V O X M A G A Z I N E / / 0 3 . 2 6 . 1 5 / / F R E E E V E RY T H U R S D AY
DOWN-HOME DELICACY
Kim Perry’s fried Southern fare will practically leap onto your plate PAGE 4
SPEAKING IN TONGUES
A coach with an ear for accents trains thespians in distinct dialects PAGE 5
Stoking the flame Bladesmith O.J. Stone heats up an age-old craft with plans to pass the torch PAGE 6
This week
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MARCH 26, 2015 VOLUME 17 ISSUE 11 | PUBLISHED BY THE COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN
MUMFORD & SYNTHESIZERS Mumford & Sons is trading in a banjo for a Moog and touring with The Flaming Lips and Foo Fighters.
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V O X M A G A Z I N E / / 0 3 . 2 6 . 1 5 / / F R E E E V E RY T H U R S D AY
Whether you’re tanning or spring cleaning, audiobooks read by Hollywood’s leading ladies will have you feeling beachy.
DOWN-HOME DELICACY
Kim Perry’s fried Southern fare will practically leap onto your plate PAGE 4
SPEAKING IN TONGUES
A coach with an ear for accents trains thespians in distinct dialects PAGE 5
DIP OUT
Feature This law enforcement officer is sharp. O.J. Stone has been crafting knives for 30 years and hopes his legacy will be cast in history with a younger bladesmith generation. PAGE 6
Want to step out of your queso comfort zone? These chips and dips make us wish every day were national chip day.
We’re social.
Stoking the flame Bladesmith O.J. Stone heats up an age-old craft with plans to pass the torch PAGE 6
NEWS & INSIGHT A recent study gives new meaning to the phrase junk food junkie. Here’s the non-sugarcoated version of how serious a case of the munchies might be. PAGE 3
THE SCENE
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Armed with a pristine kitchen and a family blend of herbs and spices, Ms. Kim’s Fish and Chicken Shack serves up some ribbiting fare. PAGE 4
ARTS Maybe if Anne Hathaway had Paula Cavanaugh Carter, One Day wouldn’t have been a flop. Learn how this dialect genius teaches actors to talk the talk. PAGE 5
Following the release of Circa Survive’s most aggressive album yet, the band is thrashing out in Columbia after four long years of touring anywhere but here. PAGE 12
BOOKS After returning to Missouri to care for his mother with dementia, George Hodgman wrote a book championing the healing power of family. PAGE 13
BETH CASTLE COVER PHOTO: JOHN J. HAPPEL COVER DESIGN: ISABEL CASAL NAZARIO
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
VOX STAFF Editor: Beth Castle Deputy Editor: Laura Heck Managing Editor: Anna Seaman Creative Director: Tracee Tibbitts Digital Managing Editor: Bryan Bumgardner Art Directors: Alex Jacobi, Allison Lewis Photo Editor: Shannon Elliott iPad Art Director: Roselyn Adams VoxTalk Editor: Rachel Rowsey Multimedia Editor: Adam Harris Calendar Editor: Sean Morrison News & Insight Editors: Alaina Lancaster, Danielle Renton, Aditi Shrikant The Scene Editors: Miles Dobis, Nicole Eno, Lauren Rutherford Music Editors: Stephanie Bray, Tess Catlett Arts/Books Editors: Cecilia Meis, Ashley Szatala Contributing Writers: Elizabeth Brown, Reid Foster, Christine Jackson, Abby Kass, Sarah Kloepple, Makenzie Koch, Carson Kohler, Carolin Lehmann, Kara Quill Editorial Director: Heather Lamb Executive Editor: Jennifer Rowe Reporting Beat Leader: Joy Jenkins Digital Director: Sara Shipley Hiles Writing Coach: John Fennell Office Manager: Kim Townlain
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PHOTOS BY OR COURTESY OF JOHN J. HAPPEL; FACEBOOK.COM/MUMFORDANDSONS
MUSIC
I’ve never been one for hobbies. So, when I say I’ve picked up running over the past few months, you should be surprised. Shocked, even. I use the phrase “picked up” lightly, though. Teaching myself to run hasn’t been easy. I spent the greater part of January and February dragging myself across treadmills, playing add-alap, subtract-a-lap with my tired hip rotators. My calves ached. Sometimes my arms did, too. But the distance on the machine was never, never, as far as I wanted it to be, so I kept going. I’m still going. I didn’t realize my intro-to-jogging crusade had crossed into hobby territory until about two weeks ago, when my boyfriend and I were running on the Katy Trail, and he said, “Doesn’t running outdoors make you feel like a real runner? Like you’re part of the club?” Well, yes, actually. It does. And I like that sense of membership. It feels strange for me to confess that, to own such a basic form of camaraderie, because I’ve always been proud of my independence. I don’t need someone jogging 10 feet ahead of me to know how to make it to the finish line. I just go. But somehow, with running, I don’t have to be independent alone. In a transient college town like ours, I think it’s important to feel that duality, the freedom to challenge yourself with a support network behind you. Like so many other Vox editors-in-chief before me, I’m an out-of-towner, here for two years of grad school before I move to another city. Running makes me feel like a part of the community. And I like belonging to Columbia.
NEWS & INSIGHT
Your brain on junk food
MU researcher weighs in on University of Michigan’s “addictive foods” list BY ALAINA LANCASTER
17. N 9TH STREET // COLUMBIA, MO
It’s all the usual suspects: pizza, chips, cookies, chocolate and ice cream. In a University of Michigan study published in February, researchers found these addictive high-fat foods affect us in the same way drugs or alcohol might. According to Matt Will, director of MU’s Behavioral Neuroscience Lab, a combination of variables can lead to addiction. “Food itself is not addictive, just like drugs are not addictive,” he writes in an email. “If a certain combination of genetic, environmental and drug or food variables get mixed, addiction can occur.” Will’s lab studies show high-fat foods make us more inclined to inhale those Flaming Hot Cheetos with no regard for caloric intake or the fiery red dust burning our faces off. “There is a lot of overlap between the networks that control intake of a high-fat diet and those that drive drug use and abuse.” In the Behavioral Neuroscience Lab, Will and his team study the pleasure centers of the brain, specifically the amygdala and nucleus accumbens. According to Will, endorphins stimulate this part of the brain and cause us to feast on fatty foods. “The amygdala and accumbens talk to each other,” he writes. “It tells you that this food is damn good, and you should eat a lot of it, even if you aren’t hungry.” So how do we stop stuffing Oreos in our mouths while marathoning House of Cards and drinking copious amounts of Bud Light? Lesion the basolateral amygdala, of course. If you don’t speak science, that means surgically altering the brain so you don’t want to eat as much. “It works in rats,” Will writes. Joking aside, it’s possible to break the habit through operant conditioning, a type of learning that encourages the brain to associate desirable or undesirable outcomes with a particular behavior. “Your brain is highly trainable,” he writes, adding that exercise would also work as a partial substitute for the endorphin rush of an ooey gooey butter cookie.
www.THEBLUENOTE.com
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03.26.15 | VOXMAGAZINE.COM
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THE SCENE
A leg up on the competition Columbia’s latest Southern cooking addition includes fried frog goodness BY BROOKE VAUGHAN Deep-fried chicken, fish and frog legs. Homemade macaroni and cheese. Candied sweet potatoes. A mixture of sweet tea and tart lemonade, also known as Shack Juice. Ms. Kim’s Fish & Chicken Shack on 711 Vandiver Drive serves up homestyle cooking in a Styrofoam box. Kim Perry infuses her down-home meals with family tradition and Southern flair. The Shack opened in December of last year, but Perry has been in business here before. Four years ago, she, and the rest of her staff, closed the doors on the Mississippi Fish Shack and hung a sign on the door saying they would be back soon. But a family emergency in Indiana took a bit longer than Perry expected, and to save herself from drowning in the stacks of bills that came with the restaurant, she closed shop for good. For the next few years, Perry worked at General Motors and Sun Loan Company to keep a steady income and applied to cook for a few restaurants. At her interviews, Perry says most potential managers simply wanted to know why she closed the Mississippi Fish Shack. That’s when she had an epiphany. “I just didn’t want to work in someone else’s restaurant,” Perry says. Cooking would have to be on her terms. When the idea of Perry’s new restaurant started, she realized she needed to come up with a new name, a new brand. She currently is working on marketing her hand-mixed dipping sauces and breadings for local grocery
stores, and Ms. Kim’s sounded more marketable for the packaging. Her breadings are in development, with the recipes nearly complete and production in St. Louis just a few phone calls away. Perry’s son, Alan, has worked in the restaurant with his mom since 2006, when he was 15 years old. They spend long hours at the restaurant, about 10 hours a day, and Perry says they have to find the balance between their family and professional lives. “Sometimes it’s hard to separate mom and business for him,” Perry says. “Even though we’re family owned, we have to make it professional. Here, he’s an employee, and I have to treat him like every other employee. Whereas at home, I may give in occasionally.” Perry even asks Alan for his two cents on business decisions. Perry grew up in Indiana with her adoptive parents. Her father was in the military for 33 years, and her mother was a probation officer, so she considers herself very structured. She has carried this organized lifestyle into her business. “Everything has its place,” Perry says as she arranges the salt and pepper on the table. As a child, Perry says all she ate was her family’s recipes; her grandma’s sweet potatoes and her mom’s baked beans are the dishes she remembers particularly well. Ms. Kim’s Fish & Chicken Shack’s menu is centered around these Southerninfused family recipes. Perry and her staff strive to keep a
“I wanted to have Southern dishes that make you sit back and say, ‘Wow!’ Kim Perry says. Perry and her son, Alan, take pride in the diverse menu. Photo by TIM NWACHUKWU
spotless kitchen, from the fryers to the containers used to dunk the fish, chicken, shrimp and frog legs in water before breading them. “If there’s one thing I take pride in, it’s my clean kitchen,” Perry says. She uses a home stove, rather than industrial, so when people look into her open kitchen they can see that she is creating home-cooked meals. This transparency, along with good food and a friendly environment, has helped Perry bring loyal customers from Mississippi Fish Shack to Ms. Kim’s Fish & Chicken Shack. “The flavor is good, and it’s cooked
just right,” says Dennis Cooper, 59, who has been coming to Perry’s restaurant since 2007 and is always impressed by the staff’s attitude. “They’re real polite,” he says. “Everyone has been real nice.” Even the staff has been together for a number of years. “Everyone is like family,” Perry says. “My mom always used to say, ‘It’s not about the blood. It’s about the love and how you treat people.’” With business looking up for Perry and her family and fan base behind her, she says she plans to stick around. “No hell or high-water am I shutting this place down,” she says.
EAT THIS: FROG LEGS The Shack’s back, and the fryer is hot PHOTO BY AMBER GARRETT Kim Perry says her fried frog legs have been so hot this past month she can barely keep them in the cooler. The Shack hand mixes its breading in a 10-gallon bucket. The cook double dips the fresh Florida frog legs in a blend containing garlic and salt: water first, a coat of breading, dunked in water again and finished with another coat of breading. “It’s the breading and seasoning that sells the dish,” Perry says. “This food just wouldn’t be the same without the flavor it adds.” The frog legs are dropped into the fryer until the back meat of the frog loosens from the bone; the cook has to keep a close eye on the frog legs to know when they are done. The result is juicy frog legs surrounded by a fall-off-the-bone, flaky breading. And for $8.99, customers can get an order of the famed frog legs with one side. Ms. Kim’s Shack Sauce serves as an alternative to the traditional cocktail sauce. Perry says it is homemade with a “little bit of this, little bit of that.”
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MS. KIM’S FISH & CHICKEN SHACK 711 Vandiver Drive, Mon.–Sat.,11 a.m. to 10 p.m., 256-5467, mskimsshack.com
ARTS
Finding the right voice Accent and dialect coach works with actors to get dialogue down BY KATELYN LUNDERS Inside Paula Cavanaugh Carter’s home, the walls are lined with posters from multiple plays and productions she has worked for, such as Good People and The Women of Lockerbie. Inside her workspace, there’s her desk, computer and headset, as well as three different clocks on the wall: one for Columbia time, one for New York time and one for Los Angeles time. These are the necessities of a dialect and accent coach. Cavanaugh Carter’s knack for speaking and recognizing different dialects, along with her knowledge of linguistics, makes her Columbia’s resident expert for coaching actors on different manners of speech. She has been the accent and dialect coach for actors who work for Disney Channel, in independent films and in national commercials, including the actor in the Audi car commercial that sponsored the Fifty Shades of Grey movie and an actor in St. Vincent. Cavanaugh Carter began acting in eighth grade because she was good at mimicking different sounds. “I couldn’t do sports, didn’t like math, but I could do accents,” she says. If there was a character in a show with an accent, she knew she could be cast. In college, Cavanaugh Carter decided to study theater at MU. After finishing her undergraduate degree in 1989, she went on to study method acting in New York at The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, which boasts famous alumni such as Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie and Marilyn Monroe. After two years of being in the city, the 1991 recession forced her to move back home to St. Louis. Her interest in the science behind language and how humans talk brought her to MU in 1996 to study linguistic anthropology. Her master’s degree now serves as her credential for dialect coaching. Cavanaugh Carter
”
I’ve been just foolish enough and brave enough to get something done that makes me extremely happy. — PAULA CAVANAUGH CARTER
says this education is a unique opportunity that not all dialect coaches have, which sets her apart. She started working on her doctorate in theater at MU in 2009, and she began teaching a dialect class to theater students and coaching Columbia actors on a volunteer basis. One of her former students, MU senior Katie Hoy, says Cavanaugh Carter used fun techniques to engage students, including asking them to sing current songs such as Eminem and Rihanna’s “The Monster” in Southern accents. Cavanaugh Carter also developed a new technique to help ensure her students made associations with the sounds rather than simply mimicking her noises. She remembered from her knowledge of the brain that images and music are stored in the right hemisphere and written words are on the left. Instead of having students silently read dialect rules in textbooks, she made a game out of trying to say them. For a British accent, she told her students to remove the “r” from words such as “marker” and “bark.” Students looked in mirrors while saying the words
Talk different to me These actors either found fame or flopped with their adopted accents Amy Adams, Boston accent in The Fighter
Paula Cavanaugh Carter coaches local actors through Talking Horse Productions, and she has also worked with national and international actors over Skype. Photo by AARON PELLISH
so they could see the shapes their mouths formed. Once they got the formation down, she showed them different images, such as Barbies, to say out loud so they would associate them with the sound. The technique is so innovative that Cavanaugh Carter will be presenting it to the dialect community at the Voice and Speech Trainers Association conference in Montreal this August. Voiceover actors from around the world, along with Elisa Carlson, the dialect coach for Selma, will be attending the conference and have the opportunity to see her presentation. Conference organizers asked her to give her technique a name, and, for now, she is calling it “the cartergraphic method,” which is named after her. “My students at MU were the first ones to see this get invented, and now it’s going kind of global, so I’m excited that they got to witness it here,” Cavanaugh Carter says. But students aren’t the only ones benefitting from the method in Columbia. Cavanaugh Carter also works with local actors at Talking Horse Productions. “If she says something, and it doesn’t click with the actor in the particular way she says it, she looks for a new way to connect to make sure they understand it,” says Ed Hanson, the artistic director at the theater. He says even he has picked up tips on how to pronounce certain things. Because of her growing success in Columbia, Cavanaugh Carter decided to make the switch from pursuing her doctorate in theater to focus solely on making a career out of dialect coaching. Although Cavanaugh Carter has the dream of working with A-list actors such as Shailene Woodley, she says there is currently nowhere she would rather be than in Columbia with her daughters, Madeleine, 12, and Erin, 11. By coaching local actors and actors around the globe via Skype, Cavanaugh Carter is able to achieve both her family and career goals. “I’ve been just foolish enough and brave enough to get something done that makes me extremely happy,” Cavanaugh Carter says. “I have to start making up new dreams because of this.”
Amy Adams takes on the Boston accent, also known as the Eastern New England English manner of speech. Born in Chicago, Adams abandons her regular way of speaking by dropping the “r” at the end of syllables to achieve an New England accent. Her commitment to it makes her performance stand out and helped earn her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Gerard Butler, Irish accent in P.S. I Love You Gerard Butler, who is from Scotland, had a difficult time doing the Irish accent in P.S. I Love You. He apologized to Irish critics for butchering it, according to Daily Beast. Butler drawled out his words to the point of incoherence at some instances.
Leonardo Dicaprio, South African accent in Blood Diamond In Blood Diamond, Leonardo Dicaprio received both praise and criticism for his South African accent, which is considered difficult to master, Cavanaugh Carter says. The “ee” sound in words such as fleece makes the South African accent stand out.
Robert Pattinson, Southern accent in Water for Elephants Robert Pattinson, who normally has an English accent, takes on a Southern one for Water for Elephants. Southerners elongate the vowels in words by drawing them out. Also, some short one-vowel words are sometimes broken up into two vowels, according to the website Dialect Blog. His accent wowed audiences and critics.
Ed Westwick, American accent in Gossip Girl Ed Westwick, who played Chuck Bass in Gossip Girl, is from England, but to play the teenage badboy on the show, he donned an American accent. After years of replicating stateside sounds, post-finale, he had to reorient himself to his native accent for Shakespearean roles. “It was a challenge getting to know the language and getting to know the timing,” he told Refinery 29.
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Forging tradition Photo story by John J. Happel
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T
he survival of a timehonored craft will always depend on the willingness of makers to teach the next generation of artisans. If the informed few decide the trade secrets are too precious to divulge, then the craft dies with its guardians. Bladesmithing has been practiced for centuries, but knife-making techniques haven’t always been readily shared over time and have become something of a lost art. There are skilled practitioners today who feel it is paramount that they pass down their knowledge to others who might someday carry on the trade. Sixty-three-year-old O.J. Stone is one of those knife-makers.
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Damascus steel — a material, made by combining several types of metal, that lends itself to superior strength and sharpness — burns hot in the forge on a cold November day outside Corbin Newcomb’s shop in Moberly. The heat from the forge brings the temperature in the shop to 90 F while snow falls outside.
Thirty years ago, Stone, then a new deputy with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, needed a boot knife, an easy-to-carry utility blade often hidden in the boot worn by law enforcement officers. Unwilling to spend the $35 to buy one, he decided to make one himself. Stone didn’t start from scratch; instead, he redesigned an older, beat-up knife using only hand tools. It never served its intended purpose; he was too proud to carry it around in his boot. In hindsight, he describes his first handmade knife as an “ugly looking toad” and admits that if he’d just spent the $35, he would have saved himself an awful lot of time and money. But he enjoyed making the knife and decided he would make more. At first, Stone learned the art through books and articles. Today, as a part-time bladesmith, he spends 20 to 30 hours a week in his workshop if life is otherwise calm. Stone says each knife takes an average of three to five days to make, depending on how many times he messes up. Most find Stone by word of mouth and his website, OJStoneKnives.com, though he has a handful of repeat customers. He sells his knives for up to $1,000, but sometimes donates them to charity
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auctions or gives them as gifts. Later, he met lifelong knife-maker Corbin Newcomb. Today, 84-year-old Newcomb is still vigilant in his craft and keeps the practice of forging Damascus steel alive. Stone says there are more knife-makers in the area than most people realize, estimating that there are between 75 and 100 in central Missouri. Knife-makers weren’t always open to sharing their techniques. Stone attributes this antiquated mind-set to old craft guilds and their greedily guarded secrets. Today, some like Newcomb, and now Stone, see a willingness to teach as an essential element to hand forging’s survival. “By the time I pack up my tools, put the keys to my workshop on the hook and don’t come out here anymore, I hope that I’ll have passed this (craft) on to a lot of knife-makers so that the skills will keep going from generation to generation, year after year,” he says. Over the years, Stone worked with a few other knife-makers who were looking for advice and newcomers who were interested in the craft. Now, as he approaches full retirement from law enforcement,
Stone looks forward to having more time to improve his knife-making skills while imparting the knowledge onto others. He says most people have two fears regarding retirement: money and keeping busy. The latter likely won’t present problems for him; he already maintains a side business that takes custom orders for handmade knives. An experienced knife-maker once told Stone the secret to making knives full-time: “You have to make really good knives, you have to make them quickly, you have to find a market, and most importantly, make sure your spouse has a really good paying job with benefits,” Stone says, laughing. Stone’s wife, Patricia, retired from health care and says knife-making is good for him. She has gotten used to his routine of coming and going from the shop most days. Patricia appreciates her husband’s passion for his work, and she has encouraged his bladesmithing throughout their 32 years of marriage. Thirty years later, passing knowledge to the next generation is just as important as mastering his craft. The idea is comforting: to depart knowing that your passion will continue to develop by the hands of another.
Three generations of Missouri knife-makers take a break while steel heats in the forge. Newcomb, 84, center, has mentored both O.J. Stone, 63, and Ethan Lee, 22, who is home on a short leave from the Navy.
Eventually, most knife-makers think about selling their products. Stone keeps a list of friends and customers who have knives on order. He says knife-makers should be their own worst critic and constantly ask themselves, “Is this good enough to sell?” He hopes his knives will be passed on from fathers to sons and mothers to daughters, so it is important that the knives are made to last.
PHOTOS BY OR COURTESY OF
“If I have any knowledge in this craft, I want to pass it on.” – O.J. Stone
Stone works with Damascus steel and carbon steel. Much of the knife-making process takes place in the forge before artisans take to the grinding wheel. Different grits of sandpaper shape the knife blade. Stone’s apron bears a large hole where sparks from the grinder have set it ablaze. He says fires are always a concern in his workshop.
O.J. Stone sees knife-making as a never-ending learning process. The knowledge he gains from those who have been working in the craft longer than he has inspires him to try new methods and tricks. His close mentor, Corbin Newcomb, has taught others who show interest in the trade. Stone admires that openness and hopes to do the same.
The hammer and anvil are traditional tools of the blacksmith. Even today, they are essential for making knives. Stone uses these tools to shape metal. The process, which dates back to the Middle Ages, involves folding many layers of high-carbon steel into a single block and can take an entire day to complete. Forging produces a lot of heat, so the workshop becomes unbearably hot in the summer. During this season, Stone often works early in the morning or waits for a cooler day.
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Knife-buyers purchase their tools for a variety of uses: chopping in the kitchen, artfully sitting on a shelf, hunting animals in the wilderness and defending a nation oversees. Whatever the intention of the buyer, Stone works with the customer on both practical and aesthetic aspects, so the knife is made specifically for that person. An Army veteran, Stone has made knives for soldiers deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. He gives soldiers the weapon for free on one condition: They bring it home themselves. He says they all have.
Stone handcrafted this bowie knife from Damascus steel and donated it to a local Friends of the NRA fundraiser. Jim Bowie, a 19th century pioneer and speculator in Louisiana, made the design famous by defending himself against several attackers using a similarly sized knife. Today, many collectors seek out these high-quality blades.
Hand-forging steel is Stone’s preferred process because it gives him more control over the grain in the blade. Damascus steel can be manipulated easily, allowing the maker to add beautiful patterns to the finished knife. This method offers the opportunity to create a combination of hard, soft and tough areas. Stone says if you’re going to have a tool, you might as well have a good-looking one.
MUSIC
Turn the volume up to 11 Over a decade has passed since Circa Survive’s 2004 debut, and the hits keep coming BY MARY HILLEREN
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VOXMAGAZINE.COM | 03.26.15
PHOTO COURTESY OF SUMERIAN RECORDS
From progressive to post-hardcore to indie rock, is there anything Circa Survive can’t do? Frequent a certain mid-Missouri college town, it seems. It has been four years since Circa Survive last stopped in Columbia, which makes the April 1 show at The Blue Note a welcome return. With a musical career spanning more than a decade, the band has dabbled in a number of genres and blurred the lines of each to weave a musical history all its own. From the early effects-laden Juturna and On Descensus, 2014 Letting Go to 2012’s abstract album Violent Waves, Circa Survive made its name by trying new things. And last year’s drastic reinvention is no exception. November’s Descensus offers a gratifying display of lead singer Anthony Green’s wide vocal range. Although the album features the group’s most aggressive sound yet, it also includes softer tracks such as “Nesting Dolls.” A longtime Circa Survive fan, Abbey Kestermont says she enjoys the soulful aesthetic the band brings to every album. A fan of almost five years, Ryan Hill says, “I love what they do with their guitar.” He adds, “Their singer is pretty incredible. He’s got a crazy range.” Hill says Green’s high-pitched singing turned him off at first because he wasn’t used to hearing a male performer hit those notes. CIRCA SURVIVE Now, he considers himself The Blue Note, 8 p.m., Wednesday, one of the band’s biggest fans. $18 in advance; $22 day of, “I would put myself in danger 874-1944, thebluenote.com to see them,” he says.
BOOKS
Forgotten memories
PHOTOS COURTESY OF GEORGE HODGMAN; VIKING
George Hodgman recounts caring for his mother with Alzheimer’s in Bettyville BY BROOKE VAUGHAN George Hodgman tries to surprise his mother, Betty, with books or her favorite desserts and candy. They watch Dirty Dancing about once a month. He drives her to St. George Hodgman Louis to get her hair colored and styled. He accompanies her to Nicholas Sparks movies, and most recently, Boyhood, at the theater. Occasionally, Hodgman invites his mother to his friends’ houses when they are making dinner. Betty Hodgman has Alzheimer’s. According to Alzheimer’s Association statistics, in Missouri, 110,000 people age 65 and older were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia in 2014. Hodgman, who previously served as a senior editor at Vanity Fair, moved back to his hometown of Paris, Missouri, in 2011 to care for his mother. He began writing Facebook posts to update family and friends on his mother’s dementia. His posts gained a following and eventually developed into a memoir, Bettyville, which chronicles his caregiving experience. The book deals with the funny-yet-serious issues that Hodgman has shared with his mother through the process. It was released March 10 to national acclaim. The New York Times wrote, “Rarely has the subject of elder care produced such droll human comedy.” When he moved, Hodgman left behind his work, friends and lifestyle. But, he says it is comforting to have the home life again: “It has done a lot for me. I feel like I’m human. I never had kids. It does something for the soul, the heart, to be drawn into someone.” Occasionally, friends from New York and California visit the two. They all chat, and the friends give Hodgman and his mother something new to talk about. It breaks their routine of saying the same things over and over again. As a child, Hodgman remembers his mother flooring the car and fixing her hair as she drove him to the bus stop for school every morning. Now, dementia has physically slowed her down. Although his mother is the one dealing with the illness, Hodgman, friends and family feel stress and concern for her. Joetta Coen, Alzheimer’s Association
director of programs and services in Columbia, says many families dealing with Alzheimer’s and dementia are afraid of what the future will be like or that they won’t be able to provide for their family member. She says the best thing for a caretaker to do is to be educated on the illness, their loved one’s unique behaviors and the way they communicate. “Everyone requires different care,” Coen says. “Families should never be afraid to ask questions that are important to them because every question is valid.” Once the book-writing process began, Hodgman kept his mother updated on the status of it, but he says he feared it would cause her too much discomfort if he read her the entire story. Topics such as Hodgman’s sexuality and their different understandings of the way he has lived his life tend to stay hidden around the house. Their discussions and viewpoints of such things are separated by generations of differences, yet Hodgman says he has never doubted his mother’s love and support. “You By George Hodgman don’t have to be a March 10 perfect family to List Price: $27.95 be a great family.” Hodgman is gradually coming to terms with his mother’s life ending. After her death, he plans to stay in the Paris area and uncover the rural American world that is underrepresented due to “hillbilly” stereotypes. He hopes to write another book based on his hometown findings, but he’s unsure what he’ll discover and what that book will be about. In the meantime, his relationship with his mother continues to grow as he cares for her and they experience things together, such as their occasional car rides around the country and Mark Twain Lake. “The experience has given me as much as I’ve given her,” Hodgman says. “Because you never lose when you gain the ability to give love and have love given to you.” Q&A WITH HODGMAN Barnes & Noble, 2 p.m., Saturday, free, 445-4080, barnesandnoble.com
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THIS WEEK IN COLUMBIA
University ConCert series
The to-do list
Good People. Great Performances.
Upcoming Events
Potted Potter: the UnaUthorized harry exPerienCe Tuesday, March 31, 2015, 7PM singin’ in the rain (FeatUre Film) Sunday, April 5, 2015, 2PM a hard day’s night (FeatUre Film) Monday, April 6, 2015, 7PM
Country singer Justin Adams is a southern gentleman with a rock ‘n’ roll edge. He has shared the stage with Eric Paslay and performed at the 2013 CMA Fest in Nashville. Thursday, 8–11 p.m., Rose Music Hall, $10 in advance; $12 day of, 874-1944
sing-along the soUnd oF mUsiC (FeatUre Film) Tuesday, April 7, 2015, 7PM
ARTS & CULTURE
FOOD & DRINK Columbia Winter Farmers Market
the ChanCellor’s art showCase Monday, April 13, 2015, 7:30PM
Call for Artists: Columbia Commemorative Poster
Attention artists: Submit your entries for this year’s commemorative poster. The winner receives $1,000. The art should highlight Columbia, and any medium is accepted. Friday, 5 p.m., Office of Cultural Affairs, City Hall, Free, 874-6386
Cherry PoPPin’ daddies Thursday, April 16, 2015, 7PM mU Choral Union: oUr tradition and FUtUre: a ProPhet oF light
Thursday, April 23, 2015, 7PM Battle High School
@UConcertSeries
Tickets
www.concertseries.org Missouri Theatre Ticket Office 203 South 9th Street, Downtown Columbia (573) 882-3781
VOXMAGAZINE.COM | 03.26.15
Design a Bookmark Contest
Raise your crayons, markers, paint brushes, and gel pens. Time to design a bookmark for the Columbia Public Library. The design theme is “Every Hero Has a Story.” Submissions accepted at the bookmobile or library. Deadline is March 31. Tuesday, 5 p.m., Columbia Public Library, Free, 443-3161
CIVIC ADA Legacy Bus Stop Tour
The Americans With Disabilities Act bus tour makes one last stop this month, and it’s in Columbia. Come out to commemorate the 25th anniversary of this legislation. The tour features a panel on the ADA Legacy. Monday, 9–11:30 a.m., Activity and Recreation Center, Free, 874-1416
Somebody should tell the Columbia Winter Farmers Market that spring is here. Ween off the stews, and grab some fresh produce. Friday, 2–5 p.m., Parkade Center, 823-6889
MUSIC The Disco Ball: An All 70s Disco & Funk Party
Dig those platform boots and flared jeans out of your closet. DJ Jen HA! plays disco hits and mixes classic funk for the ultimate #flashbackfriday. Hella Go-Go gets the party started with saucy dance moves. Friday, 8 p.m., The Blue Note, $5 cover; Free if in costume, 874-1944
The Masquerade Ball: A Burlesque & Vaudeville Circus Spectacular
Disappointed with American Horror Story: Freak Show? Watch acrobats, magicians and comedians. Live gypsy folk and rock ‘n’ roll music serve as the soundtrack to the show. Saturday, 8:30 p.m., The Blue Note, $15, 874-1944
SPORTS
FORUM 8 SHOWTIMES @
GoodrichQualityTheaters.com
and 573-445-7469 and Fandango.com
Missouri Tennis vs. Tennessee
vox In the eighth conference match of the season, the Tigers battle the Lady Vols. The Missouri THURSDAY athletes hope to win after losing most of their SEC face-offs this season. Friday, 5 p.m., Mizzou Tennis Complex, Free, 1-800-228-7297
MARCH 5, 12, 19, 26 1 col. x 1
PHOTO COURTESY OF FACEBOOK.COM/JUSTINADAMSCOUNTRY
missoUla Children’s theatre: raPUnzel Saturday, May 9, 2015 3PM and 6PM Jesse Auditorium
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DON’T MISS: JUSTIN ADAMS
A CONVERSATION WITH GREG MICHALSON
Q&A
Unbridled Books’ co-founder offers his own editorial style to the world of print BY JACK FLEMMING PHOTO BY LOREN ELLIOTT
In an industry dominated by big publishing companies, Unbridled Books stands out among the stacks. The small publishing firm, founded by Columbian Greg Michalson and Colorado-based Fred Ramey in 2003, is dedicated to making an imprint on the literary world. Even though they live in different places, Michalson and Ramey share the responsibility of shepherding new books through publication. Often, larger firms let many of their books get lost in the shuffle. Rather than fall into the same habit, Michalson says Unbridled works diligently to capitalize on the potential of each title. The publishing house spends anywhere from a few months to a year to edit and promote each novel. Because of this, Unbridled only puts out three to five books a year. One such book is Toughs, which was published in August. Written by Ed Falco, the novel explores the 1930s New York mob scene. “Unbridled is loyal to their authors,” Falco says. “I feel like I have a home there, which is rare in the publishing industry.” Today’s publishing culture tends to favor commercial titles over literary works. How does Unbridled stay relevant? The way we try to stay relevant is to publish books we care about and personally love, and then we present them the best way we can. We also try to stay on the cutting edge of things. For example, we were the first small press of our kind to digitize our entire backlist and turn them all into e-books. We also try to reach out in as many new ways
as possible. We have tons of Twitter followers, and we try to use all the social media avenues and take advantage of whatever we can. Hopefully that helps. I prefer to call it quality fiction over commercial fiction. When compared to publishers with larger presses, what sets Unbridled apart? Operating a small press these days is really difficult. It’s hard to sell enough books to reach as wide of an audience as we think our authors deserve, and it’s harder and harder as the publishing landscape changes. One thing we offer is personalized service. We care about every book that we publish. Most of the authors end up becoming my friends. In a sense, we’re a publishing family. That’s the main advantage. The disadvantage is that we can’t always get the kind of review attention that big houses can. We don’t have as big of a marketing budget. But we’re a lot better at guerrilla marketing. How does Unbridled put its authors on the path to success? I can say with complete honesty that I’ve never had buyer’s remorse. I’ve never bought a novel, published it and been sorry. My approach has always been more interested in publishing careers instead of publishing books. When I take on an author, I don’t have this short-term idea that we’re going to publish
the book, and if it sells 10,000 copies and we make money on it, then we’ll make another book. I’m more trying to help build careers for these authors and develop readership. How many manuscripts do you reject per year, and what’s your criteria? I reject a couple hundred manuscripts for every one I accept. I reject it if it bores me or if it’s not well written or has some kind of problem in it. Beyond that, for me to accept a manuscript, it has to have everything. It has to have voice, be well-written, have writing chops, a sense of character and place, all of those things. If a manuscript falls down in any of those places, it’s a problem for me. But I also read manuscripts that I think are very publishable, but just not by me. I might just not care for the kind of book it is. So I might admire it but can’t imagine an audience for it enough to take it on. What advice would you give a writer wanting to be published? Don’t get discouraged. Do your homework, and try to find an editor who you can work with that seems compatible with you. Understand that there are a million reasons why a manuscript doesn’t get accepted that have nothing to do with whether it’s good. There are all kinds of business and aesthetic issues with timing that are involved in any editorial decision making. 03.26.15 | VOXMAGAZINE.COM
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V O X M A G A Z I N E / / 0 3 . 1 2 . 1 5 / / F R E E E V E RY T H U R S D AY V O X M A G A Z I N E / / 0 3 . 1 9 . 1 5 / / F R E E E V E RY T H U R S D AY
LIFE IN PLASTIC
Columbia’s most durable tradition stacks up decades of souvenirs PAGE 6
Where
dead go?
V O X M A G A Z I N E / / 0 3 . 2 6 . 1 5 / / F R E E E V E RY T H U R S D AY
THE NEW CLASSIC
Strange Donuts is here, and its hometown recipe bucks custom from the doughy inside, out
do the
DOWN-HOME DELICACY
Kim Perry’s fried Southern fare will practically leap onto your plate
PAGE 5
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MIXING IT UP
One writer’s search for answers SPEAKING IN TONGUES takes her to a crematorium and
Food presentation is only one of Teller’s chefs’ creative talents
A coach with an ear for accents a closet of unclaimed ashes trains thespians in distinct dialects
PAGE 14
PAGE 5
WEDNESDAYS ON PROVIDENCE
COOKIE COCKTAIL
PAGE 4
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Discover the drive behind these peaceful demonstrators and their street-corner antics
The Roof’s newest drink brings a crumbled sugar rush to your happy hour
Stoking the flame Bladesmith O.J. Stone heats up an age-old craft with plans to pass the torch PAGE 6
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