Y'all Magazine – October 2004 by Yall Magazine

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40 GREATEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL TRADITIONS

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THE M AGA ZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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ʼall

THE M AGA ZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

this-n-that 9

Where Y’all?

What Southern Women Know

Capturing hot Southern stars, from the campaign trail to Hollywood.

Southern women are always game.

SOUTHERN SELA: Sela Ward grew up in Mississippi, and then headed to Tuscaloosa to cheer on the Crimson Tide during college. Find out more about the veteran actress. Peter Kramer/Getty Images

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Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

Southern Sounds

Home Plate

Wine Down South

Dixie Destination

On the Money

Cajun Humor

Blue Collar

GRITS

Star Gazing

Festive South

38 Special rocks out on the comeback CD Drivetrain. Chef Marvin Woods is back in the kitchen, this time cooking up a great Citrus Grilled Pork Shoulder. What goes with Citrus Grilled Pork Shoulder? Doc Lawrence tells you.

A closer look at Arkansas’ neat little place in the woods, Thorncrown.

Money man Dave Ramsey tells us about Murphy’s Law of Money. Need a Total Money Makeover? Tommy Joe Breaux salutes moms. Jeff Foxworthy looks back.

Ms. Grits Deborah Ford on bringing the front porch back into your life.

Joe LoCicero reports from Hollywood. Balloon rides, a salute to moonshine and even a Y’all Festival. it all gets celebrated this fall.

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40 Greatest College Football Traditions The bands, cheerleaders, history and pageantry that surround the Southern college football experience.

Guess Who? Courtesy of Florida State Sports Information

features 17

Suddenly Southern

FALL FASHION

Rev. Franklin Graham

Atlanta Fireman Matt Moseley

Judge Charles Pickering

When a Yankee moves below the Mason-Dixon line, it’s not always easy to adjust and adapt to life down South. Author Maureen Duffiin-Ward’s new book is a welcome gift for North and South alike.

Dress chic for the big game, thanks to some downhome Southern family-owned businesses.

On an autumn afternoon five years ago, Matt Moseley went to extraordinary heights - literally - to save the life of a man trapped atop a burning inferno.

The Mississippi native created headlines when he was nominated to serve on the U.S. District Court. Discover how the farm boy rose to the bench.

54 southern sounds

The son of legendary evangelist Billy Graham is his own person. Graham shares the story of his life.

ON THE COVER: JEFF FOXWORTHY/THE WB/KWAKU ALSTON

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This famous actor was a jock at Florida State.

The South has some hot new music to listen to as you make those fall roadtrips. 38 Special is back with Drivetrain, plus newcomers Anthony Evans and Trent Dabbs tee it up for a big musical kickoff. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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inside 12

InnerView Jill Arrington

A college football game is complete with Georgia Peach Jill Arrington on the sideline. Read more about the ESPN journalist. SCOTT GRIES/GETTY IMAGES

Mindy Friddle

South Carolina author Friddle pens her first novel, The Garden Angel. Discover the background of the Greenville resident, and her book.

Ann Bowden “The First Lady of College Football” is the quarterback of Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden’s life.

Loretta Lynn

Butcher Hollow’s own country diva is known for her Southern charm. Now with her first cookbook, Loretta will fill you up with good food and great memories.

Yella Wood Man

Who is this guy? If you watch TV at all , you can’t miss the man behind Yella Wood, Jimmy Rane. TOP TO BOTTOM: FRANK MICELOTTA-GETTY IMAGES | FLORIDA STATE SPORTS INFORMATION

for Glory 66 Bound Beautiful color pictures from the

Cowboy Mouth

South, circa 1939.

The New Orleans band is rocking the South. Discover Cowboy Mouth’s Big Easy sound.

Alan Blinder

In Memoriam

14-year-old covers the G-8 Summit in Savannah, Ga. Remembering Mattie Stepanek, Georgia Gov. George Busbee, Duke football star Micah Harris, and others.

TM&®2004LILLYPULITZER©

SAM JONES/FOX

Y’all arrives in Nashville to meet and greet country stars, including Lila McCann (right).

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Frederick M. Brown-Getty Images.

Fanair F

59 79 Ray Charles

Late legend enshrined into the Y’all of Fame

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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yʼall ™

THE M AGA ZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE ™

President & Publisher Jon Rawl jon@yall.com Managing Editor Molly Fergusson molly@yall.com

Associate Publisher Keith Sisson keith@yall.com

Art Director Carroll Moore carroll@yall.com

Vice President/ Development Gus Bailey, Jr. gus@yall.com

New Media Andy Young andy@yall.com

Kentucky Bureau Colleen Cassity kentucky@yall.com

Asst. Managing Editor Mary-Kathryn Millner

Arkansas Bureau Jason Nall arkansas@yall.com

Copy Editor Dianne S. Fergusson Contributing Writers Tommy Joe Breaux Deborah Ford Michelle Lindsey Ronda Rich Alan Blinder B.J. Bennett Kristin Gravatt Jeff Foxworthy Nikki Roberts Marvin Woods Doc Lawrence Michael Nozinich Victoria Parchman Nancy Posey Nickolas Furr Dave Ramsey Joe LoCicero Jenna Blackwell Annabelle Robertson Jennifer Russell Amanda Manning Tabatha Gardner Illustrators Allan Inman Don Maters Tennessee Bureau Joshua Wilkins tennessee@yall.com

Account Executive Meredith Dabbs meredith@yall.com 662.236.1928

Circulation

Board of Directors Chairman Jon Rawl Secretary/Treasurer Keith Sisson Gus Bailey, Jr. Brady Porth III David Prewitt Tandy C. Rice, Jr. Publishing Consultant Samir Husni

Texas Bureau Matt Heermans texas@yall.com Y’all isis published published bimonthly bimonthly by by General GeneralRawl RawlMedia, Media,LLC LLC (September/ Y’all October 2004), 2004), Volume Volume 2, 2, Number Number 3. 3. Editorial Editorial and and advertising advertising offi offices ces at at October 1006 Van Buren, Suite 211, Oxford, MS 38655-3900. Mailing address: address: 1006 Van Buren, Suite 211, Oxford, MS 38655-3900. Mailing P.O. Box Box 1217, 1217, Oxford, Oxford, MS MS 38655. 38655. Telephone: Telephone: 662-236-1928. 662-236-1928. Basic Basic P.O. subscription rate: rate: 66 issues, issues, U.S. U.S. $24.95; $24.95; Canada Canada $32.69. $32.69. 12 12 issues, issues, U.S. U.S. subscription $34.95; Canada Canada $45.80. $45.80. $34.95; Entire contents copyright 2004, General Rawl Media, LLC. Entire contents copyright 2004, General Rawl Media, Inc. All rights reserved. reserved. Reproduction Reproduction in in whole whole or or in in part part without without permission permission is is rights prohibited. Products named named in in these these pages pages are are tradenames tradenames or or trademarks trademarks prohibited. Products of their their respective respective companies. companies. Opinions Opinions expressed expressed in in this this publication publication do do of not necessarily necessarily refl reflect ect that that of of the the publisher. publisher. not For subscriptions, subscriptions,queries, queries,andand customer service, visit For customer service, pleaseplease visit www. www.yall.com yall.com Y’all Magazine Magazine Business Business phone: phone: 662-236-1928. 662-236-1928. Y’all E-mail us us at: at: mail@yall.com mail@yall.com E-mail Subscriptions: Toll-Free Toll-Free 1-800-935-5185 1-800-935-5185 Subscriptions: Application to mail at at Periodical Periodical Postage Postage Rates Rates is is Pending Pending at at Oxford, Oxford, Application to mail Mississippi and and at at additional additional mailing mailing offi offices. ces. Mississippi POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Y’all, P.O. Box 1217, POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Y’all, P.O. Box 1217, Oxford, MS MS 38655-1217. 38655-1217. Printed Printed in in the the USA. USA. Oxford,

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Above: Y’all publisher Jon Rawl, while a fired up cadet at The Citadel.

GOT SPIRIT, Y’ALL?

There’s an old saying that fall Saturday’s are religious days in the South. No, folks don’t go to church then. Instead, they congregate at football stadiums around the region, rejoicing with excitement as their favorite team hits the field. With this issue of Y’all, we are spotlighting the traditions and pageantry of the best college football programs in the world. And yes, they are all from the South. Read more on the “40 Greatest College Football Traditions,” starting on page 31. Cover girl Sela Ward cheered at Alabama when Bear Bryant led the Crimson Tide. In an exclusive interview (pg. 25), the veteran actress lets us in on her Southern roots, and the many projects she’s got coming down the pike. Rah! Rah! We caught up with Miss America 2004 Ericka Dunlap in Nashville during Fan Fair. Dunlap, who appeared in the premiere issue of Y’all last year, was as gracious as ever in Music City. The Orlando, Fla. native has represented the South, and the nation, beautifully. We look forward to following Ericka as she relinquishes her crown and pursues a singing career in country music. Meet the other Fan Fair stars that signed autographs at the Y’all booth on page 59. One more extra point on college football. Keep up with your favorite team’s schedule and scores by logging on to www.yall.com this football season. You’ll even find the Y’all Top 15, a ranking of the South’s hottest teams. See if your team made the cut, or find recipes, subscription info, and more on the yall.com site. Thanks for reading Y’all, the Magazine of Southern People. Southernly yours,

Jon Rawl

Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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where y’all? w Zach McMullen, 3, holds on to his father, Army Sgt. Robert McMullen tightly, after not seeing him for over a year. Approximately 275 army soldiers with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 2ACR, were among the first element of some 2,200 troops to return to Fort Polk, La. on July 8. (Photo by Mario Villafuerte/Getty Images)

Back at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, President George W. Bush speaks on the telephone on July 25 with Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. Bush congratulated Armstrong on his record-breaking sixth Tour de France victory, telling his fellow Texan by telephone: “You’re awesome”. (Photo by Eric Draper/ White House via Getty Images)

Tony Kanaan, driver of the #11 Andreti Green Racing Team 7-Eleven Honda Dallara, celebrates with a kiss from his wife, Dani, after winning the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series Firestone Indy 200 on July 17 at the Nashville Super Speedway in Lebanon, Tenn.

Lt. Sam Wigley from Colmesnell, Texas of the 1st 153rd Infantry Arkansas Army National Guard, pushes two children on a swing at a new playground in Baghdad, Iraq. The playground was funded by the U.S. military, which gave grants to Iraqis for Baghdad beautification, and then allowed them to decide on the project and hire the relevant contractors. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

Presidential candidate John Kerry (C), U.S. Senator and former astronaut Bill Nelson (D-FL) (R), former U.S. Senator and former astronaut John Glenn (L) and U.S. Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) (Rear) sit in hatch of the NASA Shuttle Discovery during a tour of the Kennedy Space Center complex on July 26 (NASA)

(Photo by Gavin Lawrence/Getty Images)

Former Alabama Crimson Tide and NFL quarterback Joe Namath and daughter Jessica attend the 12th Annual ESPY Awards in Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

At Vulcan Park in Birmingham, syndicated radio hosts Rick & Bubba greet Oklahoma Sooner fan Keith Bartsh from Montgomery, Ala.

She said “Yes!” Caroline Cahill of Jackson, Tenn. and Rusty Ballentine of Clarksdale, Miss. became engaged during a recent trip to London and Paris. The nuptials are June 1, 2005. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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where y’all? Atlanta-based singer Usher Raymond arrives at the New York film premiere of The Manchurian Candidate at the Beekman Theatre on July 19. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images)

Otis Reeves of Montgomery, Ala., a supporter of the Ten Commandments monument, looks on as workers remove the monument from storage at the State Judicial Building July 19, 2004 in Montgomery. Ousted Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore’s granite monument, which has been out of public view for nearly a year, will be taken on a three-month nationwide “God Bless America” tour by a veterans group. (Photo by Gary Tramontina/Getty Images)

Gladys Knight performs at the 10th Anniversary Essence Music Festival at the Superdome in New Orleans, La. on July 4. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Musicians (L-R) Isaac Hayes, Scotty Moore and Justin Timberlake meet with the press at the 50th Anniversary of Rock ‘N’ Roll Reunion Celebration on July 5, 2004 at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. The event marked the anniversary of Elvis’ recording of “That’s All Right,” which is considered by many to be the “big bang” of rock and roll’s beginings. (Photo by Mike Brown/Getty Images)

We’d love to hear from you! Letters should include the writer’s full name, address and daytime phone number and may be edited for clarity and space. 10

Taking a break from the hot Florida sun, Kelly-Lynn of Ocala sets sail with a magazine in tow. Is that Y’all? (Photo by Leon J. Panitz, Jr.)

TO CONTACT THE EDITORIAL STAFF Write to us: Y’all Magazine Editorial Dept. P.O. Box 1217 Oxford, Mississippi 38655

Call us: 662-236-1928 Fax us: 662-236-4770 E-mail us: editor@yall.com

Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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inner VIEW College Football is back! This edition of InnerView is a glimpse at three extraordinary Southerners that connect with the sport. Georgia Peach Jill Arrington is a game reporter for ESPN, and Jill’s got a sophistication and knowledge of the game that’s broadcast to millions around the land. Ann Bowden is the wife of Florida State’s legendary coach Bobby Bowden, and she’s helped her husband of 55 years become the winningest Division I coach. Finally, if you watch TV at all this time of year you can’t help but see Jimmy Rane, president of Great Southern Wood, donning a shade of yellow and promoting Yella Wood.

Jill Arrington

sideline southerner Y’ALL: You’re a brand new mom (daughter Presley Kate, born on June 15, 2004). What is that like? ARRINGTON: Gosh, I would say I’m just trying to learn to let go. I’m a controlling person, and with a baby you have to learn to let things go. That’s been the tough part, and of course the sleep deprivation. I’m still a little bit of a zombie, after three weeks of nursing. It’s tough, you have to get up and feed every two or three hours. Your schedule goes right out of the window, you’re on her schedule. So just learning that, it’s kind of a dance between mother and daughter, to learn how and what each other needs. It’s a tough job, but very rewarding. She’s just more precious than I ever could have thought she would be. I guess everybody says that, but it’s true. I never knew I could love so much.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ESPN

Y’ALL: What were you like growing up in the South? ARRINGTON: I’m a Southern girl [born in Conyers, Ga. on July 27, 1972]. My parents both went to the University of Georgia, so I grew up going to the SEC games. And that’s where, with my dad (Rick Arrington) being the quarterback, and then going on to the NFL, of course my love for football followed. I was a tomboy growing up, believe it or not. I played softball for about ten years and tennis, starting at about three years old. I went on to play tennis at Miami. I was a cheerleader, and played in any kind of sport I could get my hands on. You know how it is in the South; sports are everything.

Y’ALL: What is it like for you during football season? ARRINGTON: Very busy. I travel a lot, since I live on the West Coast it’s kind of crazy. I worked at CBS for 5 years, so I had to cover the SEC. That was our conference, so I had to travel cross-country every week and back. Covering

football, it’s six months of really busy running, then I’m off for six months. It’s not a bad job at all. Y’ALL: What will you do now that you’re with ESPN? ARRINGTON: I’ll be covering the Thursday night primetime college game, with Mike Tirico, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit. So it’ll be nice to kind of kick off the weekend every Thursday night. We have a couple of SEC games, and a lot of ACC games. And then I’ll be doing features on College GameDay, which is there pre-game show that airs on Saturday mornings. So I’ll be up there with the guys doing some features. Y’ALL: Is it any different being a female sideline reporter? ARRINGTON: It’s become a lot easier. A lot of women have paved the way. The players and coaches respect the females as much as the males. I will never know as much about football as a man who has played the game, one who has worn the shoulder pads, and taken the hits. I just won’t. I know what its like to be up to bat with the bases loaded and two outs, the pressure’s on you, and you’ve

Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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got to do what you’ve got to do. I let the guys take care of the X’s and O’s. Obviously I follow the game plan as much as I can. But to me, with a sideline reporter’s job, a woman or a man can do that job. Y’ALL: What are your favorite places in the South to go to and work? ARRINGTON: I tell you, Neyland Stadium in Knoxville is pretty amazing, it’s just so big. They pack it in every game, hundreds of thousands of people. You know running the “T,” screaming “Rocky Top,” it’s a pretty neat atmosphere there. I would say Florida is probably one of the loudest places to play. Georgia is the classiest place to see a game. The men are wearing ties, and the ladies are in dresses. It’s just a really neat collegiate feel, and it’s a beautiful university. Y’ALL: Any perks to coming to the South for games? ARRINGTON: I love Southern food, like biscuits and gravy and grits. They don’t have grits in California, its crazy. No biscuits, no grits, its awful. When I’m traveling I get my real Southern breakfast, you know real fried chicken and all the things I grew up eating. Y’ALL: What else can we find you doing that has nothing to do with football? ARRINGTON: Ummm. I’m a girl, and I live in L.A. I lived in Beverly Hills for five years, so shopping. I love shopping and fashion, which is completely opposite of sports. I planned my whole wedding [in 2001 Arrington married college sweetheart Dean Panaro]. So there’s a huge girl side to me, as well as the athletic sporty side. compiled by by Jenna Blackwell Compiled Meredith Dabbs SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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inner VIEW

Ann Bowden

first lady of college football Y’ALL: What is it like for you [and husband Bobby Bowden, head coach at Florida State] during football season? BOWDEN: Well, we’ve been so fortunate. We’ve won more games than we have lost. When you win, it’s fun and when you don’t win it’s terrible. Although you do enjoy the association with the young people, it kindof keeps you young in spirit. But actually Bobby’s paid to win football games. Bobby was lucky because he started out small, and just gradually grew, as he got older and moved from school to school. We were fortunate to come to Florida State when they were at the bottom and he was able to come up winning that way. Success breeds success.

Courtesy of Florida State Sports Information

Y’ALL: What are some of your outside interests? BOWDEN: My family, and children. I started a daycare center. I didn’t have a formal education, but I could teach in private schools, and church schools. I always felt like I was a natural wife and mother. I started a Head Start program in West Virginia. When we went to Tallahassee, someone asked me if I’d be the spokesperson for what is now The Florida Coalition of Children. It places children that come from broken homes. It’s really where my main thrust of interest is. As a head coach’s wife, I have helped with honorary boards for charity events such as cancer, muscular dystrophy, heart, etc. They say, “You’re Coach Bowden’s wife,” and I say, “Well, I am Ann Bowden.”

Y’ALL: After 55 years of marriage, and six kids, is there any advice you can give Y’all? BOWDEN: With every marriage and every job, life has its ups and downs…if you can just stay with it. When you’re young, a molehill seems like a mountain. Things seem so big, but the older you get you realize that it wasn’t as big of a deal as you thought it was when you were younger. I think that having a strong faith is one of the biggest things that made our family strong. Bobby gets up every morning at 4 a.m., and reads his Bible along with four other books that he reads before the newspaper comes. He loves history and Bible history as much as world history. We were too young to really think seriously when we married, we didn’t evaluate each other and say is he really what I need to marry and

what our future is going to be. We just fell in love like kids do, and it was real. God chooses people, just like he did in Biblical times. He chooses you, and I really believe that he chose me to be [Bobby’s] soulmate through his life. I feel very strongly that we were put together, and I’ve helped him accomplish what he’s accomplished. Y’ALL: What are some favorite suppers at the Bowden household? BOWDEN: We never had the money to eat out with our children, but I cooked a lot at home. My children [including Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden] love good home-cooked macaroni and cheese and Bobby loved my meatloaf, and still does. We eat out every night now. I rarely cook anymore; we just pick a new restaurant every night. He does love beans and franks, coleslaw and barbecue ribs. You don’t get those good old-fashioned meals out anymore like you used to. He’s diabetic, though. We have to watch what we eat. Y’ALL: So, can we expect the Bowden’s to be part of Florida State football for a long time? BOWDEN: Well, you have to be realistic. He is 74 years old [Ann Bowden is 71]. If he keeps winning and recruits well, he wants to coach as long as he’s winning and healthy enough. I think he’d give anything to win another national championship before he bows out. You just hate to give it up. I hope we can hang in there four to five more years.

compiled by Meredith Dabbs 14

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inner VIEW

Jimmyy Ra a true south Y’A Y’ALL: As the founder and spokesman for Great Southern Wood (which sold over G $500 million of lumber in 2003), what is it like to be such a familiar face to TV viewers across the South? RANE: It’s sort of surprising, when you consider that 20 years ago when we started this is was just a little local thing that I did with [Auburn head coach] Pat Dye, who is a good friend of mine. I was experimenting to see if it would have any interest among customers and consumers, and it just sort of worked and blossomed from there. Y’ALL: Your company appears to be a big supporter of college athletics. How has this involvement helped? RANE: I guess we just touched a vein or touched a nerve when we started this, and we realized that Southerners are very passionate about their college football and in particular their own individual college teams. It certainly has given us a lot of name recognition and given us a lot of, I suppose, high profile with the people who follow college athletics. Y’ALL: What the heck is Yella Wood anyway? RANE: Well it’s just about the best dad-gum wood you can buy. Y’ALL: How did you get your Abbeville, Ala. based company off the ground? RANE: When I was a senior in law school at Cumberland, I had an opportunity to purchase a local company. I’m from Abbeville. I really had plans back then of just practicing a little law and selling a little lumber and making enough money to make a living here at home and when I started out I had a one room law office downtown on the court square and I had two black telephones and when one would ring I would say “Jimmy Rane Law Office” and when the other would ring I would say “Great Southern Wood,” and that’s how we got started. Y’ALL: What is your favorite color? RANE: Pink! No, I’m kidding. Yellow, I guess. Everyone else likes it, so I guess I do too. It has done real well for Great Southern. Y’ALL: What are some lessons you’ve learned as a successful businessman? RANE: Well I was blessed with a wonderful father

and mother, and my father was a self-made business man and the lessons that he taught me and my brother is that people matter more than anything. It doesn’t matter how successful you are, anybody who has a little money is capable of buying a truck and piece of lumber or a building. Y’ALL: Certainly the booming home building in the South lately has been good for you. RANE: I’m a Southerner. I have the opportunity to travel around the country, and pretty much throughout, the Southern region of the United States and has been one of the strongest economically in the last several years and certainly in the last three or four years, our economy is stronger than, especially in the building sector, than anything I’ve seen in my 34 years of business. Y’ALL: During your time away from the office, what do you enjoy doing? RANE: I enjoy college football and I enjoy sports and following my teams. I like to fish. I still like to hunt quail sometimes. compiled by Michael Nozinich SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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SSuddenly OUTHERN by Mary-Kathryn Millner

EVAN AGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES

A Yankee’s Guide to Living in Dixie

According to the 2000 Census, about 40 million people move every year. Many Southerners may be shocked to find out that about 40 percent of those people moving to a new region each year are moving right here to Dixie. Seeing as we Southerners have some pretty unique ways of doing things, most of these new residents (Yankees, if you will), have no earthly idea what they are getting themselves into. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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Luckily, Maureen Duffin-Ward has written a comprehensive guide to life in the South that is both helpful and humorous. Suddenly Southern- A Yankee’s Guide to Living in Dixie is a first-hand look at what it is like for a Yankee to move Down South, and all that is likely to be encountered when they get here. “ This book is a must before packing the moving van,” says DuffinWard, who moved from Philadelphia to Raleigh, N.C. six years ago. She realized shortly after her move that she was in for a much bigger change than she had ever imagined. Moving with her husband when he was offered “the job of a lifetime,” Duffin-Ward discovered that living in the South can be a whole different world, especially if you are not familiar with some basic information that we Southerns take for granted. Not sure what the basic information is? Our everyday practices that are guaranteed to seem foreign to new Northern neighbors, like pulling over for a funeral procession, how to barbecue, and putting on a Southern wedding.

“…it is a great gift to give to your new Yankee neighbor, a relative who has been transferred South, or even for a fellow Southerner. “ It is a topic everyone likes to talk about,” she says. Suddenly Southern offers advice on topics ranging from what to pack (a cocktail shaker and deep-fat fryer) and advice on how to decorate your Southern home, all the way to a Dixie dictionary (for words such as all y’all, butter beans, and Pig Pickin’), and much, much more. She also includes recipes, tailgating tips, and a “How to Walk from the the Store to the Car without Dying, Fun-in-the-Sun Survival Kit.” The information in Suddenly Southern is both practical and hysterical, for Southerners and Yankees alike. Duffin-Ward says it is a great gift to give to your new Yankee neighbor, a relative who has been transferred South, or even for a fellow Southerner. “It is a topic everyone likes to talk about,” she says. It is a humorous, illustrated book filled with everything imaginable: fact, fiction, myth, and critical pieces of advice especially for Yankees related to living, eating, greeting, driving, walking and talking in the South. 18

Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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The idea for the book stemmed from a column titled “New In Town,” which Duffin-Ward began writing for the Raleigh News and Observer about a year after she moved to North Carolina. She says after living in North Carolina she heard so much negative criticism toward Yankees who live in the South that she thought, “How about equal time for the Damn Yankees.” Not to mention she figured such a life changing move was also the perfect time for a daring career move as well. “I thought, ‘You know what, I think I will try something I have always wanted to pursue,”she says. So, just as her life changed her career did too, and she began writing. “All the writing success is so thrilling,”she says. Based on the enthusiastic response she got for her column, Maureen began hosting a radio show based on similar topics. Flooded with responses – from both Southerners and Northerners alike – offering their “don’t forget to talk about this or thats.” Duffin-Ward began to generate more and more ideas

“ I thought there was a place for a book…” and humorous anecdotes to write in her column and to discuss on her show. All the positive feedback and call-ins led her to take it one step further. “ I thought there was a place for a book,” she says. Duffin-Ward eloquently describes her book as captivating “the unique experience that home is a portable concept.” Saying she now can fly home to Philadelphia, or North Carolina, finding comfort in both places. She says this is a concept that she believes many people do not understand. And she says without hesitation, if she were to ever move North again, there would be some favorite Southern things she would hate to leave behind. “Crape Myrtles, they are my favorite things. If I ever move back, I will have to have them shipped to me. Oh, oh and the beaches, the emerald isle beaches.” Duffin-Ward has found what so many of us already know, that this place truly is home. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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| Where the South Lives.

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$115.00 B. SANTA WITH CAT FIGURINE (Product Number 08A303) A must-have for Christmas collectors and cat collectors. Artist Jim Shore works in a folk art quilt motif to create this darling pair. Handcrafted, hand-painted resin with the look of hand-carved wood. 4.5” dia. x 10.75”h. Gift Wrap Available.

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HOME ACCESSORIES: C.

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$95.00 D. 48 INCH COPPER STAR (Product Number 09G034) Star power! Big and bold, crafted by hand in the USA. Natural copper. Outdoor safe. Some assembly required. 2-3 weeks delivery. 48” dia. x 5”d.

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$29.95 F. SMILEY TREE FACE (Product Number 03A163) Does a tree have a spirit? If so, this clever set brings it to life! Hang the pieces on a tree. Resin, crafted to look like weathered bark. Way larger-than-life but, like any face, may vary: 5.5”w mouth, 6.5”l nose, 4.5” dia. eyes. Gift wrap is available.

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KIDS: G.

G. PONY SWING (Product Number 01B094) This pony is ready to ride. Pony sports rope tail and mane and leather saddle. Ages 3-8. USA. 2-3 weeks delivery. 29”l x 5”w x 13”h.

$115.00 H. GRIZZLY BEAR HUGS (Product Number 01B108) Our sleepy cub loves to snuggle. He’s a hit with kids (and we couldn’t resist giving him a squeeze as well!) The very softest acrylic/ polyester pile with “squishy” polyester fill, leather claws, suede pads. 26”l x 10.5”w x 8”h. Gift Wrap Available

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My South brakes for flea markets. In My South, haggling is a sport. Feel free to go junkin’– just don’t ever trash My South. My South is on Turner South. Dave Bird and Val Myers, Hosts of Turner South's hit original series Junkin'

Junkin’

Tuesdays at 10:30PM ET

Your South. turnersouth.com 22

Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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family of fam fa

ffashion

by Meredith Dabbs

It’s time to put away those white pumps again ladies, and men- time to tuck away that beloved seersucker. Fall is here and we’ve just begun our search for what to wear to the big game. May we suggest a few hip and youthful must haves for the season: gold jewelry (the bigger the better), fun or funky new shirts to show your keen sense of humor, and jeans, jeans, jeans! (‘Lest we forget out pom-pom). Where to get these duds? It’s all in the family!

The Junk Gypsy Company The Junk Gypsy Company started with a little bit of faith and a whole lot of heart and soul. The Texas-based company was founded by mom Janie Sikes and her two daughters, Amie Sikes and Jolie SikesSmith (both grads of Texas A&M), who decided to give up working 8 to 5 and do something a little more fun with their time. The three women founded the Junk Gypsy Company in 1998, when they threw caution to the wind in exchange for a little breeze in their hair. Searching the world over as “purveyors of the world’s finest junk”, these women have journeyed all over the globe on their mission. Not just ordinary “junk”, the Gypsies line of clothing goods was recently picked up by Target stores, and shirts have been worn by many celebrities, ranging from Sheryl Crow to Minnie Driver. We think their funky tops provide a feminine and fun look- perfect for a fun-filled day of football! Check out all the Gypsy Goods online at www.gypsyville. com

Photo by Robert Jordan

Blue Genes Atlanta In August 2001, sisters Jennifer Arrendale, Jane Arrendale, and Julie Arrendale Sims opened a blue jeans boutique in Atlanta, Ga. Now carrying more than 21 different brands of “high-end” jeans, the girls also include lingerie and fragrances. They’ve even expanded to include a men’s store. This is the premier venue to go jeans shopping! A store with a perfect fit for everyone, what a great idea! Suggestions for fall include

brands like Chip & Pepper, Sacred Blue, and Joe’s Jeans. For more information, log on to www.bluegenesatlanta.com for designers and brands. Our model is wearing Chip & Pepper Jeans. ($156) Alex Enterprises If jewelry is the defining piece to the perfect outfit, then we’ve got good news for you! For over 15 years, Patricia Brister and husband William Brister have been traveling the globe designing their own line of fashion jewelry. Natives of Ridgeland, Miss., these wholesalers set the standard for the newest trends in fashion jewelry. Daughter Jennifer Naeger and her husband Leo write the orders for Alex Enterprises, while youngest daughter Lara Hebert helps create fabulous new designs. Must-haves for the fall include gold, yes gold- incorporated with bright colors. Lots of color, long vintage style (layered) necklaces, and pins are back. Younger generations wear a pin on the hips, and a Victorian- style broach for mom’s shoulder. It is even the perfect accessory to that plain black v-neck dress by placing it right at the bust-line. Working in the wholesale market, it’s not often that their name actually appears on the jewelry once placed in a retail shop. Look for similar pieces in retail shops throughout the South! Belt and purse provided by Cicada Boutique, Oxford, Miss. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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VINTAGE SOUTHERN ART

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AmericanPostcardArt.com The Perfect Gift for Everyone on Your List!

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e d i T l l Ro am a

sela ward

by Jennifer Russell

The University of Alabama has produced many famous faces over the years through its legendary football program. One famous face that many might recognize in the football section of an Alabama Crimson Tide yearbook is Sela Ward. Although not a football player, Sela showed her spirit for the Tide on the sidelines as a Bama cheerleader.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 2004 •• Y’ALL Y’ALL SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

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Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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“

… I started studying acting to help me with auditions for commercials. I discovered a whole new and unexpected passion and fell in love with it.

Sela Ward describes her feelings about Alabama football: “Loved it. Exciting. Exhilarating. National Championships. Bear Bryant. Need I say more?” College life proved to be a great experience. Ward was elected homecoming queen and was a member of Chi Omega Sorority. “I had a wonderful college experience at Alabama,” Sela says. “Just wonderful. The Greek system served me well. I basically knew no one and had an immediate ‘family’ if you will.” While attending Alabama, Ward had no intentions of becoming an actress. “[I] never thought about it [becoming an actress],” Sela said. “I wanted to start a business of my own or work for an ad agency in account management. I never acted in a play in school or college or took a course. I wasn’t interested.” Ward, 48, received a bachelor’s degree in art and advertising in 1977, which eventually led the Meridian, Miss. native to Memphis for her first job. “I went to work for Pepsi,” she recalls. “I was there a little less than a year when I got a job in New York City drawing up story boards and learning to produce audio/visual presentations for corporations such as American Express.” Many actresses have hedged their way into Hollywood by modeling, but Sela started for other reasons. “I started modeling to make more

money when a friend introduced me to Wilhelmina of Wilhelmina Models,” Sela says. “My first two jobs were T.V. commercials. I started studying acting to help me with auditions for commercials. I discovered a whole new and unexpected passion and fell in love with it.” After many commercials, a movie with Burt Reynolds, and a television series later, Sela played the role of “Teddy” on the television series Sisters on NBC. Her part on Sisters won Sela an Emmy Award

“

I had a wonderful college experience at Alabama…

”

in 1994, two Golden Globe nominations and the Screen Actors Guild Award in 1996. Sela’s role as “Teddy” became one of her most memorable performances to many fans. She considers the show to be a turning point for her career. “Until that role I had never really had an opportunity that challenged me to grow,” she says. During her six years on the drama, Sela starred in many different television movies. One of her most famous

”

appeared on Lifetime in 1995 called Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story. “Playing ‘Jessica Savitch’…was the first time I carried a piece.” “It was a very challenging role for me and one that helped me grow by leaps and bounds.” In 1999, Sela took on another television series, Once and Again, which also had its own turning point for Sela. This time Sela played “Lily,” a woman living in the effects of divorce and second marriages. “Playing ‘Lily’ on Once and Again allowed me to ‘fly’ with all of the confidence and knowledge and dues paid.” The ABC series won Sela a second Emmy Award in 2000. Sela confesses that she does not plan to be in another television series in the near future: “My kids are of an age that they need lots of care and attention. I need to be there for them in a way that the television filming schedule does not allow. I am content for the moment working in various long form projects, be it features or television films.” Recently, Sela appeared in two feature films, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights and Day After Tomorrow, which sparked much controversy after its debut. Sela felt the film has had a positive impact because it draws in people to the problems of the environment. “I thought the film would spark great food for thought,” she notes. “Did I think

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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“

Being a mother is the most challenging and most exciting and most frightening of waters to navigate,” Sela says. “I wouldn’t take anything for the journey.

”

Al Gore would try to use it as a political dividing rod? No. Am I glad he did? Yes. Anything that draws more attention to how we are all personally responsible for the well being of our planet and its future is a good thing.” Currently Sela is filming Suburban 28

Madness, a television movie where she plays “Bobbi Basha,” a private detective that the character “Clara Harris” hires to follow her husband. “The story is told from ‘Bobbi’s’ point of view,” Sela said. “I thought that the piece was well written, and I was attracted to the black comedy tone of the script. It is a commentary about marriage in America today. It has lots of humor. I loved what it had to say.” Lately much of Sela’s time has been devoted to her children, and she has learned much about the demands of motherhood. “Being a mother [son Austin is age ten and daughter Annabelle Raye is six] is the most challenging and most exciting and most frightening of waters to navigate,” Sela says. “I wouldn’t take anything for the journey. I adore my kids and I think that if you are a ‘conscious’ parent (one that seeks to grow and not to repeat bad parenting skills of an older generation because you haven’t opened your mind to healthier schools of thought) it can

Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images

“…I have a vantage point from which to view the world [Hollywood, etc.] that is grounded and solid and based in a great deal of integrity and feeling for other people…”

be a wonderful journey that teaches one a lot about themselves as well as fostering the best in your children so they can sail out into the world with all the tools needed to be confident, responsible conscious adults. This is not an easy challenge and it is one that requires a lot of energy and interest in being a good parent.” Sela travels back to her Southern hometown of Meridian often, not only to visit friends, but also to let her children have a sense of her roots. “I have a home in Meridian, which my family and I go back to every chance we get. At least three times a year if not more [we visit there]. It was very important to me to have my children know the South as it is very much a part of my soul. I think one takes away something

from our culture --- an understanding of the world and a connectedness to the earth that is hard to replicate and very unique to the Southern experience. I keep up with a lot of people, as I am very active in community projects there.” Sela feels that her Southern background made her different from many of the usual Hollywood stars. The actress chronicles this view and her rise from Dixie to the big screen in her 2002 memoir, Homesick. “I have a vantage point from which to view the world [Hollywood, etc.] that is grounded and solid and based in a great deal of integrity and feeling for other people,” Ward says. “Those traits are not abundant out there [in California], but they are to a certain degree in the South.” Even though Sela Ward is no longer on the sidelines as an Alabama cheerleader, pieces of her Southern culture have remained in her heart. For Sela simply “living life” is enough outside her acting career. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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WHERE DID WE GO TO

COLLEGE?

Courtesy of Florida State Sports Information

ym24-30.indd 30

SOUTH CAROLINA TEXAS TUSKEGEE VIRGINIA

Andy Griffith ____________________

Ashley Judd _____________________

Connie Chung __________________

Darrell Hammond _______________

Katie Couric ____________________

Laura Bush _____________________

Leeza Gibbons __________________

Lionel Richie ____________________

Matthew McConaughey _________

Ryan Seacrest __________________

Sheppard Smith ________________

Sheryl Crow ___________________

ANSWERS (from right) Andy Griffith – North Carolina, Ashley Judd - Kentucky, Connie Chung – Maryland, Darrell Hammond – Florida, Katie Couric – Virginia, Laura Bush–SMU, Leeza Gibbons – South Carolina, Lionel Richie – Tuskegee, Matthew McConaughey – Texas, Ryan Seacrest – Georgia, Sheppard Smith- Ole Miss, Sheryl Crow – Missouri

BURT REYNOLDS A native of Waycross, Ga. , Burt excelled as an accomplished athlete and went on to play halfback for Florida State in the mid-1950’s, before a knee injury and a car accident ended his football career. He left FSU to pursue acting in New York, landing his first role on the 1959 series Riverboat.

MISSOURI NORTH CAROLINA OLE MISS SMU

LR (Photo by Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images) | MM (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) | RS (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) | SS (photo by Kevin Winter/ImageDirect) | SC (Missouri SID)

FLORIDA GEORGIA KENTUCKY MARYLAND

(MATCH THE CELEBRITY TO THE SCHOOL BELOW THAT THEY ATTENDED)

8/12/04 12:10:19 AM

Compiled by B.J. Bennett, Colleen Cassity, Michael Nozinich and Joshua Wilkins.

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college traditions 40 greatest college football traditions

ALABAMA

Tuscaloosa, Ala. labama football is held to a higher standard. Considering its viable place in our national history and how it has served as a pillar of consistency for one of our favorite pastimes almost since its inception, it should be. This is a program that has experienced unprecedented success. The numbers speak for themselves: 12 national titles, 21 Southeastern Conference championships, 29 bowl wins, 19 college football hall of fame members, 91 All-Americans. Many conferences can’t boast such numbers. Alabama is one of the elite programs in college football, and though they have struggled a bit in recent years, their prior prominence has earned them exemption from ever relinquishing that label. It’s a program full of remarkable stories and history. Bear Bryant, arguably the best coach in the history of the sport, led the program for decades, while players like Joe Namath and Ken Stabler have led the teams. The school drips in football history and flare, and though education is important on campus, those folks keep their priorities in order. Being a player or fan, anyone associated with Alabama football, is a feeling of attachment and zeal that most cannot explain. Tommy Lewis, a former Tide player who once charged helmet-less off the bench to tackle an opponent during the 1954 Cotton Bowl, perhaps summed up the sentiments best with his take on his astounding feat. “I guess I am just too full of Bama,” he said. Much of the state is the same way, simply overwhelmed. For one outside the region, it’s easy to recognize the program’s dominance. It’s tough to appreciate its importance. Alabama football carries as much, if not more, weight than any businessman or politician in the state. It’s more than football to the people in the state of Alabama, it’s culture. In any town, in any corner of the state, you can feel it. Spend an afternoon in Bryant-Denny Stadium and you’ll understand it. During the season, the glorious 83,000-seat venue becomes a vibrant plethora of tradition, marvel and charm, as well as an absolute nightmare for opposing teams. The rest of the year, it stands as a vast testament to it all. Winning is one thing. Doing so with pride, elegance and charisma is something else. It’s something wonderful, something epic, something amiable. It’s something Alabama.

APPALACHIAN STATE Boone,N.C.

ountaineers bleed black and gold; well at least they do in Boone. The Mountaineers of Appalachian State University reside in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. A member of the Southern Conference, the Mountaineers welcome opponents to Kidd Brewer Stadium, known more affectionately as “The Rock.” This 16,650-seat stadium sits roughly 3,280 feet above sea level offering visiting teams some tough conditions while playing some tough competition in the Mountaineers. In 37 years of the stadium’s existence, the Mountaineers have faired well at home with a 137-53-5 record, including 20 consecutive winning home seasons. Head Coach Jerry Moore looks to make it 21 consecutive in 2004, kicking off the season at Wyoming prior to starting Division I-AA play.

Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark.

he Southern part of the Northwest Arkansas Metroplex is full of diverging lifestyles, from the Ozark Mountains to those who inhabit Fayetteville, home to the University of Arkansas, and like many college towns, this burg has its own unique blend of the arts and Southern life. Forbes recently named Fayetteville the 23rd best place to live in the nation. Head Coach Houston Nutt took over the Hogs in 1998, and the program has been one of the SEC West’s more competitive teams each year, winning the SEC West in 2002. Most of the games are now played at Arkansas’ campus home, Reynolds Razorback Stadium. In it you’ll find a few of the 72,000 fans wearing Hog Hats, replicas of giant razorback pigs that sit on your head, and were originally made famous by the school’s basketball team. A few fans wear all types of cardinal and white windsuits, allthewhile doing the famous pig call, “Woooo, pig, soooieee!” in unision, while enjoying the nation’s biggest Jumbotron. The team ventures away from Fayetteville to play in the state’s capital of Little Rock around once a year, but to induce fan support they now play more games in their backyard. Here you can tailgate eating ribs and other pig products, of course. After the game, Dickson Street is the life of the party in the downtown part of Fayetteville, where the bars will be filled with co-eds and football fans alike, along with the region’s best live music.

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college traditions

AUBURN

Auburn, Ala. hen driving through the plains of Southwestern Alabama, one may feel like they are in the middle of nowhere. One-stop towns and mom-and-pop gas stations transcend you to another time until you cross through yet another intersection and rising up from a square plot is Samford Hall and you are directly in the middle of Auburn University, and if you’re lucky it will be in the fall. The school colors are orange, marking the changing leaves of the season, and navy blue, marking the oncoming night to which the Tigers have gone on to many victories at Jordan-Hare Stadium. You’ll find current students cheering on future legends, mixed with old-timers who come back to remember when they were young and Pat Sullivan or Bo Jackson were dominating headlines and opposing football teams throughout the Southland. The largest university in Alabama knows how to do gameday, from the lush pastures all around campus to tailgate, to the “War Eagle” flying down from the sky to the fifty-yard-line before the Tigers run through the smoke onto the field, to the traditional gathering and ensuing toilet papering of Toomer’s Corner, next to Toomer’s Drug Store, after victories. For maximum experience, one must venture to the Plains or Athens, Ga. each November, as Auburn battles Georgia in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, spanning back to 1892.

CLEMSON

Clemson, S.C. lemson Welcomes You to Death Valley…” reads a sign inside Memorial Stadium. The massive structure is engulfing, intimidating, and during home football games, is full of 83,000 ardent Tiger supporters. Its sides pierce the skyline and its pose screams confidence. It’s almost as if the structure has an attitude of its own. The roads into Clemson hardly echo that rowdy persona. Farmlands and open fields surround the university as agriculture makes up much of the South Carolina Upstate’s economy. The open space is delightful and welcoming, but simply serves as a mask to the uproar that lies within. In many ways, Howard’s Rock is Clemson football. Given to former head coach Frank Howard by a friend, Howard’s Rock is an actual stone from Death Valley, Calif. and has been perched between the home locker room and the playing field since 1966. The stone is sacred, and is rubbed by every player

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before each home game for guidance and good luck. Considering the home success the team has experienced since the tradition’s inception, one would be wrong to argue its efficiency. Following the gathering at Howard’s Rock is pure chaos. A hill, which is referred to at Clemson as “The Hill,” serves as the players entrance into the stadium. At the cue of the school fight song “Tiger Rag,” the team darts down the hill with thousands of screaming fans aiding their cause on either side. The rush is exhilarating, and gives the team and the crowd a noted, and very real, morale boost. Pregame at Clemson can be described as orange. Everywhere you look, orange paw prints, banners, flags and often bodies, dot the locale. When Clemson wears their all-orange uniforms, an act reserved for important games only, Death Valley becomes a blinding sea of orange, both on the field and in the stands. Tiger fans are considered some of the more cordial and knowledgeable in the ACC, and always welcome visitors to sit and enjoy the festivities. They’ll quickly reference the 1981 national championship team, talk of former great Banks McFadden, and they’ll tell you Frank Howard is the greatest coach who ever lived. Clemson is hidden away in the west corner of South Carolina, nestled by obscurity and tranquility. Looks can be deceiving.

EMORY & henry

Emory, Va. elcome to the “Football District”, home to the Emory & Henry Wasps, nestled in the highlands of Southwest Virginia. As the heat of summer turns into cool, crisp fall afternoons, blue and gold inundates Fullerton Field as the E&H Wasps battle their opponents on the gridiron. Not to be overshadowed by neighboring Division I powerhouses Tennessee and Virginia Tech, this beloved Division III School is rich in tradition. Led by 23-year head coach Lou Wacker, the Wasps play in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in front of a home crowd that over the past ten years has averaged over 5,000. The Wasps must be loved, seeing as how the enrollment of the college hovers around 1,000. Many alumni hold to tradition by watching the games from various grassy areas surrounding the field. In Emory & Henry’s 91-year winning football tradition, the Wasps have laid claim to 27 conference championships, nine bowl appearances (including two Tangerine Bowl visits), 11 ODAC conference championships and a career win/loss record of 471-352-19. Winning seasons plus pride and pageantry equals one of the greatest Southern football traditions.

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FLORIDA

Gainesville, Fla. he town that brought us Lynyrd Skynyrd and Tom Petty also brings us Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (better known as “The Swamp”) and the Florida Gators, who win home games at alarming rates. They have one of the ten best home records in the nation since 1990. When attending a game at Florida, you’ll notice the modern-looking campus that still has many areas for tailgaters to set up. You do not want to be wearing Tennessee orange or Florida State garnet or the term “Gator Bait” might give you nightmares after the trip. Then you can make the voyage to the 84,000-seat mecca of Gator football that is “The Swamp”. There you’ll see everyone from 60-year-old beach bums to newly acclimated freshman doing the Gator Chomp, and you’ll hear students singing “We Are The Boys From Old Florida”. Homecoming in Gainesville is always an event, with the Gator Growl the Friday night before. This is one of the nation’s largest organized pep-rallies. It is held in the stadium, and past entertainment has included Robin Williams, Bill Cosby, and Jerry Seinfield.

FLORIDA A&M

Tallahassee, Fla. acres in Tallahassee play host to one of the most entertaining football programs in the South. No, the campus of Florida State University didn’t shrink. Florida A & M University has simply had its own share of gridiron success. Dating all the way back to 1937, when the Rattlers went 8-0 and won their first Black College Football National Title, they have had a history as unique as their colorful uniforms, and the school’s Marching 100 band, which is sometimes more famous than the football team for its dancelines and showmanship. Rattler faithful travel all over the South to support their team every year, and with their winning tradition it’s easy to see why. From 1945-69, under Alonzo “Jake” Gaither, FAMU won six Black College national titles. The Rattlers moved to Division I-AA in 1978, and won it’s inaugural national title, and have enjoyed numerous winning seasons since.

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FLORIDA STATE

Tallahassee, Fla. lorida State football is an alluring mesh of intimidation, pageantry and Southern charm. Located in the heart of Tallahassee, amongst sleepy oaks and stoic political buildings, Doak Campbell Stadium stands as a brilliant statue to it all. The once basic design has evolved into a pure college football cathedral, and currently stands as the largest brick structure in the United States. Inside its not-so-friendly confines, the Seminoles have recorded unprecedented success. Merely one loss skewed an unbeaten home slate during the entire decade of the 1990’s, and it came by way of a missed kick. The walls at Doak have seen it all. From missed kicks, to the greatest comeback in the history of the game, to the tussles of top ranked giants, the venue is a tangible narration of many things grand and epic. Legendary names such as Fred Biletnikoff, Deion Sanders, Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke have graced its field and the game’s all-time winningest coach, Bobby Bowden, has roamed its sidelines. Fans participate in what is perhaps the most famous chant in all of college football. The Warchant, which has been adopted by the Atlanta Braves, is an awe-inspiring sight. It’s a basic arm motion, fit with the humming of a familiar beat in tune with the band’s cadence. Sounds simple enough, but when 80,000 plus do it unison, its downright daunting. Gameday is a celebration of the triumphs of the past combined with the anticipation of today. Fans can visit the sod cemetery, a literal graveyard featuring pieces of turf from major road victories. Each plot is fit with its own tombstone showcasing the score and date. They can tour the recently released “Unconquered statue”, which is a 31-foot bronze statue of the school mascot. Surrounding fields and picnic areas cater to tailgaters quite nicely, and fans arrive early, flooding downtown Tallahassee with grills, cookers and RV’s. Numerous items highlight the pre-game menu, and you can almost always find some tasty seafood as fans pay homage to the city’s Gulf Coast roots. Moments before kickoff, drama is at an all-time high. The fans know it, the players know it, you can feel it in the air. Soon, everyone experiences it. Chief Osceola and Renegade, a majestic Appaloosa horse, sprint from the south endzone to midfield, rear into the air and slam a flaming spear into the center of the field logo. To the home fans, it’s a thing of beauty. To the visitors, it’s a simple precursor to the coercion to come.

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GEORGETOWN COLLEGE

Georgetown, Ky. he North Central Kentucky college sports scene has been reserved for Kentucky and Louisville basketball fans for years. Both schools have football programs that have at times shined, but usually just pass the time until hoops season. A small town outside of Lexington isn’t exactly like most in the commonwealth. The town of Georgetown plays host to Georgetown College , a tiny liberal arts school consisting of mostly Kentucky kids. The school happens to have an outstanding athletics program. Football is no exception, and on fall Saturday’s a few thousand supporters dress up in orange and black more often than just Halloween. The picturesque campus is small, but its small rolling hills and warmth can make any visitor feel at home, even if you are from one of the school’s Mid-South Conference rivals. Many folks will make the 10minute drive to Lexington to watch Kentucky battle SEC foes, but if you want a true remembrance of what college sports is all about, look no farther than the players (again mostly from Kentucky) at Georgetown, who represent their school with their heads up because they are doing something for pure joy. Look closely into the crowd and you might see an old school letter jacket or a dad who played at the school 30 years ago cheering his son. You will almost certainly see someone donning a back-to-back NAIA national champoinship T-shirt from 2000 and 2001, when the Tigers won it all. They also made the title game in 1999 and 2002, and won their first championship in 1991.

dog house on the field. Along with “Uga,” The Arch and The Hedges are absolute fixtures of the university. The Arch, which sits on the north side of campus, has been a landmark since 1864. To this day, freshman are not allowed to walk through its hallowed entry. The Hedges are English privet hedges which surround the playing field inside Samford Stadium. While many league foes have adopted that idea, the Bulldogs were one of the first nationally to incorporate it. Stop by any tailgating spot on campus and you will hear the familiar voice of legendary broadcaster Larry Munson. He is as much Georgian as sweet tea and peaches and is considered family by many of the Georgia faithful. You will also hear the tales of a man who simply goes by “Herschel”. The 1982 Heisman trophy winner, Herschel Walker is a deity of sorts in the state. Nearly every football conversation either ends or begins with a story of the former great. Take a trip around campus, or a stroll by Stegeman Coliseum, and you’ll find buttondown shirt clad students dining on full-course meals on whitelaced tables. It’s a page out of Southern Living, and is a feature few other schools can match. Athens itself is the prototypical college town. Bars, all-night eateries and clubs dot the local scene, and the campus is one of great beauty, splendor and lore. Perhaps former Bulldog Heisman winner Frank Sinwich put it best: “I’m from Ohio, but if I’d known when I was two what it was like down South, I would have crawled here on my hands and knees.” Some call it bliss. Residents simply call it Athens.

Georgia

Athens, Ga. he University of Georgia is a melting pot for college football tradition, and in many ways epitomizes how special football in the region truly is. While the program has many recognizable attractions and traits, its most famous and beloved icon is its white English Bulldog, “Uga.” “Uga VI,” the current mascot from the bloodline, is a fixture at almost every Bulldog sporting event and function. At best, he is one big face on four stumpy feet, but this dog is no ordinary animal. “Uga” is treated with reverence in Athens and looks quite stoic in his official varsity sweater. During every football game, he watches carefully from his iced down, air-conditioned

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GEORGIA SOUTHERN

Statesboro, Ga. he 1941 Georgia Teachers College Blue Tide football team wasn’t exactly competing for national titles. The team had struggled to find consistency and was fighting a losing battle with mediocrity. For many, that figurative battle would transcend into a literal one. The United States military needed the services of many young men in 1941, thus ceasing the then Georgia Teachers College athletic program. In 1945, following the end of World War II, basketball, baseball and other sports returned to Statesboro, football did not. The void lasted forty years.

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After much deliberation, former Athletic Director Dale Lick decided football must return. While that was huge news for the state, the most intriguing storyline was yet to come. The decision of Georgia defensive coordinator Erk Russell to head the Georgia Southern football team sent the state into a tizzy. Russell was Georgia football, and typified the gritty Bulldog teams of the 1970’s. The decision proved to be a wise one, as Russell would transform Georgia Southern into one of the premier football programs in the nation. He did so with a demandingly positive attitude that still lingers around campus to this day. A prime example of Russell’s outlook is that of Eagle Creek. The former coach made the team and fans view the drainage ditch as a beautiful body of water; a symbol of making the best of everything you have. Numerous national championships and AllAmericans later, Georgia Southern stands as a model of success for I-AA programs. The Eagles have held their own against elite I-A competition, produced a Heisman trophy candidate in fullback Adrian Peterson and are looked upon with much respect and credibility nationally. Statesboro has evolved into a vibrant football town. Fans annually fill Paulsen Stadium to capacity and hundreds extra watch from the south endzone hill. The Eagles have been among the national leaders in attendance for years. The process hasn’t been pristine, but it’s produced outstanding results. Like they say, good things happen to those who wait.

Georgia TECH

Atlanta, Ga. n the heart of downtown Atlanta you can hear cars swerving, music blaring, and life going on at a breath-taking pace. After all, Atlanta is the South’s largest city. If you listen closer on a football Saturday you may hear a buzz coming from Bobby Dodd Stadium (formerly Grant Field), the nation’s oldest on-campus stadium. The buzz is from a multitude of crazed Yellow Jackets cheering their gold and white clad heroes, winners of three national championships. The burnt red and brown buildings that

house the campus of the Georgia Institue of Technology are home to one of the oldest football traditions in the nation. On gamedays, over 55,000 fans make the walk down Techwood Drive to the stadium to watch their “Ramblin’ Wreck” battle ACC foes. The largest crowd ever was for the 1973 game against rival Georgia. Since 1961 the team has been led onto the field by a gold and white colored vehicle also known as the “Ramblin’ Wreck”. The original model was a 1930 Model A Ford Sports Coupe. Now fraternities are known to decorate and donate the cars for different games. Also deep in Georgia Tech’s tradition lore is the Rat Cap. Freshman wear the gold beanie-esque caps and display winning scores from the season upright and the losing scores upside down.

GRAMBLING

Grambling, La. rambling State University is built on a winning tradition. This prominent Division I-AA college was founded in 1901. Former Head Coach Eddie Robinson led the Tigers to national prominence during his campaign from 1941 to 1997. Under Ro b i n s o n , the Tigers posted a 408165-15 record and eight national Black College titles. Grambling was also the first college team to play in Japan, playing Morgan State in Tokyo in 1976. Hosting teams at Robinson Stadium, the Tigers have won numerous Southwestern Athletic Conference championships, including consecutive titles in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Under the direction of new interim Head Coach Melvin Spears, the Tigers plan to continue their winning ways this fall.

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JACKSON STATE

Jackson, Miss. n any given Saturday during the fall in the capital city of Mississippi, follow your ears and your nose to 60,492 seat Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. Listen for the sounds of some the top marching bands from the Southwestern Athletic Conference or try to catch wind of the sweet aroma of barbeque ribs, drunken chickens, hamburgers, hot dogs and turkey legs and you will find your way to a tailgating party at a Jackson State football game. Game day in Jackson is more like an event that cannot be contained in just one day. The event starts on Friday at noon with a pep rally, where the coaches and the bands ignite fires in the hearts of the players and fans. Next up on the agenda is the Greek Step Show at the Williams Center on campus. Saturday morning brings a new meaning to tailgating, at Jackson State it is more like Thanksgiving. Whatever you want to eat, somebody is probably cooking it, and some would say that the food takes priority on gameday. Whatever the case, as soon as the opening kickoff commences, the action on the gridiron takes center stage. However, when the last second rolls off the clock, the day is not over; it’s time for the Fifth Quarter. The Fifth Quarter is a battle of the bands that culminates the events of the football weekend. With so much to do, so much to eat and so much fun to have, come to Jackson. It’s good to be a Tiger fan.

Kentucky

Lexington, Ky. n a state known for horses and basketball, the University of Kentucky football team has a storied history all its own. Zealous Wildcat faithful are known to fill their 67,606seat stadium even when the team is gathering more L’s than W’s in their always-challenging Southeastern Conference. Since 1999, they have consistently ranked in the top 25 for attendance. A packed house on gameday makes Commonwealth Stadium the third largest “city” in the Bluegrass State, but don’t let their label fool y’all, that stadium turf is Bermuda instead of Kentucky bluegrass. The “Bear”, yes Paul “Bear” Bryant, arrived in Lexington as a young head coach in 1946. In eight years, the now legendary coach compiled a record of 60-23-5, which is still the best in UK history. Monday morning quarterbacks all have their theory for the

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Wildcats lack of longterm success, and several bouts with the NCAA for violations haven’t helped the program. In 1994, the Wildcats faced intrastate rival the University of Louisville for the first time in 70 years; now the two play each other annually. UK’s conference rival is the University of Tennessee. The South loves its cheerleaders, but cheerleading is HUGE at UK. More than any other Division I-A school, the squad has won the National College Cheerleading Championship 13 times since 1985. Go Big Blue! To make your visit truly Kentucky, take advantage of Keeneland’s thoroughbred horse racing and a UK game. The two Lexington attractions coordinate their October schedules, so fans may spend the afternoon betting trifectas and their evening praying for first and ten. (www.keeneland.com) Even when times are tough, fans always know “the sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home…”

LSU

Baton Rouge, La. f the fans are rowdy enough to register an earthquake in their stadium with their cheering and jumping up and down as Louisiana State did against Auburn in 1988, you know it is a rowdy place. No joke. A seismograph in LSU’s geoscience complex captured the ground moving experience that will be retold to all future Tigers. Mind you, this is a 91,600-seat stadium where the press box is painted with a huge greeting for all opponents, “Welcome to Death Valley.” There is nothing relaxed about these fans. Diehard sounds trivial. They possess an in your face pride demonstrated with unprovoked outbursts of, “Geaux Tigers! We’re gonna git y’all,” and the like. In 1998, Sport Magazine named Tiger Stadium “the most feared road playing site in America.” “Tiger bait! Tiger bait!” Sounds mild on paper, but when fans are taunting an opponent, of any age, the intimidation roars just like Mike the Tiger. These fans believe the Tigers will score a touchdown for every time their live Bengal growls before the game. As far as tailgating, LSU is the creme de la creme, quintessential. Over two-thirds of the fans arrive five or more hours before a home game, and many seem to show up on Wednesday. That’s some serious partying. Come hun-

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gry, because you’ll see everything from jambalaya to alligator stew to crawfish etouffee to whole hogs grilling. Great fans with good food only need one other thing, victories. With nine SEC championships under their belt, LSU clinched their second national championship in January 2004. Can head coach Nick Saban do it again this year?

MARYLAND

College Park, Md. he University of Maryland Terrapins are nested between Baltimore, Annapolis and Washington D.C. Byrd Stadium is a college football fan’s heaven. “Fear the Turtle” is what Atlantic Coast Conference opponents hear upon entering Byrd Stadium, while 46,000 Terp fans cheer for their team. The University of Maryland adopted the school colors of red, white, black and gold to match the Maryland state flag. Testudo, the team mascot, is a Diamondback Terrapin who first made his appearance in 1933. A bronzed image of the terrapin sits outside of Byrd Stadium to greet all that venture inside. The Maryland Terrapins are one tough team to play. The Terps are one of five football teams in the nation to win 10 or more games a season over the last three years. The Terps also have made three consecutive bowl appearances. Maryland beat Tennessee 30-3 in the 2002 Peach Bowl and defeated West Virginia 41-7 in the 2004 Gator Bowl. Ranked preseason Top 25, the Terps look to add to their winning tradition in College Park and give good reason to “Fear the Turtle”.

McNeese State

Lake Charles, La. Joli Blond gardez d’en qua tu fais Tu ma quittez pour t’en aller Tu ma quittez pour t’en aller Avec un autre. Qu’ell es poire et qu’ell avenir Ma je peu avoir ot many schools can claim a Cajun song as their song that gets the crowd a swayin’. It sure puts you in that Louisiana mood. With 15 conference championships and trips to the NCAA I-AA championship game in 1997 and 2000, MSU can puff its chest out. Tailgating is taken seriously here, with RVs and such showing up on Thursday for a Saturday game. “Fox Sports loves to come here for all our eating and tailgating,” says Louis Bonnette, sports information director.

Tailgating didn’t always used to be the thing. During a game at Delaware in 1974, McNeese State fans envied how much fun all the Fightin Blue Hens were having before and after the game. The Cowboys lost the game, but brought back a new tradition to mix with their Southern hospitality. Today, the Cowboy Club collects money from tailgaters for rented parking spots around the stadium and puts the money back into the football program.

MIAMI

Coral Gables, Fla. he greatest tradition of Miami is winning. The University of Miami campus in Coral Gables is filled with many modern looking structures, that convey beachside looking buildings with a flare for fun that could only be found in Miami. The palm trees are surrounded by ibis birds and tanned coeds. If you don’t even like football, you can always venture to South Beach (only 10 minutes from the university) for a party like no other. The football team plays in a stadium that is old and historic, but is cheered by a fan base who are the Oakland Raider fans of the Southeast (in terms of being out there). In a night game, you may see a Friday the 13th Jason Mask on one fan, while the guy beside him has hula girls on his shirt and boat shoes with no socks. The Orange Bowl plays host to the Hurricanes, who from 1985-94 compiled a 58-game home winning streak, the longest ever. It used to play host to the annual Orange Bowl (which has since moved to Pro Player Stadium) where the Hurricanes clinched national titles in 1983, 1987 and 1991. The Canes also won national titles in 1989 and 2001. In 1998, then head coach Butch Davis instituted a Ring of Honor, saluting former Hurricane greats like Bernie Kosar, Otis Anderson and Michael Irvin. Davis claimed that if they retired the numbers of all Miami greats, there wouldn’t be any numbers left for current teams to wear. Don’t put it past the school to be the first to institute triple-digit jerseys. The Canes join the ACC this year, and will bring their winning ways to that conference’s fellow members.

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The university’s rivalry with Kansas also dates back to the Civil War. Mizzou boasts that the rivalry led to the first homecoming game in the nation on their campus in 1911. However, the University of Illinois claims it started the now prevalent tradition in 1910 against the University of Chicago. Birth of homecoming or not, Farout Field is full of history.

NAVY

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Starkville, Miss. aroon and White are the distinctive colors of Mississippi State athletic teams, dating back to 1895, when the first Mississippi A&M football team hit the field. MSU loves “Bully,” its English Bulldog mascot that is pampered more than fellow SEC bulldog, “Uga.” A game in Starkville is not complete unless you come with some good Mississippi Delta catfish in the cooler, and of course you have the traditional cowbell in tow. This unique tradition has been a part of the Bulldog way for decades, with fans celebrating victories with loud ringing joy, while opponents may describe it as obnoxious clanging. The Southeastern Conference even has a moratorium on bringing cowbells to Scott Field, calling them noisemakers. State fans often pass beloved cowbells down to other family members. With new coach Sylvester Croom leading the Dogs on the field this season, the bells could be louder than ever in Oktibbeha County.

Missouri

Columbia, Mo. he National Cheerleading Association recently awarded the University of Missouri’s Truman the Tiger, named after Missouri-born Harry S. Truman, best mascot in the nation. That same competition placed the Mizzou all-female cheerleaders fifth while the coed squad took tenth place. Missouri didn’t select the Tigers as their mascot because of the vast population roaming the jungles of the Show-Me State. In 1890, the football team was named the Tigers in recognition for Civil War defenders in Columbia who protected the city. The militiamen were known as the Fightin’ Tigers.

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Annapolis, Md. imply put, students at the U.S. Naval Academy are held to a higher standard. The academic requirements rival any in the nation, the physical demands can be overwhelming, and the lifestyle is one wrapped with fortitude, commitment and devotion. That type of dedication transcends to the football field, where America’s best have been giving it their all for over 100 years. Priorities become evident before the ball is ever teed up at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. Following an entire brigade march from the campus to the stadium by the “Middies” before kickoff, fans, players and servicemen all partake in a moving rendition of the national anthem. There is never a hat on during the song, and rarely a mundane spirit. F-18 fighter jets then fly by, sending their best wishes to the Midshipmen and setting the scene for one of the most amazing pregame traditions in all of college football. Twelve members of the Navy SEAL Leap Frog jump team then sail into the stadium from 30,000-feet above, bringing a proper amount of American pride and Navy pageantry along with them. As if anymore drama was needed, the booming sound of a cannon then signifies kickoff. During the game, the sights and sounds continue. After every Navy score, hundreds of Midshipmen students frantically race to the north endzone where they do one push-up for every point scored by their peers. The celebrations never cease. A proud football history, featuring Heisman trophy winner Roger Staubach and national success from decades ago can be felt all around the stadium. So can the school’s disdain for the U.S. Military Academy. The game, which is referred to as “The Civil War”, is without question the best rivalry in college football. Around campus the phrase “Beat Army” is almost as commonplace as a

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salute. Decals, billboards and posters reading the words are posted year-round, and the anticipation builds accordingly. In many cases, players in that game battle against one another on the football field, months prior to serving alongside one another on the battlefield. Hours before gametime you can sense Navy football’s importance in American culture. American flags are abundant, as are numerous servicemen either in uniform, or wearing some sort of military paraphernalia. Such is life at the Naval Academy. Such is Navy football.

NORTH ALABAMA

Florence, Ala. labama has a rich football tradition. That is known by football fans everywhere. The fact that it stretches beyond the state’s two SEC giants may not be known. Florence, a small city just down a few miles south of the Tennessee line, hosts the100-acre University of North Alabama. UNA plays host to a football program that is unmatched by most at the Division II level. The Lions compete in the Gulf South Conference and have a long-standing tradition of excellence that dates back to Harlon Hill, the 1957 NFL MVP of the Chicago Bears. Most recently, the school won three consecutive Division II national championships from 199395. After some subpar seasons, current head coach Mark Hudspeth seems to have the Lions back on track going into his third fall with the Lions. The team finished poorly in 2002, but rebounded to go 13-1 last year, and scream “We’re Back” to the rest of the Division II elite teams with a gutsy playoff run. Gameday in Florence is not lacking of the pageantry and ingrained loyalty that major college football holds. The student body is slightly over 5,700 students at UNA, but it is nothing for Braly Stadium to attract over 8,000 per contest. For big games, over10,000 Lions have been known to create their own jungle for opposing teams to have to deal with, and for supporters of the team to enjoy another victory.

NORTH CAROLINA

Chapel Hill, N.C. he University of North Carolina is a thing of beauty. Its surroundings are lavish, its structures enthralling. The school is an institution of fine learning, mixed with a touch of fine living. Kenan Stadium, the Tar Heels’ 60,000seat stadium, shares those traits.

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The setting is such that it almost shouldn’t be disturbed. Carolina fans have garnered a reputation of following suit to a certain extent, being labeled “Wine and Cheese Fans”, often by their own ilk. That said, who can blame them? Kenan Stadium is often regarded to as the most beautiful place in college football to watch a game. It’s simply tough for chaos to find a home in such serenity, most of the time that is. The Carolina faithful can be rowdy when needed. On September 22, 2001, they were. The Heels humbled Florida State 41-9 on that date, rattling a young Seminole team with intimidation and force. By game’s end, fans were on the field, the posts were down and the streets of Chapel Hill were in utter jubilation. Carolina carries a strong football past, boasting the likes of Choo-Choo Justice, Lawrence Taylor and Julius Peppers to go along with ten conference championships. As recent as the late 1990’s, the Heels occasionally flirted with the Top 10. Despite the school’s obvious basketball prowess, football carries its weight with authority around campus, as well it should. One of the program’s best traditions is “The Old Well Walk.” Thousands of Tar Heel fans and a mirage of Carolina Blue welcome the team off the bus and join them in their walk through campus. The event is relatively new, but started quite aptly. It’s conception? September 22, 2001...against Florida State. Carolina has an air about it that says, “We’re better than you, even if you beat us.” Arrogance? Not necessarily. Just a product of fine learning and living. And yes, they even have a decent basketball tradition going at UNC.

NC STATE

Raleigh, N.C. he Capital City of North Carolina’s Carter-Finley Stadium is filled to the brim with howling Wolfpack fans adorned in red and white on fall Saturdays. However, the Wolfpack have undergone a few changes throughout North Carolina State’s football tenure. When the team first took the field, NC State wasn’t the Wolfpack; and did not always wear their beloved red and white. State’s been nicknamed the Farmers, the Aggies, the Techs and the Red Terrors, before finally landing the current nickname in 1922. The color scheme has been altered slightly over the years as well. Oddly enough, when the team first took the field in 1892, the team colors were pink and blue. The short-lived color scheme was ousted, for the team elected brown and white in 1895.

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However, State finally found its true colors when the student body chose the colors of red and white after just one year of brown. As a member of the ACC, Wolfpack fans get the opportunity to cheer their team to victory against some of the nations top teams. The Wolfpack is no stranger to winning or to post season bowl play. The first bowl appearance by the Pack was in 1947, with a loss to Oklahoma in the Gator Bowl. NCSU revisited the Gator Bowl in 2003 with record breaker Phillip Rivers at quarterback, and promptly whupped the Irish of Notre Dame. Former player Chuck Amato is the head coach in Raleigh these days, and he’s taken his alma mater back to the greatness seen when Roman Gabriel was the field general in the early 1960’s.

North Texas

Denton, Texas hink Green is the motto, and you can’t miss it unless you’re color blind. Green is everywhere and ticket sales are up. North Texas is proud of its three consecutive Sun Belt Conference championships and consequent trips to the New Orleans Bowl. This is in addition to the university’s history of appearances in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs in 1983, 1987, 1988 and 1994 and numerous conference championships dating back to 1931. They also have 17 former players who have competed in the NFL, including “Mean” Joe Greene (wink, wink), Beasley Reece, Erric Pegram, Toby Gowin and John Baker. If you haven’t been to a University of North Texas game in the past three years, a lot has changed. For a school with many commuter and non-traditional students, they still rank as the fourth largest in the state with over 30,000 students. The building of three new dorms has put more students on campus, thus better supporting the athletic atmosphere. “We were trying to turn it into more of a college atmosphere from an athletic standpoint—like Texas,” says Eric Capper, assistant athletics director for media relations. This combined with a conscience effort by the athletic department to rekindle relationships with alumni and introduce them to the new Mean Green seems to be working. While small pockets of tailgaters used to anticipate the kickoff, now sanctioned tailgating with alcohol for sale has created an entire new feeling. You’ll also find family activities and live music. Friendly fans may flash you a clawed hand instead of saying, “Howdy.” Don’t

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be alarmed; it is just the eagle claw, a sign of pride and unity. It’s sure funny how those Texas schools are all about the hand signs.

Oklahoma

Norman, Okla. oomer Sooner. Boomer Sooner.” Hope you like the tune, because the current Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band knows it well thanks to the University of Oklahoma football team’s extreme success under current head coach Bob Stoops. However, tradition runs deep in Norman. The term sooner goes back to the Oklahoma Territory being up for grabs in 1889 with the Land Run attracting folks from around the world. Oklahoma’s website claims, “One of the few rules to claiming a lot of land was that all participants were to start at the same time, on the boom of a cannon. All settlers who started then were labeled as ‘boomers’ and the ones who went too soon were called ‘sooners.’” Later, the word sooner became associated with being progressive and ambitious. Today, the Sooners proudly display their heritage via their mascot, the Sooner Schooner. This covered wagon is like the ones used by Oklahoma pioneers. Ready to giddyup, the white ponies that pull this Conestoga are named – you guessed it – “Boomer” and “Sooner.” Behind the reins of the Conestoga are the RUF/NEKS, who also cheer their team on to victory with their RUF/NEK shotguns and the giant OU flag. The all-male RUF/NEKS, some of the most diehard fans, go back to 1915 calling themselves the oldest spirit group of its kind in the nation. You’ll see them waving wooden paddles, a symbol of tradition, but also to intimidate the opponents. The Sooners have lots of rivals, but two of the biggest season games are noteworthy. The battle with Oklahoma State University is dubbed the Bedlam Series, and the Red River Shootout is the University of Texas game. Funny how both schools wear a shade of orange. OU’s 81,207-seat stadium gets a tad rowdy on gameday. Crimson and cream clothed

“B

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college traditions 40 greatest college football traditions

fans support this powerhouse program evident in 31 sellouts in a row – every game under Stoops. The on-campus facility sets the scene for perfect tailgating and a quintessential gameday experience. The quaint Campus Corner area a block north of the football stadium has a variety of bars, restaurants and stores including Harold’s flagship and outlet stores (www.harolds. com). The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art is a way to add a little culture to your visit of Norman. The Art Lovers Travel Guide to American Museums calls it one of the finest university art museums in the U.S. For fans that want something in addition to their tailgating, the museum, like all of Campus Corner, is open on gamedays. (www.ou.edu/fjjma)

Oklahoma State

Stillwater, Okla. klahoma State Cowboy fans, or Pokes as they sometimes call themselves, will be living large this fall thanks to a reinvented stadium, and the brick sure looks pretty. A recent gameday tradition called “The Walk” has OSU tailgaters cheering the team on as they walk from their campus hotel to the stadium. Excitement fills the air for not only fans, but coaches’ wives too. “We meet three hours before the game to tailgate with a theme every week like sub sandwiches or Mexican. We all have our kids, and they hug their dads as they walk past,” says Shauna Henson, alum and wife of assistant coach Josh Henson. Inside the stadium, orange-clad fans cheer for “Bullet,” a black horse mounted by one lucky cowboy or cowgirl, who races around the field before games and after touchdowns. Listen up for the announcer saying, “And here comes ‘Bullet’!” At halftime, the band plays the peppy “Waving Song” to get fans on their feet waving back and forth. But in Stillwater, you are allowed to leave and reenter the stadium for a little half time tailgating. Many take advantage of this, so load up the cooler. The large-headed, crusty ole Cowboy is Pistol Pete, the school’s mascot since around 1923 when Oklahoma A&M, the university’s former name, ditched its unpopular tiger mascot. Pistol Pete is happy to shake your hand, pose for pictures and close out a victory by joining the crowd for the singing the beloved “Alma Mater,” with Pokes doing an OSU version of YMCA-like arm motions. No trip to Stillwater would be complete without a stop at Eskimo Joe’s (www.eskimojoes.com). This “jumpin’ little juke joint” was voted best college post-game hangout by the Sporting News and has also received acco-

lades from Southern Living. Try the burgers, chicken sandwich or – yummm—the cheese fries. Very defensive about being considered second fiddle in the state, OSU fans, many of whom refuse to wear any shade of crimson, will heckle you for such a fashion faux pas. If you’re stuck without any orange gear, be sure to check out the Wooden Nickel or Chris’ University Spirit. Did we mention the Cowboys hate the Sooners?

OLE MISS

Oxford, Miss. o understand the Ole Miss Rebels, you must spend an afternoon in The Grove (notice the plain name, void of any precursor or label). The Grove needs no introduction, catch phrase or fancy tag. The 10-acre area in the center of campus becomes filled with thousands of properly dressed Rebel tailgaters before every home game and when the team arrives at the east end of the plot for the “Walk of Champions”, it is transformed into a boisterous carnival of Ole Miss pride and charisma, with sounds of “Dixie” echoing throughout the magnolias. It’s tough to deny the school’s history, which dates back to 1848. Ole Miss drips with the Southern charm William Faulkner wrote about. It revels in the hospitality the South is known for and perhaps better portrays the Deep South’s tradition and history than any other school in the region. Walking around The Grove is like taking a trip back in time. It’s a picturesque scene, a pristine setting, and those feelings are only magnified on football Saturdays, where the most beautiful women in the South are all “Groving” before kickoff. The university itself is a prime example of history and continuity. The football program is no different. 583 total wins and 32 bowl appearances highlight the Rebels national resume, as do six Southeastern Conference championships and a national championship in 1960. From Archie to Eli, the successes speak for themselves. The Mannings, former head coach John Vaught, and other greats such as quarterback Charlie Conerly, quarterback Jake Gibbs and fullback Charlie Flowers are firm, longstanding fixtures in Ole Miss lore. Even current chancellor Robert Khayat was a gridiron great for the Rebs in the Vaught years. To members of the Ole Miss family, there’s a definite difference between Ole Miss and the institution’s formal name, the University of Mississippi. Late alumnus Frank E. Everett, Jr. said it best: “The University is buildings, trees and people. Ole Miss is mood, emotion and personality. One is physical, and the other is spiritual. One is tangible, and the other intangible,” he said. “The University is respected, but Ole Miss is loved. The University gives a diploma

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college traditions

and regretfully terminates tenure, but one never graduates from Ole Miss.” Despite the school’s Southern flair, university officials have taken steps in recent years to ban the beloved Colonel Reb mascot, as well as other Ole Miss traditions, upsetting students and alumni and creating another civil war for the Rebels to fight.

SeWANEE

Sewanee, Tenn. years ago there was a football program in Tennessee that dominated the best the South had to offer, and they never sang “Rocky Top” or wore coonskin caps. The team hailed from the University of the South, located way up on Monteagle Mountain. All these years later, the football team is a little less dominant, but still competes with all the vigor that makes college football the passion that it is. Southcentral Tennessee is a broad landscape residing on the Cumberland Plateau. Taking the majestic rural roads that wind around lakes and ponds will lead you to a university that time, and ugliness, forgot. 1,364 students attend the Episcopal institution, and root for their team as it embarks on battles against its Southern College Athletic Conference foes. The majority of the players will never see the NFL, much less the Arena League, but they devote their time and energy to representing their school as respectfully, and quietly as an old Southern gentleman. John Windham will try to lead his boys to more and more Division III wins in 2004, but even in a loss the traditions can’t be touched. The traditions of Diddy Deibels, Bishop Frank Juhan, and Bishop Henry Philips, all members of the Collegiate Football Hall of Fame will stay put, as well as the tradition of having one of the most beautiful schools anywhere in the world.

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sold out twice since its opening in 2000. Third year head coach Phil Bennett is working hard to change things around, but 2003 included a 0-12 record, a spot at the bottom of NCAA ranks and an average attendance of only 17,435 in a stadium that holds 32,000. When attending a game, The Boulevard is the main place to be. This street runs through the heart of campus and is filled with food vendors, tailgaters, live music and activities for all ages. Greats like Doak Walker, Craig James, Erik Dickerson, Forrest Gregg and Lamar Hunt helped create the history that still oozes from this program trying to regain its luster. Back in the old Southwest Conference days, the private school was viewed as the David making it in a battle of Goliaths. Can it be done again? By combining a brand new stadium with new traditions, Mustang football is hoping to recapture its past glory.

SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia, S.C.

ew fan bases in athletics are more rabid, more zealous and more devout than those of the University of South Carolina. Despite their program’s rather meager history, Gamecock fans create an electric gameday atmosphere and continue to fill massive Williams-Brice Stadium at a recordbreaking rate. For many, it’s in their blood. USC football is a time-honored tradition in the state of South Carolina and families pass it down from

SMU

Dallas, Texas outhern Methodist University, with over 11,000 students in Dallas, is still recuperating from the football program’s “death penalty” sentence. The NCAA shut down the program in 1987 after rampant and recurring recruiting violations involving alumni, former coach Bobby Collins and his staff. Since the program was reinstated in 1989, the Mustangs have failed to make a bowl trip. A $60 million stadium has only

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generation to generation. Their passion is more than a pastime, it’s a lifestyle, and every weekend in the autumn it’s celebrated with great vigor and joy. Tailgating is something Gamecock fans take great pride in and is something

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college traditions 40 greatest college football traditions

Williams-Brice Stadium was almost built for. Located amidst a massive fairground, hundreds of yards of open space surround the stadium; perfect for pre-game festivities. Wandering around the 83,000-seat giant before kickoff, you can often find former Heisman trophy winner George Rogers posing for pictures and signing autographs. You can visit the Cock-A-Booses, train cabooses measuring 45-feet in length turned-tailgating spots that are the center of events for many of the Gamecock faithful. The most important event, however, comes just a few moments before kickoff. The team’s themed entrance, “2001,” derived from the epic movie Space Odyssey, is widely regarded as the best in the SEC. The crowd comes to immediate attention, anticipation and excitement become the overriding themes, and a host of players then march through a smoky tunnel in the corner endzone. The school’s beloved mascot, Cocky, is then unveiled in a cage where he jumps about rather chaotically. His thrill is a pure reflection of those in attendance. Cocky is no ordinary mascot, either. As the 2003 Mascot of the Year winner of the Capital One Mascot Challenge, he carries great credence around town. Carolina football is a myriad of fervor and enthusiasm. And orange is not welcome within the friendly confines of Williams-Brice.

TENNESSEE

Knoxville, Tenn. f you plan on visiting Knoxville during football season, you’ll have to order tickets early (every game at 107,000-plus seat Neyland Stadium is sold out) and bring sunglasses because there is more bright orange being worn there than a bad Miami Vice reunion. Parties start on “The Strip” (Cumberland Ave.) and carry on until game time. There are plenty of places to tailgate on campus, but the most unique is the large crowd of boats that congregate on the Tennessee River just outside the stadium known as the Volunteer Navy. 80-foot yachts meet Uncle Jeb’s speedboat for food spreads and socializing before the Big Orange faithful move to the streets to watch the team walk to the stadiu m . Once in the stadium, fans can watch one of college football’s coolest team introductions as the team runs through the band’s letter “T” formation to the sideline, and here the legendary phrase “It’s football time in Tennessee” belted from the loudspeaker just before kickoff. Then prepare to hear the song “Rocky Top” a good 15 million times before the game is over.

Tennessee fans have congregated at this point from the time the now second-largest on-campus stadium in America was a mere Shield-Watkins Field, and the likes of Beatty Feathers and George Cafego roamed the sidelines. They have been brought up through the years of Bowden Wyatt, Johnny Majors, Condridge Holloway, Reggie White, Willie Gault, and Peyton Manning. Football, Smoky Mountain Style.

Texas

Austin, Texas astering the University of Texas’ legendary hand signal before entering Austin’s city limits is a must. Make a fist facing outward, then raise your index and pinky finger. Give a shout of “Hook ‘em Horns!” The cowboy motif of the Longhorn Band takes a non-traditional approach to band attire, but its perfect for the country, we mean State of Texas. Don’t have egg on your face singing your loudest rendition of “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” when the band’s first note blares. It is “The Eyes of Texas Are Upon Us” to all Longhorns. Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium is state-of-the-art thanks to a renovation completed in 1999. Pageantry the size of Texas is apparent in every detail including a Top 10 national ranking in a five-year average of attendance. With 80,106 sets of “Eyes” able to capture every down on the gridiron, fans are comfortable while supporting their burnt orange boys. In a “Don’t Mess With Texas” fashion, the Longhorns have a record of 43 bowl appearances ranking them third nationally in NCAA All-Time Bowl Appearances—second only to Alabama and Tennessee. National championships in 1963, 1969, 1970 and two Heisman trophy winners set the stage for head coach Mack Brown to not just win, but win big. Texas bigwigs aren’t known to be real patient. While Texas isn’t real fond of their Red River opponents, the Sooners of Oklahoma, the biggest rivalry is with Texas A&M. Hyped, magnified and taught to children at a small age, the rivalry has a history of clashes in culture. Still depicted as the hick, conservative cadets from College Station versus the liberal, city boys of Austin, the reciprocal jokes, jabs and off-color comments roll off tongues like tumbleweeds in a dust storm. Be sure to catch their pigskin rodeo annually the day after Thanksgiving.

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Texas A&M

College Station, Texas t is quite the challenge to find another school with more tradition than Texas A&M University. They don’t call it the “Spirit of Aggieland” for nothing. In 1922, the tradition of the Twelfth Man was born when the Aggies were not having the best game against Centre College, the nation’s top team. Coach Dana X. Bible remembered a former football player was helping reporters in the press box. E. King Gill was asked by Bible to come out of the stands and be suited up on the sidelines – ready to go in. While Gill never went in during the 2214 Aggie victory, he was the only man left standing on the sideline for the Aggies. With a spirit of readiness and desire to help his team, Gill came to be thought of as the Twelfth Man in case the eleventh player on the field needed help. The symbolism of the desire to assist is why the student body is now considered the Twelfth Man at A&M. They stand for the entire game, as do most former Aggies and fans, showing they are ready. A&M does not have cheerleaders, because they have no cheers, only yells. Yell Leaders, a group made up of three senior and two junior males, are in charge of getting the Twelfth Man fired up. The time-honored tradition of kissing one’s date after the Aggies score is looked upon by the Twelfth Man as, “When the team scores, we score!” Midnight Yell practice is held the night before a home game in Kyle Field and at the Grove on Thursday nights before away games. It all relates back to the Twelfth Man – making sure he is ready for the next day’s big game. The first few notes of the “Aggie War Hymn” can send a rush of patriotism up your spine. As the world’s largest military marching band, the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band’s carefully choreographed military-style formations are jawdropping. The folklore of A&M is fascinating: Bonfire, Reveille, Junction Boys, Aggie class rings, despising the University of Texas, Mounted Calvary, “Gig ‘em Aggies,” one national championship (1939) and 19 conference championships. While this school has success on the field and fun off the field, the camaraderie sets it apart and makes it strong.

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The CITADEL

Charleston, S.C. outh Carolina’s military college was originally created in 1842 to serve as a protective fortress for the city of Charleston. The Citadel prides itself in history, discipline and achievement. It’s a place of priorities, one where military heritage is not only practiced, but celebrated. One where honor and courage are fixtures, and a proud legacy stands tall. Such traits trickle into the football stadium named after Confederate Gen. Johnson Hagood, Citadel Class of 1847. While the academics and military lifestyle can be overwhelming, don’t underestimate the importance of football at the institution. The Citadel has a 100-year gridiron history, and has produced great players along the way. Those in the surrounding South Carolina Lowcountry care about Citadel football, too. The Bulldogs finished sixth in I-AA in attendance in 2003, drawing more fans per game (16,759) than a dozen I-A programs. Charleston is one of the more delightful towns in the nation, and The Citadel campus is no different. It’s an alluring bastion of white castle-like structures and palmetto trees, an area caught between the austerity of the military and the leisure of the South Carolina coast. Numerous enchanting sites like The Citadel Museum and Summerall Chapel dot the campus, as do many parade fields for marching and presentations. Freshmen, aka “Knobs,” walk to class in the gutter, popping salutes to upperclassmen along the way. Those same “Knobs” must stand and cheer during the entire football games at Johnson Hagood, creating quite a spectacle. The thousands of fans that fill the stands during home games create one of the best football atmospheres in the Southern Conference. Cadets in uniform, in addition to the fans decked the in the school’s traditional Citadel blue and white colors, give the stadium a unique and fascinating feel, especially when the Dogs score a touchdown and the Civil War-era cannon goes off, sending Cadets scrambling to do push-ups in the endzone. The Citadel has had its hand in military service for over 150 years and has a football legacy that spans nearly as long. While the football team hasn’t produced national champions, the school has been producing something more important for years. After one trip to Charleston, you’ll understand just what that is.

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college traditions 40 greatest college football traditions

TUSKEGEE

Tuskegee, Ala. ome to one of the most prominent Historically Black Colleges, Tuskegee is one of the South’s scenic football traditions. Located just east of Montgomery and down the road from Auburn, this Division II powerhouse is bursting with tradition and pageantry on the plains of Macon County. Prior to the Golden Tigers taking the field at 10,000-seat Abbott Memorial Alumni Stadium, Tuskegee fans participate in a Friday night pep rally as well as a pregame stadium walk. Once the game is in full swing and the avid Golden Tiger fans are in full force, its time for the halftime show. The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s top marching band takes center stage; halftime is the time to shine for the Marching Crimson Pipers. Tuskegee is the winningest football team among Historically Black Colleges and Universities, with 559 victories, 7 Black College mythical National Championships, 21 SIAC Championships, and 3 SIAC “B” Division Championships. Tuskegee also has some of the longest running annual rivalries. Tuskegee and Morehouse have played 93 games since 1902, and Tuskegee has played Alabama State 90 times since 1901, which is also called the “Turkey Day Classic,” played at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery since 1924. Being the fourth oldest football playing institution among HBCU (since 1894), Tuskegee has built its reputation and tradition on winning. Keep it up Golden Tigers.

VIRGINIA

Charlottesville, Va. he University of Virginia was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819. Established as an academic village in Charlottesville, the university is located next to Jefferson’s historic estate of Monticello. After touring the Grounds and walking the Lawn, head over to Scott Stadium and see college football at its finest. Whether you are a First Year or an alumnus, all Wahoos, or Hoos, know to stand and sway to “The Good Ole Song,” the school’s unofficial alma mater. The official mascot of the University of Virginia is the Cavalier, but the nick- names Wahoos and Hoos are tacked on to true UVA fans. During home games, students show true Southern charm and eloquence by coming to the game all dressed up to cheer for their team. Dressed up or not, Scott Stadium is packed on fall Saturdays with fans adorning orange and navy, rooting for the Cavs. Virginia football fans have a

few extra reasons to be excited about gridiron play this season. This will be the inaugural season of the Cavalier Marching Band. Also the Cavalier Fan Fest is sure to bring more fun to the already exciting football frenzy in Charlottesville. Events for the Fan Fest will include the Wahoo Walk, live bands, a pregame pep-rally and games for kids. The university is letting everyone know why it’s good to be a Cavalier fan this season.

VirginiA TECH

Blacksburg, Va. atching the autumn leaves that create shades of yellow, orange, red and brown, Blacksburg is blanketed with burnt orange and maroon showing the nation its Hokie pride. Hokie, Hokie, Hokie, Hy. Techs, Techs, V.P.I. Sola-Rex, Sola-Rah. Polytechs - Vir-gin-ia. Rae, Ri, V.P.I. Team! Team! Team! If you are not from Blacksburg or you are not a Hokie fan, you have no idea what the “Old Hokie” cheer means. However, if you happen to be at Lane Stadium on a given fall Saturday you can hear a crowd of over 65,000 erupt into “Old Hokie,” a spirit yell created by O.M. Stull (class of 1896) with use of the word “hokie” which is the equivalent to saying “hooray” or “yeah” and “V.P.I” is a reference to the school’s official name, Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute. “Old Hokie” is also the origins of the school’s nickname, the Virginia Tech Hokies. Despite a common misconception, a hokie is not a turkey or a bird, However, HokieBird is the team’s on-field mascot, and he does resemble a maroon turkey. If you hear the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets fire “Skipper,” the Cadet cannon, and HokieBird leading the maroon and orange clad faithful in “Old Hokie,” you have arrived in Blacksburg for a little dose of Tech football. Perhaps you’ll even take in a game featuring a team from the ACC, Virginia Tech’s new conference.

Stories by B.J. Bennett, Colleen Cassity, Michael Nozinich and Joshua Wilkins. All photos courtesy of the Sports Information Department of the 40 colleges featured. Model photos by Robert Jordan.

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what southern women know

It’s Football Season by Ronda Rich

Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of What Southern Women Know (That Every Woman Should).

“Mama wanted me to be a preacher,” Bear Bryant, the legendary Alabama football coach, once said. “I told her coachinʼ and preachinʼ were a lot alike.” Few words have ever been more true. This I know from personal experience, having been born the daughter of a Southern Baptist minister then growing up to be the first woman to become a regular beat reporter for a Southeastern Conference football team. Typical Southerners, proper products of the Bible Belt, love the Lord with all their might, but college football is a close second. Both are worshipped reverently. I have seen the mightiest of men humbled, watched as they fell to their knees, lifted their arms and faces to the sky and cried out for mercy to the Lord Almighty. I saw it repeatedly in places like Auburn, Clemson, Oxford, Athens, Baton Rouge, Starkville and Tuscaloosa. There is definitely power in the school-colored blood that has been shed on those campuses for teams that have fallen and those that have risen to national championships. I have watched from the press boxes and sidelines as teams were crucified and others were saved at the last moment by some kid from some small country town in his first long run toward fame and fortune. I saw miracles performed. Like the day that Georgia Bulldog kicker Kevin Butler stunned the nation with a record-setting 60yard field goal that beat Clemson with two seconds to go as glad hallelujahs rang out from Between The Hedges. I have seen some coaches sacrificed – Bill Curry at Alabama comes to mind – and others like Bobby Bowden and Vince Dooley blessed and ordained by the masses. I have seen men like Nick Saban turn non-believers into Cajun fire-breathing, practicing believers. There is undeniable joy in watching those converts when they are baptized in victory. The Southern Protestants, though, do a better job with collecting the offerings. We know that you pass the plate when the emotions are high. This is at least one thing that the football gurus could learn from Sunday services to use for Saturday services. If they would instruct ushers to rush the aisles after a 90-yard run or a lastminute, gutsy two point conversion, the Crimson Tide would be rolling in green and “Uga,” the bulldog, would be eating caviar. I have also seen the very best that the South has to offer on those rowdy Saturdays, as well as the Sundays that quietly follow. I have seen its women. Whether theyʼre climbing the steps of a stadium or sliding into a church pew,

itʼs hard to out-dress a fashion-committed Southern woman. At these games, young women priss in head-turning short skirts, belly-baring tops and stiletto heels that sink precariously into humidity-drenched grass while older, pristine women decorate themselves in stunning outfits that pay homage in precise shades to the school colors, and sometimes compliment them with matching hats. Feminine fashion does not suffer on a college football afternoon in the South. It sings. In full four-part, glorious harmony, orchestrated as carefully as an Easter cantata. Choosing the outfit for the game is as important – sometimes more so – than who wins.

“” Southern women are always game.

These women are ingenious, which is why the world has some proper thanking to do for the ladies in Tennessee, Florida, Clemson and Auburn for making orange, once neglected by designers, into the rage in fashion circles. Those ladies are also to be commended, as are the ones from LSU, for being able to assemble such gorgeous outfits. After all, finding beautiful garments in those colors arenʼt as easy as gold and black is for the Vanderbilt fans. Of course, Vandy fans not only wear gold, they keep it on deposit in Fort Knox. Southern women are always game. While other women might turn up their powdered noses at a day spent in thick, moist air guaranteed to ruin any hairstyle, we know the score. We know how to play. Men love women who love football and we love men who love football. Theyʼre sexier than the ones who love ballet and fashion shows. So, from Richmond to Raleigh to Little Rock and all points in between, pick an autumn Saturday afternoon and settle down on campus with a picnic to watch the pageantry of the women who flamboyantly turn out to turn on. Itʼs stunning. Wellcoiffed, perfectly accessorized and dressed in tight skirts or tailored slacks, theyʼll be toting Chanel bags or lugging Vuitton backpacks, stepping delicately among the magnolias or giant oaks in three or four inch heels while trailing a scent of floral perfume. Itʼs a beautiful example of amazing grace. Amen. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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bible belt

REV. FRANKLIN GRAHAM

by Victoria Parchman

In the South, there has always been a fine line between the grindstones of our culture. So, it is no surprise to find out that the Reverend Franklin Graham, son of acclaimed evangelist Billy Graham, encompasses pretty much all of them.

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Religion, barbeque, hunting, and sports are all incorporated in a Southern yearly calendar. Many Southerners gather with their hunting buddies in the fellowship hall at church to eat barbecue and talk a little football. However, in the case of Rev. Graham, the cue depends on where he is ministering. Favorites include brisket from Texas or Oklahoma, and pulled pork from the Carolinas. “Every place you go is different. And, I like most all of it [barbecue]. I eat it at least twice a week. But, I like pork ribs, and the fatter the better,” Graham laughs. Graham’s hunting locations also vary from pheasant and elk hunting in Montana, to bear and caribou hunting near his Alaskan cabin (with no telephone). His hunting buddies? Good friends Ricky Skaggs, Paul Overstreet, and local friends in Graham’s hometown Boone, N.C. An annual trip with Skaggs gives a moment for both of them to get away and occasionally enjoy a private concert. “Neither one of us gets the chance to break away, that’s why we try to make the effort when either one of us calls, we go. And, every now and then Ricky will take a guitar or mandolin when we go hunting.,” Graham says. Born on July 14, 1952 and raised in North Carolina, Graham grew up supporting the state’s sports teams, including his alma mater, Appalachian State. But, he will be taking on a new Virginia team when his youngest of four children, daughter Cissey, attends Liberty University this fall. “Being in North Carolina, we always try to follow the North Carolina schools. But, I think that anytime there is one of the Southern schools in the playoffs we always root for our homeboys,” says Graham. Religion in the South has always had a distinct place in our culture and society. Franklin Graham had always had his father’s ministry surrounding his life, and even though he went through a period precariously living through rebellion when he made the decision to ask Jesus back into his life in 1974, his Southern roots insulated his commitment. “It was a huge change in my life. I was going one direction, and I made a decision to allow Christ to come into my life, to take control of my life, and my life took a big u-turn. It was a decision I have never regretted.” Graham says. “And, when we look at the South it has always been very strong in its belief, a spiritual belief, a belief in God,

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a belief in Christ. We are blessed with people and a society that still maintain a strong faith in God.” Despite all the changes that different religious congregations have undergone, Graham holds strong to his faith and beliefs. When questioning his opinion on the issue of homosexuality and the church. “I believe homosexuality is a sin. I think any sexual relationship outside of a marriage relationship, including between a man and a woman, is sin. God didn’t create two men to have sex together or two women to have sex together. And, he only created man and woman to have sex in a marriage relationship. I don’t believe a person is eligible to be a pastor of a congregation when they are living in sin. And, you can’t continue to live in sin and claim to be doing God’s word,” Graham explains. In 1978, Franklin joined Samaritan’s Purse, a crusading ministry that visits over 100 countries attending locations plagued with human disaster, war and famines. “The ministry is reaching people, helping people, doing it in the name of Jesus Christ, so that they will hear the Gospel,.” Graham says. Five years ago, Graham’s famous father, Billy, asked him to take over the leadership of the Billy Graham Association. This year, Franklin will be visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Temuco, Chile with Samaritan’s Purse, then joining his father in the fall in Kansas City and Los Angeles. “I wear both hats,” Graham says. “But, I am committed to evangelism; I believe that people are separated from God because of sin. I believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins. That he rose again. And, that God will forgive us of our sins if we are willing to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and put our faith and trust and belief in him. That is what I want to do through Samaritan’s Purse or the Billy Graham Association.” In between traveling the world and a hunting or fishing trip here or there, Franklin can be found at his home where he works seven days in his office overseeing the administration involved with the some 900 people working with Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Association. But for the first time this fall, home will be a little bit emptier with all the children moved away from home. After 31 years of marriage to wife Jane, “She and I will have to get used to each other all over again,” Graham laughs. It is hard to say if evangels chose to lead a life of that nature or if God chooses them. The Graham family is many generations of

The ministry is reaching people, helping people, doing it in the name of Jesus Christ, so that they will hear the Gospel.

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bible belt

“

We are all the same before God. I am no different than anyone else…

”

ministering the Gospel and surely many more are to come. Their magnetism and devotion to the Lord is completed with their dedication to serving others. The Grahams do not see themselves any different from anyone else they meet or anyone they haven’t met. “We are all the same before God. I am no different than anyone else, and we all have to approach Christ or approach God through the cross of Christ,” Graham notes. “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, the life, no man comes to the Father but by me.’” Franklin’s whole-heartedness and sincere disposition can be credited to the South and the Southern culture, but mostly to his faith. He speaks to all with a promise of eternal life through believing in Jesus Christ.

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Lifesav ifesaver er

by Annabelle Robertson

MATT MOSELEY

tlanta calls him a hometown hero. But as this muscled firefighter dangled from a helicopter over a blazing inferno to rescue a construction worker from a crane, the entire world watched. Broadcast live during the evening news, Matt Moseley’s daring feat transformed this Southern boy into a national hero, making him the focus of interviews on the Today show, Montel Williams, People and Reader’s Digest, among others. He even met the vice president. But it was the rescue, Moseley says, that he loved the most. “It’s what you live for,” says the 35-year-old Atlanta native. “It’s why I became a firefighter, why I’ve stayed in this city. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen here, in Atlanta. I never want to leave.” The wind was blowing hard on April 12, 1999, when the firefighters from Station 4 took off for Cabbagetown, a thriving Atlanta community that had recently been designated as a national historic district. Comprised of several brick buildings constructed between 1895 and 1922, the Fulton Cotton Mill was undergoing a radical transformation into upscale residential lofts. Around the mill were restaurants and two-bedroom cottages, former homes of the 2,600 mill workers who used to eat cabbage several times a day, giving the neighborhood its name. A fire had ignited a trash can and the men assumed the call was routine. It was anything but.

“The 100-year-old hardwood floors had been soaked in linseed oil,” Moseley explains. “I liken that to taking your dryer screen, full of lint, and misting it with gasoline, then putting that in front of a fan and setting fire to it.” While the men were assessing the situation on the fourth floor, the evacuation order came. Moseley headed back for his tools, only to be stopped by a colleague. The building was collapsing. “Timbers were falling and it sounded like huge claps of thunder,” he says. “This was the only time that I’ve ever seen people openly running, I mean sprinting. We were skipping two and three stairs at a time. As we made it to the third floor, the fourth floor collapsed. As we made it to the second floor, the third floor collapsed. It was just like the movies, where you look back over your shoulder and see everything falling.” Moseley and his captain were the last two out. As soon as they got outside, however, they learned that their lieutenant was missing. They headed back in. “You don’t even think about not going back. There’s no hesitating,” Moseley says. The missing firefighter was eventually found alive, outside the building. He had moved one of the trucks away from the fire, burning his hands on the melting steering wheel in the process. Having survived not one but two close calls, Moseley began evacuating nearby homes and sawing through chain link fences,

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to make way for the hoses. That’s when he noticed someone on a crane, high above the burning buildings. “I remember thinking, ‘All this, and now we’ve got to get some guy off a crane,’” he says, shaking his close-cropped head of blond hair. Despite years of training, the rescue of the 49-year-old trapped construction worker, Ivers Sims, would not be easy. “We couldn’t climb up the crane, because it was too hot,” Moseley says. “We couldn’t shoot him a line, because it was too far. Finally, one of the guys on the radio said we needed a helicopter. It was the last option, but the only one. Then our captain looked at me and said, ‘You’re going.’” Moseley compares the experience to war. “You’re an idiot if you’re not scared,” he says. “And I was terrified. I’d never done anything like that before.” The first helicopter pilot wasn’t sure he could hold the weight of two men, so the Department of Natural Resources quickly sent in a crew with a gold D-RING helicopter, frequently used for rescues. On board were Boyd Clines, an expert forest fire pilot, and Larry Rogers, a Vietnam War veteran who had been shot down several times. Rogers had a reputation for his own heroic rescue of a group of Special Forces soldiers. He had flown the chopper, under fire, with a bullet in his leg. “This was a walk in the park for Rogers,” Mosely says. “But we still had to figure out how to get Sims out.” One option was dropping a basket, but Moseley was concerned about the wind, which was blowing at 20 to 25 miles an hour. He imagined the basket hitting Sims, and vetoed the idea. “That’s when Boyd looked at me and said, ‘Okay, if you want to go along for the ride,’” Moseley says. “I was applying for a job without realizing it.” By that time, the fire had become a five-story inferno that was destroying surrounding homes. Sims, who had been trapped for more than an hour, was waiting on the far end of the crane’s horizontal arm, away from the heat and smoke inside the gondola. As the helicopter lifted Moseley off the ground – “like a mother lifting a child,” he describes it – the gondola burst into flames. The helicopter engines began to overheat, and the Plexiglas bubble covering the pilot’s feet started to melt. The heat was so

intense that Rogers had to use a face shield just to look out the window. They had mere minutes to rescue Sims. “We started flying toward the target,” Moseley says, “and it was a totally different view of the fire. It looked like a big black square with fire coming out of it. I remember thinking, ‘That’s what Hell looks like.’ I also remember hoping that we would not fly over it.” As the chopper made its final approach toward the crane, Moseley was spun around several times and had difficulty seeing. He used hand signals to communicate

AP PHOTO/JOHN BAZEMORE

to Boyd and Rogers, and shouted for Sims to be calm, instructing him not to reach out. “I swung past once and realized that it was not going to happen,” Moseley says. “Then, almost miraculously, I found myself facing the crane. It was as if the good Lord had just decided to reach down and give me a hand.” Sims, he says, was the calmest of them

all. Moseley attempted a joke, telling Sims that his boss had sent them over and that it was okay for him to knock off early that day. “That went over like a screen door in a submarine,” he says. “So I shut up, hooked him up and gave Rogers the thumbs up. Boyd set us down like a carton of eggs. Sims didn’t say much of anything. He’s not a chatty person.” The fame over the incident, which was broadcast locally, nationally, and internation ally, was overwhelming. “You go from just a face in the crowd to people asking for your autograph,” Moseley says. “We would be out eating and people would come up to me and start talking. I kept telling everyone that I was part of a team, that we had all done the rescue, but with the media, you’re in their world. They do whatever they want.” Moseley turned the incident into a victory for Atlanta firefighters, lobbying the city, mayor and the legislature for better equipment and pay raises. The entire department received new air packs, a firefighter’s most important piece of safety equipment. The old ones, he says, were in terrible shape and had caused several injuries. The incident also led to a $2,000 one-time bonus, but that money was eaten up the next year by increases in health insurance premiums. Moseley continues to fight fires, working a 24-hour shift every 72 hours, which is standard for firefighters. On his off days, he and a partner train firefighters, soldiers and industrial response teams in emergency response techniques. It is, he says, the job he knows and loves. Few would argue that Moseley and his colleagues aren’t heroes – modern day ones. “The days of the knights in shining armor are done. This is the closest we can get,” he says, with a twinkle of his blue eyes. “It’s a great job. Not only do you get to help someone out, but you get paid for it. We ride on a gigantic red truck with noisemakers and roll through traffic as people look at us in awe. We just wear Kevlar now, instead of armor.” Moseley married in 2002, but agreed that women are certainly attracted to firefighters, “...until they find out how much we earn,” he laughs.

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JUDGE PICKERING by Jonathan Craig

CARLO ALLEGRI/GETTY IMAGES

Born and reared on a small row crop farm in Jones County, Miss., Judge Charles W. Pickering, Sr. grew up picking cotton, breaking corn, cutting turnip greens and digging sweet potatoes. Today as a U.S. Fifth Circuit District Judge, Pickering makes decisions every day that affect the lives of many. A recess appointment in January 2004 came from President Bush, who stated that Pickering “…is a good, fair-minded man, and the treatment he has received by a handful of Senators is a disgrace,” this after the U.S. Senate’s block of his judicial nomination in October 2003. Senate Democrats, lead by John Edwards, argued that Pickering’s record on civil rights was discriminatory. Many friends, including longtime friend Charles Evers, brother of slain civil rights worker Medgar Evers, came to Pickering’s defense. The Judge holds the seat until January 2005, when the next Congress takes office. Pickering, 67, is now at peace with the Senate-Pickering ordeal. He and wife Margaret Ann have moved on and are comfortable in their cozy life, on the same property he grew up on in Jones County. “To be identified with your heritage and family gives you a sense of identity,” Pickering says. The Pickerings live in a cypress farmhouse; complete with deer heads and family photographs adorning the wall. 60 Minutes anchor Mike Wallace got a taste of Pickering’s Mississippi when the CBS crew came south to feature him in an exclusive interview, something federal judges rarely give. “Mississippi’s made tremendous progress. And I feel like I’ve been a part of that progress. And I’m glad to have been a part of that progress. And I think it’s extremely unfortunate any time anyone, black or white, uses race to divide us and polarize us,” Pickering told Wallace in the interview. Long before the network cameras and Washington Post headlines, Pickering rose early to milk cows and later drove a school bus in order to pay school expenses. He worked in the offshore oilfields of Louisiana, delivered newspapers, worked in construction, and worked to pay his way through college and law school at Ole Miss. As a prosecuting attorney, he fought the Ku Klux Klan and fought for the integration of public schools. Pickering’s also remained active with his faith, rising to president of the Mississippi Baptist Convention in 1985. He also served eight years in the Mississippi State Senate. Being a judge is not easy, Pickering admits. “It is a position that carries with it a tremendous responsibility. One is always honored to serve in such a high office. I’ve always enjoyed my life in public service.” The Pickerings have four children (son Chip is a U.S. Congressman) and 20 grandchildren…and the Judge and Mrs. Pickering love it when those grandbabies come play on the farm.

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music

new releases

seven mary three

dis/location On their fifth album, Seven Mary Three brings heavy guitar riffs polished over with a smooth mainstream rock sound. It has been nearly a decade since their breakout hit “Cumbersome” in 1995, but the band has yet to have a song that hot in the three albums since. Dis/Location reflects a band still finding their own unique sound, but rocking hard in the process. Recorded in January, the album was quickly put

together and results in songs with a similar theme and similar sound. “Without You Feels” and “Made To Be Broken” reflect on lost loves, and many of the songs have similar dark images. 7M3 manages to sound like many other groups in alt-rock, like Dishwalla and Matchbox 20, but this talented group of Floridians need to break out and find their own sound.

anthony evans

even more

Anthony Evans shows his true devotion with his debut release, Even More. And he gives more and more with each faith-filled song he sings. While titles like “You Know My Name” and “Everything in Me” may signal suggestive lyrics for other artists, Evans’ 13 tracks are full of nothing but love and praise for God. Evans has writing credits for ten of these devotional songs, and he knows how to use his heavenlysounding voice to intrigue the listener. Each song is filled with open and insightful lyrics which praise God and shed light on a man guided by his faith. From the verse from Phillipians 1:6 written on the CD spine to his on-line journal at anthony-evans.com, Evans’ devotion shines through each aspect of his work. This Dallas native has the skill and voice that will make listeners want to praise God even more.

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l38 special

drivetrain

These rockers are no newcomers to metal mayhem, with over a quarter century experience making music that keeps the fans coming back for more. 38 Special continues to tour and keep busy with projects like a contribution to a Hank Williams Jr. tribute album and music for the hit movie Super Troopers (hence the track, “Trooper with an Attitude”). The band’s latest release, Drivetrain, has them continuing their rock legacy with songs about trouble with the law and Harley-riding wild women. Their politically-inspired tune “Jam On” has the band working to unite the world through rock, while songs like “Bad Looks Good On You” just plain rock. This album is full of true Southern-style rock n’ roll that will have each listener revving their truck and wanting more.

trent dabbs

quite often Moving from Mississippi to Nashville is one big step Trent Dabbs has taken recently, and the next step is the release of his debut album Quite Often. This mellow singer/songwriter is feeling right at home in musician-rich Nashville and reflects his emotions on the ten tracks of this recording. His soft voice swings from melancholy slow songs like “January Lights” and “Worst Fears,” to the pop-sounding melody of “It’s Not Like That.” The instrumentals are mainly acoustic guitarbased and simple, with the occasional beat of electronic sound. Dabbs main strength lies below the simple melodies in the stories and feelings behind his lyrics. He spent two years writing all of his own songs and filling them with his emotions, and he lets them shine through in his voice. Music City may just have another star on the rise.

PATIENT MAN THE DEBUT ALBUM FEATURING THE HIT SINGLE

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books

new releases

Mindy Friddle In her debut novel, South Carolina native Mindy Friddle manages to weave together themes of heritage, history, family, love, deceit and growth flawlessly.

urrounded by the decay of the small town her family helped build just three generations ago, Cutter Johanson is desperately trying to hold on to the family’s last piece of property- the house she and her sister live in. But her two siblings are intent on selling the home for fast cash as Cutter works two jobs in hopes of saving the last pieces of her family history. Chance brings Cutter together with Elizabeth Byers, the wife of professor Cutter’s sister Ginny. Elizabeth is a bright academic struggling through her dissertation on Emily Dickenson and trying to cope with agoraphobia. Learning of her husband’s infidelity, she must struggle through deciding if she wants to win her husband back and overcoming her fears. This novel is full of colorful and complex characters interacting in an intriguing story. The fun is found in the lively small-town characters portrayed in the novel. An elderly lady full of town gossip, a feisty real estate agent, a love struck young girl and a few mental patients all add comic relief to a story of two women’s struggles to find their place in life. Bursting with local color and Southern warmth, the story also reflects a need to remember our history in the modern South. Kristin Gravatt

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cowboy mouth n by Nickolas Furr

ew Orleans might as well patent Friday nights like this one. A crowd approaching 1,000 men and women have come inside and filled Howlin’ Wolf, a music club in the warehouse district. The patrons, who have been warmed up by local punk-pop band, Gang of Creeps, and by a three-song reunion gig by The Red Rockers, generate happy, anxious excitement. They crowd the stage, awaiting Cowboy Mouth, one of the South’s favorite bands. When the band takes the stage, an eruption of cheers that would be more at home in a stadium greets them. With little ceremony, they launch into “Light it on Fire,” a barnburner guaranteed to create a roar. It does. By the time they tear into their second number, “Disconnected,” the crowd is moving as one organic unit, almost desperate to absorb the band’s energy and return it to them tenfold. In return, Cowboy Mouth does their best to blow the audience through the front door. Standing front and center, Fred LeBlanc, the Mouth’s lead singer and drummer, pounds the skins and exhorts the fans to cheer, to jump, to take part in the show. The front man and chief cheerleader, he builds energy both on and off the stage with his ferocious drum work, his vocals, and his interaction with the crowd. He brings them into the show, refusing to let them be passive witnesses to the performance. There are no passive witnesses. “They make sure you leave a show feeling better than when you arrived,” says fan Ginger Winstead. “It’s a catharsis. They won’t let you leave unhappy.” This tall order might break a lesser band. Cowboy Mouth – LeBlanc, guitarists John Thomas Griffith and Paul Sanchez, and bassist Mary LaSang – play between 150 and 200 shows every year, to an estimated 1.5 million people. But these folks are not a normal band. They thrive on the road, playing venues of any size, from small intimate gatherings to festival concerts of 50,000 or more. “It’s all the same,” LeBlanc says. “The same energy, whether you’re playing to a big crowd in a big space or a small crowd in a small room. It’s just what we put out. People respond to it.”

People respond to them. Alternately standing over and sitting at his drum riser, LeBlanc becomes the on-stage focal point for the band’s activity. A cheerful Everyman off stage, LeBlanc becomes a larger than life force of nature onstage, whipping the audience into frenzy with the fervor of a tent revival. Griffith provides raw guitar power in the blues-punk style, preferring a playful stage presence to the trite angry guitarist image. He is also the band’s primary keyboardist, effortlessly switching instruments and never disturbing his ever-present cowboy hat. Sanchez plays versatile guitar, switching from lead to rhythm to acoustic with nary a beat. He is the stylish Mouth man, with an aura of quiet, Crescent City cool that creates a counterpoint to LeBlanc’s intensity. Sanchez addresses the crowd frequently and easily, poking fun at himself and his band mates. Prowling the stage is LaSang, seemingly unable to remain still. She brings a dash of fearlessness and sass to the band, without becoming the token female. She is a bass picker, creating a fatbottomed sound to the music that gives her band mates more room to play. She smiles broadly – and often – clearly happy with where she is. Occasionally dismissed as a “frat boy” band, Cowboy Mouth is more of a bouncy blues-rock project, melded with a sheen of Clash-era punk, an occasionally raunchy sense of humor, and an overwhelming sense of Southern style. All four are gifted musicians, able to play various instruments. Everyone sings and everyone writes music. Cowboy Mouth came into being almost by accident. The three men were all veterans of the New Orleans music scene. LeBlanc and Sanchez were in a band together before LeBlanc joined legendary swamp rockers Dash Rip Rock. Griffith fronted The Red Rockers, the political punkers who rode to fame on the strength of “China,” a huge single of the early ‘80’s. Griffith and Sanchez both suffered dead-end solo careers. Sanchez grew so frustrated with the music business that he left it altogether for a few years to work in the movie industry. In 1990, LeBlanc called Sanchez and told him he had a solo SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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Cowboy Mouth is currently touring in support of two records, Live at the Zoo and Uh-Oh, the band’s most recent studio album -- and their first with Bay Area-based 33rd Street Records. The live CD was recorded at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, is available only at Cowboy Mouth concerts or at the band’s website, www. cowboymouth.com Uh-Oh, arguably the band’s most radiofriendly release, meshes their robust stage-ready style with a modern rock edge that has elicited comparisons to the Foo Fighters and Barenaked Ladies. “Can’t Stay Here,” written and sung by Griffith, adds a distinct Southern California feel to a bluesy lament. “Invincible,” a driving Sanchez/Griffith number with Sanchez on vocals, harkens back to mid-‘80’s pop rock as performed by the Foo Fighters. “Disconnected,” a single from earlier this year, manages to turn the feeling of alienation into a jumpy, upbeat number. “You are, to a certain extent, responsible for what you put out there,” LeBlanc says. “You can’t translate the experience for your audience all the time, but you can do your best to put out something that’s constructive, instead of destructive.” “With Cowboy Mouth, we consciously made a decision to try to do something positive initially. We weren’t sure how we were going to do it, but we knew we didn’t want to be a regular negative band.” “We never discussed how to do it,” Sanchez says. “We never conceptualized the band. We just got out there and went, ‘duh,’ and it was good. As long as we keep doing that, I think we’ll keep being good.” “I’ve never seen a band who puts more heart and soul into their music,” says Andrea Blum, who flew from Detroit to see the show. “Their live shows are like no other. You have to take part…and be thankful to be alive.” Cowboy Mouth roars through a 22-song set of new cuts and the classics: “Everybody Loves Jill,” “Hurricane Party” and “Jenny Says.” When they finally leave the stage, they – and the audience – are exhausted, sweaty, and feeling on top of the world. The tumult of cheers and applause remains long after they have gone. “I always try to remember that feeling when we first started playing,” LeBlanc says. “We’ve been fortunate to have this thing last as long as it has. I still try to play with that give-iteverything-now, because one day when I’m 60 or 70, I just want to say, ‘I had a ball. I played in one of the best bands in the world and gave it everything.’”

PHOTOS BY THOMAS BECK

record deal and invited him to join him on the album. “[I] quit my job on the movie, came home, we drove three days to a studio in Wisconsin, and his A&R guy flew in and said, ‘I’m sorry, Fred. I got fired and you got dropped.’ Fred looked at me and went, ‘Sorry, dude. I hope you can get your job back.’” He didn’t. Instead, they decided to put together another band. “We rehearsed for two or three months and we stunk. We were lousy,” LeBlanc says. “It was me, him, and a bass player. We tried, tried, and tried, but we stunk.” Eventually, they recruited Griffith, who was working in a wholesale foods store in New Orleans. It made all the difference. “From the first song we played together, it was magic,” says LeBlanc. “We went from stinking really, really bad to being really, really good in the space of three seconds. I know when we all finished, I can honestly say, we all three…looked at each other.” Griffith taps his chest. “I can feel it right now, like I just want to take a big old deep breath. I definitely went, ‘this is going to rock. This is going to be fun.’” Together, the three formed Cowboy Mouth with bassist Paul Clement. Over the years, the band has Spinal Tapped their way through a series of bassists, including Steve Walters and Rob Savoy. Savoy, a sixyear veteran of the band, left amicably after Mardis Gras in 2003. After his departure, the band sought a fresh sound and found it with Mary LaSang, from the band Dingo 8. She was the first bassist to audition. “When Mary joined, she added fire,” LeBlanc says. “She’s got a great attitude, a great spirit. She’s a wonderful player. She’s game for anything. She doesn’t have that hesitation that sometimes guys will have on stage, because they’re trying to look cool.” LaSang suddenly found herself as a member of one of the hardest-touring bands in the country. “The biggest thing for me was – and still is – is that I’ve never been away from home, traveling so much, on a bus.” But it has its pluses as well. “I’ve never been able to play music full time, without having a day job. That’s a really wonderful thing.” LeBlanc says the rest of the band gets a bonus from LaSang being a member: “It’s fun to see what we’ve experienced for a while, by someone who is completely new.” Sanchez agrees. “She really kicked us in the butt and reminded how fun it is to play rock and roll for a living.”

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EITH NORRIS • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • EMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I LEXANDER • FORTY5 SOUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON • KEITH NORRIS • GLENN CUMMINGS • KEN E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 OUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S JESSI ALEXANDER • FORTY5 SOUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • GLENN CUMMINGS K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H O R R I S • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R FORTY5 SOUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • GLENN CUMMINGS • KEN MELLONS • F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S • GLENN U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N KEITH NORRIS • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I LEXANDER • FORTY5 SOUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • GLENN CUMMINGS • KEN E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 OUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S JESSI ALEXANDER • FORTY5 SOUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • GLENN CUMMINGS K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H O R R I S • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R FORTY5 SOUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • GLENN CUMMINGS • KEN MELLONS • F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S • GLENN U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N KEITH NORRIS • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I LEXANDER • FORTY5 SOUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • GLENN CUMMINGS • KEN E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S L AE M G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F LBIAT S C• C A J ENS N SI ALEXANDER • FORTY5 SOUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 OUUM G MSITNOGNSE • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S OUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • G L E N NDC JESSI ALEXANDER • FORTY5 SOUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • GLENN CUMMINGS K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H O R R I S • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R FORTY5 SOUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • GLENN CUMMINGS • KEN MELLONS • F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S • GLENN U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N KEITH NORRIS • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I LEXANDER • FORTY5 SOUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • GLENN CUMMINGS • KEN E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T Many of country musicʼs brightest and rising stars stopped I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 Fan Fair inNJune. O U T H •by M the E M AYʼall R I E • Magazine T R E N T W I Lbooth L M O Nat• K EITH N Oin R RNashville IS • GLEN C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S J E S S I Fans A L E X Agot N D Eto R •meet F O R Tand Y 5 Sgreet O U T Htheir • M Efavorites, M A R I E • Tgetting R E N T Wa I L Ldose M O Nof• K E I T H N O R R I S • GLENN CUMMINGS K E N MSouthern E L L O N S •hospitality J E F F B AT E Salong • J E the S S I way. A L E X AHere N D E Ris•a Frecap ORTY5 O U T Hof• M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H ofSsome O R R I S the • Gstars L E N Nthat CUM M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J ESSI ALEXANDER • FORTY5 SOUTH • MEMARIE dropped by to sign autographs and take pictures T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R with eager fans FORTY5 SOUTH • MEMARIE • TRENT WILLMON •KEITH NORRIS • GLENN CUMMINGS • KEN MELLONS • F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N • K E I T H N O R R I S • GLENN SEPTERMBER/OCTOBER U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E2004 • T•RY’ALL E N T W59 ILLMON KEITH NORRIS • G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H

t a l l a ’ Yan Fair F

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• G L E N N C U M M I N G S • K E N M E L L O N S • J E F F B AT E S • J E S S I A L E X A N D E R • F O R T Y 5 S O U T H • M E M A R I E • T R E N T W I L L M O N KEITH NORRIS ym59-61JR.indd 60

DANIEL LEE MARTIN After stints as a professional golfer, marketing director and baseball player, Daniel Lee Martin found his real love in country music. The St. Petersburg, Fla. native turned down three offers from major record labels to eventually become the flagship artist for ChinMusic Records. Martin’s premiere album, All That I Am, highlights the artist’s genuine knack for capturing emotion in a single note, as well as his skills as a songwriter. FORTY5 SOUTH The new band Forty5 South is comprised of five 20-something guys from Jackson, Tenn. who once practiced in the “spacious” living room of a single-wide trailer. Forty5 South has a live show that is rowdy and rambunctious, the kind of show that appeals to anyone who likes to have a good time. These boys clearly want music to be their life and livelihood, and at the rate they are going, they should not have any problem achieving that goal. JERRY BURKHART Burkhart is a serious traditional country artist and a big fan of the old television series Gunsmoke. The Waco, Texas native featured vintage footage of the show in his music video for the sad single “Dodging Memories.” The song and the video got noticed by country fans, the song reaching the Top 30 on the Texas Music Chart and the video debuted as a “Fast Forward” on the Great American Country network. Burkhart’s debut album, Cryin’ Country, lives up to it’s name. MEMARIE This Louisiana native does not want country fans to forget her name, (it’s pronounced memory) or her self-titled album. The record features 11 contemporary country songs; many co-written by Memarie and her father/producer Jerry Cupit. GLENN CUMMINGS The 6’5 tall- drink of water from Jacksonville Fla. was born to sing, his mother even says that his first infant cries seemed to be in tune. Cummings has had many jobs from shucking oysters to selling vacuum cleaners, but all these odd-occupations were just an ends to becoming a country music performer. His ambition finally paid off in January 2004 when he got a record deal with Gulf Coast Records, and has recorded his debut album. Many of his songs are “story songs” about teenage years when he first felt the pains of true love. KEN MELLONS The Tennessean’s fourth album Sweet features the fun, swinging, summertime song, “Climb My Tree.” Mellon’s rich baritone voice gives his music a traditional country element which led to the success of his 1994 smash “Jukebox Junkie.” KEVIN SHARP In the late 1990’s, Kevin Sharp was on top of country music with a platinum–selling debut album, Measure Of A Man, which included monster hits such as “She’s Sure Taking It Well,” “If

You Love Somebody,” and the highly acclaimed “Nobody Knows.” Kevin is returning to the music scene with a new recording contract with Cupit Records. His new record is scheduled for release in early 2005. TRENT WILLMON Country newcomer Trent Willmon slammed the charts with his summer 2004 debut hit “Beer Man,” and his latest single “Dixie Rose Deluxe’s Honky Tonk, Feed Store, Gun Shop, Used Car, Beer, Bait, BBQ , Barber Shop, Laundromat” is sure to continue his radio success. The video for the new release, which could be the longest title in country radio history, features not only his dog and his horse, but also Trent’s gun-shaped BBQ smoker that he helped build. A crafty Texas singer and songwriter, Willmon also built a boat that was featured in his first video, “Beer Man.” KEITH NORRIS Anybody that shares a birthday with Elvis can’t be all bad. With that in mind, Keith Norris is actually really good. The Houston native is one of the Texas-style country acts that keeps country music’s roots firmly anchored in the ground. With his latest album, Deuce, country boot-scooters can find a Texas two step anthem with “Two Step Program.” STEVE HOLY “Good Morning Beautiful” spent five weeks atop the country charts in 2002, and since then the Dallas native has been a recurring figure on the playlist of country radio. JEFF BATES Jeff Bates was raised by a Mississippi sharecropper whose wife was the daughter of a Pentecostal minister. Bates’ background is rather unconventional and his voice is deep and smooth. His summer 2003 ballad “The Love Song” gained much attention for the country newcomer. DOUG STONE Stone is a fixture on country music radio and is on the plus side of a fifteen-year career of entertaining country music fans. He first single arrived on the charts in 1990, “I’d Be Better Off (In A Pine Box).” Stone’s musical career has taken a few unplanned medical breaks through the years. The Newnan, Ga. native’s back on the scene touring heavily for the rest of the year and releasing a new single, “How Do I Get Off The Moon,” which may be one his best releases yet. JESSI ALEXANDER This hot Jackson, Tenn. native is a rising star, but you can’t help but be a star when your namesake is Jessi Colter. The green-eyed songtress’ first car was a ’66 Mustang, her favorite sport is billiards and she once worked in a factory repairing power tools. The Southern-themed “Honeysuckle Sweet” was Jessi’s debut single. by Jenna Blackwell and Keith Sisson

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books

Loretta Lynn’s

You’re Cookin’ It Country by Nancy Posey

A person doesn’t have to be a die-hard country fan to know Loretta Lynn. She can safely be called a personality, not just a celebrity. Over the years, Loretta Lynn has not been reinventing herself so much as she has been becoming herself. She manages that ironic blend of giving fans—regular folks— the feeling they know her, without ever becoming predictable or repetitive. Because of the movie based on her life’s story, Coal Miner’s Daughter, people may naturally connect her with Sissy Spacek, the actress who played Loretta in the film, but no one would ever confuse the two. Loretta’s best role is playing herself. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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books

Loretta and late husband Mooney Lynn

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THOMAS NELSON

While she could now rest on her laurels, showing up for country music events and singing her classics, she keeps making waves. Her 2004 release, Van Lear Rose, measures up to any of the best recordings of her career. The album was produced by Jack White of the White Stripes (who even sings along on a duet, “Portland, Oregon”). Fresh from his own appearance on the Cold Mountain soundtrack, a departure from his signature style, Detroit rocker White leaves his mark on this endeavor without ever stealing the limelight. Lynn’s new CD boasts all her own original material, with original twists on the themes that have always inhabited country songs: loving, cheating, getting even, and, of course, family. One of the greatest keys to Loretta Lynn’s success is never forgetting where she began. Another is not being afraid to try something new. Now, after two New York Times best-sellers, (Coal Miner’s Daughter, on which the movie was based, and Still Woman Enough), Loretta Lynn has another first—her own cookbook, You’re Cookin’ It Country (Rutledge Hill Press). The woman many still remember as the Crisco spokesman, making “beescuits” with her daughter, started the project to collect family recipes, especially those from her mother-in-law, Angie Lynn, to pass along to her own children. She says she started teaching all her children to cook—as well as to tackle chores around the house—at a young age. “I think it’s one of the first lessons of responsibility we teach our children,” she notes, “and it’s a great way to spend time together …and I have to say all my kids are great cooks.” Woven through the collection, she recorded the stories of her life, memories that accompany the foods. Not only were her kids pleased

“

with the gift, but manager Nancy Russell convinced her she had a real treasure, something worth publishing. For anyone looking for highbrow entertaining, this is not the book. Try one of Martha’s books instead. This cookbook appeals to hungry people. It reads like the best of Southern cookbooks—and not a single staple of Southern cuisine is missing—fried corn, cathead biscuits, snow cream, and macaroni and cheese (and not the kind that comes in the little box.) When asked her idea of the “perfect Southern meal,” she admitted it was hard to pick., but she said she loves a dinner of cucumber salad, chicken ‘n dumplin’s, green beans, stewed cabbage, fried okra, mash potatoes, homemade yeast bread and blackberry cobbler. She says that on the road what she misses most are her fresh baked bread and desserts. The recipes she shares are the fare she likes best. When cooking for herself she prefers catfish, mashed potatoes and peanut butter fudge. Accompanying the recipes is plenty of name-dropping—but certainly not gratuitous name-dropping. These are the people that have populated Lynn’s life—Johnny and June Carter Cash, Dottie West and Conway Twitty—and of course, the late Patsy Cline, who always showed up at the table when she knew Loretta’s husband Doolittle Lynn had gone rabbit hunting. Yes, Loretta includes the recipe for rabbit—and venison and even possum. As the narrative throughout the cookbook reminds readers, true country cooking grew out of necessity and availability. Especially when she was growing up, a Kentucky coalmining family of nine had to make do.

My Mommy was part Indian and she knew every root and herb there was in Van Lear, Kentucky Kentucky… …

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“My Mommy was part Indian and she knew every root and herb there was in Van Lear, Kentucky,” says Lynn. “When I was little, I’d watch her add all the wild onions and herbs to different things she would make for us. Back then we had no such thing as season salt, seasoning with those roots and herbs didn’t come from a recipe, but my mommy could turn anything into a meal fit for a king.” While her mother and mother-in-law were her first teachers, she had to seek out other mentors of the kitchen when she and her husband Doo relocated to Washington State for work when she was 18. There she learned from the women who crossed her path—how to cook, how to can. This is also the time she started to enjoy cooking. She worked cleaning for two brothers, Clyde and Bob Green, whose aunt lived with them and cooked for them. Blanche Green, a great cook, taught her the most about cooking, while she was first living away from her family and home. She readily admits she never spent time worrying about the appearance of her culinary productions. She was more concerned

with taste. “Usually, I don’t go by recipes,” she says. “I cook like my Mommy—a pinch of salt, a pinch of this and a pinch of that. I taste everything as I go along, so I can add what it needs. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s why, before it’s ready, I make sure I’m tasting it.” Punctuated with vintage family photos as well as anecdotes, the book delivers Loretta Lynn’s voice as surely as her music does. You’re Cookin’ It Country belongs in any good cookbook collection, and it is guaranteed not to sit and collect dust—unless it’s a dusting of flour. For anyone raised on genuine country cooking, the book is as authentic as dinner-on-the-grounds after church revival, and as filling and unpretentious as Sunday at Grandma’s table. Best of all, when you finish reading, you can replicate almost all of the recipes in your own kitchen—although snow cream may have to wait until winter.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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home plate

Citrus Grilled Pork Shoulder

by Marvin Woods

Serves 4 Four pork shoulder steaks 3-oranges fresh squeezed 2-lemon fresh squeezed 3-limes fresh squeezed ¼-cup honey ¼-cup rum 2 tablespoons chopped garlic ½ medium onion sliced 2 tablespoon chopped flat parsley Dressing ¼ marinade 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard Olive oil Put all the ingredients together for the marinade. Remove ½ cup of the marinade and save for later. Place pork shoulders in the marinade and make sure they are all laying flat in the marinade. Marinade for 6 to 12 hours turning occasionally to make sure each side has equal marinade time.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TURNER SOUTH

Preheat your grill to moderate. Season your pork on both sides with salt and pepper before grilling.

Chef Marvin Woods is the host of Home Plate on Turner South, which airs M-F at 10am, 10:30am, 3pm and 3:30pm ET. He is also the author of The New Low-Country Cooking.

Place your pork down and cook for 3 to 5 minutes (depending on the thickness of the steak) and flip over and do the other side. When the pork is close to the temperature you like, remove from the grill and rest. While the pork is resting take your marinade that you put aside and place in a bowl. Add your mustard and whisk in the olive oil until it starts to thicken, check seasoning and serve. Place your steaks back on the grill and grill for a minute and a half more on both sides and serve.

COMMENTS This dish calls for grilling, but you can also prepare with a sauté pan, skillet, or broiler. I chose such a dish and this particular cut of meat because my rules of thumb are if it is on the bone, one, it has flavor, two, most likely a little fat/marbling and three, with these components and if prepared right it’s going to be good and juicy. How can you go wrong? You can serve this with your favorite starch but I would make a nice salad and drizzle some of the marinade/sauce over the whole dish.

TIPS Don’t overcook the pork. I serve and enjoy pork at the medium temperature. Having a cooking thermometer is essential to getting the perfect temperature. Pull your meat off the grill a half a temperature away from serving and let it rest for 5 to 7 minutes. The resting place should allow the meat to be elevated so it doesn’t lie in it’s own juices (it will continue to cook).

For more recipes, go to turnersouth.com 64

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wine down south

WINE, FOOD AND FRIENDSTHE JEFFERSON TRADITION by Doc Lawrence

Virginia Phillip, Chef Sommelier at The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach welcomes, in the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, Florence and Daniel Cathiard owners of fabled Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte at the annual Bordeaux wine dinner held in the historic hotel’s flagship restaurant, L’Escalier. Ms. Phillip was 2002 Sommelier of the Year in the U.S.

oasted elk served on the finest china paired perfectly with fabled Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte Bordeaux enjoyed from exquisite crystal stemware during the annual international wine dinner in opulent L’Escalier, the flagship restaurant of Palm Beach’s renowned Breakers Hotel. Accompanying the entrée was the Chef ’s own recipe grits. Thomas Jefferson, I thought, would be very pleased. Wine with food, like grits and country ham, form the core of our Jeffersonian tradition of hospitality. Our first important wine importer and producer entertained dinner guests at Monticello serving fine wines and Southern cuisine, while supplying five American presidents with wine. Georgia wine giant, Doug Bryant, a champion of Atlanta’s High Museum of Art Wine Auction, follows in this tradition, observing that wine “is as important as the quality of your dinner guest. It’s the social glue for the evening.” Chef Marvin Woods’ pork recipe merits an appropriate wine. Lynda Allison, a Cordon Bleu trained wine and food educator/consultant and Georgia vintner, suggests a southern Rhone “because the blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault and a little Mouvedre are uniquely suited for this dish and the exciting combination of flavors.” Emeril’s/Atlanta Sommelier Christopher Straka concurs, adding that “a white from Alsace, particularly a Pinot Gris or a Riesling,” are also worthy candidates. Another Dixie staple, raw oysters, pair perfectly with dry, crisp Puligny-Montrachet, loaded with soft flavors that bring out the best in oysters. Alternatives are Sancerre or a rich New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Melvin Rodrique, general manager and wine supervisor for Galatoire’s, the New Orleans’ landmark restaurant celebrating its centennial in 2005, serves Champagne or sparkling wine with Oysters Rockefeller. “It’s our time-honored festive way,” he says, “to begin a gourmet evening.” The legendary Peabody Hotel ducks at the Little Rock, Memphis and Orlando locations retire daily parading to John Philip Sousa’s “King Cotton March.” The ritual is celebrated with wine, particularly Champagne, a Southern mainstay since the Civil War, when blockade runners delivered munitions and bottles of bubbly. We drink Champagne to salute the newlywed, the New Year and stunning sunsets. North Georgia’s heralded Three Sisters Winery produces Cynthiana, a red wine made from the ancient Cherokee grape and Vidal Blanc, an impressive white wine. Both fit nicely with Chef Marvin’s pork dish, according to owners Sharon and Doug Paul. Through Tim McNally’s terrific New Orleans radio broadcast, “The Wine Show,” I discovered Louisiana’s Ponchartrain Vineyards. Ponchartrain makes excellent Cynthiana along with a Southern varietal, Blanc du Bois, a delightfully pork friendly gentle white with hints of Alsace. As an aperitif or food accompaniment, wine is emblematic of joie de vivre Southernstyle. Strangers become friends when offered fine wine and Southern cuisine blended with stimulating conversation. We truly are spiritual descendants of the gentleman from Monticello. It’s time to uncork a bottle and pour something divine into a fine crystal wine glass and silently toast in gratitude to Thomas Jefferson. In vino veritas.

Doc Lawrence writes and lectures about wine in relation to Southern cuisine and lifestyles from his home in Atlanta and in South Florida. Doc welcomes emails at doclawrence@yall.com.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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Bound fo for The new book Bound for Glory: America in Color 1939-1943 (Abrams/The Library of Congress), features 188 pages of extraordinary color photographs recording life throughout the emerging American nation at that time. Never before has there been a book that paints in full color the South and its sister regions emerging from the Great Depression and mobilizing to fight World War II.

(Above) Frenchieʼs Bar in Melrose, La., 1940 (Right) Chopping cotton in White Plains, Ga., 1941 (Below) Planting corn with mules along an East Tennessee river, 1940 (Far Right) Boys fishing in a bayou in Schriever, La., 1940 Photo credit: Copyright Library of Congress, courtesy Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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or Glory Glory

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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Guten Tag Hola Bon Jour

Hi,Y’all

by Alan Blinder

hen world leaders travel to attend international summit around Savannah to greet each leader as he arrived and give him a meetings, they’re typically greeted with pomp and handmade Georgia gift. The general thoughts in the press were “It’s circumstance, high-level meetings, and of course the news going to be a long day” when we saw the kids who were supposed to greet media. The leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. Press-savvy G-8 officials had a Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom received all kid with a broken arm put his arm in a sling adorned with the Canadian that with some Southern hospitality thrown in when they flag. After we suffered for hours (that’s plural), we got onto a bus to go back arrived at the G-8 Summit, which was held on the Georgia to the International Media Center which held the equivalent of heaven coast June 8-10. President George W. Bush chose Sea Island, a luxury resort with to a teenage boy. The G-8 was living by the rule that Frank Bruni of The a reputation for residents who are, to put it simply, well-financed to host the summit. New York Times so wonderfully illustrated once: “A well-fed press corps Forbes Magazine ranks the zip code for Sea Island as the third wealthiest in the is a docile press corps.” The food for the press was endless…and free. For us, it was something to be having nation with cottages (Sea Island’s severely breakfast and then have someone understated way of describing the houses that like David Gregory of NBC or Terry grace the landscape) going for an average of Moran of ABC come sit down next $2.2 million. Y’all Magazine correspondant to you and start conversation. Most Alan Blinder, a 14-year-old politico from reporters were surprised when they Norcross, Ga. filed these memories of the G-8 discovered how old I was; most had Summit: been under the impression I was Savannah is the oldest and arguably older. It was surreal. Along with the most historic city in Georgia. It’s fellow teenage photojournalist and pal beauty, especially when the Spanish Troy Lewis, we seemed to be the most Moss that hangs from trees is in popular of the reporters as all of them season, is unparalleled and a bad day wanted to meet Troy and I and do a is typically when it rains long enough story or two. They were reporting on that a resident can’t sit on a bench for reporters! The publicity was neat but awhile in one of Savannah’s many it didn’t do too much for us in the area squares and just relax. Ahh, the good all teenage boys are concerned with: life. But there was something different the girl factor. To our knowledge, the when I arrived for the G-8. Maybe it Y’all Magazine offices have not been was the Blackhawk helicopter that Blinder meets Sen. Bill Frist of Tenneessee receiving fan mail as of yet. The final was circling the city; maybe it was day of the summit resulted in some the 20,000 federal, state, and local leaders looking surprised as well. law enforcement officers around to Reporters are by far some of the most guard us; maybe even it was the fact talented and humorous people on that for three days, Savannah would the planet. As far as the press corps become the capital city of the world. is concerned, we’re equal opportunity Savannah was definitely different from harassers, the leaders and their wives its normal state of affairs and a walk being no exception. Bernadette down the street would prove it. During Chirac, the wife of the French the summer, tourists roam the city and President, has hair that looks as if it are easily identifiable, primarily by had been combed with a blowtorch. the cameras around their necks. This Some in the press corps came to time, cameras were rare and the things know her as “Bouffant Bernadette.” around most peoples necks were the In all seriousness though, the press security identification cards provided take their jobs seriously and the to all of us cleared to be anywhere reporting reflects that (maybe we’re near a summit venue. Security was the exception based on this report). particularly tight at Hunter Army Rep. Tom DeLay, Blinder and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue The G-8 Summit was a relaxed event Airfield on Tuesday, June 8th, when I of paramount importance (yes, we was part of the pool, a few reporters know that’s ironic) and the attitudes who attend an event and then report back to the whole group, to watch the leaders arrive in Savannah. As is of reporters reflect that. The G-8 made a difference in our lives, and typical with the military, pomp and circumstance were ample as each I know and I’m sure in the lives of other reporters and most definitely leader was treated to an official arrival ceremony upon landing in the the residents of Savannah. All involved can know they were part of Peach State. Georgia officials would line up and extend a “Hi, y’all” something special; they were part of one of the world’s most important to a most likely astonished leader. Then there were the kids. As part meetings. of the kinder, gentler G-8 image that even included an environmental conservation program, U.S. officials had selected third-graders from

Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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dixie destination

Thorncrown CHAPEL Surrounded by lakes and rivers, and known for its beauty, Eureka Springs, Ark. is an historic city nestled in the Ozark Mountains. Visitors enjoy sightseeing, shopping, dining and relaxing in the town’s spas. Just three miles outside of Eureka Springs, however, is another attraction that is not to be missed: Thorncrown Chapel. The chapel is a testament to one man’s appreciation of the beauty of the Ozarks and his generosity in sharing this beauty in an inspirational manner with the world. Thorncrown Chapel is a wooden structure that stands 48 feet high, contains 425 windows, over 6,000 square feet of glass, and sits on 100 tons of native stone and colored flagstone. The chapel was selected in 2001 as one of the Top 10 Designs of the 20th Century by The American Institute of Architecture. It also won the institute’s Design of the Year for 1981 and Design of the Decade for the 1980s. In 1971, Jim Reed, a native of Pine Bluff, Ark., purchased property near Eureka Springs. Intending to build his retirement home there to enjoy the beautiful view of the Ozarks. However, Reed soon discovered he wasn’t the only one who appreciated the area as many others came through the woods to enjoy the views. Instead of building a fence to keep people out, Reed opted to do just the opposite. He and his wife chose to build a glass chapel that everyone could enjoy and share. Reed soon met E. Fay Jones, an architect and a professor at the University of Arkansas in Fayettville. Jones agreed to take on the project and construction began in 1979. A little over one year later, in 1980, the chapel was completed. Since its opening, almost 4 million people have visited the chapel in the woods. Thorncrown Chapel is located on Highway 62 three miles outside of Eureka Springs. It is open daily April through November from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; December and March from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The chapel is closed in January and February except for weddings and other special events. There is no admission fee to the chapel, but donations are accepted. by Molly Fergusson

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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There are places where the conversation always comes easy.

We think your bank should be one of them.

Our one-on-one approach to banking hasn’t changed much since we star ted back in 1872. Perhaps that’s because we’ve maintained the belief that you are an individual, not an account number. And that when it comes to your banking, you should be able to feel as comfor table talking to us as you would any of your other neighbors.

You can tell we want your business.

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on the money

MURP IS MURPHY PAC PACKING UP & M MOVING OUT by Dave Ramsey

So you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired about your money. It sounds like you need a Total Money Makeover. Turn that sick feeling into focused intensity and you are well on your way. Get excited, get angry – attack the problem with a vengeance. Take control of your greatest wealth building tool – your income. If you’ve been following along through the May-June and the July-August issues of Y’all then you should have your budget in place and working by now. You found out how much you really spend on food each month. You should also have or be close to completing your $1,000 starter emergency fund. This will cover your light rainy days like flat tires so you won’t be tempted to return to the disastrous credit card method of paying for emergencies. If you finished your emergency fund then you should have turned that focused intensity to paying off your debts from smallest to largest. The average gazelleintense participants in a Total Money Makeover will be on this step for 18 to 20 months. Don’t get discouraged – you’ll get there. Close your eyes and imagine what it will be like when you are debt free except for the house and have $1,000 cash for emergencies. When you don’t have any payments, except for the house, Baby Step Three should come quickly – Baby Step Three: Finish the Emergency Fund. A fully funded emergency fund covers three to six months of expenses. What would it take for you to live three to six months if you lost your income? Financial Planners and financial Counselors like myself have used this rule of thumb for years and it has served my Total Money Makeover participants well. You start the emergency fund with $1,000; a fully funded emergency fund will usually range from $5,000 to $25,000. The typical family that can make it on $3,000 per month might have a $10,000 emergency fund as a minimum. What would it feel like to have no payments but the house and $10,000 in savings for when it rains?

Dave Ramsey is a financial counselor, host of the popular syndicated radio show “The Dave Ramsey Show,” and author of the New York Times best-seller The Total Money Makeover. His columns appear regularly in Y’all.

It will rain; you need an umbrella. Don’t forget, Money magazine says 78 percent of us will have a major unexpected event within the next ten years. When the big stuff happens, like the job layoff or the blown car engine, you can’t depend on credit cards. If you use debt to cover emergencies, you have backtracked again. A well-designed Total Money Makeover will walk you out of debt forever. A strong foundation in your financial house includes the big savings account, which will be used just for emergencies.

A poll in Parenting magazine said 49 percent of Americans could cover less than one month’s expenses if they lost their income. Half of this culture has virtually no buffer between them and life. Here comes Murphy! Problems seem to be (and I believe actually are) less frequent when you have your fully funded emergency fund. Don’t forget that the emergency fund actually acts as Murphy repellant. So what is an emergency anyway? An emergency is something you had no way of knowing was coming, something that has a major impact on you and your family if you don’t cover it. Emergencies including paying the deductible on medical, homeowner’s, or car insurance after an accident, a job loss or cutback, medical bills resulting from an accident or unforeseen medical problem, or a blown transmission or engine in a car that you need to function. All of these are emergencies.

“

Don’t forget that the emergency fund actually acts as Murphy repellant.

”

Something on sale that you “need” is not an emergency. Fixing the boat, unless you live on it, is not an emergency. “I want to start a business” is not an emergency. “I want to buy a car or a leather couch or go to Cancun” is not an emergency. Prom dresses and college tuition are not emergencies. Beware not to rationalize the use of your emergency fund for something that you should save for and purchase (I want you to have stuff but I don’t want your stuff to have you).

On the other hand, don’t make payments on medical bills after an accident while your emergency fund sits there fully funded. If you’ve gone to the trouble of creating an emergency fund, make sure you are crystal clear on what is and is not an emergency. Before using the emergency fund, back up from the situation and calm down. Sharon (my wife) and I would never use the emergency fund without first discussing it and being in agreement. We also would never use the emergency fund without sleeping on the decision and praying about it. Our agreement, our prayer, and our cooling-off period all help us determine if this decision is a rationalization, a reaction or a real emergency. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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cajun humor

de top ten

Hello Dare Y’all Magazine readers. Since de lass issue we done seen Mothers Day come an go but us Southern folks always hold our Mamas very close to our hearts and I’m sure the other folks wat ain’t from the South hold their Mamas close, too. I got some Yankee friends and dey all love their Mamas jus like us Southern folks. De following Top 10 list is not only dedicated to all de Mamas no matter where their from and also to some odder special Mamas trueout history, too. 10. Michaelangelo’s Mama who said “Mikey why can’t you paint on de wall like odder kids? Do you know how hard it’s gonna be to get dat paint off de ceiling?” 9. Napoleon’s Mama who said “All right, if you ain’t hidin’ your report card inside your jacket, took your hand outta dare an show me wat you got.”

ILLUSTRATION BY DON MATERS

by Tommy Joe Breaux

8. Abraham Lincoln’s Mama dat said, “Wats wit de stovepipe hat Abe, why can’t you ware a baseball cap like all de odder kids?” 7. Columbus’ Mama who said, “I don’t care wat you discovered, you still could have written.” 6. Albert Einstein’s Mama who said, “But it’s your senior picture. Can’t you have done sometang wit your hair Albert? Stylin gel, mousse or sometang?” 5. George Washington’s Mama who said, “De nex time I catch you trowin money across de Patomac, you can kiss your allowance goodby.” 4. Moses’ Mama who said, “Okay Moses, dats a nice story. Now tell me ware have you really been for de lass 40 years?” 3 Thomas Edison’s Mama who said, “Yes Tommy I’m real proud dat you invented de light bulb, now turn it off an go to bed” Tommy Joe Breaux is a veteran Cajun comedian, author and speaker. His line of Cajun comedy albums are available at tommyjoebreaux.com

2. Mary’s Mama dat said, “ Mary, I’m not upset dat you brought you lamb to school,but I would jus like to know, how de lamb gots bedder grades dan you?” 1. Mona Lisa’s Mama dat said, “Mona, afta all de hard earned money me an you daddy spent on braces, dats de bess smile you could give us?” Happy belated Mothers day to all de Mama’s readin Y’all Magazine an to all de readers dat love em.

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blue collar

Still Standing After 20 Years by Jeff Foxworthy

When I was a kid I would save my allowance to buy comedy records. I would buy Bill Cosby and Flip Wilson. I would memorize them and then go to school and do them and get in trouble for doing them at school. But I remember my parents would get me out of bed to entertain their friends. My momma would say, “Get out here and do that chicken-heart thing.” When you talk to people that I grew up with in Hapeville, Ga., none of them are surprised that this is what I do. They would tell you this is what I’ve always done. I guess I didn’t think growing up that you could do this for a living. And so I did it that first night 20 years ago, and it’s like a light bulb went off, and it was a proud moment when I quit IBM too. You can imagine my mother’s bosom swelling with pride at that moment. I’ve been lucky that I have made people laugh in a lot of different ways, whether it was a sitcom, a book or records. And if you look in my office, there are at least 20 piles of stuff. I’ve always got stuff I’m thinking about and working on, so I never get bored. But if you put a gun to my head and said, “Alright you can’t do but one,” there wouldn’t be any hesitation. It would be stand-up. I mean there is something about being able to look people in the eye and see them laugh, and see them elbow each other that you can’t replace. And the longer I’ve done it; I appreciate it so much more. There’s a lot of musicians and there are a lot of actors, but there are very few people who do stand-up and make that their life’s work. A lot of people get into it, as a springboard for other stuff, like Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, David Spade or Drew Carey. There are a lot of people who start off in stand-up and move on to other stuff, and just moved on and never went back to pick it up. Then you have a few people like Cosby. Cosby is worth over a billion dollars…a billion! And he still goes out and does stand-up on

the weekends. He ain’t doing it for the money; he is doing it because he loves doing it. Seinfeld still does it, and Jerry ain’t doing it for the money. And so as I hit 20 years of it, I realize that that’s me. I don’t have to do it anymore, but I love doing it. When we were doing the sitcom, Seinfeld and I shot right next to each other and I remember talking to him one day about the sitcom business and that is was long days and it was rehearse and rewrite, rehearse and rewrite, and then you shoot it in little two or three minute segments and then someone took it away to edit it and you didn’t even get to see it. You never saw the finished product; you just started working on the next one.

“

Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and Bill Engvall star in Blue Collar TV, airing Thursdays at 8/7 Central on The WB.

Get out here and do that chicken-heart thing.

”

With stand-up, you knew two seconds out of your mouth if it was funny or if it wasn’t funny. But there was a thrill to that, and still is a thrill to it. And you would think that after 20 years you would be to the point to where you would just know if something was gonna work or not, but you just don’t. And that’s the danger and the thrill in it. I mean I still go out there and think that they’re gonna love this and you tell it, and it just kind of lays there and you’re like “Oh, no!” And you’re like, “Alright let’s start digging, let’s get out of this hole.”

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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The South’s South’s Web Address!

www.yall.com

Log on to subscribe. 74

Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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ms. grits

Seven Ways to Bring the Front Porch Back Into Your Life by Deborah Ford

There was a time when being Southern meant living by the slow rhythm of the front porch swing. Friends and neighbors would gather together for hours just to share and watch the world go by. People worked hard, but they managed to make time to sit a spell and keep everyone up to date on the latest news. Sure, the boards might creak, the air might be muggy, and there might be one too many no-see-ums for comfort, but there was no place more comfortable than that front porch. These days, it seems like we spend more time hunched behind the wheel of the car than just rocking a quiet hour away together. Our kids sit staring at their video games, our neighbors rush past with their ears to their cellphones, and we let a hundred things distract us from what is really important. Hospitality is the heart and soul of Southern life, and it’s up to us to keep it alive. Here are seven ways to bring back the old hospitality: • Make up a batch of your favorite cookies, write down the recipe by hand (and, better yet, the story of where you got the recipe), and deliver them to a neighbor you don’t know very well. That’s right, muster up your courage, knock on the door, and just give a word of welcome. Even if you’re not much of a baker, your neighbors will appreciate a bit of home-baked goodness (even if you had to cheat by doctoring up a batch of cookie mix). • Buy single-serving bags of coffee, hand them out to friends you haven’t spoken to for awhile with notes reading, “Let’s get together to share this sometime.” If they don’t call, follow up with them. They’re as busy as you are, and they’ll appreciate your taking the time to remind them of what’s really important in life. • Schedule a “date” with one of your children (or your significant other). Order a pizza, unplug the phone (and cell phone, and pager – anything that beeps), and spend a couple of hours just sharing. Your kids may moan about how lame you are, but when they’re older, they’ll look back fondly on your time together (I know it sounds crazy now, but trust me).

If you have any stories that you’d like to share, let me know. Any Southerners – or Southerners at heart – are welcome to submit stories to me for my upcoming book, Putting on the GRITS: Girls Raised in the South Guide to Entertaining. to msgrits@yall.com

• Visit a nursing home and talk to the residents. Bring a handful of magazines and paperbacks for entertainment. You might find that you get as much entertainment out of the visit as you bring. Remember, the front porch can be anywhere people need to talk!

• Host a trivia night for the neighborhood. Place an invitation in each mailbox with a couple of facts about yourself and your family, and say that you just want to get to know the neighbors better. Have questions about your state and city or town (this is especially good if you’re a Southern native and you live near newcomers). • If your family lives near you, start a tradition of at least one communal meal a week (Sunday night is a good choice). You make the salad, sister brings a bowl of chili, and mother bakes up a cobbler. Keep it simple and easy so you won’t be tempted to let things slide. Family is too precious for you to share yourselves just on holidays. • If your family lives far away, keep them updated with an old-fashioned snail mail crib sheet. At the end of each day, write down one funny, interesting, or important thing that happened to your immediate family this week. “Julie said her first word,” “Bob won his tennis match,” or even, “We all have a favorite new TV show.” At the end of the month, send your “Family Fact Sheet” in the mail. It’s no replacement for regular visits, but you’re loved ones will find themselves laughing along with you. The South is changing fast, but not so fast that we can’t preserve what’s wonderful about the old ways. When I was young, a new neighbor was cause

“

Southern hospitality is part of what brought so many newcomers into our midst.

”

for weeks of speculation and excitement. Now, it seems like those new people are just another car on the road. If we take the time to share some good old Southern hospitality, it doesn’t have to be that way. Southern hospitality is part of what brought so many newcomers into our midst. If each one of us keeps that front porch in our hearts, that Southern hospitality can be here to stay.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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star gazing

PRACTICAL WHIMSY southern hospitality hollywood style by Joe LoCicero

With a birthing brigade led by Birmingham’s Courteney CoxArquette and Smyrna, Georgia’s Julia Roberts, Hollywood is experiencing a bouncing baby bonanza as “Mommyhood” has become strikingly in vogue. CoxArquette gave birth to a little girl, Coco, in June, while Roberts is expecting twins early next year. Gwyneth Paltrow, Helen Hunt, Debra Messing and Kate Hudson have all recently given birth, and both Jennifer Lopez’s and Britney Spears’ quickly-timed nuptials have led to widespread speculation that each of them already are or soon might be expecting. In my experience working on the newsmagazine Entertainment Tonight, the allure of celebrities having babies has always been inescapable for audiences. Fawning over these announcements garners even more interest than weddings for the public (since, clearly, everyone was a baby once… but not everyone’s been married.) So people clamor for details about – and maybe even wistfully pine a bit for the life of – the newest kid on the block belonging to Hollywood’s elite. Maybe because it hardly ever rains in Southern California, showers of a different kind – many of them co-ed events – are hot tickets in L.A. right now. Baby showers range from refi ned champagne-and-canapés affairs to “inthe-pink” soirees with massive floral arrangements and tables stuffed with rose-colored foods such as strawberry tarts and raspberry mousse to islandthemed bashes, commemorating the exotic locale of conception. Whatever the theme, baby fetes spawn feats of creativity to celebrate impending arrivals. And while stars may have them full-on catered and fl at-out custom-designed, taking an adorable cue from fall events can make for a memorable baby shower that will make

Photo by Robert Jordan

Stone Mountain, Ga.-raised Joe LoCicero is a Hollywood writer-publicist and entertaining guru whose eclectic, collective credits include Entertainment Tonight, Hot Ticket, The All-New Captain Kangaroo and Frasier. He began the “Practical Whimsy” movement in 2003.

Fall Showers in Tinseltown

any child’s future – whether the kid’s ancestry includes a screen star or not – burn brightly… with minimal expense. So, if a baby is in the future for you or one of your friends, check out these fallinspired ideas to give the star treatment to everyone involved. Tailgating for Toddlers I must admit: since L.A. has (incredibly) been without an NFL team since 1995, residents here try even harder to get others in the football spirit. Football season kicks off an ingenious plan to tackle a co-ed baby shower that will make fans out of both men and women. If the expectant couple both went to the same school, adopt their alma mater colors and mascot to theme out the party, or opt for your city’s home team. If no consensus can be found on the rooting front, go with a vintage sports theme. Decorate the party place with pennants and Nerf footballs, and play CD soundtracks from such anthemic football fi lms as Rudy, Everybody’s All-American, Remember the Titans and Varsity Blues.

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Bring on game day-type fare that’s as at home in the back of a Cherokee as it is on Super Bowl Sunday: Texas caviar, toasted pecans, layered salad, pimiento cheese sandwiches, Vidalia onion dip, cold fried chicken, pork sandwiches, coconut cake and big chocolate chip cookies. For gifts, don’t feel obligated to weigh down the fan-to-be with teamemblazoned togs (although we loved receiving an Atlanta Falcons sweatshirt and an L.A. Kings jersey for our nowtwo-year-old tyke). Other gift ideas could include gear for wee athletic pursuits, a sports time capsule with present memorabilia (that will certain to be worth a fortune one day), and a jogging stroller for the parents-to-be. Back-to-School with Dick and Jane With kids heading back to school now, a Dick and Jane shower perfectly and serenely captures the fall season, the bliss of another time, and classic childhood images. The antics of those crazy readingis-fundamental kids Dick and Jane never seem to go out of style. In fact, a cottage industry has recently sprung

up replicating the beloved 1950’s and ’60’s schoolbooks and illustrations for coloring books, calendars and even clothing. Plus, Dick and Jane characters of a different sort promise to bring a whole new respect and recognition for the nostalgia duo and their family. Next year, Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz star in Fun with Dick and Jane, a remake of the ’77 fi lm

“

Football season kicks off an ingenious plan to tackle a co-ed baby shower that will make fans out of both men and women.

”

starring George Segal and Jane Fonda as upscale suburbanites-turned-robbers to pay the bills. For baby shower invitations, check out the Dick and Jane notecards available online at homeroomdirect. com and booksarefun.com. You can print a message inside, or use a vellum

overlay with the party details, attached to the card with a grosgrain ribbon. Party favors can include inexpensive reproduction Dick and Jane books now currently widely available. Include them in patterned cellophane bags with such retro candy treats as Necco wafers, Nik-L-Nips, and Now and Laters (available at groovycandies.com). For decorations, consider the real-live route: ask female party guests to wear the pearls and pocketbooks of the ‘50s, and the gents to put on creased pants and slim ties. A game could be devised that asks questions about famous Dick and Janes (Dick Clark, Dick Van Dyke, Jane Seymour). On the food front, offer a hearty ‘50’s buffet menu: roasted turkey or Salisbury steak, green beans almondine and Jell-O salad. And have a local baker replicate Dick and Jane artwork on a white-frosted cake, or adorn it with look-alike Dick and Jane dolls. With tots – and the fall parties that welcome them – Hollywood may actually have a trend that stays around a while.

A documentary of General Nathan Bedford Forrest featuring commentary by Shelby Foote. Presenting the first documentary to look exclusively at the life of the Confederacyʼs “Wizard of the Saddle.” This film on Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest features expert analysis from Civil War writer Shelby Foote, Gen. Parker Hills, Nelson Winbush and others. Portrayed by Stan Dalton, Gen. Forrest comes to life in this objective work by director Jon Rawl. Ride with Forrest and discover for yourself the extraordinary life, controversy and myth that surrounds this Southern legend.

by Rick Hynum m

$1995 $1495 60 min. VHS

49 min. Audio CD

log on to:

Also available is the full 49 min. audio interview CD with Shelby Foote, featuring commentary not heard in the documentary VHS.

www.RebelForrest.com

or call toll-free:

1-866-815-0872

$3 per item shipping charge. Mail check payable to Jon Rawl/ P.O. Box 1217, Oxford, Miss., 38655 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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Discover Gatlinburg again and again. Think youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen everything Gatlinburg,Tennessee has to offer? Look again. With more than 500 restaurants and shops, countless attractions and a vibrant arts & crafts community, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impossible to experience all of Gatlinburg in just one trip. Call for your free vacation guide.

1-800-565- 7329 www.gatlinburg.com

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by Bill Pryor

TOP:FREDERICK M. BROWN BOTTOM: ROBERT MORA /GETTY IMAGES

yʼall

of fame

Ray Charles (1930-2004)

SETPEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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LEFT: KEVIN WINTER RIGHT: ROBERT MORA /GETTY IMAGES

n September 23, 1930 in Albany, Ga., one of the greatest figures in American music was born; Ray Charles Robinson, later to be known as simply Ray Charles or “the Genius,” a nickname given him by Frank Sinatra. Soon after birth, during the worst of the Depression, Charles and his family moved to Greenville, Fla., where at age three he began playing the piano. Charles slowly lost his sight until the age of seven when he became completely blind. He was taken into St. Augustine’s (the Florida state school for the deaf and blind) as a charity student where he continued his study of classical piano, among other things, until the age of 15 when his mother died. He then went on the road as a musician. It wasn’t long before Charles made the decision to follow his dreams of fame to Seattle, Wash. It was here that he gained local fame for his original combinations of gospel, rhythm and blues and jazz. However, Charles continued to struggle for stardom until 1954 when he released “I Got a Woman.” The song hit No. 2 on the R&B charts and has often been credited as the beginning of soul music. In 1959, he followed this with his Top 10 hit “What’d I Say,” which broke through to a white audience. By 1960, Charles had accomplished many of his dreams. He had played in Carnegie Hall and released his first ABCParamount record, The Genius Hits the Road. It included the song “Georgia on My Mind,” which hit No. 1 and won him two Grammys. In 1962, he and his personal manager, Joe Adams, established L.A. based recording studios RPM International. “His sound was stunning—it was the blues, it was R&B, it was Gospel, it was swing—it was all the stuff I was listening to before rolled up into one amazing, soulful thing,” Van Morrison

once told Rolling Stone. In 1964 Charles was arrested for heroin use. He later admitted to a 20-year addiction and checked into a rehab facility in California. Ray Charles’ eclectic mix of genres has proved timeless. His appearance in the 1980’s hit movie The Blues Brothers added many memorable moments to the comedy. He also became the spokesman for Pepsi, making the words “You got the right one baby” a beloved household statement. “Music is nothing separate from me,” Charles once said. “It is me…you’d have to remove it surgically.” The American public has never withheld their praise from Charles. Throughout his lifetime he received 12 Grammy’s, including three consecutive “Best Rhythm and Blues Recording” awards. He rightfully earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a bronze bust in the Playboy Hall of Fame. Charles has also been inducted into other halls of fame including, Rhythm and Blues, Jazz and Rock and Roll. In 1983 Charles told the Washington Post, “Music’s been around a long time, and there’s going to be music long after Ray Charles is dead. I just want to make my mark, leave something musically good behind. If it’s a big record, that’s frosting on the cake, but music’s the main meal.” Ray Charles died on June 10, 2004 of complications with liver disease. He was divorced but leaves behind 12 children and an undying musical legacy. by Nikki Roberts

Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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memoriam ininmemoriam DR. DOROTHY BROWN Dr. Dorothy Brown, who became the first black female surgeon in the South and the first black woman elected to the Tennessee legislature, died of congestive heart failure in Nashville at the age of 90.

ANTHONY J. HOPE Anthony J. “Tony” Hope, the former head of the National Indian Gaming Commission and the son of comedian Bob Hope, died at the age of 63 in Washington, D.C on June 28. Hope moved to Washington in 1975 and worked as a consultant and lobbyist. His death came less than a year after the death of his father at 100.

MAJ. GEN. GEORGE S. PATTON The son of the famed World War II general of the same name, Patton died on June 27 at the age of 80. The younger Patton was his own man, often hiding the fact that his father was a major American military figure. A 1946 West Point graduate, Patton came from a long line of George Pattons, including his greatgrandfather, a Confederate soldier.

ILLINOIS JACQUET Illinois Jacquet, a Broussard, La. native whose roof-raising saxophone solos electrified an early generation of jazz fans and who later played alongside President Bill Clinton at the White House, died July 22 at his home in Queens, N.Y. He was 81. GOV. GEORGE BUSBEE George Busbee was the first Georgia governor to serve two consecutive fouryear terms (1975-83). He gave the state eight years of effective, low-key leadership. He died July 16 at the age of 76. LACY VAN ZANT Lacy Van Zant, “The Father of Souhern Rock ‘n’ Roll,” literally – died at the age 89 on Auguest 3 in Jacksonville, Fla. Van Zant was the father of Ronnie and Johnny Van Zant, members of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Son Donnie is a member of 38 Special.

COURTESY OF DUKE SID

MICAH HARRIS

A rising senior on the Duke University football team, Harris died tragically in a one-vehicle automobile accident. He was 21 years old. A native of Poland, Ohio, and 2001 graduate of Poland Seminary, Harris was traveling northbound in Virginia on Interstate 85 when his car exited the highway and struck a tree. Harris played in 34 career games for the Blue Devils making 22 starts as an outside linebacker and defensive end. For his career, he recorded 124 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 6.5 quarterback sacks and one interception.

COURTESY OF MDA

(PHOTO BY VINCE BUCCI/GETTY IMAGES)

RALPH WILEY Ralph Wiley, one of the original Page 2 columnists and former senior writer for Sports Illustrated, died of heart failure on June 13 at his home in Orlando. The Memphis, Tenn. native was was 52.

MATTIE STEPANEK Stepanek was a child poet whose inspirational verse made him a bestselling writer and a prominent voice for muscular dystrophy sufferers, died June 22 of a rare form of the disease. He was 13. Stepanek had been hospitalized since early March for complications related to the disease that impaired most of his body’s functions. In his short life, the tireless Stepanek wrote five volumes of poetry that sold millions of copies. Three of the volumes reached the New York Times’ bestseller list. “Mattie was something special, something very special,” entertainer Jerry Lewis, who chairs the Muscular Dystrophy Association, said in a statement. “His example made people want to reach for the best within themselves.” The Rockville, Md. native had dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy, a genetic disease that impaired his heart rate, breathing, blood pressure and digestion, and caused muscle weakness. His mother, Jeni, 44, has the adult-onset form of the disease, and his three older siblings died of it in early childhood. From deathbed to huge publishing success, Stepanek began writing poetry at age three to cope with the death of a brother. In 2001, a small publisher issued a slim volume of his poems, called Heartsongs. Within weeks, the book reached the top of the Times’ bestseller list, the MDA said. He wrote four other books: Journey Through Heartsongs, Hope Through Heartsongs, Celebrate Through Heartsongs and Loving Through Heartsongs.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 • Y’ALL

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festive south SEPTEMBER 3-6 Y’all Festival

Antique Alley & Yard Sale

OCTOBER 15-17

Florence, Kentucky

Cleburne, Texas

Maggie Valley Arts and Crafts Festival

25 Annual Festival takes over downtown

15 mile country shopping extravaganza of

Florence, near Cincinnati. Parade and beauty

special shows, store sales, yard sales offering

Hours 9-4p.m. Food Vendors, Raffles, Live

pageant. For information: 859-371-5491

antiques, crafts, more. 817-641-0183

Entertainment. Over 100 Crafts, Free Parking,

Maggie Valley, North Carolina

Free Admission. 828-926-1686 Pioneer Florida Day Festival

SEPTEMBER 24-26

The Madisonville

Selected as one of the Southeast Tourism

North Carolina Spot Festival

Wooden Boat Festival

Society’s “Top 20 Events”. Free Pancake

Hampstead, North Carolina

Madisonville, Louisiana

Dade City, Florida

breakfast (first 500 people or until 12pm).

World’s biggest fish fry in a local fishing

Featuring over 100

All-day Gospel Music, Battle re-enactment,

community that benefit fire departments and

antique and classic

Spaghetti dinner, crafts, contests, antique and

schools. 910-270-3322

wooden boats, music, artist, food & large

pioneer exhibits and much more. Presented by Pioneer Florida Museum & Village.

23rd Annual Old Pecan Street Fall Arts Festival

children’s village. 985-

352-567-0262

Austin, Texas

845-9200

Over 300 juried Arts/Crafts Booths, 6 Stages, 80 Busco Beach Battle of the Bands

Bands, 250,000 people, 40 Food/Drink

Goldsboro, North Carolina

Booths, Free Admission. 512-441-9015

37th Annual Mountain

$20.00/person ($5.00 discount with military ID) camping, live music, food, vendors, ice cold beverages, games. 910- 654-1257

OCTOBER 22-24 Moonshine Festival

OCTOBER 1-3

Dawsonville, Georgia

Rock Around the Clock Festival

Featured will be an

Winnsboro, South Carolina

old moonshine still,

SEPTEMBER 10-12

Celebrating the history of Fairfield County and

stories from both

25th Annual Pine Log Arts and Crafts Fair

the oldest continuously running clock in the

“Tripper’s” and

Rydal, Georgia

nation, in cadence since the 1830’s.

“Revenuer’s”, arts

803-635-4242

and crafts, food

Be a part of this 25th annual celebration, at the

vendors, entertainment and the Star Bright

Pine Log UMC Campground with more than 60 talented artists & crafters including pottery,

Orlando Reptile Show 2004

Foundation’s famous BBQ chicken. See over

candles, baskets, jewelry, soaps, furniture and

Kissimmee, Florida

100 1940’s Ford vehicles lining the streets

much, much more. Enjoy the entertainment,

Over 200 exhibitor booths will display and sell exotic reptiles, amphibians, giant

BBQ & ice cream as you stroll through

spiders, scorpions; plus exotic

the pleasant country

including vintage racecars.

For additional

information regarding this special event, call 706-216-7827

atmosphere. New

pet accessories, supplies, books

vendors are always

and even venomous snakes,

Hot Pepper Festival.

welcome.

alligators and crocodiles. For

Palestine, Texas

770-607-5350

more information contact

Hot pepper enthusiasts will not want to miss

Flavio Morrissiey at 407-948-

this event. The festival features a classic car

6507 or Tony Pigtain at 407-

Alabama Jubilee Hot-

402-1587

Air Balloon Festival

event is the largest free

food booths, Houlihan’ watch out! www.visitpalestine.com

Decatur, Alabama This annual three day

show, street dance, parade, arts and crafts and

OCTOBER 8-10

OCTOBER 29-31

hot-air balloon festival with over

32nd Annual Okefenokee Festival

28th Great Pumpkin Party Annual Halloween

60 balloons participating. Races

Folkston, Georgia

Street Party

are held each morning and late afternoon.

Held in the downtown area, next to the Historic

Other activities include an arts and crafts show,

Train Depot from 8:00 to 5:00pm. You’ll find

Richmond, Virginia For all ages, with over 10,000 attendees. Band,

antique car show, softball tournament, seafood

plenty to do. Enjoy over 100 vendors with

food, entertainment, 12 noon to 7pm. 804-

festival, and entertainment.

everything from arts & crafts to food. There will

782-9555x209

Located at Point Mallard Park.

also be entertainment for the kids, along with an Antique Car Show. For more information

3rd Annual War Eagle American Indian Festival

or to become a vendor, call the Okefenokee

Auburn, Alabama

SEPTEMBER 17-19

Chamber of Commerce at 912-496-2536 or

Celebrating the culture of Southeastern Indians

Bristol’s 4th Annual Rhythm & Roots Reunion

e-mail folkstonauth@alltel.net.

with traditional singers, musicians, dancers, and more. 334-844-2946

Bristol, Tennessee The Birthplace of Country Music. Tickets $10

Great Grapes! Wine & Music Festival

per day. Hundreds of performances, Grammy

Charlotte, North Carolina

winning artists. 423-764-1929

150 wines from North Carolina Wineries, continuous live music, gourmet cooking demos & a variety of artisan vendors. 410-769-8223 x106

Y’ALL • THE MAGAZINE OF SOUTHERN PEOPLE

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www.yall.com

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