at Ware’s Folly through Dec. 19; “If Walls Could Talk” is in the Third-Floor Gallery at Ware’s Folly through Dec. 19. “Ger trude Herber t Youth and Adult Student Exhibit” runs through Dec. 19; “Ware’s Folly: An Architectural Perspective” is in the First-Floor Gallery at Ware’s Folly through Feb. 21. Call 722-5495 for more information.

Dance CSRA/AUGUSTA BOOGIE-WOOGIE DANCE AND SOCIAL GROUP holds a monthly dance every third Saturday of the month, star ting at 7:30 p.m. For information, phone 6502396 or 736-3878.

SINGLES DANCE each Saturday night from 8-11 p.m. sponsored by the Christian Social Organization for Single Adults.

There will be no regular dance on Dec. 28. Held at Westside High School. Tickets $5 for members, $7 for non-members, and are available at the door. For more information, contact Doris Heath, 736-3376.

Music “SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM” will be per formed by the Augusta Opera Jan. 23-25, 7:30 p.m., and Jan. 26, 3 p.m., at the Imperial Theatre. Call 826-4710 for information.

“UNDER ONE GOD” features per formances by Alvin Franklin, Tutu Devine, Arie Brown Gosa, Isaac Holmes, Russell Joel Brown, Kivet te Clinton Bell, Maria Moody, the Beulah Grove Inspirational Choir, members of the Augusta Ballet, the Cutno Dance company, Darylyn Alford and the company, Joe Collier, Demetrius “Me Me” Blount, the First Baptist Church of Nor th Augusta Choir and RUSH. Held Dec. 29, 7 p.m. at the Imperial Theatre. Admission is free, but a love offering will be accepted to benefit the Augusta Family Preservation Center and the Ar tGro Foundation. 722-8341.

TUESDAY’S MUSIC LIVE CONCERT SERIES: All per formances in the concer t series held at noon at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Concer ts are free; optional catered lunch is $7 per person. 2002-2003 season schedule is as follows: Jan. 7, Jazzamatazz; Jan. 21, Joseph Gramley; Feb. 4, Lindsey McKee and Keith Shafer; Feb. 18, Cowboy Envy; March 4, The Augusta Children’s Chorale; March 18, Kari Gaffney and Jeff Williams. 722-3463.

COMMUNITY HEALING MEDITATION DRUMMING CIRCLE

The High Museum of Art in Atlanta hosts African art from the Fred and Rita Richman Collection through May 25. Anang Ibibio Artist, Nigeria, Mask, 20th century, paint on wood, 18 3/4 inches, Fred and Rita Richman Collection, High Museum of Art. hosted ever y third Monday of the month by IDRUM2U, the Not Gaddy Drumming Studio. Held 7-9 p.m. at the G.L. Jackson Conference Center, 1714 Nor th Leg Cour t. Fee is $5 or a donation of canned goods for the Golden Har vest Food Bank. All are welcome and drums will be available to rent. For info, phone the Not Gaddy Drumming Studio, 228-3200.

Theater NOW ON SALE: Tickets for “Les Miserables” Feb. 11-16 at the Bell Auditorium; tickets for “South Pacific,” Jan. 2 at the Bell Auditorium. Call TicketMaster at 828-7700 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Attractions THE BOYHOOD HOME OF WOODROW WILSON: Circa 1859 Presbyterian manse occupied by the family of President Woodrow Wilson as a child during the Civil War and

Reconstruction. Original and period antiques, restored house, kitchen and carriage house. 419 Seventh Street. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tues.-Sat. Tours available; groups of 10 or more by appointment only. Admission is $5 adults, $4 seniors, $3 students under 18 and free for ages five and under.

722-9828.

AUGUSTA GOLF & GARDENS OF THE GEORGIA GOLF HALL OF FAME features beautiful display gardens, as well as bronze sculptures of some of golf’s greatest masters.

Available for rent for a variety of functions. Group discount rates available. Closed Mondays; open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tues.-Sat.; open from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5.50 for adults; $4.50 for students, seniors and military; $3.50 for children (4 to 12); free for children 3 and under.

Sundays are two for one with a Super Sunday coupon.

Annual garden memberships are available. Call 724-4443 or 1-888-874-4443. Also, visit their Web site at www.gghf.org.

FORT DISCOVERY/NATIONAL SCIENCE CENTER: Children and adults alike can immerse themselves in the wonders of science through live demonstrations, vir tual realities, Starlab, KidScape and more than 270 hands-on exhibits. General Admission: $8 for adults; $6 for children, seniors and active

military. Group rates available. Half-price admission daily af ter 3 p.m. Operating hours: Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m. Call 821-0200, 1-800-325-5445 or visit their Web site at www.NationalScienceCenter.org.

REDCLIFFE STATE HISTORIC SITE: 1859 mansion of S.C. Governor James Henry Hammond, held by the family for three generations until 1975. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursday-Monday on the grounds. House tours are noon-3 p.m. by appointment. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

Admission to the grounds is free. Fee for house tours is $3 for adults and children ages 6 to 17. For more information, call (803) 827-1473. 181 Redcliffe Road, Beech Island.

SACRED HEART CULTURAL CENTER is offering tours of its 100-year-old building. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $1 per person, children free. 826-4700.

HISTORIC COTTON EXCHANGE WELCOME CENTER: Open Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun. 1-5 p.m. Riverwalk. Free.

724-4067.

THE EZEKIEL HARRIS HOUSE: Deemed “the finest 18th century house surviving in Georgia” by the “Smithsonian Guide to Historic America.” Open Saturday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. General admission is $2; senior admission is $1 and children get in for 50 cents. For more information, call 724-0436.

Museums AT THE AUGUSTA MUSEUM OF HISTORY: “Augusta, Ga.: Surviving Disaster” special exhibit on display through Dec. 31. December’s film is “Augusta Remembers.” For more information, call 722-8454.

FIRST FRIDAY AT THE MORRIS MUSEUM OF ART Jan. 3 features First Friday Karaokatures. Xavier Jones sketches caricatures and karaoke will be available. 5:30 p.m. Gallery Spotlight Tour and 5:30-7:30 p.m. Ar t Rush Adult Ar t Making Workshop. Call 724-7501 for details.

THE GERTRUDE HERBERT INSTITUTE OF ART in Ware’s Folly exhibits works by local and regional ar tists. Ar t classes, workshops and other educational programming for children, youth and adults are held in the Walker-Mackenzie Studio. Ware’s Folly galleries open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; and Saturday by appointment only. The Walker-Mackenzie Studio gallery is open Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free, but a donation of $2 for adults and $1 for children and seniors is encouraged. Call 722-5495 for more info.

THE AUGUSTA MUSEUM OF HISTORY hosts permanent exhibition “Augusta’s Story,” an award-winning exhibit encompassing 12,000 years of local history. For the younger crowd, there’s the Susan L. Still Children’s Discovery Gallery, where kids can learn about history in a hands-on environment. The museum also shows films in the History Theatre and hosts a variety of programs. Located at 560 Reynolds Street. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m. Admission is $4 adult, $3 seniors, $2 kids (6-18 years of age) and free for children under 6. Free admission on Sundays. Call 722-8454 or visit www.augustamuseum.org for more information.

THE MORRIS MUSEUM OF ART hosts exhibitions and special events year-round. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sundays, noon-5 p.m. Closed on Mondays and major holidays. 1 Tenth Street, Augusta. Call 724-7501 or visit www.themorris.org for details.

THE MUSEUM OF LAUREL AND HARDY OF HARLEM, GEORGIA features displays of various Laurel and Hardy memorabilia; films also shown. Located at 250 N. Louisville Street in downtown Harlem. Open 1-4 p.m. ThursdayMonday. For more information, call 556-3448.

LUNCH AT NOON LECTURE SERIES held the second Wednesday of every month at the Lucy Craf t Laney Museum of Black History, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Call the museum at 724-3576 for more information.

Special Events BOOK SIGNINGS AT BORDERS BOOKS AND MUSIC: Russel Brown signs “To the Manner Born,” 6-8 p.m. Dec. 20; Jackie Boatwright signs “Juan’s Story,” 2-4 p.m. Dec. 21; Clay Renick signs “The Winds That Pass,” 6-8 p.m. Dec. 21. Call 737-6962 for information.

AUTHOR NAOMI WILLIAMS signs her debut novel, “Two Rivers” at Books-A-Million Dec. 21, 3-5 p.m. For information, call Books-A-Million at 481-9090.

BUSINESS AFTER HOURS BASH Dec. 19, 5:30 p.m., at Holiday Inn West. Tickets are $10 at the door. Call the Augusta Metro and Columbia County Chamber of Commerce at 821-1300 for information.

JONATHAN MARCANTONI per forms “The Mad Poet” at Borders Books and Music Dec. 20, 5-6 p.m. For more information, call Borders, 737-6962.

AT PHINIZY SWAMP NATURE PARK: Swamp Saturday Jan. 4, 9:30 a.m. Wear weather-appropriate outerwear and walking shoes and bring a water bot tle and a camera or binoculars on this free tour of the park. For information, call 828-2109.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY 29

December Schedule

COLUMBIA COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY holds pet adoptions every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and every Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at PetsMar t. For more info, call 860-5020.

Thursday, December 19 – 7:00pm Penance Service Christmas Mass Schedule: Tuesday, Christmas Eve, December 24 Solemn Vigil Mass – 4pm Family Vigil Mass w/ Children’s Pageant – 6:30pm Festival of Carols – 11:30pm Solemn High Sung Midnight Mass – 12 midnight Wednesday, Christmas Day, December 25 Solemn Mass for Christmas Day – 10:00am

RICHMOND COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL AND AUGUSTA ANIMAL RESCUE FRIENDS holds pet adoptions at Superpetz of f Bobby Jones Expressway every Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. Call AARF at 364-4747 or visit www.aar f.net. Adoptions also held at the Richmond County Animal Control Shelter, Tues. through Sun., 1-5 p.m. Call the shelter at 790-6836.

LOW-COST RABIES VACCINATIONS: Augusta-Richmond County Animal Control holds low-cost rabies vaccination clinics the four th Sunday of every month for privately owned pets. $8 per animal. 1 p.m. at Superpetz. Dogs must be on a leash and cats in a carrier. Puppies and kit tens must be three months old and current for all vaccinations. Schedule subject to change, so please call 790-6836 to verify dates and times.

New Year’s Day Schedule: Tuesday, December 31 Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, World Day or Prayer for Peace Vigil Mass – 4:00pm Wednesday, January 1 Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, World Day or Prayer for Peace Vigil Mass – 12:15pm

THE CSR A HUMANE SOCIETY holds pet adoptions ever y Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and ever y Wednesday evening from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Pet Center located behind the GreenJackets Stadium on Milledge Rd. 261-PETS.

Out of Town ATLANTA DOGWOOD FESTIVAL CALL TO ARTISTS: Through Dec. 31, the festival, held April 11-13, is accepting submissions for its annual poster. Medium must be acrylic, oil, watercolor, pen and ink, pastels or photography and must conform to a 16” x 25” poster format. The work should also reflect the festival’s mission to provide an annual springtime celebration of ar ts and enter tainment. Submit original ar twork, along with your name, address, telephone number and bio to: Atlanta Dogwood Festival, 20 Executive Park Drive, Suite 2019, Atlanta, GA 30329. Call (404) 3290501 or visit www.dogwood.org for details.

“FOR THIS WORLD AND BEYOND: AFRICAN ART FROM THE FRED AND RITA RICHMAN COLLECTION” through May 25 at the High Museum of Ar t in Atlanta. Call (404) 733HIGH or visit www.high.org for info.

“Georgia's Oldest Catholic Church” is located at the corner of 8th and Telfair St. in historic Downtown Augusta

722-4944

www.themostholytrinity.org

A Traditional Sheraton

TICKETS FOR “VAREK AI,” a production by the Cirque du Soleil, now on sale. Shows are March 6-30 at Cumberland Galleria in Atlanta. Visit www.cirquedusoleil.com for more information.

CHRISTMAS DAY BRUNCH

“DEFINING CRAFT I: COLLECTING FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM” exhibit at the Columbia Museum of Ar t in Columbia, S.C., through Feb. 23. For more information, call the museum at (803) 799-2810 or visit www.columbiamuseum.org.

11 am - 3 pm

“PARIS IN THE AGE OF IMPRESSIONISM: MASTERWORKS FROM THE MUSEE D’ORSAY” will be at the High Museum of Ar t in Atlanta now through March 16. This exhibition marks the first time since the Orsay opened that pieces in its collection have traveled to the U.S. For more information, visit www.ParisinAtlanta.org, www.high.org, or call (404) 733-HIGH.

$22.95 per person for adults $8.95 per child under 12 years of age

Benefits

Roast Turkey with Giblet Gravy Roast Pork Loin with Port Demi Glace Buttered Mashed Potatoes Cinnamon Pecan Sweet Yams Traditional Macaroni & Cheese Southern Cornbread Dressing Sweet White and Yellow Corn Southern Style Green Beans Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

FRESH GREENS & FRUIT SEAFOOD BAR BREAKFAST & LUNCH ITEMS OMELETTES MADE TO ORDER CARVED STEAMSHIP ROUND & HONYGLAZED HAM EXOTIC TREATS & DISHES BREADS SWEETS & DESSERT BAR

CSRA CLASSIC ANNUAL COMMUNITY DINNER Dec. 21 at BL's Restaurant. Cafeteria-style dinner offered free of charge to those in need between 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The Delta House Youth Leadership students will collect new, unwrapped gifts for the Kids Restar t program. Call 722-4222, ex t. 202.

SHEPEARD COMMUNITY BLOOD CENTER BLOOD DRIVES in various locations around the CSRA this month. The blood center is urging people of all blood types to donate in order to combat a blood supply shor tage. For detailed information on locations and times to donate, visit www.shepeardblood.org. You may also call Susan Edwards at (803) 6437996 for information on Aiken locations and Nancy Szocinski at 737-4551 for information on all other locations.

AMERICAN RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVES at the Aiken Red Cross Blood Center on Millbrook Drive and the Augusta Red Cross Blood Center on Pleasant Home Road. The bloodmobile will also stop at various area locations this week. For a complete list, call the Aiken Blood Center at (803) 642-5180 or the Augusta Blood Center at 868-8800.

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M E T R O

Place Your Christmas Orders Full Christmas Menu Available Book Holiday Parties, Private Parties & Catering

There are still two more weekends to enjoy Christmas in Hopelands.

Call (803) 642-7631 for details.

Learning WATER SAFETY INSTRUCTION COURSE sponsored by the Augusta Red Cross Dec. 19-29. Course prepares candidates to teach Infant and Preschool Aquatics, the Learn to Swim program, Community Water Safety and Water Safety Instructor Aide courses. Cost is $80. Candidates must be at least 17 years of age and have a current instructor candidate training cer tificate. For more information, or to register, call 724-8483.

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To Your Ticket eat Finding Gr Flicks.

AUGUSTA STATE UNIVERSITY CONTINUING EDUCATION is now offering the following classes: Adobe Illustrator 10, Intermediate Shag II, Intermediate Investing, Digital Photography for Beginners, Adobe Photoshop 7 and more.

Also, ASU offers online courses. For more information, call 737-1636 or visit www.ced.aug.edu.

CHILDREN’S LEARNING CENTER at the Lucy Craf t Laney Museum of Black History open Monday-Friday, 4:30-6:30 p.m., through June. For information, call 724-3576.

ACADEMIC HELP AND TUTORING available Saturdays, 2:304:30 p.m. at the Wallace Branch Library. Call 722-6275 to make arrangements.

GIRLS INCORPORATED AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM runs through the end of the 2002-2003 school year. A variety of programs will be offered. Services include van pick-up at select schools, evening drop-off, homework room and hot evening meal. Open to girls in kindergar ten through high school. Af ter-school program offered 2:30-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri. For more information, call 733-2512.

AIKEN TECH CONTINUING EDUCATION will offer the following courses in January: Intro to Computers, Windows 2000 Basic Concepts, Health Care courses, Rape Aggression Defense, Beginning Cake Decorating, Progessional Cooking Real Estate courses and more. Aiken Tech also offers Education to Go classes online. For more information or to register, call (803) 593-9231, ex t. 1230.

YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT SKILLS PROGRAM for teens ages 12-19 held the third Saturday of the month at the Lucy Craf t Laney Museum of Black History. Call 7243576.

Health

FIRST SATURDAY STORYTELLING at the Lucy Craf t Laney Museum. In addition, there is a tour of the museum. Held 10 a.m. to noon the first Saturday of the month. Call 724-3576.

PEACHCARE FOR KIDS AND RIGHT FROM THE START MEDICADE of fers free or low-cost health coverage to qualifying families. Coverage includes prenatal care, hospitalization, vaccines, dental and vision care and is available to pregnant women of all ages and to children through age 19.

Contact the RSM Project at 729-2086 or 721-5611 for information.

YOGA CLASSES at Walton Rehabilitation Hospital are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-8 a.m. for $45/month or 10:30 a.m. to noon for $55/month. Call 823-6294.

FREE HIV/AIDS TESTING every Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at St. Stephen’s Ministry, 922 Greene Street. Free anonymous testing, pre- and post-test counseling and education.

HATHA YOGA CLASSES at the St. Joseph Home Health Care Center in Daniel Village Plaza. Held 10 a.m. to noon Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 6:30-8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. $10 per class or $60 a month for unlimited classes. Mats are provided, but bring a towel and a water bot tle.

Call Tess at 738-2782 for more information.

Check out Cinema Movie Listings to make the best choice for your viewing pleasure!

Kids

A FREE WOMEN’S HEALTH CLINIC is held from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesdays at the Salvation Army and Welfare Center, 1383 Greene St. Services include Pap smear, breast exam and the diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmit ted diseases.

For more info or an appointment, call the St. Vincent dePaul Health Center at 828-3444.

W.G. WATSON, M.D., WOMEN’S CENTER CONDUCTS EDUCATION CLASSES at University Hospital. Course topics include Lamaze, breast feeding, parenting and grandparenting. Par tners will learn positive suppor t techniques. There are also programs designed to help older siblings adjust to new family members. Some classes are free, while others require a fee. Registration is required by calling 774-2825.

WEEKLY STORY SESSIONS at all branch libraries. Visit www.ecgrl.public.lib.ga.us for more information.

Seniors PEOPLE WITH ARTHRITIS CAN EXERCISE (PACE) meets at Walton Rehabilitation Hospital Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-2 p.m. Call 823-5294.

THE SENIOR CITIZENS COUNCIL OF GREATER AUGUSTA AND THE CSRA offers a variety of classes, including aerobics, quilting, tai chi, Spanish, painting, line dancing, bowling, bridge, computers, yoga and pinochle. For dates and times, phone 826-4480.

ARTHRITIS AQUATICS offered Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Walton Rehabilitation Hospital. Classes meet 99:45 a.m., 10-10:45 a.m. or 12:15-1 p.m. $37.50/month. To register, call 733-5959.

SENIORNET provides adults age 50 and over education for and access to computer technology. Many different courses are offered. Contact the USC-Aiken Continuing Education Office at (803) 641-3563.

Sports UPCOMING AUGUSTA LYNX HOME GAMES: Dec. 27, Jan. 3, 5, 11-12 and 17. For tickets, call the Lynx ticket office at 724-4423.

TICKETS NOW ON SALE for the Augusta GreenJackets 2003 season. Home games at Lake Olmstead Stadium. Tickets available at www.tixonline.com or by phone at (803) 2784TIX. There is also a TIX outlet inside Harmon Optical in Southgate Plaza.

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5:30 p.m., at the Augusta Boxing Club. Call 733-7533.

Volunteer THE AUGUSTA MUSEUM OF HISTORY HOLDS DOCENT TRAINING class every Monday in January and February from 9:45 a.m. to noon. Classes begin on Jan. 6 and run through Feb. 24. The deadline for registration is noon Jan. 3. Call 722-8454 to register.

D E C THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT COALITION CAMPAIGN

Holiday

Happenings

seeks volunteers to prepare basic ta x returns for low/limited

1 income individuals, those with disabilities, non-English 9 speakers and the elderly. Volunteers receive free training

and instruction materials from the IRS. Call the Mayor’s

2 Office for Workforce Development at 821-1834.

0 0 2 GOLDEN HARVEST FOOD BANK needs volunteers during

the day, Monday-Friday, to help sor t donated products and assist in their agency shopping area. Help is needed yearround. If you are able to lif t 25 pounds and would like to help fight hunger in the Augusta area, contact Laurie Roper at 736-1199, ex t. 208.

THOROUGHBRED R ACING HALL OF FAME DOCENTS NEEDED: Duties include opening and closing the Hall of Fame, greeting visitors and providing information about museum exhibits. Call Lisa Hall, (803) 642-7650 for information.

OLDER AMERICANS ACT SENIOR NUTRITION PROGRAM is looking for volunteers to serve meals to needy older residents. To volunteer, contact the Senior Citizens Council at 826-4480. For those in need of home-delivered meals, call 210-2018 or toll free at 1-888-922-4464.

AUGUSTA-RICHMOND COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL: New volunteer orientation is scheduled the first Monday of November at 7 p.m. at the shelter, 4164 Mack Lane.

Schedule subject to change; call 790-6836 to verify dates and times.

THE CSRA HUMANE SOCIETY is looking for animal lovers willing to donate a lit tle of their time. Volunteers are needed every Saturday at the Pet Center located behind GreenJackets Stadium on Milledge Road. Call 261-PETS for more info.

SHEPEARD COMMUNITY BLOOD CENTER is seeking donors to prevent a blood supply shor tage. To donate call 737-4551, 854-1880 or (803) 643-7996.

Meetings WALT DISNEY PIN TRADING GROUP is forming for all those interested in collecting and trading pins from Walt Disney World, Disneyland and other Disney resor ts. For more information, contact Tim Conway, 729-9900.

Weekly GEORGIA-CAROLINA TOASTMASTERS meets Wednesdays at noon at the Clubhouse, 2567 Washington Rd. $8 for lunch; visitors welcome. 860-9854.

SEXAHOLICS ANONYMOUS, a 12-step program of recovery from addiction to obsessive/compulsive sexual thoughts and behaviors, meets Wednesdays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 7 p.m. at Augusta Counselling Services. Call 723-3688 and leave first name and phone number; a confidential reply is assured.

AUGUSTA TOASTMASTERS CLUB #326 meets Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. at Advent Lutheran Church. Call 868-8431.

BUSINESS NETWORKERS INTERNATIONAL Augusta Chapter meets every Thursday morning from 7 to 8:30 a.m. in the Par tridge Inn main dining room. All professionals welcome; breakfast provided for a fee. Call Stuar t Rayburn, 737-0050.

RIVERWALK TOASTMASTERS meets Mondays, 7 p.m. in Classroom 3 at University Hospital. Call Gale Kan, 855-7071.

GUIDELINES: Public Service announcements are listed in this section without charge at the discretion of the editor.

Announcements must be received by Monday at noon and will be included as space permits. Send to Events, The Metropolitan Spirit, P.O. Box 3809, Augusta, GA 30914 or fax (706) 733-6663. You may also e-mail listings to rhonda_jones@metspirit.com or lisa_jordan@metspirit.com.

Listings cannot be taken over the phone.

SOUNDS UNLIMITED BAND ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY Dec. 19, 8 p.m. at Julian Smith Casino.

Admission is $10 in advance or $12 at the door and proceeds benefit the Augusta Mini Theatre’s ef for ts to build a new community ar ts school. Call 7220598 for ticket information.

POWER 107 FRIENDS OF FAMILY CHRISTMAS DRIVE to benefit the Mat thew 25 program, the Shelter for Abused Children, the DFACS Secret Santa program and the United Way of Aiken and Thomson. Radio personalities will broadcast live and will be accepting donations of toys, children’s winter wear, diapers, canned goods or monetary contributions. On Dec. 19, Power 107 broadcasts live at the McDonald’s on Walton Way from 6 a.m.7 p.m. in a final ef for t to collect donations. Call (803) 396-6000 for details.

“A CHRISTMAS CAROL” BENEFIT for the CHRIS Rainbow Home Dec. 19 at the Alliance Theatre Company in Atlanta. Tickets are $45 and are available by calling Outwrite Bookstore and Coffeehouse, (404) 607-0082, or the Alliance Theatre Company, (404) 733-4690 or (404) 733-4604.

FORT DISCOVERY HOLIDAY CAMPS Dec. 19-20 for detectives in 4th and 5th grades and Dec. 30-31 for astronauts in 2nd and 3rd grades. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For more information, contact Lisa Golden, 821-0646.

CHRISTMAS IN HOPELANDS Dec. 19-23 and 2528. Hopeland Gardens in Aiken is open from 6-9 p.m. and will be illuminated with over 75,000 lights for a walk-through exhibit. Concer ts on selected nights at 7 p.m. on the Roland H. Windham Per forming Ar ts Stage; bring a blanket or lawn chair to sit on. Concer t schedule is as follows: For t Gordon Dec. 19, St. Paul’s Handbell Choir Dec. 20, Smith-Hazel Praise Dancers Dec. 22, Grace Covenant Church of God Dec. 23. Shut tle service available running from the parking lot of Goodwill on Whiskey Rd. and the parking lot of Winn Dixie on York St. All guests must ride the shut tles. Free and open to the public. (803) 642-7631.

HOLIDAY CAMPS Dec. 19-21, 26-28 and 31. Open to children ages 6-12. For more information, call the Bly the Area Recreation Center, 592-4988; McBean Activity Center, 798-1191; or Bernie Ward Community Center, 790-0588.

FAMILY Y HOLIDAY CAMPS for kids and teens Dec. 19-31. For details on Holiday Kids’ Camp and Gymnastics Holiday Camp, call 738-6678; for details on Holiday Teen Camp, call 733-1070.

JAMES BROWN ENTERPRISES BENEFIT for needy children Dec. 20 at the Imperial Theatre. Beginning at 10 a.m., toys will be given to children in need for the holiday season. Donations may be lef t at WKIM Radio, 1802 Killingswor th Road, daily until the event or at the Imperial Theatre the day of the event. For more information, contact Elif Hogan at 738-1971.

“CHRISTMAS IN THE GARDEN CITY: WYCLIFFE GORDON IN CONCERT” Dec. 20-21 at 8 p.m.

Holiday concer t and dance per formances will be at the Imperial Theatre. Featured per formers include Wyclif fe Gordon, Marcus Printup, Victor Goines, Reginald Veal, Leon Anderson, Karen Gordon, Michael King, Chris Leslie, Damien Sneed and more. Tickets are $17.50 in advance, $20 at the door or $30 for a two-evening ticket package. For more information, call 722-8341.

Dec. 20-21 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 22 at 3 p.m. Held at Hillcrest Baptist Church. Tickets are $8 adult and $6 for children 12 and under. For more information, call 826-4707.

“BEHOLD THE STAR” dinner theatre per formance

by Creative Impressions. Held 6 p.m. Dec. 21 at the Bell Auditorium. Tickets are $50 per person for this black-tie event. Call 724-2400 for tickets and information.

HOLLY DAYS CONCERT SERIES ends Dec. 21 in downtown Aiken. Nick Trivelas, Savannah River Bluegrass, Tom Cuny and Spencer Shadden perform and the Aiken Center for the Ar ts hosts a folk instrument demonstration and children’s Christmas Ar t Camp. For more information, contact the Aiken Center for the Ar ts at (803) 6419094 or the Aiken Downtown Development Association at (803) 649-2221.

HOLLY DAYS AND THE SCIENCE OF TOYS Dec. 21 and 28 at For t Discovery. Special activities include science demos, ar ts and craf ts projects, workshops and enter tainment; it’s all free with paid general admission to For t Discovery. Call 821-0200.

HISPANIC CHRISTMAS CELEBR ATION: Mexican Posada with fiesta to follow, Dec. 22, 3 p.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church. Open to the public. For more information, contact Anita Funsch, 793-5688.

SANTA AT AUGUSTA-RICHMOND COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL Dec. 23, 5-7 p.m. and Dec. 24, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Visit Santa and adopt a pet at AugustaRichmond County Animal Control, 4164 Mack Lane. From Dec. 16-24, the adoption fee for all dogs is $15. For information, call 790-6836.

NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY sponsored by the Christian Organization for Single Adults. Tickets are $10 for members and $12 for non-members. Held at Westside High School. Please dress in festive holiday at tire. For information, contact Doris Heath, 736-3376.

PEACH DROP 2003 New Year’s Eve at Underground Atlanta. Activities take place between noon Dec. 31 and 4 a.m. Jan. 1, with per formance by Lit tle Richard, fireworks and the descent of the 800pound “Big Peach.” All events are free. For more information, call (404) 523-2311 or visit www.underatl.com.

“THE NUTCR ACKER” will be per formed by the Columbia City Ballet Dec. 20-22 at the Koger Center for the Ar ts in Columbia, S.C. Call (803) 251-2222 or visit www.CapitolTickets.com for ticket information.

NEW YEAR’S EVE AT CALLAWAY GARDENS in Pine Mountain, Ga., includes gourmet meal, music by Gar y Jenkins and Thundering Hear ts and cock tails. Package including lodging, New Year’s Day Brunch and admission to the gardens available. For information, visit w ww.callawaygardens.com or call 1-800-CALLAWAY.

“THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER” will be per formed by the Augusta Players Children’s Wing

HOLIDAY EXHIBITION at the Mary Pauline Gallery

through Dec. 21 features new works by 14 ar tists.

Call 724-9542 for details.

A STORYTELLER’S VERSION OF “A CHRISTMAS CAROL” through Dec. 22 at The New American Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta. Per formances are Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $19.50 Thursdays and Sundays, $22.50 Fridays, $24.50 Saturdays.

Optional British pub-style menu available before show. Call (404) 874-5299 for details. “‘TIS THE SEASON” PLANETARIUM SHOW Friday, Saturday and Monday evenings through Christmas at the Dupont Planetarium in Aiken. Shows are scheduled for 7 and 8 p.m. and trace the development of holiday customs, reveal winter constellations and teach how the orbit of the Ear th causes seasons to occur. For information and reservations, call (803) 641-3769.

FANTASY IN LIGHTS HOLIDAY DISPLAY through Dec. 28 at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga. Tickets are $12 adult and $6 child ages 6-12 to view from your vehicle, $14 adult and $7 child 6-12 to view from open-air Jolly Trolly, free for children 5 and under. Purchase tickets in advance and select a time slot by calling 1-800-CALLAWAY. “A CHRISTMAS CAROL” through Dec. 29, presented by the Alliance Theatre Company in Atlanta.

Tickets are $18-$42. Call (404) 733-4690.

“IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE” comes to the Class Act Theatre in Mariet ta, Ga., through Dec. 29. Tickets are $15 adult, $13 seniors and $12 children. (770) 579-3156.

HOLIDAY LUGGAGE EXCHANGE benefits local domestic violence shelters. Donations of used luggage will be accepted at the AAA of fice at 3601 Walton Way Ex t. through Dec. 31. For more information, visit www.aaasouth.com or call the Augusta AAA of fice at 738-6611.

THE MORRIS MUSEUM OF ART is collecting canned goods for the Golden Har vest Food Bank through Dec. 31. A t wo-can donation gets museum visitors $1 of f admission. For information, call 724-7501.

“INVENTING SANTA: ART AND ADVERTISING” exhibit through Jan. 5 at the High Museum of Ar t in Atlanta. The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday. Call (404) 733-HIGH for more information.

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34 M E T R O S P I R I T D E C 1 9 2 0 0 2

Arts: Music

Nell Morris and Her Healing Harp

H

arpist Nell Morris doesn’t mind if her audience goes to sleep while she plays for them.

In fact, she generally considers it a good sign, especially if they’re enduring an IV drip full of chemicals.

Morris participates in the Healing Arts Program at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG), playing for the patients in the infusion room in the oncology unit, as well as the recovery room and the family medicine waiting room. Though she doesn’t know exactly why her harp seems to soothe the sick, she has seen the effect with her own eyes.

“I guess it’s just kind of a nice distraction for the patients who have to sit there for a long time,” she said.

Morris volunteers with her harp at several locations around town, such as the University Hospital oncology unit. “And then I play for nursing homes and assisted living facilities, as well as things that make me money like weddings and parties.”

Janet Howser is manager of volunteer services at MCG, and therefore coordinates the Healing Arts Program. She explained how it works.

“Basically it’s pretty well known that art has a positive effect on people in many ways,” she said, adding that it’s been done in many places for many years.

“Research has shown that music – not that it’s going to cure anything – but it can reduce a lot of the symptoms of pain and anxiety, lower blood pressure. It contributes to the healing environment,” Howser said.

The Medical College of Georgia started its Healing Arts Program just last month, with Morris as their first performer. In January visual artist Elizabeth Barnes will come in for two hours weekly to work with the kids in the children’s hospital with hands-on projects. Howser said she’s hoping for a violinist in January as well.

“We just wanted to offer something to enhance the healing environment,” she said, “and do it in a way that’s unique. You don’t walk into a hospital and expect to see a harpist.” She said that involving musicians and artists in the healing process fits well with MCG’s stated mission.

“Our whole mission here at MCG is to provide patientand family-centered care,” she said. And caring for an individual goes beyond just patching them up. Their emotional well-being has to be taken into account as well.

Therefore, they’ve planned a longtime relationship with at least two of their artists.

“Both Nell and Elizabeth are artists in residence with us, which means they’ll be with us on a regular basis for an extended period of time,” she said. “We are also looking for artists and musicians who might want to come on a less-frequent basis.”

Morris visits MCG twice a week, and has gotten rave reviews, according to Howser.

“This is probably her seventh week with us,” Howser said. “Just the comments we hear from the patients have just been incredible. The relaxation and helping to take their mind off some of the unpleasant procedures – I mean, this has been a great program.”

The idea behind the program is a far-reaching one, and you’re already familiar with it if you’ve seen the movie “Patch Adams,” with Robin Williams in the title role. In real life, Adams’ philosophy is to help patients heal by connecting with them on a more personal level, which for him means putting on clown makeup to set them at ease.

Adams created an organization called the Gesundheit!

Institute which promotes, among other things, house calls. But these are no ordinary house calls. These visits are supposed to be fun. Physicians are encouraged to make one a month, employing whatever technique is necessary to get the patient to relax and actually enjoy the visit – and the sillier the better. He suggests that physi-

BY RHONDA JONES

cians resort to clowning, putting on a tea party for two, or whatever else they think may work.

If you’re curious about Dr. Adams or the Gesundheit!

Institute, you can find out more by visiting his Web site at www.patchadams.org.

But the idea of helping people heal by entertaining them has been around quite a while. The Web site www.artheals.org points out that ancient Greeks built their hospitals next to the theatres so that the sick could benefit from the comedies, and quotes King Solomon as having written that, “a merry heart doeth good like medicine.”

Even Readers’ Digest agrees that “Laughter Is the Best Medicine.”

History of the Harpist Morris, who was a real estate agent with Meybohm & Associates at the time, fell in love with the harp because of a wedding. The son of a friend from work was about to tie the knot and the friend asked Morris if she would visit the harpist with her to help choose the music. That idea turned out to be destiny in the making.

Morris laughed at the memory. “When I heard her play in the living room, I thought, I just have to learn to do this.

It was just hearing her play up close and personal. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. The harp just struck a chord in me that I just can’t get rid of.”

The harpist was also a harp teacher and a dealer, and so Morris began lessons with her. She was already a musician, though, when that fateful meeting took place, having tickled the ivories, and played the Dobro with a bluegrass band. After learning the Celtic harp, which is an instrument small enough to hold on your lap as you play, she moved on to the pedal harp.

“I started playing in church, then sort of graduated to playing in an assisted living place that I volunteer at,” she said. As Morris gained confidence, she expanded her territory to include more demanding venues like weddings.

Morris now owns four harps: two of the Celtic variety, a pedal harp, which is a mid-size instrument, and the big daddy of them all – a concert grand.

“That’s not my gig harp,” she said. “It’s too big.”

She says she uses the pedal harp at weddings and in church, where she needs the sound to carry. The pedal harp is the one she takes around to her play dates. And the Celtic harps are pets.

“I use those for fun,” she said.

Morris has been playing for eight and a half years, and she agrees that being a harpist is really more of a lifestyle than a hobby. Part of the reason is the expense involved.

For one thing, she had to find a way to take her instruments from place to place.

“I had to buy a harp car. Harps fit beautifully into a Ford Explorer,” she said.

The harps themselves are pretty expensive as well. “I sold real estate 17 years for Meybohm,” she said. “The whole thing is, if I hadn’t had a great real estate career, I never would have been able to afford my harps.”

In fact, when people come out to see her play, someone will eventually get around to asking how much her harp costs. “I say, it’s a car. This is a car.”

It has been observed by this writer that musicians are a fickle lot. No matter how many instruments they have, they tend to always have their eyes pointed toward their next acquisition.

“It’s the truth,” Morris said. “I don’t know what it is.

You’re always looking for the perfect instrument.”

“Well, this fourth harp that I’m telling you about ... it’s not in my house yet,” she added. “It’s in Richmond, Va.” And it has quite a tale to tell.

The Hitchhiking Harp She found an elderly craftsman in Phoenixville, Penn., who builds Celtic harps by hand, one at a time. Morris put in an order, and then came back home to wait for it.

But this man had one condition.

He won’t ship his harps.

“It’s too easy to damage, and he just can’t bear the thought of his harps being damaged,” Morris explained.

But, she said, harpists will help each other out in a pinch. The craftsman drove the harp an hour and a half to Kirklandville and left it with a harpist who plays his harps. She then drove the harp to a dealer in Haddenfield, N.J., who employs a friend of Morris’. That friend then drove the harp to Richmond.

“It’s getting closer by the day, and I’m going to go get it just after Christmas,” she said.

So far, the Odyssey has taken a month. Once the Christmas rush is over, Morris is taking a week off to make the drive and spend some time getting to know her new harp.

“All of these harpists have played it along the way, in its journeys,” Morris said. “And they all say it’s a fabulous harp. I cannot wait to get it.”

Morris can be reached for booking at 855-7073.

35

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36 M E T R O S P I R I T D E C 1 9 2 0 0 2

Arts: Music

St. Paul’s Pipe Organ Featured on Holiday CD

BY RHONDA JONES

F

unny how one thing leads to another, especially when family gets involved. That’s how the CD “Warm Hymns for Cold Days,” by local organist Keith Shafer, came to be.

“The idea started with my mother-in-law, believe it or not,” he said with a chuckle one afternoon, in his spacious office at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in downtown Augusta. She’d asked Shafer to record some organ music for her, so he put some of California composer Dale Wood’s selections on a CD, using the church’s refurbished pipe organ (pictured), which she shared with her friends in Charlotte, N.C. They all wanted copies.

At that point, Shafer realized he had a full-fledged project on his hands. Then other unplanned events began to fall into place.

“Last January during the Augusta blizzard, I went downtown with my camera,” he said. “No one was downtown that day.”

Shafer was just following his nose to some good shots of the church. He wasn’t questing for a cover shot for his CD, but that’s what he found. The photograph is of the tower at St. Paul’s, against a winter-white sky with a peppering of flakes falling in the foreground. Crystals powder the leaves of a nearby tree, while others bask leafless in the snowfall.

“The idea of ‘warm hymns for cold days’ came from that,” Shafer said.

Profits from the CD will go to the St. Paul’s choir touring fund. They have been known to travel as far as Europe, and went to Canada last summer.

But getting to this point was quite a journey, as every project comes with its own challenges. This one had its fair share. For one thing, Shafer said, the hymns tend to sound the same, especially since the organ was the only instrument.

“To keep it interesting, you really have to have the proper organ to do it on,” he said.

And that is not a problem at St. Paul’s, he said, a fact which separates him from many other church organists.

Another problem organists often face is that of poor acoustics, which can harm the sound of even the best of instruments. At St. Paul’s, he said, he has the best of both, especially since the refurbishing of 1996.

The organ, he explained, was installed in 1966. And by its 30th birthday, it had a few problems. Like no digital technology. That has, of course, been corrected. The organ was brought out of the sound-oppressing nook

into which it had been ensconced. In fact, Shafer agreed, it is practically a new instrument. Moldings were cast to duplicate the shell work in the cabinet for extra pieces that were made to bring the organ out of the wall. There were restrictions, though, in what could be done to enhance the instrument, because the building is on the National Register of Historic Sites, and therefore the original architecture has to be preserved. Otherwise, Shafer said, the organ cabinet may not have been painted white to match the rest of the sanctuary, because the wood was so beautiful. But that would not have been in keeping with the Georgian style of the building.

As he spoke, Shafer gazed fondly at the gargantuan instrument, hovering like a giant, toothy creature.

“The organ had a very brittle treble-oriented tone, and

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almost no bass,” he said. Now the organ’s voice resonates. And with the nice acoustics at St. Paul’s, that is a combination that can’t be beaten, he said.

Rock musicians have an advantage over church organists, Shafer said. They have plenty of tools on hand to combat poor-quality instruments, but all an organist has is the instrument itself, so it had better be a good one.

“I have turned down jobs in other cities, major cities, because their setting is just not as beautiful as this,” he said. “In my line of work, you have to have a lot of things in place to be successful, and they’re all right here.”

He’s been with St. Paul’s for 20 years.

For a copy of “Warm Hymns for Cold Days,” contact the church office at 724-2485 or e-mail Shafer at kshafer@saintpauls.org.

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CELEBRATE at the biggest New Years Eve Party in Augusta

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S P I R I T D E C

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Movie Listings

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Analyze That (R) — This sequel to the 1999 hit "Analyze This," in which Rober t De Niro was top hood Paul Vit ti and Billy Crystal was his rabbit-nerved Jewish shrink, Dr. Sobol, is a string of mildly connective skit bits held together by capable casting and silly nonsense. Vit ti gets out of prison into the angst-rife care of Sobol, whose wife (Lisa Kudrow) is sarcastically aghast. Who would have thought De Niro, who carried the method to the edge of personality erasure, and was infamously a dull, stone-panic interview, would evolve into such comic confidence? When he sings "I Feel Pret ty" from "West Side Story," brilliantly badly, your jaw may drop like a punch line. Cast: Billy Crystal, Rober t De Niro, Lisa Kudrow, Joe Viterelli, Anthony LaPaglia, Cathy Moriar ty-Gentile. Running time: 1 hr., 34 mins. (Elliot t) ★★1/2 Barbershop (PG-13) — In this day in the wacky life of a Chicago salon, the rapper/actor Ice Cube drops his rough, gruf f image to play Calvin, the current owner of the barbershop. The shop was passed down to him from his dad and has been a mainstay of the community for years. Calvin couldn't care less, because he has a pregnant wife and wants to make money fast. In a moment of stupidity, he sells the place to the neighborhood loan shark. Af ter spending a day talking with customers and fellow barbers, he realizes the impor tance of the shop. He then has to buy back the shop at double the price. Meanwhile at the barbershop itself, tensions begin to rise. Cast: Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve,

Troy Garity, Michael Ealy and Cedric the Enter tainer.

Running time: 1 hr., 42 mins. (McCormick) ★★★ Brown Sugar (PG-13) — "Brown Sugar " is a romantic comedy focusing on two childhood friends who have both found success in the world of hip-hop: one is an A&R executive at a record label and the other is the editor of a glossy music mag. Even though they’re both involved with others, the two find that they may have already found love – years ago with each other. Cast: Sanaa Latham, Taye Diggs, Queen Latifah, Mos Def. Die Another Day (PG-13) — Pierce Brosnan moves with energy and can fake conviction. His chest hair is superb, his voice remains Bondaceous. But he looks peaked, and we imagine he found time to remember when acting meant, well, acting. Not just pulverizing glass, plunging through ice, brandishing absurd weapons and making limp jokes. True to its Cold War roots, the series reaches for one more Rotten Commie enemy. So bring on dear old North Korea. A Pyongyang lunatic has found the resources, via diamonds, to create a satellite sun called Icarus, to burn or blind the dumb Yanks, the snotty Brits and the greedy South Korean stooges. He captures Bond, tortures him, then zips off to Cuba, where he is DNA-morphed into a sneery Brit named Graves (Toby Stephens).

We recall Connery, and old plots that, however abundantly silly, were adventurous larks and not just plastic shelves for hardware display. Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Toby Stephens, Rosamund Pike, John Cleese, Judi Dench, Rick Yune. Running time: 2 hrs. (Elliott) ★★

Warner Bros.

“Two Weeks Notice”

RATINGS

★★★★ — Excellent.

Warner Bros.

M E T R O

“Analyze That”

Drumline (PG-13) — A young street drummer from Harlem wins a scholarship to at tend a Southern university and decides to make the trek af ter being convinced by the university’s band director, even though he knows he’ll have a hard time fit ting in.

Gradually, his drumming skills help the other students warm up to him. Cast: Nick Cannon, Orlando Jones, Zoe Saldana, Jason Weaver.

8 Mile (R) — As Jimmy "Rabbit" Smith, Eminem flunks his first hip-hop bat tle, a cut ting contest of insult rhymes at a black club, is pegged a choker and sulks back to his grueling job at a metal-stamping mill.

The simple story is how Rabbit motorizes his mouth, confirming the "genius" proclaimed by pal and club emcee Future (Mekhi Phifer). As a buzzer, it has juice.

Thanks to Eminem and the rising rap momentum, "8 Mile" is engrossing. In this urban, if not urbane, fantasy, the hero takes a bad beating, gets up and goes to work, interrupts work to wow everyone at the hip-hop club, then returns to work af ter a verbal outlay that would have put even Winston Churchill in bed for days.

Cast: Eminem, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer, Evan Jones, Brit tany Murphy, Anthony Mackie. Running time: 1 hr., 58 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★ Empire (R) — Victor Rosa is John Leguizamo's best movie work so far, a subtle and richly internalized per formance. Vic is a Bronx drug dealer who runs his four-man crew of buddies. Feeling successful but crowded, and now at tached to a woman he loves (Delilah Cot to), Vic meets the smoothie Jack Wimmer (Peter Sarsgaard). This yupster grif ter has an Ivy League purr of success and suits that seem tailored down to his chromosomes; he lures Vic into an airy investment scheme that seems more legal and less lethal than Vic's drug jungle. Grateful to be adopted into a dream world he has envied, feeling this is a

★★★— Worthy.

★★ — Mixed.

★ — Poor.

classy "out," Vic is being suckered. The movie is good at building momentum but less so in delivering, and the feeling for noir doom is never as credible as the sense of upward hunger. Cast: John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard, Denise Richards, Vincent Laresca, Sonia Braga, Isabella Rossellini. Running time: 1 hr., 30 mins. (Elliot t) ★★1/2 Friday After Next (R) — This is the third film in the "Friday" series and features the same people, places and pals highlighted in the first two. "Friday Af ter Nex t" takes place around Christmas, as Craig and Day-Day are working as security guards af ter a "ghet to Santa" who’s been stealing presents. Cast: Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Don "D.C." Curry.

Gangs of New York (R) — "Gangs of New York" examines the history of Irish and Italian gangs in 19th century New York City and how they gave rise to the Mafia. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the son of a murdered gang leader; he’s out to avenge his father’s death.

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel DayLewis, Liam Neeson.

Ghost Ship (R) — A salvage crew on a mission discovers an abandoned passenger ship, missing since 1953, floating on a lone stretch of the Bering Sea. When the crew decides to tow the passenger ship back, strange things begin to happen. Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Juliana Margulies, Desmond Harrington.

Halloween: Resurrection (R) — Jamie Lee Cur tis makes an appearance once again in the eighth film in the "Halloween" series. This time, six teens decide to host a live Internet chat in the house where Michael Myers grew up, stirring up evil. Cast: Jamie Lee Cur tis, Tyra Banks, Brad Loree.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (PG) — Harry (Daniel Radclif fe) faces destiny with a clear eye and spor ty will, not the least neurotic despite having been orphaned into a family of idiotic prigs who

0— Not worthy.

treat him abominably. He again escapes to Hogwar ts, to his pals (Ruper t Grint as wobble-faced Ron, Emma Watson as bookworm Hermione) and the snippish regard of Prof. Snape (Alan Rickman) and Prof.

McGonegall (Maggie Smith), and the wonder ful giant Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) and Headmaster Dumbledore (Richard Harris, now dead). Jason Isaacs should be given more time as Lucius, the evil, white-maned father of snob Draco Malfoy. There is a sense of a grand machine greased, sometimes grinding. The "chamber of secrets" is less an exciting mystery at the center than a device to car t the bulky saga forward.

Cast: Daniel Radclif fe, Ruper t Grint, Emma Watson, Kenneth Branagh, Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane. Running time: 2 hrs., 41 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★ The Hot Chick (PG-13) — If the name isn’t enough to scare you, perhaps the idea that a vapid teenage girl wakes up to find herself inhabiting Rob Schneider’s body is. In the course of trying to get back to her true self, the popular teen discovers just how shallow she is. Cast: Rob Schneider, Andrew Keegan, Mat thew Lawrence.

Jackass: The Movie (R) — Nothing more than a big-screen version of the hit MTV series, "Jackass: The Movie" features Johnny Knox ville and pals performing hilarious and dangerous stunts and playing practical jokes on unsuspecting crowds. Don’t try this at home. Cast: Johnny Knox ville, Bam Margera, Ryan Dunn, Steve O. Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie (G) — The animated group of vegetables that stars in the "Veggie Tales" car toons comes to the big screen in "Jonah." A van of singing veggies breaks down in front of a strange seafood joint inhabited by a lazy bunch of pirates who proceed to spin the tale of Jonah and the whale for the impressionable young vegetables. Cast: Phil Vischer, Kristin Blegen, Mike Nawrocki, Lisa Vischer. Running time: 1 hr., 23 mins.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (PG13) — Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship return in their ongoing quest to destroy the magical ring that may be used for evil. It’s the second film in the series and the second novel in Tolkien’s trilogy. Cast: Elijah Wood, Sir Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchet t, Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler.

Maid in Manhattan (PG-13) — The airy fantasy puts Jennifer Lopez into a cute maid's uniform at a swank New York hotel. She's Marisa, and when she tries on the very expensive, if rather Bel Air trophy wife out fit of a snobbish guest, this at tracts the "playboy" eye of senatorial hopeful Chris Marshall (Ralph Fiennes). Chris' manager (Stanley Tucci) is in controlfreak agony that the Republican politician might fall in love with someone not toity and rich. The film is most marked by the flagrant waste of talent. As the sitcom yucks racked up their lit tle nif ties, perked along by music, I had a weird, tiny pinch of nostalgia for "Jackass: The Movie." Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, Bob Hoskins, Natasha Richardson, Stanley Tucci, Tyler Garcia Posey. Running time: 1 hr., 35 mins. (Elliot t) ★1/2 The Ring (PG-13) — begins with the telling of an urban-legend-like tale that, for a while, seems likely to consign this movie to the slasher/horror bin: A weird videotape is circulating. As soon as you're through watching it, the telephone rings. A voice on the phone informs you that you have seven days to live. Seven days later, you die. The film boasts first-rate per formances, a gorgeous look, an engaging plot and a jangly, thrumming sense of dread. The ef fectiveness of such a movie depends entirely on the beholder. Save for a long, uneasy feeling of foreboding and one solid jolt, I didn't find it all that scary. Two young women exiting the theater in front of me, however, declared that the thing had terrified them, and I'm willing to take their word for it. Cast: Naomi Wat ts, Mar tin Henderson, David Dor fman, Brian Cox. Running time: 1 hr., 55 mins. (Salm) ★★1/2 The Santa Clause 2 (G) — Tim Allen discovers af ter eight years of being Santa that there's another small detail in his contract: In order for him to continue being the Jolly Old Elf, he's got to take a wife. But first he has to deal with his son, Charlie (Eric Lloyd), who's landed himself on the naughty list. Charlie's principal (Elizabeth Mitchell) wants him gone pronto and is a bit blue because the holidays don't mean as much to her as they once did. With 28 days to go before the con-

tract expires, Santa's got a lot of work to do. One of his trusty elves comes up with a machine that can duplicate Santa while he's out in the real world hunting for a wife. Allen is remarkable playing Santa as funny, wise and sympathetic, all at the same time. 1 hr., 42 mins. (McCormick) ★★★ Signs (PG-13) — Mel Gibson plays Father Graham Hess, an Episcopal priest who lost his faith and retired his collar af ter his wife was killed in an auto accident. He lives in an old farmhouse with two adorable kids, plus a younger brother (Joaquin Phoenix). Big, elegantly precise "crop signs" turn up in their cornfield. It's space aliens, and the movie teases us as the signs pile up. The aliens show up, shoving clawed hands under doors but scared by steak knives, full of evil strength, yet not able to knock down the pathetic blockade of a fruit cellar. "Signs," though handsomely shot, seems meant for viewers who need to believe in tabloid aliens, and that we can beat them with plain-spun, homeland vir tues. It should be called "Sins" for compounding the sins of bad filming. Cast: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, M. Night Shyamalan, Cherry Jones. Running time: 1 hr., 46 mins. (Elliot t) ★

39

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Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (PG) — A cheer ful theme park of a comedy about junior spies, with a bigger budget and more inventive fun than the 2001 original (the plot is no advance).

Rober t Rodriguez directed, wrote, helped with the digital ef fects and gizmo touches, including excellent creatures. The many Hispanic rif fs do not land with PC heaviness, and the lively cast includes Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara as the main kids, plus Antonio Banderas, Steve Buscemi, Carla Gugino, Alan Cumming, Bill Pa x ton, Tony Shalhoub, Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin and (still macho at 81) Ricardo Montalban. Running time: 1 hr., 27 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★ Star Trek: Nemesis (PG-13) — Politically, the story parallels "The Undiscovered Country," with peace over tures this time coming from the Romulans.

Their new leader, Shinzon (Hardy), turns out to be not only human, but a young clone of Captain Picard (Patrick Stewar t). He'd been engineered for nefarious purposes, then abandoned and sent to die on Romulus' sister planet, Remus. Shinzon grows up to lead the Reman species in a successful revolt. Now he wants only to make peace. Or does he? The film goes on at roughly the rate dilithium crystals melt at room temperature, until the last half-hour, at which point the filmmakers remember that in "Star Trek" there are such things as phasers, photon torpedoes, cloaking devices, warp drives and starships. For our patience, we are rewarded with a prolonged O.K. Corral shootout. Cast: Patrick Stewar t, Jonathan Frakes, Tom Hardy, Marina Sir tis, Brent Spiner, LeVar Bur ton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden. Running time: 1 hr., 48 mins. (Salm) ★★1/2 Sweet Home Alabama (PG-13) — Only a year and two weeks af ter New York became our most tormented but inspiring city, it is upstaged by a happy hicksville called Pigeon Creek. Why? Because cute "Mel" (Reese Witherspoon) fled poor-folks marriage to Pigeon Creek sweethear t Jake (Josh Lucas). She is now a light of Manhat tan as fashion designer Melanie Carmichael. And she has the love of politically upward dreamboat Andrew (Patrick Dempsey, son of The Apple's tough but dishy mayor, Candice Bergen). Andy doesn't know that his betrothed is still married to 'Bama boy Jake, who is hur t, haunted and planning his own rise from mediocrity. Mel returns home for a divorce, puts on her corn-pone accent instantly, and rediscovers the joys of Pigeon Creek. Director Andy Tennant serves this corny material with the skill of a machine punching out Alabama license plates. Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, Patrick Dempsey, Fred Ward, Mary Kay Place, Candice Bergen. Running time: 1 hr., 40 mins. (Elliot t) ★★ The Transporter (PG-13) — Frank Mar tin is an ex-special forces operator living the quiet life along the Mediterranean in France. He suppor ts himself by running his own courier service – with a few rules.

Namely, Mar tin doesn’t want to know who he’s working for or what he’s delivering. But when Mar tin notices the package he’s transpor ting star t to move, he looks in the box and finds a beautiful and bound woman. Cast: Jason Statham, Shu Qi, Mat t Schulze.

continued on page 40

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continued from page 39 Treasure Planet (PG) — The movie transmutes Rober t Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" into the heavily digitalized animation of a "Star Wars" of fshoot.

Now Jim is a very American and stalwar t 'toon-teen voiced by Joseph Gordon-Levit t, and Silver (Brian Murray) is a huge cyborg with an old-salt pirate face and tech arms wor thy of the Terminator on a hardware rampage. A space movie that has interstellar craf t with lof ty, luminous sails and crusty barnacles on hulls is so absurd that it's charming. In visual fer tility, "Treasure Planet" rivals the top Japanese animations of recent vintage. For the sub-13 crowd (and many beyond it), this is satisfying holiday enter tainment.

Voices: Joseph Gordon-Levit t, Emma Thompson, Michael Wincot t, Brian Murray, Mar tin Shor t, Laurie

Metcalf, Roscoe Lee Browne, Patrick McGoohan.

Running time: 1 hr., 35 mins. (Elliot t) ★★★ The Tuxedo (PG-13) — Jackie Chan plays Jimmy Tong, a cabby who lands a job as chauf feur for Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs), a wealthy industrialist.

Devlin is every thing Jimmy wants to be — handsome, smar t, rich, cultured and impeccably dressed. One of Devlin's prized possessions is an Armani tuxedo that seems to be a hit with the ladies and a definite confidence-booster. But Jimmy discovers there's more to Devlin than meets the eye af ter the boss is injured by a bomb while on assignment. Before he loses consciousness, Devlin asks Jimmy to wear the suit, a prototype created by a government agency that gives its wearer abilities far beyond mor tal men. Af ter Jimmy tests out the tux, he's thrust into the spy game. Cast: Jackie Chan, Jennifer Love Hewit t, Jason Isaacs,

Ritchie Coster, Debi Mazar and Peter Stormare.

Running time: 1 hr., 30 mins. (McCormick) ★★ Two Weeks Notice (PG-13) — Lucy Kelson (Sandra Bullock) is a smar t but stressed at torney whose client, millionaire George Wade (Hugh Grant), is deeply dependent on her. George won’t let her quit until she finds her own replacement – a young lawyer who has her eye on George. George, however, is looking elsewhere: at what just lef t. Cast: Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant, Alicia Wit t.

The Wild Thornberrys (PG) — Big-screen version of the animated Nickeloden series about a family who travels around the world to make nature documentaries. While in Africa, 12-year-old Eliza learns that she can speak with animals and, with their help, aims to stop a group of poachers. Cast: Lacey Chaber t, Tim Curry, Ruper t Everet t, Flea, Lynn Redgrave, Marisa Tomei.

TOP OF THE LINE: ______________

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—Capsules compiled from movie reviews written by David Elliott, film critic for The San Diego Union-Tribune and other staff writers.

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Cinema: Recommendations

Worthwhile Movies of the Holiday Season

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hings never get more hectic at the movies than right now, in the throes of the holiday season.

As the studios scramble to screen all their Oscar hopefuls before the new year (in order to make the deadline for Academy consideration), viewers are bombarded with a barrage of noteworthy films. But, like standing before a tree sprinkled with elegantly gift-wrapped boxes, it’s always tough to see past all the hype and pick the films worth tearing into. To help you in that endeavor, here is a list of films, some I can recommend and some I’m betting on to be winners, to check out: RECOMMENDED “About Schmidt” This searing, dark, hilarious satire from Alexander Payne is set in the writer/director’s hometown of Omaha, Neb. (like his last two features, “Election” and “Citizen Ruth”). It’s there that Jack Nicholson, starring as the titular Joe, Warren Schmidt, is beginning his retired life. Stepping down as the top executive at an insurance firm, Warren is looking ahead to what should be good years, years of leisure he’s worked hard to afford himself. But, as he catalogs his life’s achievements and his family (which includes a grating wife and estranged daughter), he’s left with the empty, helpless feeling that he deserves better.

Delivering a specifically American odyssey, complete with a vulgarized Leopold Bloom for the 21st century, “About Schmidt” is an honest, at times heart-breaking, tragicomedy about coming to terms with what we have and who we are. Easily one of the best films of the year, with an exceptional turn from Nicholson as the despicably lovable, empathetic Schmidt, “About Schmidt” should not be missed.

“Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” For those who were wowed by the first film in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” this follow-up delivers more of the same: phenomenal special effects combined with unparalleled set design.

Picking up like the second part of a “To Be Continued” miniseries, “The Two Towers” follows the disparate journeys of the Fellowship, with the remaining members separated and mired in their own journeys. Centered on the fight for Middle Earth, the most thrilling scenes in the film revolve around a massive battle between humans and orcs. Adding a fluidity and seamlessness to the computer animation, Jackson produces another wonderfully vivid interpretation of Tolkien’s world. And finally, that the film is essentially the same thing as

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“Fellowship” is more of a triumph than a disappointment, as it leaves you with the same anticipatory feeling for the next installment. In short, George Lucas should be taking notes.

“Punch Drunk Love” Although this bizarre romantic comedy from director P.T. Anderson (“Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia”) was given a limited release back in November, hopefully audiences will still have the chance to see it this holiday season. A groundbreaking effort, “Punch Drunk Love” is undoubtedly one of the most unusual and bravest American films of the year. An unnerving and exhilarating romantic comedy that is neither romantic nor comic, the film stars Adam Sandler as a socially retarded small business owner, prone to incontrollable violent outbursts.

Seemingly a tale about its unlikely hero’s affair with a bubbly Brit (Emily Watson), “Punch Drunk” is actually a genre-breaking deconstruction of Sandler’s celebrity, romantic comedies and our strange fixation with both. More revelatory than it is enjoyable, “Punch Drunk Love” is unlike anything in recent memory.

“Solaris” This intellectual studio project from Stephen Soderbergh (“Traffic”) is a wonderful remake of Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 film of the same name. Tarkovsky’s film was called the Russian “2001” upon its release, but Soderbergh rightly evokes two other American films for this skillful sci-fi love story: “Vertigo” and “Blade Runner.” In a vaguely futuristic world, George Clooney stars as Dr. Kelvin, a brooding shrink who is reeling from the untimely death of his wife. When he’s rocketed off to help the ailing crew of a mission monitoring the planet Solaris, the doctor boards the ship to discover an apparition who seems to be the reincarnation of his dead wife. Complicating matters is the fact that the creature is self-aware and cognizant of the fact that she shares a distinct bond with Kelvin’s wife but, at the same time, is not that woman. Exploring issues of love, religion and death, “Solaris” touches on many of the long-running philosophical questions of life. But most interestingly, it focuses on the “Vertigo” theme about the devastating way love is always mediated by perception and memory.

A FEW GOOD HORSES: “Catch Me If You Can” This anticipated release, which marks one of the two films in the Leonardo DiCaprio double exposure (the second being “Gangs of New York”), also boasts Stephen Spielberg behind the camera.

Based on a true story about a con man, it’s a chase film in which Tom Hanks’

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Though it looks rather slight from the trailers, we have to assume there was something interesting about this script, since it drew such major talent.

“Gangs of New York” Rumors of difficulties on the set coupled with release delays, have shrouded Martin Scorcese’s highly anticipated epic about 19th century New York City street gangs in an air of mystery. Reports about DiCaprio badmouthing the film surfaced along with a string of stories that Scorcese was wrangling with his moneyman, the infamous Miramax studio head, Harvey Weinstein. The latest word is that test audiences are coming out of theaters with mixed reviews. But, rumors aside, the potential for greatness seems as high as it does for disaster. Scorsese is ripe for a hit and he’s returning to his most fertile and successful subject matters here: New York City immigrants and the mafia.

With its star-studded cast (which includes DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Liam Neeson and Jim Broadbent), it’s hard to resist getting excited for this one.

A SHORT LIST OF OTHER FILMS THAT WILL PROBABLY BE WORTH YOUR WHILE: • “The Hours” • “Talk to Her” • “Adaptation” • “Far From Heaven” • “25th Hour”

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Cinema: Review

“Star Trek: Nemesis” Will Fulfill Trekkies By Arthur Salm

S

ee the two-star rating? It means two-star in the context of all “Star Trek” movies.

Because, really, the assessment of any fresh entrant in the franchise has value only when compared to others of its kind. What — it’s one-and-a-half stars when put head-tohead with “Chinatown”? Four stars next to “Stuart Saves his Family”? It’s not as if, without this review, someone is going to arrive at a multiplex for the 4:30 discount special, note that “Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights” is sold out, and think, “Hmmm. ‘Star Trek: Nemesis,’ 4:45. I wonder what that’s about?”

You can even assume that no one uninterested in “Star Trek” will bother to read this. Which means — we’re alone. Just us “Star Trek” fans. So we can talk inside baseball, or rather, inside federation. Ready?

OK — thumbnail: “Star Trek: Nemesis” is better than the tepid “Star Trek: Insurrection,” falls short of “First Contact” because the villain (Tom Hardy) couldn’t pick the lint off Borg Queen Alice Krige’s cape; and finishes half a parsec (a nose) ahead of “Generations.”

As for comparisons to the Shatner/Nimoy voyages ... place it about even with “The Search for Spock.”

Politically, the story parallels “The Undiscovered Country,” with peace overtures this time coming from the Romulans. Their new leader, Shinzon (Hardy), turns out to be not only human, but a young clone of Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart). He’d been engineered for nefarious purposes, then abandoned — like the MX missile, or disco.

Sent to die on Romulus’ sister planet, Remus, Shinzon grows up to lead the Reman species in a successful revolt. Now, he wants only to make peace. Or does he?

Of course he doesn’t; good Lord, this is a space western. No, the Romulans have developed a weapon of mass destruction, and Shinzon intends to use it to zap Earth, first because he wants to dominate the galaxy, and second because he’s so honked off at being Picard’s clone, just a shadow of a great man.

Shinzon/Hardy is the film’s great weakness; his very existence strains credulity (if it’s even legal for that expression to be employed in this context), and the young actor hams desperately in a doomed attempt to go bald-dome-tobald-dome with Stewart. In Hardy’s defense, it’s probably impossible to look threatening in an outfit Frank N. Furter would just die for.

A parallel story involves a prototype of Data (Brent Spiner), recently discovered by the Enterprise crew in a sequence that juices up the first, deadly dull hour by providing an excuse for a preposterous James Bondian dune buggy chase. But Data’s story, like Picard’s, involves identity and self-worth; along with the marriage of Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Troi (Marina Sirtis), these subplots provide humanity and depth to the goings on.

Which do go on, at roughly the rate dilithium crystals melt at room temperature. Until the last half hour, that is, at which point the filmmakers remember that in “Star Trek” there are such things as phasers, photon torpedoes, cloaking devices, warp drives and starships, for heaven’s sake. For our patience, we are rewarded with a prolonged O.K. Corral shootout.

And we leave the theater mostly fulfilled. Mostly, because the film never comes through on its promise of a second Riker-Troi wedding ceremony — nude, as is the Betazed custom. Maybe it’ll be on the DVD.

Cinema: Review

“The Two Towers” Is Quality Entry in Epic Trilogy By Rachel Deahl

I

f George Lucas was supposed to usher digital filmmaking into the 21st century with his “Star Wars” prequels, it’s fair to say that Peter Jackson has stolen his thunder. With “The Two Towers,” the second installment in Jackson’s trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved fantasy epic, “The Lord of the Rings,” the New Zealand director crafts another awe-inspiring vision that wholly transports you to the dark netherworld of Middle Earth. Delivering on the promise of what the “Star Wars” prequels were supposed to be, Jackson delights with seamless CG-effects, strong storytelling and more compelling characters than anything found in that galaxy far, far away.

Lacking any sort of beginning, “The Two Towers” launches you into its story as if you just pressed the pause button on your DVD player. Slightly disorienting, the effect makes it immediately apparent that the director envisioned his trilogy as one lengthy film (the way he shot it). As such, he throws the viewer into the story with little care that they might have forgotten the details of “The Fellowship of the Ring.” Oddly enough, as with “Fellowship,” this tactic isn’t frustrating and it doesn’t make the film feel incomplete; rather, it adds to the epic scope of the project, making it seem like yet another piece of the puzzle in this overarching story.

Focusing on the disparate journeys of the Fellowship, which has geographically disbanded and left small pockets of the original group scattered about Middle Earth, “The Two Towers” follows three basic storylines.

The first one revolves around Frodo, who is still traipsing about the planet with the Ring.

Being worn down by its overwhelming power, Frodo (who is accompanied by his friend Sam) is attempting to bring the Ring to safekeeping. In order to do so, the two Hobbits employ the help of a slithery, cavedwelling creature named Gollum, to serve as

their guide. Gollum, who once had the Ring in his possession and has clearly been destroyed by the item he calls “my precious,” is overcome by a devil/angel complex that leaves both of the little fellows wondering if the imp is friend or foe.

The second subplot, and the most minor one, traces the journey of the two other Hobbits in the Fellowship: Merry and Pippin.

Initially captured by Orcs, the two escape and fall into favor with a living, talking tree that journeys with them across the continent.

The final, and most involved, story focuses on the remaining warriors from the Fellowship: Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli.

Preparing to take on the army of Orcs that Saruman was manufacturing in the first film, the warriors hook up with a bunch of humans from a place called Rohan. There, the trio readies themselves for what seems like a David and Goliath match-up (the Orcs outnumber the humans by an astonishing figure), holing up in a dam-like structure to stave off the Orc army (which, it’s worth noting, is intended to wipe out the race of man).

Of course, like “The Fellowship of the Ring,” the plot of “The Two Towers” is finally unimportant. Unlike both “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones,” which were more focusing on laying groundwork than telling interesting stories, Jackson’s films relay a lot of plot detail, without ever becoming flat. Strikingly similar to the first film in the series, “The Two Towers” offers up more of the same visual pyrotechnics matched with intelligent storytelling. Slight on the social commentary (the film touches on issues of imperialism, racism and industrialization but doesn’t finally say much about any of those topics), “The Two Towers” is nonetheless a gratifying and exciting second chapter in what’s proving to be the seminal sci-fi epic of the new century.

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MOVIE CLOCK REGAL AUGUSTA EXCHANGE 20 Movies Good 12/20 - 12/24 Gangs of New York (R) 12:15, 3:45, 7:40, 10:20, 11:15 The Wild Thornberrys (PG) 10:45, 12:45, 2:45, 4:45, 6:45, 8:50, 10:55 Two Weeks Notice (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 11:15, 11:45, 1:50, 2:15, 4:20, 4:50, 7:20, 7:50, 9:50, 10:25, 12:20; Sun-Tues: 11:15, 11:45, 1:50, 2:15, 4:20, 4:50, 7:20, 7:50, 9:50, 10:25 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 11:00, 12:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 6:30, 7:00, 8:00, 10:15, 11:00, 11:45; Sun-Tues: 11:00, 12:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 6:30, 7:00, 8:00, 10:15, 11:00 The Hot Chick (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 11:25, 1:55, 4:25, 7:15, 9:45, 12:10; Sun-Tues: 11:25, 1:55, 4:25, 7:15, 9:45 Maid in Manhattan (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 11:10, 12:05, 1:40, 2:30, 4:10, 5:10, 7:10, 7:40, 9:35, 10:05, 12:05, 12:35; Sun-Tues: 11:10, 12:05, 1:40, 2:30, 4:10, 5:10, 7:10, 7:40, 9:35, 10:05 Drumline (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 11:20, 11:50, 1:05, 2:35, 4:55, 5:25, 7:30, 8:15, 10:15, 11:05, 12:40; Sun-Mon: 11:20, 11:50, 1:05, 2:35, 4:55, 5:25, 7:30, 8:15, 10:15, 11:05 Star Trek: Nemesis (PG-13) Fri-Sat: 12:20, 12:50, 2:40, 4:15, 5:05, 6:55, 7:30, 9:40, 10:10, 12:25; Sun-Tues: 12:20, 12:50, 2:40, 4:15, 5:05, 6:55, 7:30, 9:40, 10:10 Analyze That (R) 7:55, 10:30 Empire (R) 12:35, 2:50, 5:15, 7:35 Treasure Planet (PG) 11:55, 2:25, 5:00 Die Another Day (PG-13) 10:55, 1:55, 4:55, 7:55, 10:55 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (PG) 11:30, 3:20, 6:45 8 Mile (R) 8:10, 10:45 The Santa Clause 2 (G) 10:50, 1:15, 3:40 The Ring (PG-13) 10:00 EVANS 12 CINEMAS Movies Good 12/20 - 12/24 Gangs of New York (R) 12:45, 4:20, 8:00 The Wild Thornberrys (PG) Fri-Mon: 1:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15, 9:15; Tues: 1:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15 Drumline (PG-13) Fri-Mon: 2:30, 4:50, 7:30, 9:50; Tues: 2:30, 4:50, 7:30 The Hot Chick (PG-13) Fri-Mon: 1:40, 4:00, 7:10, 9:35; Tues: 1:40, 4:00, 7:10

Star Trek: Nemesis (PG-13) Fri-Mon: 1:50, 4:20, 7:00, 9:30; Tues: 1:50, 4:20, 7:00 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (PG-13) Fri-Mon: 1:00, 2:00, 4:40, 5:40, 8:20, 9:20; Tues: 1:00, 2:00, 4:40, 5:40, 8:20 Two Weeks Notice (PG-13) Fri-Mon: 1:10, 2:40, 4:10, 5:30, 7:05, 7:45, 9:20; Tues: 1:10, 2:40, 4:10, 5:30, 7:05 Analyze That (R) Fri-Mon: 9:55; Tues: 7:45 Maid in Manhattan (PG-13) Fri-Mon: 2:20, 4:30, 7:20, 9:40; Tues: 2:20, 4:30, 7:20 Treasure Planet (PG) 1:35, 3:35, 5:35 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (PG) 7:40 Santa Clause 2 (G) Fri-Mon: 12:55, 3:10, 5:20, 7:35, 9:45; Tues: 12:55, 3:10, 5:20, 7:35 MASTERS 7 CINEMAS Movies Good 12/20 - 12/26 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (PG-13) 1:00, 4:40, 8:20 The Wild Thornberrys (PG) 1:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15, 9:15 Two Weeks Notice (PG-13) 1:25, 4:25, 7:25, 9:45 The Hot Chick (PG-13) 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30 Maid in Manhattan (PG-13) 1:20, 4:20, 7:20, 9:40 Drumline (PG-13) 1:05, 4:00, 7:00, 9:25 Friday After Nex t (R) 1:10, 3:10, 5:10, 7:10, 9:10 REGAL 12 CINEMAS Movies Good 12/20 - 12/24 Ghost Ship (R) 2:35, 4:50, 7:30, 10:05 Jackass: The Movie (R) 2:45, 5:10, 7:25, 9:30 Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie (G) 2:15, 5:05, 7:00, 9:30 Sweet Home Alabama (PG-13) 2:10, 4:40, 7:15, 9:50 Brown Sugar (PG-13) 1:55, 4:25, 7:05, 9:45 Halloween: Resurrection (R) 2:30, 5:15, 7:45, 9:40 Barbershop (PG-13) 2:20, 4:35, 7:50, 10:00 Spy Kids 2 (PG) 2:00, 4:25, 7:35, 9:55 The Tuxedo (PG-13) 2:05, 4:30, 7:10, 9:35 The Transporter (PG-13) 2:40, 5:00, 7:40, 9:40 Signs (PG-13) 2:00, 4:45, 7:00, 9:25 XXX (PG-13) 2:25, 4:55, 7:20, 9:50

Movie listings are subject to change without notice.

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44 M E T R O S P I R I T

Music

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Fusion Drives Cast Iron Filter’s Dynamic Sound

By Lisa Jordan

F

rom the opening notes of “Ricky Dunbar” to the last strains of “Louisville, Ky.,” Cast Iron Filter’s new release, “Live From the Highway,” is abuzz with energy.

“In fact, that was the entire reason why we did that album,” says Mike Orlando, who plays mandolin for Cast Iron Filter. “(Studio albums) lack the fundamental aspect of energy that you’re getting from the live setting.”

The band – a four-piece that also includes Dustin Edge on guitar and vocals, Tim Helfrich on drums and percussion and Mason Bissett on bass guitar – recorded “Live From the Highway” to a sold-out crowd over two nights in St. Simon’s Island, Ga. “We picked a club that we knew was going to be a lot of fun,” says Orlando. “We knew a

good crowd was going to be there. We just ended up taking all the songs from one continuous set the second night.”

What they ended up with was an album that highlights intricate melodies, lightning-fast fingerpicking and lyrics evocative of the American road trip.

With three studio albums under their collective belt, the members of Cast Iron Filter have something to compare the making of “Live From the Highway” to. “It’s obviously different,” Orlando says. “In the studio, you can have as many takes as you want. When you’re live, it’s just the way it is.”

And for those who are thinking about checking out Cast Iron Filter’s second-ever Augusta performance this Saturday at Crossroads, you can rest assured that what you hear on the live

SAY HELLO TO 2003 It’s not too early to plan how you’re going to spend the last night of the year. We’ve got the scoop on what area clubs are planning for Dec. 31. >> THE SOUL BAR hosts a New Year’s Eve bash – check out www.soulbar.com for updates and info. >> Bart Bell performs at SHANNON’S New Year’s Eve party. Call Shannon’s at 860-0698. >> WHISKEY JUNCTION in Aiken hosts a New Year’s Eve party with Shinebox. There’s limited space, so the powers-that-be at Whiskey Junction advise you to get there early. (803) 649-0794. >> If you just can’t wait to celebrate (or you want to celebrate twice), CLUB ARGOS offers a pre-New Year’s celebration with an all-male revue on Dec. 28, as well as a Dec. 31 celebra-

tion with live entertainment. Call Club Argos at 481-8829. >> Ring in the New Year with 420 Outback at the PLAYGROUND. A $10 cover gets you party favors, a dinner buffet and champagne when the clock strikes 12. Space is limited, so call the Playground at 724-5399 for ticket info. >> Tickets are on sale for BIG IRON SALOON’S New Year’s Eve party – Magic Hat performs. For details, call 774-9020. >> FOX’S LAIR plays host to Roger Eneveldson’s New Year Bash. Call 828-5600 for more information. >> TIME PIECEZ is planning a New Year’s Eve Bash with a balloon drop at midnight and give aways all evening. Call Time Piecez, 828-5888.

album is exactly what you’re going to get. “A lot of bands with modern recording equipment, they’ll get live recordings and doctor them up in the studio,” says Orlando. “We just decided we weren’t going to do that. Whatever came out would be on the album.”

Even though the experience was, as Orlando says, nerve-wracking, the band is pleased with how the album turned out. “We love it – I love it,” he says.

After a brief hiatus for the holidays, Cast Iron Filter hits the highway again in 2003.

“We’re sort of on the road, sort of not, right now,” says Orlando. When The Spirit caught up with him by phone, the band was loading up before moving on to Charleston, S.C., for a show. “In early January, we’re going to take off for about eight weeks of continuous tour-

ing. We have a good time wherever we go.”

Cast Iron Filter’s ever-growing following includes fans from all points on the musical spectrum – from country music lovers to rock aficionados. “That’s probably our strongest selling feature,” Orlando says. “We get a good bit of everything.”

Their bluegrass-tinged barroom sound is – as one would expect – at home with the college crowd. “We get a lot of invitations to play fraternity shows and sorority shows,” he says, and adds with a laugh, “In fact, we’ve started playing high schools, too, which is always strange.”

Cast Iron Filter plays Dec. 21 at Crossroads.

Local band Juice opens. For more information, call Crossroads at 724-1177.

>> Join Keith “Fossill” Gregory at JOE’S UNDERGROUND Dec. 31. Call Joe’s at 724-9457.

drop, champagne, party favors and a buffet.

Call 738-8730 to make reservations.

>> Danny Rhea and the Empty Pockets provide entertainment at the HONKY TONK New Year’s Eve Party, which also features a champagne toast, party favors and a balloon drop.

Tickets are $15 for singles and $25 for couples; they also offer a package with a motel room and admission for two for $55. For tickets, call 560-0551. >> MODJESKA goes all out with live music before midnight and a DJ after midnight, as well as party favors, a champagne toast and complimentary food by the Pizza Joint.

Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door; for couples, tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Private booths are available for an additional $10 per person and VIP reservations are available for an additional $40 per person. Call 303-9700 for info. >> LAST CALL hosts a New Year’s Eve Celebration with live entertainment, a balloon

>> Hack Bartley and the Shuffle Band perform at CADILLAC’S New Year’s Eve Party, which features a buffet dinner, midnight champagne toast, party favors and balloon drop. Reservations are $25 per person – call 364-CADI. >> THE PARTRIDGE INN offers several New Year’s Eve packages, starting at $49 per person. For details, call 737-8888. >> Terry Lee & the G.T.s perform at the SHERATON AUGUSTA HOTEL’S New Year’s Eve Celebration as part of the hotel’s package, which also includes heavy hors d’oeuvres, party hats and favors, a champagne toast, balloon drop and midnight breakfast buffet, as well as a guestroom. Call 855-8100, ext. 2035 for reservations. >> As usual, COYOTE’S has a howling good time planned for all. Call Coyote’s at 5609245 for more information.

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46 M E T R O

AUGUSTA'S ONLY 30 & UP CLUB

BY TURNER

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MUSIC

CALL JENNIFER NOW FOR NEW YEAR’S EVE RESERVATIONS! F R I D AY

2-4-1

12/20

drinks until 8 p.m.

MAGIC S AT U R D A Y

2-4-1

12/21

Fans of the ALLMAN BROTHERS and offshoot band GOVT. MULE are gearing up in Asheville, N.C., this weekend for the 14th annual Christmas Jam. The concert, which will benefit Habitat For Humanity, includes performers JOHN HIATT, EDWIN MCCAIN, DAVE SCHOOLS, ROBERT RANDOLPH, AUDLEY FREED, MOE., and former GRATEFUL DEAD guitarist BOB WEIR. WARREN HAYNES and Govt. Mule will headline the festivities.

If you can’t make the Asheville show, some of the principals will celebrate the New Year with a pair of performances at the Beacon Theatre in New York Dec. 30 and 31. Decisions, decisions...

Time to Leave Athens Dept.

Maybe it was all of those celebrating Georgia Bulldog fans. REM has announced plans for an extremely long international tour beginning in England next year. The band, hit hard by lagging

drinks until 8 p.m.

CARIBBEAN COWBOYS M O N D AY

12/23

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Lynx Coaches Show 7 pm Half Price Wings & 2-4-1 Drinks All Day!

KARAOKE AFTER LYNX SHOW T U E S D AY

12/24

2-4-1 drinks TUESDAY SHAG NIGHT T U E S D AY

12/31

NEW YEARS EVE PARTY includes Buffet Dinner, Champagne at Midnight, Party Favors, Balloon Drop at Midnight, Live Music by Hack Bartley & The Shuffle Band (formerly of the Swingin’ Medallions) Reserved Seating $25 per person Le Pavillion - 3328 Washington Road

364-CADI (2234)

OPENING SOON FOR LUNCH

album sales over the past decade, will include U.S. dates for next fall. REM has been busy in the studio recording a new project which will be issued before their global excursions commence. MICHAEL STIPE, BILL BERRY, and PETER BUCK haven’t toured since their “Up” album was released in 1998. A new “Greatest Hits” affair is also in the works.

Noted jammers THE STRING CHEESE INCIDENT have a DVD out early next year. “Waiting for the Snow To Fall” will include performance footage, as well as videos released by the band over the past few years. Behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with band members are also featured. Look for the disc Jan.14.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND wowed Columbia last Monday night with a three hour show that simply rocked. Early gems

BY

(“Growin’ Up,” “It’s Hard To Be a Saint in the City” ) were interspersed with the hits (“Dancing in the Dark,” “Born to Run,” etc.) that thrilled the sellout crowd in the new Carolina Center. However, Springsteen’s main focus was his excellent new work “The Rising,” arguably his best effort in years.

The E Street band was, as usual, as strong as tugboat rope with drummer MAX WEINBERG setting the tempo for a terrific evening. Future concert attendees beware: The Carolina Center, basically a small-market version of Atlanta’s Philips Arena, has little organized parking, so you might want to arrive a bit early for shows. Jogging or walking shoes aren’t a bad idea, either.

As the holiday season gets closer, few new releases are planned as the record companies promote products previously issued. Several nice “catalog” discs now in stores include: JEFF BUCKLEY'S “The Grace EPs,” HEART’S “The Essential,” CHARLOTTE CHURCH’S “Greatest Hits,” IRON MAIDEN’S “Eddie’s Archive,” NO DOUBT’S “Rock Steady,” PUDDLE OF MUDD’S “Come Clean (Deluxe Edition),” BOB MARLEY/WAILERS’ “Rastaman Vibration (Deluxe Edition),” SMASHING PUMPKINS’ “Earphoria,” ROBIN TROWER’S “Best Of,” JERRY CANTRELL’S “Degradation Trip,” LOVE AND ROCKETS’ “Love and Rockets” and box sets from ROXY MUSIC, MIKE OLDFIELD and NEW ORDER.

Turner's Rock and Roll Jeopardy A. This was the highest rated network TV concert special in 2002.

Q. What was “An Evening With the Dixie Chicks” (aired Dec.10)?

ED TURNER Visit us online. For all the latest in Arts, Entertainment and Local Events. Visit our website at metspirit.com.

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SEE DETAILS ON PAGE 58

SEE DETAILS ON PAGE 57

48 M E T R O S P I R I T

Night Life

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Thursday, 19th The Bee’s Knees - Tone Lounge Cafe Du Teau - Buzz Clif ford Club Argos - Karaoke Night Coliseum - DJ Mania with DJ Hawk Continuum - Playa*Listic Thursday Coyote’s - The Rhes Reeves Band D. Timm’s - Joe Patchen and the Blue Diamond Express Fox’s Lair - Karaoke with Mario Garden City Bar and Grill - Karaoke with Mad Dog Mike Greene Streets - Karaoke Joe’s Underground - Keith “Fossill” Gregory Michael’s - Marilyn Adcock Modjeska - Kosmic Karma with Three Six ty Playground - Open Mic Night The Shack - DJ Billy Shannon’s - Bar t Bell Soul Bar - Livingroom Legends, Tara Scheyer, Shaun Piazza and Friends Time Piecez - DJ Dance Par ty Whiskey Junction - DJ Chaos Whiskey Road Oyster Factory - Weston and Preston

Friday, 20th The Bee’s Knees - Live Jazz Big Iron Saloon - Magic Hat Borders - Carl Purdy Cadillac’s - Magic Cafe Du Teau - Buzz Clif ford Club Argos - Argos Christmas Par ty with AllMale Revue, Live Vocal Per formers Coconuts - DJs Doug and Eric

Coliseum - Red and Green Par ty Cotton Patch - John & Andy Coyote’s - The Rhes Reeves Band Crossroads - 420 Outback, Rev-7 D. Timm’s - Joe Patchen and the Blue Diamond Express Durango’s - Heavy Dose Eagle’s Nest - Christmas Par ty with DJ MJ The Edge - Cosmosis, DJ Atrophy, Distor ted Sound Sadists Five Pines Saloon - Jimmy Smithy and Sudden Thunder Fox’s Lair - Thom Carlton Garden City Bar and Grill - Karaoke Greene Streets - Karaoke Hangnail Gallery - Dinah, Undermind, Siclid Highlander - Sawdust Honk y Tonk - Danny Rhea and the Empty Pockets Joe’s Underground - Tony Williams and Blues Express Last Call - Joe Stevenson, DJ Richie Rich Luck y Lady’s - The Duke Boys Michael’s - Marilyn Adcock Modjeska - Terany, The Ear thling The Shack - DJ Buckwheat Shannon’s - Steve Chappell, Bar t Bell Soul Bar - (R)evolution with DJ JR Treybon’s Backstreet Lounge - Augusta Task Force for the Homeless Benefit with Edmond “The Lurch” Kida Whiskey Junction - Liquid Squid, DJ Paul Whiskey Road Oyster Factory - Bogie

Big Iron Saloon - Magic Hat Borders - Paul Gordon Cadillac’s - Caribbean Cowboys Cafe Du Teau - Buzz Clif ford Club Argos - Spectral Erosa’s Solstice Illumination, Store Bought Lies, DJ Triskyl, DJ Kantrip Coconuts - DJs Doug and Eric Coliseum - Ravion Star Cotton Patch - Black Eyed Susan Coyote’s - The Rhes Reeves Band Crossroads - Cast Iron Filter, Juice D. Timm’s - Joe Patchen and the Blue Diamond Express Durango’s - Heavy Dose Five Pines Saloon - Jimmy Smithy and Sudden Thunder Fox’s Lair - Live Enter tainment Garden City Bar and Grill - Karaoke with Mad Dog Mike Greene Streets - Karaoke Honk y Tonk - Danny Rhea and the Empty Pockets Joe’s Underground - John & Andy Last Call - Tony Howard, DJ Richie Rich Luck y Lady’s - The Duke Boys Michael’s - Marilyn Adcock Modjeska - Terany, DJ Boriqua The Shack - DJ Buckwheat Shannon’s - Glenn Beasley Soul Bar - People Who Must, The Big Mighty Treybon’s Backstreet Lounge - Southbound Whiskey Junction - Liquid Squid

Saturday, 21st

Sunday, 22nd

The Bee’s Knees - Indie Rock Anthems with DJ

Cafe Du Teau - Buzz Clif ford and The Last

On Dec. 20, the Hangnail Gallery hosts Siclid (pictured), Dinah and Undermind.

Bohemian Quar tet The Shack - Karaoke with Buckwheat and Doober Shannon’s - Shelley Watkins Somewhere in Augusta - Doug & Henry Whiskey Junction - Terry and Jordan

Monday, 23rd Cadillac’s - Karaoke with Bill Tolber t Continuum - Monday Madness with Perry Anderson Crossroads - Dance Par ty with DJ Chris Greene Streets - Karaoke The Shack - DJ Billy

Tuesday, 24th Continuum - KDO’s Bir thday Jam

Wednesday, 25th The Bee’s Knees - A Very Special Christmas with Deathstar Continuum - X X X-mas with Money Shot Crossroads - The Family Trucksters Playground - Karaoke with Dave Long Red Lion - Stink foot, Superchief Somewhere in Augusta - Christmas Music Soul Bar - Live Jazz

Upcoming Jucifer - Continuum - Jan. 10

continued on page 50

Coyote's

Where Variety Is The Spice Of Life

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

49 ★ ★

New Years Eve Bash

M E T R O

Tuesday Dec 31★

S P I R I T

COMEDY NIGHT In Conjunction with Comedy House Theaters

★

$8 All-U-Can-Drink Well & Draft & Includes the Show

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D E C

with $1000 in CASH & Prizes At Midnight

THURSDAY NIGHT

LADIES NIGHT

Ladies Pay NO COVER and are treated to a Night of Pampering

GIVE AWAYS ALL NIGHT LONG

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COMING SOON ....

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$2 Sauza Shots $7 VooDoo Juice

WEDNESDAY NIGHT

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Home of Rhes Reeves

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Make Your Table Reservations for New Year's Eve

2512 PEACH ORCHARD ROAD • 706-560-9245

THIS FRIDAY 12-20

NEW YEARS EVE CELEBRATION

Joe Stevenson 9 - 11 DJ Richie Rich 11:30 - til

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THIS SATURDAY 12-21 Tony Howard 9 - 11 DJ Richie Rich 11:30 - til

Buffet Catered by CAFE ON THE GREEN Live Band Balloon Drop Complimentary Champagne & Party Favors

2701 Washington Road Augusta, GA 30909 706.738.8730 www.lastcallaugusta.com Behind Windsor Jewelers

Call now to Reserve your table & the best seats

738-8730

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!

!

New Years Evefeaturing Party Danny Rhea and the Empty Pockets

CHAMPAGNE TOAST PARTY FAVORS BALLOON DROP $15 Singles $25 Couples

!SPECIAL! MOTEL ROOM & ADMISSION FOR TWO $55

Make reservations as soon as possible

THE HONKY TONK &

Adams SuperInn 1 6 0 2 G O R D O N H I G H W AY ❘ 5 6 0 - 0 5 5 1

Little Honk y Tonk Open 10am-2:30am Happy Hour 10am-7pm

Big Honk y Tonk

Every Friday & Sat: • Danny Rhea & the Empty Pockets • Dance lessons with Shawn 7-9pm

TOP: The boys of SR-71 play the Cotton Club in Atlanta Dec. 21.

BOTTOM: 420 Monks perform at Atlanta’s Cotton Club on Dec. 20. continued from page 48

Elsewhere Trust Company - Tremont Music Hall, Charlot te, N.C. - Dec. 19 Tandy - The Earl, Atlanta - Dec. 19 Los Straitjackets - Echo Lounge, Atlanta - Dec. 20 420 Monks - Cot ton Club, Atlanta - Dec. 20 SR-71 - Cot ton Club, Atlanta - Dec. 21 North Mississippi All-Stars - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta - Dec. 21 Fusion: A Kwanzaa Celebration - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta - Dec. 26 Lyricist Lounge - Cot ton Club, Atlanta - Dec. 26, Feb. 2 Derek Trucks Band, Mofro - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta - Dec. 27 Cheap Trick - Roxy Theatre, Atlanta - Dec. 27 Bluestring - Cot ton Club, Atlanta - Dec. 27 Dirty Vegas - Eleven50 Club, Atlanta - Dec. 27 Edwin McCain - Ear thlink Live, Atlanta - Dec. 27 Hip Hop Jingle Jam - The Carolina Center, Columbia, S.C. - Dec. 27 Mad Margritt - Flanagins, Atlanta - Dec. 27-28 Sister Hazel - Tremont Music Hall, Charlot te, N.C. - Dec. 27; Ear thlink Live, Atlanta - Dec. 28 Trans Siberian Orchestra - Fox Theatre, Atlanta - Dec. 30 Widespread Panic - Philips Arena, Atlanta Dec. 30-31 Gregg Allman and Friends - The Tabernacle, Atlanta - Dec. 31 Stuck Mojo, Impotent Sea Snakes Masquerade, Atlanta - Dec. 31 Delbert McClinton - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta Dec. 31 Mandorico - Riviera Club, Atlanta - Dec. 31 Trick Pony - Cowboys Atlanta, Kennesaw, Ga. Dec. 31 3 Doors Down - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta Jan. 8 The Gaither Homecoming Concert - Columbus Civic Center, Columbus, Ga. - Jan. 9 George Strait - Bi-Lo Center, Greenville, S.C. Jan. 16

2003 Holy Hip Hop Showcase - Ear thlink Live, Atlanta - Jan. 17 Saliva - Tremont Music Hall, Charlot te, N.C. Jan. 18 Hair Care Atlanta - Nine Lives, Atlanta - Jan. 18 Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular - The Tabernacle, Atlanta - Jan. 18 Coldplay - BJCC Concer t Hall, Birmingham, Ala. - Jan 24; Grady Cole Center, Charlot te, N.C. Jan. 25 moe. - The Tabernacle, Atlanta - Jan. 24-25 Honda Battle of the Bands - Georgia Dome, Atlanta - Jan. 25 The Pretenders - The Tabernacle, Atlanta - Jan. 27 Todd Rundgren - Roxy Theatre, Atlanta - Jan. 31 Jimmy Buffett - Philips Arena, Atlanta - Feb. 1; The Carolina Center, Columbia, S.C. - Feb. 5 David Gray - Fox Theatre, Atlanta - Feb. 4 Big Head Todd and the Monsters - Roxy Theatre, Atlanta - Feb. 5 Papa Roach - Eleven50 Club, Atlanta - Feb. 12 Bon Jovi, The Goo Goo Dolls - Philips Arena, Atlanta - Feb. 13 Henry Rollins Spoken Word - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta - Feb. 13 Steve Earle - Variety Playhouse, Atlanta - Feb. 22 Engelbert Humperdinck - Gaillard Auditorium, Charleston, S.C. - Feb. 26 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - The Arena at Gwinnet t Center, Duluth, Ga. - Feb. 28 Bill Gaither and Friends - Charlot te Coliseum, Charlot te, N.C. - March 7 Yanni - Philips Arena, Atlanta - March 11 Many tickets are available through TicketMaster outlets, by calling 828-7700, or online at w w w.ticketmaster.com. Tickets may also be available through Tix Online by calling 278-4TIX or online at w w w.tixonline.com. Night Life listings are subject to change without notice.

Deadline for inclusion in Night Life calendar is Tuesday at 4 p.m. Contact Rhonda Jones or Lisa Jordan by calling 738-1142, fa xing 736-0443 or e-mailing to rhonda_jones@metspirit.com or lisa_jordan@metspirit.com.

of the

Weird B

ritish Army officers examining highly motivated potential recruits in the Commonwealth’s Pacific island of Fiji reported in November encountering an alarming number of the men with marbles sewn under the skin of their penises, apparently to heighten pleasure during sex. According to an Agence France-Presse report, Capt. Sarah East said that the marbles were not an automatic disqualifier.

• Several news outlets in Johannesburg, South Africa, reported in November that, in front of several witnesses, a 20-foot-long African rock python swallowed a 10-year-old boy in the brush near Lamontville (which is near Durban). Some experts, including snake park owner Craig Smith, said the evidence and the witnesses’ accounts were credible, especially since the snake had probably recently awakened from hibernation and was famished. According to the boy’s terrified playmates, it took about three hours for him to completely disappear.

Recent Rages • Humming Rage: Sheila Raven Lord, 49, stabbed a companion with a steak knife because he was humming a Megadeth song louder than the Celine Dion song she was listening to (Glenview, Ill., November).

Mailbox Door Rage: George Krushinski was charged with planting small bombs in a mailbox and a letter carrier’s vehicle because a weekend carrier had been leaving Krushinski’s mailbox door down (Lexington, Ky., November) (“I’ve warned you bastards many times about leaving my mailbox open,” Krushinski wrote, “(and) now you will pay.”)

Wrong Socks Rage: High school studentmusician Trevor LeBlanc won $25,000 in a lawsuit against his band director, Tom Cole, who, at the 2001 Tournament of Roses Parade chewed out LeBlanc for wearing the wrong-color socks (San Diego, November) (“I ought to wring your (expletive deleted in original story) neck,” Cole reportedly said as he grabbed LeBlanc by the throat.)

Awesome!

• Police in Fulton, Ky., investigating a marijuana-smoking complaint by William Hainline’s neighbors in September, found dope burning on a backyard grill with a large fan on the other side of the house sucking the smoke through the home (in effect, said Police Chief Terry Powell, “turn(ing) the house into a large marijuana bong”). Hainline said he was merely having a 52nd birthday party, but police seized four pounds of marijuana.

Latest Religious Messages • In October, the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, Fla., became the latest to debut a version of the church’s 22-year-old “Theology on Tap” series, introducing young adults to the church by holding lecture and discussion sessions about contem-

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Creme de la Weird • In October in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Mr. Rosaire Roy was sentenced to a year in jail for hiring someone to rob his store so Roy could fulfill a sexual fantasy; he had arranged for the robber to force him to undress, along with an unsuspecting female acquaintance who was in the store at the time, because Roy wanted to be tied up naked with her. And in November, sheriff’s deputies in Fayette County, Ga., acting on a tip, arrested Sandy Creek High School teacher Damian Belvedere, 44, who (using his webcam) was in the middle of a live Internet performance of fondling himself, nude, in his otherwise empty classroom.

Recurring Themes • News of the Weird has reported several times on men either killed or injured falling down embankments at night after stopping their vehicles on the side of the road to seek a secluded place to urinate. In September, Rick Schultz, 34, and James Esposti, 21, were taken to Punxsutawney (Pa.) Hospital after being knocked down when their Ford Ranger truck coasted backward into them while they were urinating at the side of a road.

• The art of protest by sewing one’s lips together is apparently becoming more popular. A 34-year-old man in Estonia, facing a charge of setting a Mercedes-Benz on fire, showed up in court with stitched lips in May. And in June, 50 refugees, held at the Woomera detention center in Australia, sewed their lips shut to emphasize their hunger strike as they lobbied for asylum. And a 39-year-old man from Iraq with bright red stitching on his lips was picked up by police from a city square in Zurich, Switzerland, in September (but he was unable to tell police what he was protesting, if anything).

— Chuck Shepherd © United Press Syndicate

Life is hectic. Weekends shouldn't have to be. Join Scott Simon for Weekend Edition every Saturday at 8:00 AM on WACG, 90.7 FM. Reclaim your Saturday and hear weekend news, views, and commentary. From gardening tips and film reviews to in-depth news analysis, Peabody Award-winning host Scott Simon eases you into the weekend with a fresh perspective.

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porary issues, mostly sexuality, in local bars, with parishioners and potentials free to eat, drink and smoke. (In November, the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, began the second year of its program.)

• According to the police report on Farhad Qaumi, 19, who was arrested in Parramatta, Australia (near Sydney), in October and charged with raping a 16-year-old girl, Qaumi said he removed his Islamic pendant before the assault, telling the girl, “I have to take it off, as it is disrespectful.”

• In Bridgeport, Conn., in October, Roger Chimney, 34, pleaded guilty to two convenience store robberies; the police got him because he had accidentally dropped his name-inscribed Bible at one of the crime scenes. And in Augusta, Maine, in August, Craig Golden, 18, pleaded guilty to criminal mischief for vandalizing a farmer’s field; the police got him because his nameinscribed Bible had fallen out of his truck during the incident.

• The Lord as Micromanager: (1) “It isn’t easy, but God said to (beat them),” testified former nun Lucille Poulin, before being convicted in October of assault in the harsh disciplining of children at her commune (Charlottetown, P.E.I., Canada). (2) “(G)od became my art agent. He basically gave me ideas,” said Thomas Kincade, the pop artist who has sold $450 million worth of machine-produced paintings in 13 years, to the chagrin of art purists (Morgan Hill, Calif., March). (3) “God brought me down here,” said Angel DeGroff, auditioning in November to be one of the competitors in the next round of the TV show “The Bachelor” (Hales Corners, Wis.).

Call us at (800) 654-3038 or visit us at www.gpb.org for more information about our programming.

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Brezsny's Free Will Astrology ARIES (March 21-April 19)

Happy Holy Daze, Aries! I predict that you will be more lighthearted about love in 2003. I see you taking yourself less seriously as you seek riper versions of romance and intimacy. I envision you injecting more humor into your sexual experiences. Here, then, are my suggestions about what holiday gifts you should give yourself: 1. A bumper sticker that reads, “I am no longer looking for the perfect partner. I am my own perfect partner.” 2. Steve Penny’s booklet, “How To Have Great Laughing Sex.” 3.

White boxers or silk panties on which you’ve used a felt-tip marker to write a goofy prayer or love spell.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20)

Happy Holy Daze, Taurus! I predict that you will be getting to the bottom of everything in 2003. I envision you exploring mysteries that have previously been off-limits to your conscious awareness. I see you building a rock-solid foundation that will serve you for years to come. Though this work will be richly rewarding to you, it may tend to be invisible to other people. If I could get you a holiday gift to aid you in your work, it would be a magical communication device with which you could always express to your loved ones exactly what you needed.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20)

Happy Holy Daze, Gemini! I predict that you will be very grounded and tough-minded in 2003; I envision you having the power to walk into any room and establish yourself as a weighty presence; I imagine you cultivating a variety of piercing gazes and commanding tones of voice to deal with the higher-than-usual intensity levels. In meditating about what symbolic holiday gift might further these developments, I’ve decided on a pair of sharkskin shoes. If none of your allies has the foresight to buy you this boon, get it for yourself.

CANCER (June 21-July 22)

Happy Holy Daze, Cancerian! I’ve been meditating on the perfect holiday gifts for you. What might

inspire you to be in closest alignment with the cosmic currents in 2003? Here are two ideas: horseback-riding lessons and your very own horse. With the psychological mastery and physical courage you’d build by blending your energy with that of a large, robust animal, you’d enhance your personal power in just the right way to meet the earthy tests of the coming months. You’d develop an instinct to conquer the fears that have the greatest potential to trip you up, and you’d always know how to rein in your raw energy so as to expand your command.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)

Happy Holy Daze, Leo! I’ve been meditating on what holiday gifts might encourage you to take maximum advantage of your astrological opportunities in 2003. Of this I’m certain: They don’t include a $4,000 TV or a lime-green BMW or a set of original celebrity portraits by Andy Warhol.

While expensive treasures like these might temporarily boost your mood and stature, they’d do little to bring more educational excitement into your life — and that’s what you really need. Here, then, are the types of gifts I hope you’ll ask for or give yourself: a trip to a storytelling festival at a desert oasis outside of Marrakesh, Morocco; a workshop to enhance your relationship skills at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, N.Y.; a pilgrimage to the holy places of your ancestors; audio books to sharpen your mind during your commute.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Happy Holy Daze, Virgo! I’ve been meditating on the perfect holiday presents for you. What might inspire you to be in closest alignment with the cosmic currents in 2003? One recurring vision I have is of cheap gag gifts like whoopie cushions, fake ice cubes containing plastic flies, metal cans that purport to contain shelled peanuts but erupt with spring-loaded toy snakes when you open them up, and pencil sharpeners shaped like a human nose.

Why these? It’s not so much that I think you need

ACROSS

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52

to liberate your inner child in the coming months, though that would be beneficial. What I’m even more interested in is inspiring you to be a bit more mischievous and a lot less literal. You’ll be amazed at how much your chances for success will improve if you don’t follow the rules quite so strictly.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

inspire you to be in closest alignment with the cosmic currents in 2003? Here’s what I’d give you if I could: a weathervane in the form of an eagle made of solid gold. With that as your guiding image, you’d never forget how valuable it’ll be to know which way the wind is blowing. The trends sweeping through your environment will be shifting frequently in the coming months, and so will your moods. You should be constantly surveying the ever-changing patterns from above, like an eagle in the hunting mode, ready to descend and pounce whenever your mood comes into sync with the current trend sweeping through your environment.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Happy Holy Daze, Aquarius! Usually I encourage you to keep cultivating the broad-minded, visionary viewpoints that come so naturally to you. In 2003, I will, in addition to that, be urging you to bolster your mastery of intricate details. To help you remember to think small as often as you think big, I suggest you ask your allies to give you one of the following symbolic gifts this holiday season: a magnifying glass, a microscope, a map of the human genome, or the video called “Powers of Ten,” which shows images ranging from the Milky Way Galaxy to the nucleus of a carbon atom.

Happy Holy Daze, Libra! What could you do to make yourself more swashbuckling in 2003? What new influences will encourage you to leap into the surprising adventures that’ll often be available in the coming months? I suggest that you ask for or give yourself holiday gifts that will inspire you in this direction. How about a scale model of a pirate ship for your home altar, for instance? Or maybe a sword-and-sorcery role-playing game like Dungeons and Dragons? The best gift of all might be a posable action figure made in your image.

Think you can swing that?

Happy Holy Daze, Scorpio! I’ve been meditating on the perfect holiday gifts for you. What might inspire you to be in closest alignment with the cosmic currents in 2003? Here’s what I’d give you if I could: 1. Your own personal flag, customized with a design that symbolizes your growing authority; 2.

A coat of arms that honors both your ancestral past and the unique style with which you’re transcending your ancestral past; 3. A constitution or mission statement that encodes your highest ideals; 4. A scepter, crown, ring, and throne that make you feel like the royal ruler of a thriving domain.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

Happy Holy Daze, Sagittarius! I’ve been meditating on the perfect holiday gifts for you. What might inspire you to make best use of the astrological opportunities in the coming months? Here’s one idea: the entire costume collection of a defunct theater company. With your closet full of exotic and dramatic new choices, you could dress up in a variety of roles without becoming attached to any of them. And that, in my opinion, would be just what the soul doctor ordered for you to achieve prime psychological health during the great experiment that will unfold in 2003.

G A S P

E X P O

V I B E S

I N U S E

O S L O

C S H H H E A O R S T W R T A B N E P O O E A T I R I T O L A R S F O R N T N E R A S H A G S A V A I N E T S G L

30 Antarctic

A M B I

R A I T T

L O F T S

I S I N

D I E U

O L D E

You Can Call Rob Brezsny, day or night, for your Expanded Weekly Horoscope

1-900-950-7700

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE L A S H

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20)

Happy Holy Daze, Pisces! I predict that it will be crucial for you to take matters into your own hands in 2003. You should constantly ask yourself, “What will inspire me not to depend on the so-called experts?” and “What will ensure that I never just sit around waiting for lucky breaks to provide my momentum?” Here, then, is my suggestion about what holiday gift you should ask for or give yourself: a do-it-yourself kit that suits your specific field of endeavor; something that helps you set up your own corporation, for instance, or create your own rituals, or turn your brainstorm into a salable product, or make your own compost bin or hot tub or pleasure cruiser.

— © Rob Brezsny

Happy Holy Daze, Capricorn! I’ve been meditating on the perfect holiday gift for you. What might

observatory 1 Andean flier mount 7 Clarification 32 Shahs and lead-in pooh-bahs 12 Reduced 33 Went off 13 Intersection 34 1814-15 interdiction principality for Napoleon 16 Not just beaten 35 Activist Davis 17 Nixon’s Checkers, e.g. 39 Source of strength 18 N.B.A. coach 43 Some tick Kruger carriers 19 With 28-Across, 44 With 52-Across, treasure locator what treasure hunters do 21 That, in Toledo 46 “Frasier” dog 22 ___ about 47 Has 24 They have six 48 ___ Park, Calif. faces 50 Assess, with 25 Analogy part “up” 26 Determined to 51 Word between carry out Lincoln and 28 See 19-Across Todd 29 Bar in court 52 See 44-Across

B R I G

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

I M N A T I E R R I L N Y E A T T L O R A C K M O I W B O A S Y K S S

A U D I O

S T I N G

H O O K Y

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54 Govt. agent

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DOWN 1 One doing body work?

2 Lacking in variety 3 Decryption org.

4 Like many a cellar 5 Kind of acid 6 Three-time Grand National champion whose name is a kind of liquor 7 Conforming (with) 8 Ninnies 9 Itinerary info 10 Las Vegas newspaper, with “the” 11 Italian port near Slovenia 14 Counselor to the Greeks at Troy 15 Single-masted vessels 16 Intimate 20 Impose ___ on 23 See 31-Down 25 Some treasure hunters’ destinations

4

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57 Uninitiated ones

61 Knock off

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Puzzle by Patrick Merrell

27 Repeals

36 Most modern

29 Blake of ragtime 37 Prescription

option 31 With 23-Down, 38 Blab treasure hunters 40 Skyscraper, 32 Author of a e.g. classic novel about treasure 41 Shriveled hunters: Abbr.

42 Core group?

35 Hunk 44 Make sport of

45 Ring wear 48 Double agents 49 Ex-Twin Tony 52 Greek salad

topping

53 Faucet problem 56 It may be bitter 58 Economic stat.

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or three and a half months, this guy and I have been spending every spare second together. We have great fun, laugh constantly, and have a great time in bed. He calls constantly, cooks me dinner, and he’s always holding my hand. He even accompanied me to my brother’s wedding. The problem is, he’s never told me how he feels about me.

Not a word. Nothing. I’d like to know what’s going through his head, but I don’t want to scare him. Should I ask him how he feels?

—Sweet Nothing at All Men who aren’t drag queens do not sit around comparing enlarged pores with their guy friends while get ting the lowdown on that new lipstick with the staying power of latex house paint. That’s because men are not merely hairy women with flat chests and jutting chins.

Likewise, contrary to what that wacky Sigmund Freud said about penis envy, women aren’t running around all broken up about not having a penis. Please. Like we need yet another accessory to leave behind in restaurants nex t to our forgot ten sunglasses and cell phones. That said — if a por table penis came with a variety of removable face plates, and a selection of carrying cases to match all of our shoes and bags ... quick — somebody stop me before I get into custom ring-tones.

Now, maybe you’re such a loser that your friends and family took up a collection and hired this guy to stick with you, or maybe it’s just one of the conditions of his parole. But, if you’re pret ty sure he’s “spending every spare second” with you of his own volition, maybe the thing that needs the most examination is your head. Like a lot of women’s heads, it’s swirling with the expectation that men should express af fection exactly like a woman would: That big blobs of mush must fall from their mouths when they talk, kind of like they’re spit ting up their Cream of Wheat. Oh yeah, and that love means loading up a dump truck with chocolates, flowers and carats on Valentine’s Day, National Turnip Appreciation day, and any other holidays Hallmark stamps a retail value on. If you can convince a guy to talk truth about this, he’ll probably tell you that men fork that stuf f over on the appointed days mainly because women will drop-kick them into Doghouseville if they don’t. Oooh, sing along with me: “Isn’t It Romantic?”...

While men can give the impression that they’ve mastered complex language, their natural vocabulary is more along the lines of “Me hungry. Me horny. Me tired. Where’s the remote?” Fact is, men vote with their feet. If a guy’s having fun with you, chances are, he’ll stick around for ex tended fun, and maybe even tumble into love with you. Again, the way you tell it, this guy’s feet are up on your coffee table, scampering around your kitchen, and poking out from your comfor ter 23/6, if not 24/7. In other words, maybe there’s no need to make your relationship feel like Monday morning in a law school contracts class. (For a man, this generally involves a woman demanding, “Where is this going?” about 20 minutes af ter “this” got star ted.) On the fun scale, this is right up there with of fers by doctors to “slip a pair of latex gloves on and have a lit tle ‘peek’ at the ole prostate.”

Man: “Thanks, doc, but if I’m looking for fun, I’ll get a bikini wa x — providing PMS isn’t keeping me home with cramps, crying over movies of the week on Lifetime.”

I’m a girl, 21, who’s been “involved” with a guy, 24, for over a year. We do all the couples stuff, including having sex, but he doesn’t want a relationship. He’s always running back to his cheating ex, who belittles him endlessly. I’m his shoulder to cry on, yet he says hurtful, insulting things to me. He did once say he loved me. But mostly, he’s with me when he needs me, then pushes me away the moment his ex calls. What’s up with that?

—Where’s Mine?

The guy in question isn’t without his uses — giant knickknack, footstool, door-draf t blocker, candleholder (“So sorry ... did I drip boiling hot wa x on your arm again?”)

Trying to turn him into a boy friend, however, is like trying to make a GQ cover model out of a guy who’s a ringer for the thing in children’s stories that slithers out from under the bridge. Make a list of minimum standards every aspiring boy friend of yours must meet (including, for example, actually aspiring to be your boy friend), and refuse to set tle for less. I know — you’d argue that you already have standards. What, like two of them?

(One of which is probably “still has most of his own teeth”.)

— © 2002, Amy Alkon

Got A Problem?

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171 Pier Ave., Box 280 • Santa Monica, CA 90405 or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com

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Alt. Lifestyles

Augusta Now Has Its Own Skin & Wellness Center

MARLBORO STATION Your Party Station

Live Entertainment

Fri, Sat & Sun 18 to Party • 21 to Drink Name___________________________________________________

1019 Beverly Heights Drive • Augusta, Ga. • 706-228-4848 One block from Applebee's/Washington Road

• Spa/Clinical Facials • Waxing • Peels/Glycolic • Botox Treatments • Nails • Massage

For Great Christmas Gifts Give Gift Certificates

HYPNOSIS WORKS! Stop Smoking Smoking LoseWeight Weight Lose

l

Stop

Do you want clarification in your life or help with decisions?

Try Angel Harp Readings

Sessions with the angels

Betty L ❤ve, CHT. Reiki Master 2477 Wrightsboro Rd.

733-4187 ❤ 733-8550 Professional Massage By experienced male.

Designed for healthy men 18 - 45.

To relieve stress and rela x entire body Discount for all hotel clients Out/hotel only.

706-739-9139 (12/19#7920)

SPECIALS $39 Mon - Tues only

Advanced Chiropractic 1944 Walton Way, Suite H • Augusta

706-772-4989 READINGS BY

MRS. GRAHAM

C A R D R E A D I N G S

Mrs. Graham, Psychic Reader, Advises on all affairs of life, such as love, marriage, and business. She tells your past, present and future. Mrs. Graham does palm, tarot card, and crystal readings. She specializes in relationships and reuniting loved ones.

341 S. Belair Rd. Open from 9 a.m. til 9 p.m.

Call (706) 733-5851

Full Body Massage!

Therapeutic tension relief, intense or tender touch, rela xing music, aromatherapy, by appointment only - $49.00/hr.

Call Joy - 706-771-9470 or John - 803-474-1314 (12/19#7914)

Massage Therapy $5.00 OFF, call 803-441-0001

THE COLISEUM Saturday 12/21 Ravionne Starr Tuesday 12/31 Big New Year's Eve Bash

Place your Classified ad today!

Call 738-1142

Real Estate

Metropolitan Community Church of Our Redeemer A Christian Church reaching to all: including Gay, Lesbian, and Transgendered Christians.

Meeting at 311 Seventh Street, 11 am and 7 pm each Sunday. 722-6454 MCCAugusta@aol.com www.mccoor.com

Talk Line BORED HOUSEWIVES Swingers! Bisexuals! * Live One-on-One * 1-702-216-3500 .66¢ - $1/min. cc/checks 1-900-420-0420 Ex t. 165 $2.95/min. 18+ T-tone (11/28#7902)

Yard Sales MOVING SALE ALL Household Furniture & Appliances 2801 Deans Bridge Road, Augusta December 20th, 21st, 23rd & 24th, December 27th & 28th Information, pager#706-560-4363 (12/19#7931)

Drink Specials: Wed - $7 Wet N' Wild Fri & Sat - $9 All You Can Drink Draft Sat - $2 Bud/Bud Light

Hot Dog Buffet $2.99

Open Mon-Fri 7pm-3am Sat 7pm-2:30am

Fri & Sat. No Cover Before 10 p.m.

1632 Walton Way • Augusta, GA

706-733-2603

www.ColiseumAugusta.com

Wheels

Dead Bodies Wanted

We want your dead junk or scrap car bodies.

We tow away and for some we pay.

706/829-2676

Religion

1 Hr Session Open: 8am-8pm Mon-Sat By appt.

Gift Certificates Available

www.marlboro.4mg.net

Friday 12/20 The Red & Green Party

North Augusta, Adorable Home 1513 sqft, 3 BR/1 BA, large lot, $81,000, fresh paint, near downtown, hardwoods, fireplace, MUST SEE. 803-819-9590 Leave msg.

(01/02#7929)

Since 1997 from California

DOB___________Email___________________________________ $1 off Admission w/ coupon

Hot High Energy Dance Music And Laser Light Show

Dermatologist on Staff

L❤ve & Light HEALING CENTER

Address________________________________________________

141 Marlboro Station, Aiken • 803-644-6485

All Major Credit Cards Accepted

Christmas Special

Free Vacation Get-A-Way While supplies last w/purchase of Wolf f Tanning Bed Payments From $25/month FREE Color Catalog 1-800-781-5173 www.np.etstan.com (12/26#7879)

Call 738-1142 to place your Classified ad today!

Mind, Body & Spirit

SPECIAL READINGS WITH WITH CARD

54

OR

706/798-9060

Club Argos The Friendliest Alternative Bar in the CSRA Open Every Day at 9:00pm THURSDAY : Karaoke Night No Cover.

If you can sing or if you can't, come entertain your friends!

FRIDAY 12/20: Come celebrate Christmas with us at our Christmas Bash. Featuring an all male revue, live vocal entertainment, good food and gifts for everyone.

SATURDAY 12/21: The long awaited Spectral Erosa’s Winter Solstice Illumination Goth - Industrial - Synthpop - EBM with DJ Triskyl and DJ Kantrip with live Performance by “Store Bought Lies” An event not to miss!

UPCOMING EVENTS: Saturday, 12/28 - Live Male Strip Show Tuesday, 12/31 - New Years Celebration Party Argos welcomes Gay, TVTS, BDSM, Bi, Swingers & all others.

481-8829 Argos opens daily @ 9:00pm Email: clubargos@aol.com Located @ 1923 Walton Way across from Ming Wah Parking and Entrance in back of Heckle St.

Travel

55 M E T R O S P I R I T

To become a member, call 1-888-223-7044 To listen and respond to ads, call 1-900-226-8908 Calls cost $1.99 per min., Must be 18+.

,call 1-866-832-4685

To respond to ads using a SELF-SUFFICIENT... hard-working DWF, 38, full-figured, Leo, smoker, with one child, seeks DWM, 38-50, smoker, children are fine. ☎659397 TIME TO HAVE A BLAST Honest SWF, 43, enjoys spending time with my daughter, bowling, dining out, Nascar, movies, baseball games, camping. Seeking honest, genuine SWM, 43-50, for fun and friendship. ☎554752 NOW IS THE TIME SWPF, 55, likes dancing, walks, movies, the lake, dining out. Seeking SWM, N/S, 48-65, for fun and friendship, and who knows what later! ☎653476 POSITION AVAILABLE! Mother of two lovely daughters, 34, employed with the Board of Education, seeks SW/HM, 33-48, to begin with friendship and possibly evolve into an LTR. ☎651992 KIND-HEARTED, REAL Petite, green-eyed SWC mother, 39, Scorpio, N/S, seeks WM, 33-45, N/S, to build a love that lasts a lifetime. ☎648419 I’LL COOK Fun-loving, intelligent SBF, 22, Capricorn, N/S, student, mother of three, seeks man, 21-30, to accompany me in life. Kids a plus. ☎647824 TIME WITH YOU Voluptuous BF, 39, seeks a BM, N/Drugs, social drinker ok. I enjoy reading, dining out, movies, church activities. ☎646176 IN SEARCH OF MY SOULMATE He must be a tall (5’10”-6’4”), Christian man, 42-55, N/S, who is honest, faithful, devoted and lively. I am a SBPF, 5’6”, 150lbs, and looking for LTR. ☎641005 TAKE IT SLOW SWF, 49, 5’6”, reddish/blonde hair, outgoing personality, wants to build a serious relationship with a SWM. ☎642309 BIG AND BEAUTIFUL BF, 43, brown/hazel, loves free time, books, weekend travel. Seeking a mature companion with an easygoing attitude, for friendship, dating, and more. ☎643199 THE MAN OF MY DREAMS... is easy to get along with, and has a great sense of humor and fun. Single mom, 28, 5’, brown/blue, is looking for her soulmate. ☎640587 MOVIES AND MORE Seeking a man with a lively attitude who likes movies. I am a SF, 42, looking for love. ☎636995 GOOD-HEARTED DWF, 61, 5’9”, honest, neat in appearance, with a good sense of humor. Seeking WM, 60-70, who’s honest and caring. ☎574264

We Purchase Fine Swiss Watches, Estate Jewelry and Diamonds.

Monday-Saturday 10am-9pm 2635 Washington Road | Augusta, Georgia 30904 | 706.738.7777 www.windsorjewelers.net THE BELLS ARE RINGING Slim SBCF, 29, 5’3”, student, employed, Pisces, N/S, seeks marriage minded BM, 27-36, N/S, for life’s journey. ☎633606 WE’LL STILL B TOGETHER... on down the road. SWF, 23, Capricorn, N/S, seeks sweet, gentle BM, 22-35, who is interested in a friendship. Let’s become a family! ☎631605 WHO NEEDS A HEADLINE? SWF, 33, full-figured, blonde/blue, Pisces, smoker, likes hiking, camping, and quiet evenings at home. Seeking WM, 25-45, smoker, for LTR. ☎628677 AN AUTUMN SPECIAL Hard-working WF, 38, 5’4”, 100lbs, blonde/brown, enjoys biking, watersports, cooking, and travel. Seeking WM, 35-50, for possible LTR. ☎965904

PHONE CALL AWAY Self-employed SWM, 40, Pisces, N/S, N/D, enjoys dining out, movies, cooking in, many activities. Seeking similar SWF, 28-45, N/S, to share good times with. ☎882776 LET’S GET IN TOUCH! SWM, 20, Cancer, smoker, enjoys fishing, hunting, walking, playing games. Seeking older woman, 30-60, for possible relationship. ☎888111

LET’S HOOK UP 34-year-old SBM, 5’9”, 180lbs, Aquarius, nurse, bald head, new to area, open-minded, fun-loving, hopeless romantic. Seeking woman who loves to be romanced. ☎849401 IN NEED OF LOVE, SERIOUS SWM, 44, 6’, never married, blond/blue, Aries, smoker, seeks honest, romantic SWF, 25-38, enjoys sports, country walks, and more, for LTR, marriage. ☎889184 ARE YOU LONESOME? SM, 37, 6’5’’, 350lbs, would like to meet a nice female, 18-40, to get to know first. Let’s see where this leads! ☎780940 ARE YOU 26-48?

WM, brown/blue, likes fishing, camping, scuba diving, travel, and woodworking. If you would like to jon me, call! ☎715263 THE PERFECT MATE DBM, 40, 6’, 195lbs, with 1 child, Capricorn, smoker, homeowner, loves gardening, cooking, and hunting. Seeking WF, 28-42, petite, to bedazzling. ☎873556 NOT JUST ANOTHER... stud. DBM, 33, with 3 children, Libra, N/S, seeks a lucky lady, 25-45, N/S, with whom to share quality time. ☎868350 GET IN TOUCH WITH ME SM, 21, 6’3’’, athletic build, student, loves movies, clubs, church. Seeking compassionate, down-to-earth, fun woman. ☎861556 DON’T MISS THIS! SBM, 45, 5’10’’, 230lbs, interested in sports, jazz, movies, dining out. Would like to meet a woman with the same interests. ☎862898 SHOW ME YOUR SMILE SM, 44, enjoys kayaking, cooking, art, biking, exercise, outdoors. Looking for a female, 34-50, who has the same kinds of interests. ☎858979

Stud Finder YOU HAVE 6 NEW MATCHES

TIRED OF BEING ALONE SWF, 49, 5’9”, 164lbs, Cancer, N/S, social drinker, mother of one, enjoys music, dining out, reading. Seeking SWM, 44-59, N/S, for LTR. ☎890570 SERIOUS ABOUT LIFE SBCF, 50, 165lbs, Scorpio, N/S, churchgoer, mother of one, seeks outgoing, christian SBM, 50-60, N/S, with good heart, who is serious, for LTR. ☎885036 COMPATIBLE? Funny, smart SBF, 19, fun-loving, friendly, enjoys movies, clubbing, hand holding, dancing. Seeking SM, with like interests and qualities for friendship and possible LTR. ☎701088 SWEET AND SINGLE SBF, 30, Scorpio, N/S, student, enjoys quality time, movies, dining out, quiet times.

Seeking friendship with SBM, 29-43, for possible LTR. ☎890152 THE LONG RUN SBF, 43, single parent, health service technician, Capricorn, N/S, loves basketball.

Seeking BM, 37-47, N/S, for friendship, love, and beyond. ☎872160 BEACH BUM SBF, 31, with bachelor’s degree in communications, Taurus, N/S, loves dining out, movies, working out, and reading. Seeking man, 26-36. ☎869451 OLD-FASHIONED VALUES Honest, relaxed, christian SBF, 56, Aries, N/S, enjoys cooking, dining out, quiet times at home. Seeking marriage-minded, financially secure SBM, 50-56, N/S, for LTR. ☎829149 ARE YOU SINCERE? SF, 28, blond/blue, enjoys the gym, time with family and friends. Looking for an honest guy, 26-35, who is not into games. ☎857530 A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN... inside and out. SBF, 26, 5’10’’, light complexion, enjoys movies, music, just having a good time. Seeking honest, sincere man for LTR. ☎861401 GENUINE GEMINI Sweet SWF, 21, 6’, in medical field, enjoys Nascar, long walks. Seeking tall SWM, 2535, with similar interests. Friendship first, possible LTR. ☎848654 I’LL WRITE YOU A POEM! SF, 25, 5’4’’, 150lbs, Virgo, enjoys reading, cooking, music, movies. Seeking a man who likes to try new things. ☎841437 SINCERE BEAUTY Sophisticated SBCF, 23, 5’2”, 140lbs, interested in seeking educated, independent, employed SBM, 23-30, long walks, stimulating conversation, friendship, dating, more. ☎849311 I LIKE LIFE Single mom, 32, looking for a man with a vibrant personality and a love for living. ☎844138 WILLING TO MAKE TIME Busy, hard-working SBF, 31, nurse, mother of one, Taurus, N/S, enjoys traveling, walks, shopping. Seeking SBM, 31-39, N/S, for LTR. ☎836074 GOOD GIRL Attractive SWF, 38, 5’4”, 145lbs, blonde/ hazel, N/S, Pisces, enjoys outdoors.

Seeking tall SWM, 30-42. ☎864247

TAKE A CHANCE Laid-back SF, 30, enjoys dining in/out, going to the movies, church activities.

Seeking SM, secure in himself to share those things. ☎767576 BRAINS & BEAUTY Spirited executive SBF, 41, 5’8”, 138lbs, Gemini, enjoys dancing, dining, intellectual conversation, laughter, picnics, adventures.

Seeking humorous, classy gentleman, 3545, with kindred spirit. ☎751454 SKATE, RIDE, BOWL, ETC. African-American mom, 23, 5’, 159lbs, mother of two, currently in school, looking for honest, trustful family-man, 20s-30s, who’ll give his 100%. ☎751642 I’M YOUR VENUS SWF, 44 (looks younger), 5’, blonde/blue, with a full-figure, seeks HM, 5’5”-6’, who is secure. ☎747133 WORK OF ART Voluptuous SBF, 28, loves fishing, swimming, cooking. Looking for a man with the same passions. ☎747775 IMPORT FROM EUROPE This foreign born SWF, 40, Aries, N/S, seeks a fine BM, 35-50, smoker, for friendship and dating. ☎744559 ATTENTION... your miracle date is in Augusta. SF seeks military male, 28-50, with good qualities and values. Children ok, race open. ☎732101 COMPANIONSHIP DWF, 48, enjoys antiquing, travel, dining out, movies and more. Seeking DWM, 4858, for loving, tender relationship. ☎732056 AQUARIUS HERE SWF, 18, brown/brown, loves, reading, travel, movies, outdoors. Seeking mature companion with an easygoing attitude, for friendship, possibly more. ☎732141 GOD LOVER Athletic, shy SBF, 33, 5’5”, 160lbs, Gemini, smoker, enjoys church, dining out, cooking, traveling, shopping, reading. Seeking outgoing man, 35-50, smoker, for LTR. ☎709843 LOOKING FOR FRIEND SWF, 29, 5’7”, 129lbs, Gemini, N/S, enjoys sports cars, movies, and more. Seeking SWM, 21-35, kids ok, for friendship first. ☎706587 NEED A SPARK... try me. Attractive, petite SWF, 57, fun, friendly and affectionate, raising grand children, seeks SWM, mid 50s-60s, trustworthy with open heart, for dining, movies, music.

Friendship first. ☎702738 NO GAMES PLEASE DWF, 33, 5’10”, full-figured, brown/hazel, self-employed mother of three, seeks WM, 25-45, honest, faithful, devoted, for fun, friendship, LTR. ☎680330 TWO PIECES OF A PUZZLE Full-figured, very attractive, independent woman, 31, 5’2”, seeks someone special to spend time with. You: honest, fun-loving, varied interests. ☎685405 ABSOLUTE ALTRUISM SBF, 42, 5’7”, 125lbs, seeks emotionally secure gentleman, 35+, with honor, wit, and wisdom. ☎605946 STRONG WILL SBF, 45, outgoing, attractive, youthful, enjoys writing, music, traveling. Seeking mature, strong-willed SBM, 35-48, for friendship. ☎965893 ALL I THINK ABOUT IS YOU SBF, 28, enjoys cooking, reading, traveling, spending time with my kids/family. Looking for a male, 25-40, who likes similar things, friendship first. ☎672206 WANNA KNOW A SECRET? I’m available! BF, 47, serious about life, seeks single African-American male, 40-50, with similar sentiment. ☎660976

D E C

Mobile Dating. The easiest way to meet great people.

GUIDELINES: DATE MAKER ads are for adults 18 or over seeking monogamous relationships. To ensure your safety, carefully screen all responses. First meetings should occur in a public place. Abbreviations are permitted only to indicate gender preference, race, and religion. We suggest your ad contain a self-description, age range, lifestyle and avocations. Ads and voice messages containing explicit sexual language will not be accepted. This publication reserves the right to revise copy containing objectionable phrases; to reject in its sole discretion, any advertisement on account of its text. This publication assumes no responsibility for the content or reply to any DATE MAKER ad. The advertiser assumes complete liability for the content and all replies to any advertisement or recorded message and for any claims made against this publication and its agents as a result thereof. The advertiser agrees to indemnify and hold this publication, its employees and its agents harmless from all costs, expenses (including reasonable attorney fees), liabilities and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. By using DATE MAKER, the advertiser agrees not to leave his/her phone number, last name or address in his/her voice greeting. Not all boxes contain a voice greeting.

ABBREVIATIONS

To purchase more than your free 30 words, at $2.00 per word, please call 1-800-234-5120

M B D F H C LTR

Male Black Divorced Female Hispanic Christian Long-term Relationship

G W A S J P N/D N/S

Gay White Asian Single Jewish Professional Non-Drinker Non-smoker

Become a member of Augusta’s hottest new way to meet singles! Call today!

1 9 2 0 0 2

56

To become a member, call 1-888-223-7044 To listen and respond to ads, call 1-900-226-8908

M E T R O

To respond to ads using a

HEY LADIES! Outgoing happy SM, 24, 5’6”, 150lbs, slender and fit, brown complexion, braided hair, seeks SF, who’s open-minded and down for whatever. ☎767971 POET SEEKS MUSE SBM, 45, loves all sports, board games, D fishing, travel. Seeking a woman to share E movies, dining and romance with. ☎843396 OLD-FASHIONED GUY C SHM, 34, 5’4”, 170lbs, Virgo, N/S, writes and loves country western music, helping 1 the homeless, church. Seeking SHF, 32-36, 9 N/S, with similar interests. ☎835306 DARE TO DREAM 2 Outgoing SBM, 21, 5’9”, 165lbs, Capricorn, 0 N/S, loves going out, outdoors, children.

0 Seeking SWF, 20-26, N/S, for possible fam2 ily. ☎835444 EARLY XMAS GIFT Very romantic SBM, 31, 6’1”, 255lbs, Scorpio, N/S, enjoys church, dining out, cooking. Seeking stable SBF, 25-35, for friendship first, leading to something longterm. ☎837718 LET’S TALK SM, 28, 6’5”, 320lbs, enjoys sports, reading, movies, dining out, travel. Seeking attractive, intelligent, sensual SF, with similar interests, for dating and more. ☎796390 LET YOUR HAIR DOWN SHM, 26, Leo, N/S, lives a regular, clean-cut lifestyle. Seeking a petite, active woman, 1830, sophisticated southern belle, with back woods babe heart. ☎790345 I’M HERE FOR YOU SM, 42, teacher, seeks honest SF, 21-42, for friendship, possibly more. I like music, movies, conversation. How about you? ☎779153 LOVING SOUL MATE SWM, 60, 5’8’, 160lbs. Enjoys sports, long walks and quiet evenings. ISO caring, affectionate SF, 45-55 for friendship, possible LTR. ☎668813 NOT A JOCK Peace-loving, dark blonde, 5’11”, 200lbs, friends say handsome, I say ok. Seeking Asian, mulatto, or dark haired american lady, 25-35, no kids, for travel, dining out, plays, and music events. ☎882215 KNOCK-KNOCK, WHO’S THERE? Call me and find out. SWM, 34, Cancer, N/S, loves to tell jokes. Seeking WF, 25-39, N/S, for friendship and relationships. ☎775609 SEEKING CHRISTIAN WOMAN Friendly, committed, independent SBCM, 42, 5’11”, enjoys quiet evenings. Seeking attractive, committed, independent SBCF for friendship, possible LTR. ☎796760 YOU WIN MY HEART SWM, 44, N/S, seeks clean, sincere, honest, intelligent, wise, crafty SBF, 35-45, N/S, for life mate and deep friendship. ☎704669 CALL ME SM, 51, fun-loving, enjoys sporting events, movies, dancing more. Seeking fun woman with similar interests. ☎761290 SEEKS MATURE Spontaneous, sincere SM, 20, seeks older, loving lady, to explore life with, possible LTR. ☎767728 LET’S BE FRIENDS Outgoing, active SM, 31, enjoys sports, traveling, movies, dining out, and fun.

Seeking SF,with same interests. ☎769857 FIT FOR A QUEEN Restaurant manager SWM, 40, 6’, black/green, moustache, enjoys outdoors, hunting, fishing, camping, movies. Seeking big beautiful woman, 25-50. Tell me about you. ☎754399 GREAT CATCH SWM, 53, enjoys church, music, dining out, travel and more. Seeking kind, understanding SCF, with similar interests. ☎732175 R WE A MATCH? SWM, 40, 6’1”, 160lbs, brown/blue, enjoys classic rock, movies, dining, more. Seeking nice, friendly SF, 25-45. ☎965931

CHANGE R LIVES 4 THE BEST Outdoorsy SWM, 57, enjoys fishing, quiet conversation seeks the right woman to be at my side. Let’s accomplish much in life!

Looking for a SW/HF, 45-60. ☎718103 RESPECT AND DESIRE SBM, 37, 5’8”, 164lbs, hazel eyes, Virgo, N/S, enjoys walks, traveling, mountains, cooking, candlelight dinners. Seeking hardworking SBF, 38-55, business owner, for LTR. ☎707443 TRUE TO HEART SWM, 42, 6’, brown/blue, no children, home-owner, Pisces, N/S, seeks spontaneous SW/A/HF, 21-42, loves the beach, movies, sailing, bike rides, for faithful relationship. ☎709121 ANYONE OUT THERE? SWM, 51, 5’11”, 190lbs, brown/green, seeks SF, for conversations, casual dates and maybe something more down the line. ☎701908 TAKE THE CHANCE Open-minded SM, 25, father, loves Nascar car and Nascar car races, walks, time with someone special. Seeking caring, considerate, commitment-minded woman, for friendship and LTR. ☎699632 GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND SWM, 44, piano player, in search of WF, 3555, H/W proportionate, N/D, N/S, drug-free, who enjoys music and backyard swings. ☎695975 PAINT THE TOWN RED Medical student DWM, 41, just moved from Atlanta, seeks casual relationship with intelligent, articulate SBF, who knows Augusta and can show me the sites, dining, and dancing. ☎675071 THE TRAVELER European SWM, 44, loves traveling, reading, dining out, sports, ping pong, soccer.

Interested in meeting female, who loves traveling, reading and dining out as well. ☎685545 FUN-LOVING SBM 38, 5’7”, 170lbs, waiting in the wings to spot the woman of my dreams. Friends first, work together on loving/understanding relationship. Enjoy dining out, traveling, quiet evenings. Seeking SF, 25-45. ☎672722 READY DWPM, 5’5”, 155lbs, 54, stable, secure, fit, pleasant, educated, adventurous, N/S, who enjoys most anything. Seeking W/A/HF, petite, pleasant, intelligent, active, secure, honest, positive attitude, caring, open, N/S, for LTR. ☎672623

LET’S JUST CUDDLE Lonely GWM, 33, Aries, smoker, enjoys quiet nights, relaxing, being with somebody.

Seeking GWM, 20-30, for possible LTR. ☎887748 YOU WON’T BE SORRY Real, honest, and sweet GBM, 18, 5’11”, dark-skinned, Gemini, N/S, seeks friendly GBM, 18-35, not into games. I’m ready for a commitment. ☎831448 YOU NEVER KNOW Fun-loving, easygoing GWM, 51, 5’11”, 198lbs, enjoys cooking, movies, fishing, walking. Seeking interesting GWM, 18-33, who’s full of life, for casual relationship, possibly more. ☎676662 NEW TO THIS BiWM, 49, 5’10”, thick, black/blue, Libra, N/S, seeks friendly, fun-loving GWM, 35-65, N/S, for possible LTR. ☎839145 I’D LOVE TO MEET! SM, 47, likes dining out, having fun, malls, movies, television. Looking for sincere male for possible relationship. ☎861252

How do you

IT’S YOUR CALL GWM, young 46, 5’11”, 200lbs, brown/ brown, masculine, outgoing, enjoys travel, dining out, movies, shopping, Nascar.

Would like to meet honest, passionate GM, with similar interests, for dating, possible LTR. Serious inquiries only. ☎792384 FREE SPIRIT SBM, 24, loves having fun, enjoys tennis, racquetball, waterskiing. Seeking SM, to share a night out on the town, friendship and maybe a lasting relationship. ☎768054 TAKE THAT CHANCE Brown-skinned GBM, 35, 5’11”, 150lbs, who likes quiet evenings, reading, dining out, movies and stimulating conversations.

Seeking SB/HM, 30-50, for friendship, possibly more. ☎753854 SHOW ME THE TOWN... and what there is to do around here. Me: SWM, 42, N/S, new to the area. You: SWM, under 51, anxious to show me how wonderful Augusta is. ☎719366 LOOKING FOR LOVE GWM, 41, 5’8’, 140lbs, Pisces, enjoys fishing, television, wood working, gardening, arts, crafts. Seeking GWM, 25-45, for friendship first, possible LTR. ☎705204 I KNOW WHERE IT’S AT SBM, 25, practical yet fun, outgoing, Aquarius, smoker, seeks a masculine, alluring, well-rounded BM, 23-45, smoker, with his priorities in order. ☎695448 YOUNG MAN WANTED GWM, 22, brown/brown, pretty good-looking, in search of cute, down-to-earth GWM for movies, dinners, shopping, roller blading. ☎576230 SEEKING MAN OF COLOR GWM, 31, 5’8”, 164lbs, brown/gray, moustache, goatee, down-to-earth, very openminded, seeks SB/HM, 23+, for friendship, maybe more. ☎575272 OUT SPOKEN SWM, 32, 5’11”, 145lbs, enjoys camping, fishing, Nascar. Seeking laid-back WM, 2335, for LTR. ☎560095 BEYOND SWM, 32, 5’11”, 155lbs, light hair, looking for good time with GM, 18-45, ☎966003 NEW TO TOWN GWM, 31, 5’8”, 175lbs, brown/brown, masculine, country boy, passionate, dedicated, HIV positive. Seeking GWM, 30-45, for LTR. ☎966013

,call 1-866-832-4685

FRIENDSHIP SBF, 38, 5’7”, slim, fit, seeks SF, for friendship and fun. Must be outgoing, love to wine and dine, travel, movies and theater. ☎878217 CHOCOLATE SEEKS CREAM SF, 39, new to the area, down-to-earth, loves laughing, sight-seeing. Seeking WF, 30-45, to show me a great time! ☎861222 SOMEONE TO LOVE GBF, 21, with brown complexion, seeks femme GBF, 21-30, with no baggage, and her priorities straight. ☎843696 CHURCH-GOER SBF, 38, Virgo, N/S, heavy-duty equipment operator, seeks BF, 30-45. Enjoys motorcycle riding, playing bass guitar. ☎799776 WASTE NO TIME GBF, 36, enjoys dining out, cooking, dining out. Seeking attractive, open-minded, fun, nice GF, 25-45, for friendship and possibly more. ☎965823 VERY PRETTY SBF...

28, two children, confident, feminine, seeks female, 20-35, with the same qualities, who is not into head games. ☎785531 A GOOD HEART SF, 39, goes to church, works for a living, likes having fun, going on trips. Seeking a similar female, 37-49. ☎780112 ZEST FOR LIFE Articulate, adventurous WF, 32, 5’8”, brown/ brown, enjoys animals, running, movies and dining. Looking for WF, 25-40, for friendship. ☎965827 GIVE ME A RING Cute SBF, 30-something, seeks attractive SF, 25-45, for friendship, maybe more. No games. ☎965825 SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP Attractive, feminine SWF, 41, 5’4”, seeks a very open-minded WF, 35-48, for fun and exciting times. ☎775074 RAINBOW SEEKER Seeking my butch. SWF, 41, 5’2”, enjoys movies, walks, reading, quality snuggle time. Honesty is a must. Seeking SWF, with no drama, 30+. ☎754885

JOIN ME GBF, 32, nurse, part-time student, Capricorn, N/S, enjoys bowling, movies, shopping, traveling. Seeking casual relationship with woman, 25-45. ☎711628 BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN SBF, 58, mature, attractive, young-at-heart, Sagittarius, N/S, seeks woman, 48-62, N/S, who is ready to live again and likes traveling, playing cards, and bowling. ☎691703 TO THINE OWN SELF... be true. SBF, 27, 5’5”, 165lbs, Sagittarius, N/S, has 2 kids, enjoys walks, movies, and quiet times. Seeking an honest woman, 2735, N/S, for friendship first and foremost. ☎693934 IT’S ALL IN YOUR HANDS Nice, available stud wanted. I’m a teacher in Augusta, 40, who would like to start a friendship with another female, and progress into something more. ☎664842 BEAUTIFUL WOMAN SEEKS... beautiful woman. I’m 5’3”, physically fit, 132lbs, would like to meet fit female, 25-40, who would enjoy going to movies. Please be discreet. ☎661884 I’D LOVE YOU TO LOVE ME SBF, 41, no children, loves to read, chat on the internet, and more. Seeking a woman who is a romantic at heart, very good-looking, loves pets, family and God. ☎645876 GET TO KNOW THE REAL ME Dark-skinned young woman, 23, 4’9”, attractive, fun-loving, nice, caring, honest, laid-back. Seeking GF, 23-29, for casual relationship. ☎635372 I’M LOOKING 4 U Easygoing, loyal SBF, 31, 5’3”, 155lbs, security officer, people person, fun-loving, nice, caring, honest, enjoys bowling, movies, cuddling at home. Seeking trustworthy, outgoing SBF, 26-35, for friendship, maybe LTR. ☎965835 SECURITY GUARD Laid-back female, 41, likes movies, dining out, cooking, quiet evenings. Seeking similar-minded male for companionship. ☎589877 FRIENDSHIP FIRST! Funny, smart, down-to-earth GBF, 5’6”, 125lbs, loves long walks, hand holding.

Seeking GF, 21-30, who likes kids and doesn’t play games. ☎965829

much more than just a great way to meet people.

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■ Automotive Spirit

57 M E T R O

Free Automotive Ads

S P I R I T D E C

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE METROPOLITAN SPIRIT AND GERALD JONES HONDA

1 9 2 0 0 2

Cars 1979 TOYOTA CRESSIDA, runs, new brakes, as is, $350, cash only, 706-738-3065 (727/125) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1980 BMW 528i, new shocks, struts, clutch and clutch slave cylinder, clean car, runs great, $2000, 706-736-4858 (756/1219) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1981 CADILLAC EL DORADO, one owner, very clean car, V8, auto, most power options, many new parts, runs great, $1300 firm, 706-860-6409 (805/109) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1984 OLDSMOBILE CUSTOM Cruiser SW, $700 OBO, 706-437-1726 (696/1128) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1987 SUBARU GL, Station Wagon, power everything, rear wiper, lots of new stuff, runs and looks good, but has head gasket leak, $497 OBO, 803441-8744 (673/1121) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1988 FORD MUSTANG Convertible, red/white top, 5.0, auto, 2dr, PL&W, AC, clean, runs good, CD, am/fm, $4800, 706-742-7701 (752/1219) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1989 CADILLAC SEVILLE, 4dr, leather, blue, tip top condition, $4000, 706-556-6124 (553/1219) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1989 FORD TEMPO, 44K, new AC & ignition, less than 2K on tires, one owner, very good condition, $2150, 706-

860-0120 (773/1226) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1989 TOYOTA CAMRY, nice running car, 133K, $1500, 706-736-6545 after 4 pm (779/0102) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1990 CADILLAC SEVILLE, 4dr, runs good, $3000, 803640-3078 or 803-648-3443 after 6 pm. (806/109) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1990 NISSAN 300ZX, 5spd, AC, loaded, red, grey cloth, ttops, CD, new tires, good condition, $6100, 706-833-0797 (671/1121) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1991 MAZDA MX5, convertible, hard top, white, mint condition, 85.5K, $7400 OBO, 706-737-8047 (669/1121) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1991 VOLVO 240, maroon, good condition, AC, PS, PB, am/fm, cassette, PW, cruise, $3000, 912-829-4556 (817/116) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1992 BMW 525i, gold, sedan, 154K, all power, leather interior, good condition, $5990, 706-495-9900 (782/0102) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1992 CHEVY CAMERO RS, 25th Anniversary Edition, green, gray interior, 305, auto, t-tops, excellent condition, 120K, $6000 firm, 706-3394531 (811/116) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1992 GEO STORM, blue, cold AC, 100K, $1300 OBO, 706855-2288, 706-785-0163 (726/125) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1992 INFINITI G20, runs great, 4dr, CD, leather interior,

the power of dreams

GERALD JONES

HONDA 2 0 0 3 G O R D O N H I G H W AY • A U G U S TA , G A • 7 0 6 - 7 3 3 - 2 2 1 0 • W W W. G E R A L D J O N E S H O N D A . C O M

must sell, $1500 OBO, 706823-6607 (815/116) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1992 MAZDA PROTEGE, PS/PB, AC, power window locks, sunroof, cruise, CD, great gas mileage, reliable transportation, $1500 OBO, 706-399-7145 (701/1128) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1993 FORD T-BIRD, excellent condition, 100K, AC, new tires, adult driven, non-smoker, garage kept, service record, hard to find, $2750 OBO, 706836-3082 (823/123) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1993 FORD TAURUS, very good condition, new tires and brakes, low mileage 66K, loaded, as is, reduced, for

FREE AUTO CLASSIFIEDS * Automobiles for sale by an individual may be placed in our FREE Auto Classifieds. The same ad will run continuously for six weeks or until the vehicle sells, whichever comes first. After two weeks, if you want to keep running the same ad, you must call The Metropolitan Spirit by 5 p.m. on Friday or we will assume you sold the vehicle and will delete the ad. All vehicles must indicate price. FREE Auto Classified ads are offered to individuals only and are not offered to commercial companies or dealers.

TO PLACE YOUR AD: Mail: P.O. Box 3809, Augusta, GA 30914-3809 Email: classified@metspirit.com Fax: 706-733-6663 Website: www.metspirit.com Visit Us At: 825 Russell Street, Augusta, GA MUST BE MAILED, FAXED OR EMAILED ON SPECIFIED FORM. ADS ARE NOT TAKEN BY PHONE.

GENERAL POLICIES: The Metropolitan Spirit reserves the right to reject, revise, alter, or reclassify any classified advertisement. Please check your ad for errors the first week the ad is published. The Metropolitan Spirit is not responsible for any errors which appear after the first week the ad is inserted.

quick sale, $3000, 706-7339434 or 706-721-8304 (808/116) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1993 FORD TEMPO, white w/red interior, auto, 4dr, clean, runs, new am/fm, CD, AC, 4cyl, clear title, $1600, call after 5 pm 706-560-2025 (800/109) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1994 CHRYSLER LHS, 3.5, auto, 101K, burgundy, grey leather, AC, cruise, tilt, am/fm/CD, power everything, clean, $4500, 706-860-5001 (100/116) –––––––––––––––––––––––––

1994 LINCOLN TOWN Car, pearl white, white interior, leather, black tie package, excellent condition, $6800,

AD PLACEMENT FORM:

706-541-9190 (771/1226) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1995 BMW 325i, white, 5spd, 72K, excellent condition, premium package, priced to sell (KBB: $12-$15,000) asking $11,800, 706-722-0665 (816/116) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1995 MERCURY GRAND Marquis LS, 91K, clean, all power, cruise, wire wheels, $5900, 706-793-2993 or 706730-2697 (705/1226) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1995 VW JETTA, VR6, GLX, red, loaded, mint condition, $6500 OBO, 803-819-0132 (826/123) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 CHEVROLET CAMARO,

41K, factory purple, 5spd, 6 cyl, AC, FM, cass, immaculate, one owner, $7200 OBO, 706868-0090 (472/1226) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 GEO SPRINT, beige, 4dr, sedan, AC, cassette, new tires, great condition, $3500 OBO, 803-442-4592 (670/1121) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 HONDA ACCORD EX, V6, automatic, all power, leather, alloys, CD, cruise, sunroof, remote, garaged, excellent condition, 81K, $10,500, 706-733-7297 (813/116) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE

continued on page 58

DEADLINES: In person - Monday at 3PM By mail, fax or email - Friday at 4PM

Name__________________________________________________________________________________________ Daytime Phone__________________________________________________________________________________ Address________________________________________________________________________________________ City_______________________________________________________State____________Zip_________________ Ad Copy 20 words or less__________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________

58 M E T R O

A L L

N E W

S U B A R U

2 0 0 3 B A J A

S P I R I T D E C 1 9 2 0 0 2

S TA R T I N G AT $23,995* - All wheel drive - Open Cargo bed - Switch back system expands cargo bed into passenger area for hauling longer items - 2.5 liter box engine - Fully independent heavy-duty raised suspension * Plus destination charge, tax, title & fees

GERALD JONES 1801 Gordon Highway, Augusta

706.738.2561

GUARANTEED CLASSIFIEDS

* Items for sale by an individual may be placed in our Guaranteed Classifieds. The same ad will run continuously for ten weeks or until the item sells, whichever comes first. You must call by 5PM on Friday every two weeks to renew the ad or The Metropolitan Spirit will assume the item has been sold and will delete the ad. There is a $5 reinstatement fee if you forget to renew your ad. All items must indicate price. Guaranteed classified ads are offered to individuals only and are not offered to commercial companies. Guaranteed Classified ads do not include any automotive vehicles, real estate or pets.

RATES: FREE ADS Merchandise Under $250 $8 ADS Merchandise $251 to $500 $15 ADS Merchandise $501 to $1000 $20 ADS Merchandise over $1000 20 Words or Less - No Exceptions.

ADS MUST BE PREPAID DEADLINES: In person - Monday at 3PM By mail, fax or email - Friday at 4PM

TO PLACE YOUR AD: Mail: P.O. Box 3809, Augusta, GA 30914-3809 Email: classified@metspirit.com Fax: 706-733-6663 ADS ARE NOT TAKEN BY PHONE Website: www.metspirit.com Visit Us At: 825 Russell Street, Augusta, GA MUST BE MAILED, FAXED OR EMAILED ON SPECIFIED FORM. PAYMENT OPTIONS: (ADS MUST BE PREPAID) Cash-Money Order-Check

AD PLACEMENT FORM:

Name_______________________________________Daytime Phone_____________________ Address______________________________________________________________________ City______________________________________________State________Zip_____________ Payment ❑ Cash ❑ Check ❑ Money Order ❑ Visa ❑ MC Card No./Exp. Date_____________________________________________________________ Billing Address (if different from above)_____________________________________________ City______________________________________________State________Zip_____________ Ad Copy 20 words or less________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ GENERAL POLICIES: The Metropolitan Spirit reserves the right to reject, revise, alter, or reclassify any classified advertisement. Please check your ad for errors the first week the ad is published. The Metropolitan Spirit is not responsible for any errors which appear after the first week the ad is inserted.

continued from page 57 Spider convertible, red/grey, 78K, 1 owner, service records available, $8500, must sell, divorce, 706-210-0530 (728/125) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 NISSAN 200SX, green, 5spd, cruise, CD, well taken care of, $3400 OBO, 706-2671295 (814/116) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 NISSAN 200SX, red, good condition, CD, two door, AC, PW $6000 OBO, 706860-3598 (776/0102) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1996 PONTIAC GRAND Prix GTP, white, rear spoiler, tint windows, 3.4L, V6 high output, 4spd auto w/OD, well cared for, 129K, $6500, Jim 706-721-3365 days or 706547-7878 eve. (822/123) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 NISSAN ALTIMA GXE, black, cruise, alarm, keyless entry, 63K, current tune ups, XC, $9995 OBO, 706-8232420 (697/1128) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1998 ACURA INTEGRA GSR, white, excellent condition, all power, many extras, 66K, MSTA, $16,000 OBO, 706284-9693 (812/116) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1999 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL, white, 54K, warranty, 100K, new tires, loaded, CD, moonroof, immaculate, one owner, garage kept, looks new, $17,500, 706-863-9152 (676/1121) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 ACURA INTEGRA LS, silver, 2dr, 5spd, all power, CD, sunroof, cold-air intake, warranty, XC $15,000 OBO, 706294-2691 (755/1219) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 HONDA ACCORD SE, 4dr, auto, ABS, PW/L, cruise, CD, cassette, trunk liner, cargo net, 31.5K, $16,000, 706-7336807 (700/1128) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 HONDA CIVIC EX, white, 4dr, auto, PL/W, sunroof, CD, low miles, $13,400, 706-210-9590 (702/1128) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 HONDA CIVIC EX, silver, 42K, 5spd, 2dr, sunroof, CD, XC, car in Augusta, 610-7635202 (695/1128) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 MAZDA MIATA, black, 5spd, PW, CD, appearance package, 47K, $13,500, 706951-0805 (672/1121) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2001 CHRYSLER SEBRING LXI Convertible, dark blue, grey leather, power, CD, 35K, asking $15,998, 706-8630175 (804/109) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2001 INFINITI I-30, rare find, has navigation system, 15K, all optional equipment, $24,995, no sales tax, 706-869-9007 (730/125)

––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2002 AUDI A4 Turbo, 4dr, dark green/tan leather, all power, AM/FM, Cass/CD, 8K, $31,850 OBO, 706-863-1941 (729/125) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2002 SATURN SL1, auto, power steering, power brakes, AC, AM/FM/CD, factory warranty, 19K great condition, $9500, 706-863-7071 (781/0102) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2002 SATURN SL1, auto, PS, PB, CD, AC, 19K, factory warranty, like new condition, $8950, 706-863-7071 (802/109)

Motorcycle 2000 HONDA XR650R, enduro, XC, Great Gift for the guy who has everything, priced to sell, 706-309-9526 after 6 pm (458/1226) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2001 HONDA NIGHTHAWK, 250cc, showroom condition, 400 miles, excellent first street bike, $2600 OBO, 803-2783442 (677/0102) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2002 HONDA SABRE, 1099cc, custom pearle silver paint job w/fadin candy blue flames. 1920 miles, excellent condition, $7600, matching helmet available, 803-2793410 (818/116)

Other CESSNA 150 H COMMUTER, 760 ch. radio, GPS, VOR, wheel pants, 4000 TT, 150SMOH, $19,500 OBO, 803-278-2669 or tyrus_m@yahoo.com (798/109)

SUVs 1979 FORD BRONCO, needs work, first $500 takes it, 706790-3305 (703/1128) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 FORD EXPEDITON XLT, green/tan cloth, 5.4L, 3rd seat, rear air, power everything, hands-free phone, 132K highway miles, XC, $8500 OBO, 706-364-5347(699/1128) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 FORD EXPLORER XLT, willow green, 4dr, V8, loaded, original owner, extra clean condition, $8850 OBO, 706667-9488 leave message (810/109) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 FORD EXPLORER Sport, loaded, good condition, $7995, 706-860-0860 (775/0102) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 GMC YUKON SLT, white/burgundy leather, excellent condition, $14,000 OBO, 706-833-0624 (819/116)

––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1999 FORD EXPEDITION XLT, leather, fully loaded, 6 disc CD changer, excellent condition, 51K, $18,000, 706854-9194 (778/0102) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 KIA SPORTAGE, 4dr, auto, all power, AC, CD, one owner, runs great, XC, $11,500, 706-8400957(698/1128)

Trucks 1963 FORD F-100, straight 6, step side, body in good condition, perfect for restoring, does not run, $500 OBO, 706-5410783 (662/123) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1985 DODGE RAM Prospector, red, full-size, w/camper shell, 140K, good condition, perfect work truck. $2800, 706-721-2317 (809/109) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1988 DODGE RAM, Charger, w/rebuilt 318 motor, V8, good shape, runs good, needs light transmission work, lots of new part, $1500 OBO 706-7372359 (799/109) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1992 TOYOTA PICK UP, am/fm, cassette, PS, XC, trailer hitch, excellent tires, extended cab, $2750 cash, 706-739-1142 (807/109) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1993 CHEVY SILVERADO, white w/red interior, 6 cyl, PS, PB, AC, auto, toolbox, great condition, $3500 OBO, 706399-1303 (801/109) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 FORD RANGER XLT, burgundy, 4cyl, auto, AC, disc player, tinted glass, 22K, short bed, factory warranty, no tax, $9150, 706-736-8032 (648/0102)

Vans 1995 CHEVROLET ASTRO Van, V6, 4.3L, 7 passenger, luggage rack, rear air, power seats and mirrors, $7000, 706-733-0526 (694/12/26) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1997 FORD WINDSTAR GL, dark red, 7 passenger, 3.8 V6, AC, tilt, power windows, 146K, $4200 OBO, 706-860-5001 (774/1226) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 1999 PLYMOUTH GRAND Voyager Expresso, white, 51K, 10 speaker infinity sound system, cassette, CD, rear air, captain’s chairs, new tires, great condition, reduced to $12,700, 706-868-1045 (770/1226) ––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2000 NISSAN QUEST, one owner, 26K, loaded, excellent condition, $15,100, 706-8633895 (825/123)

Visit us online. For all the latest in Arts, Entertainment and Local Events. Visit our website at metspirit.com.

59

THE CSRA'S PRE-OWNED TRUCK SOURCE

M E T R O

THANK YOU

King Cab • Long Bed

$12,900

1999

$13,900

Very Clean Truck

2000

CHEVROLET S-10

DODGE RAM

For Supporting Our Advertisers

NISSAN FRONTIER

$13,900

1999

$9,995

Clean As A Whistle • Low Miles

Low Miles

2001

DODGE DAKOTA

ANDY JONES MAZDA ISUZU

(803) 202-0002

ZERO PERCENT* ZERO DOWN* ZERO PAYMENTS*

LIMITED TIME OFFER!

APR FINANCING FOR 60 MONTHS

FOR QUALIFIED BUYERS

UNTIL 2003 ON NEW SATURNS

DRIVE MAINTENANCE FREE WHEN YOU BUY A NEW SATURN! 2002 SATURN S-SERIES (Price Reflects $2,000 Rebate)

9,995 $ ** 199

$

V O U C H E R

*

2003 SATURN L200

Free Three-Year/ 36,000-Mile Car Care Plan*

17,735 $ ** 259

$

*

YOUR OFFICIAL MILES DEALER!

Visit Our Website: www.saturnofaugusta.com

usedcarwarehouse.com If You Can't Find It Out There, You'll Find It In Here!

When You Buy Or Lease Any New Vehicle From Saturn of Augusta

V O U C H E R

LIMITED EDITION 2003 VUE SPORT PLUS Look At What You Get In Addition To All The Standard Equipment: • Power Door Locks • Power Windows • Power Mirrors • Alarm System • Cruise Control • Remote Keyless Entry • 16” Alloy Wheels • AM/FM/CD Player • Autodimming ISRVM w/ Display • Map Lights

16,995 $ ** 285

$

*

*Credit approval required. Must finance through GMAC, see dealer for details. *Plus tax, tag, fees & transportation. **60-mo. purchase at 0% APR plus tax, tag, title & transportation with approved credit. ***Car Care Plan consists of oil changes & tire rotations. Offer cannot be combined.

Located On The Corner Of Gordon Hwy. & Milledgeville Rd, Augusta GA

888-770-9676

20 USED SATURNS IN STOCK!

S P I R I T D E C 1 9 2 0 0 2

H O N D A

C A R S

O F

A I K E N

Honda Clearance Event Every Honda must go!

2002 Civic LX

2003 Accord DX 4 Dr

Equipment: Air Conditioning, power windows, mirrors and locks, cruise control, AM/FM cassette w/ 4 speaker sound system, digital clock, map lights, 115 hp/16 valve engine, rear double wishbone suspension, driver and passenger air bags, split fold down rear back seat with lock, cup holders, tilt steering wheel, driver and passenger vanity mirrors, theft deterrent system, integrated rear window antenna, and more!

Equipment: Air, power windows, AM/FM with CD sound system, child safety anchors & tethers, cup holders (front & rear), center console arm rest with storage, sunglasses holder, locking glovebox, micron air filtration system, remote trunk release, intermittent windshield wipers, rear window defroster with timer, illuminated dual vanity mirrors, map lights, 4 wheel double wishbone suspension, velour interior, high definition headlights, high tech paint, Michelin tires and more!

2 Doors or 4 Doors

Model #CM5513TLW

Now Only

$16,990

*

$850 Automatic

2003 Accord EX 4 Dr Equipment: Air conditioning, power windows & locks, AM/FM cassette with 6 disc in-dash CD changer plus 6 speaker sound system, steering wheel mounted audio controls, cruise control, power height adjustment on driver’s seat, power moonroof, alloy wheels, adjustable driver’s seat lumbar support, immobilizer theft deterrent system, security system with remote entry, auto-off headlights, child safety seat anchors & tethers.

Driver and passenger air bag, fold down rear seat, trunk pass through with lock, cup holders (front and rear), center console arm rest with storage, sunglasses holder, locking glovebox, remote trunk release, tachometer, intermittent windshield wipers, rear window defroster with timer, rear seat heater ducts, side door pockets front & rear, Quartz digital clock, illuminated dual vanity mirrors, body colored door handles & side molding, integrated rear window antenna, floor mats, adjustable steering column, map lights, power rear view mirrors, 4 wheel double wishbone suspension and more!

Model #EM2152PW or #ES1552PW *

$13,888

0

$

2002 Civic EX

DOWN DELIVERS

2 DRs or 4 DRs

Equipment: 127hp V-tech engine, rear double wishbone suspension, front and rear stabilizer bars, power rack and pinion steering, anti-lock braking system, 15” wheels, power moonroof with tilt feature, integrated rear window antenna, keyless remote entry, dual power mirrors, body side color molding and door handles, air conditioning with micron air filtration, power windows and locks, tilt, cruise, AM/FM stereo with CD player, Anti-theft system, dual air bags, 3 point seat belts front and rear, adjustable front seat anchors, lower anchors and tethers for children, childproof rear door locks, reclining front and passenger seats with adjustable head restraints, 60/40 split fold down rear seat back with lock, beverage holders in front, cargo area light, map light, intermittent wipers, maintenance indicator light, remote fuel door release and trunk release with lock, tachometer, dual trip odometer, trunk open indicator light, center console, rear defroster, 12-volt accessory outlet, and more!

**

Model #CG5563JW

$19,990 1999 Cadillac Sedan Deville

Low Miles, Local Trade! ........ $14,970

1996 Chevy Blazer 4x4

Clean Car! ........................... $ 6,490

2002 Chevy Silverado 4 Dr

Low Miles, V-8 ......................$20,482

1997 Chrysler Sebring

Convertible, Low Miles ......... $10,371

1999 Dodge Ram 2500

Blk, Good Looking Truck! ..... $19,377

2001 Ford Escort

Low Miles, Nice Car! ............ $ 9,900

2001 Honda CRV EX

Low Miles ..................... CERTIFIED!

*

Nobody Outsells Honda Cars of Aiken

Model #ES2572MW OR #ES2192MW

USED CAR

SUPER STORE SPECIAL OF THE WEEK!

‘00 Honda Odyssey EX

all ! ca oc e!

Lo L d ade Trra T

$19,990

$15,888

*

1997 Honda Accord

Low Miles ............................ $ 7,990

1998 Honda Accord Certified! No Money Down! Less than $200 per mo.

2001 Isuzu Rodeo

Blk, Great SUV! .................... $15,990

1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse

Local Trade, Nice Car! .......... $10,190

2002 Mitsubishi Galant

11k Miles, Nice Car!! ............ $12,990

1999 Plymouth Voyager

Local Trade ..........................$ 8,990

1997 Toyota Camry

Local Trade, Great Deal! ....... $ 8,590

*Plus tax, tag & doc. fees.

THE ONLY DEAL WE CAN’T BEAT IS ONE WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT!

1-800-207-5771 550 Jefferson Davis Highway, Aiken, SC Visit our website at www.hondacarsofaiken.com

*Must choose from in stock units in dealer’s inventory. Glamour color additional $400. Automatic additional $850.

All prices plus tax, tag & fees & include any applicable incentives. Dealer installed accessories may vary on units. **$0 Down: With approved Credit.