Step 1: Stare at the above image and focus on the four dots in the center.

Step 2: Continue to stare for 45 seconds.

Step 3: Slowly find a wall in the room and look close up at it. You should see something on the wall. Try blinking a few times.

Do you see something on the wall? If this doesn't work for you at first keep trying.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!! We wish everyone a wonderful Holiday season and a very Happy New Year!!!

Ignorance Prevailed

Well, friends.....the United Drys won. Alcorn County will remain a dry county...at least as far as liquor is concerned. Beer can still be sold, but as I write this, the United Drys are gathering and getting ready to fight that one, too. It's really sad when you consider this: the Corinth Toys For Tots drive has only produced 7 toys thus far, and there are less than two weeks remaining until Christmas. Furthermore, the Corinth Christmas Basket Fund only has approximately $3,000 in it. If these ignorant people would put half as much effort into helping the poor or homeless or less fortunate as they do in preaching about the evils of alcohol...most of the world's problems could be solved. These are the same people that go to places like Tupelo or Savannah to shop, go out to eat, and DRINK....so that no one in Corinth will see them. Talk about hypocrites. 100% ignorant rednecks. It absolutely angers the hell out of me that people can be such small-minded idiots.

I also heard that over the last few months, nearby towns and counties (that are getting all the revenues from Corinthians that go there to buy liquor) have been taking sides with the Drys...obviously in an attempt to keep Corinth in a timewarp so they can continue to get money that SHOULD be going back into the Corinth community. But NOOOOOO....those stupid, ignorant rednecks are too caught up in their religious BS to understand it's preventing Corinth from becoming more. From becoming a thriving community again.

I would give anything if the O'Reilly Factor would do a segment on the United Drys and Alcorn County. I would love to witness him doing a tap dance on the faces of all the ignorant United Drys. If you ask me, this is right up his alley. Perhaps there are bigger things to debate on his show, but you know as well as I do that he'd love a shot at them...he thrives on ignorant people, and that's exactly what the United Drys are.

Anyway, what's done is done. In another 2 years, perhaps the tables will turn. But who knows. As long as the ignorance continues to spread, things might get worse before they get any better. I guess I don't have anything to complain about here in Atlanta. Most of us moan and groan about not being able to purchase alcohol in stores on Sunday. But at least we can buy it any other day of the week. That's a pretty ignorant law, too...but not nearly as bad as what the Drys are doing to Corinth. Stay tuned....

Ignorance

The year was 1952. Prohibition was a major form of controversy in the Mississippi Legislature. As you can imagine, most local politicians, as well as legislators, were very hesitant to take any kind of stand on the issue. However, one man did indeed speak his mind, and that man was N. S. "Soggy" Sweat, Jr.

At the age of 24, he was elected to the House in 1947, the year my father was born. Although he served only one term, he more than made up for his brief time as a legislator by delivering the famous "Whiskey Speech" during his last year in office.

On April 4th, the tension was extremely high and near fist fights were not uncommon on the streets, much less in the House. There was a banquet held that night at the old King Edward Hotel in Jackson, where Senators and their wives, members of the House, and others had gathered. Rumors had spread about Soggy's philosophy on the subject, and he was called upon to speak his mind that night.

When he began his speech, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. As he finished the first half of the speech, the Drys (those that were against the sale of liquor) stood up and gave him a huge ovation. Unfortunately for them, he was only halfway through his speech. When things were quiet again, he finished his speech and he got yet another ovation from the Wets (those that were for the sale of liquor).

Here is a copy of that famous speech:



In 1966, Mississippi finally legalized the sale of liquor. However, Alcorn County (where I grew up) was a dry county. That is, you couldn't buy beer but you could by liquor. The Tennessee state line was only 2 miles away, and that's where you could go to buy beer. It never really made sense to me, but I was a kid, so I never really thought that much about it. But it really didn't make sense. All that money going to Tennessee....there's absolutely no telling how many people drove up to the state line to buy beer. It's really scary to imagine how much money we gave Tennessee over all those years.

Anyway, in June of 1989, just a week or so after I graduated from high school, Alcorn County voters cast out liquor, ending 21 years of legalized liquor sales. That decision came 5 days after the county seat legalized beer sales. So it flip-flopped....they voted beer in and liquor out. What did that mean? Well, you could now buy beer at grocery stores and convenience stores, but all the liquor stores had to close. And so did the restaurant bars, as well as the bar out at the country club. This obviously caused business at those places to flounder, and most of them closed their doors. The country club memberships also declined to the point that it almost closed down.

So why am I writing about all of this? Funny you should ask. Tomorrow, December 13th, Alcorn County (Corinth) will again vote on the liquor issue:



Corinth is a beautiful little town in Northeast Mississippi. It draws a ton of tourism due to its role in the Civil War and its proximity to Shiloh. It is trying to become a thriving city again, putting a ton of effort into drawing companies and businesses to the area. However, nice restaurant chains and larger businesses do not want to go to a town that doesn't support liquor sales. They make big money selling alcohol, and it makes no sense to go to a town that can't see the light and get with the times.

And that's why the title of this story is IGNORANCE. It's funny how your perspective on people changes as you grow older. As a kid in Corinth, in my mind all adults were smart and wise...it just came with being older. Now that I'm 35, however, I see things differently. Corinth has a shot at being a thriving city again. But the ignorant people are bound and determined to prevent it. They should put up a sign on the outskirts of the city that says "Welcome to Corinth....please set your clocks back 50 years so that you can be ignorant and behind the times like the United Drys!!" Perhaps that sounds harsh, but I don't care. It's not aimed at Corinth in general...it's aimed at those ignorant people in Alcorn County that can't understand economics...the United Drys. They have to make a religious issue out of everything. I saw a bumper sticker the other day...it said "I have nothing against God...it's his fanclub I can't stand." That says it all, right there.

So anyway, for those of you out there that give a damn, Corinth's fate will be determined tomorrow. Cross your fingers that intelligence prevails over ignorance.

Barry Bonds...Eat your heart out!!

Wanna see the future of baseball? That's right, Andrews McIntyre, my sister's oldest child...



This picture was taken right after he hit a triple, and nearly tore the cover off the ball. I'd say that's pretty good for a 7 year old...right?! A homerun is right around the corner, Andrews...keep up the good work!!

St. Louis Snow Bunnies

St. Louis gets some snow, and then what happens? The snow bunnies come out!!!


Bunny Jane, Bunny Martha, and Bunny Anna Scott

Our first tree

I'm embarrassed to admit that this year was the first time in many, many years that I have a Christmas tree. When I moved to Atlanta in 1996, my roommate and I bought a tree at Home Depot, and I think that was the last time I had a tree. Fast forward to last year, and Hadley and I were newlyweds and living in our condo. Our tree was a piece of plywood, painted green, with lights strung across it. Definitely nothing to brag about...

Given the fact that we bought our first house this year, I guess it makes sense that we'd finally get a real Christmas tree. And that's what we did:



There's nothing like the smell of a REAL Christmas tree. For those of you out there that get the fake ones, it's time to step up and get with the program. Now I'm regretting all those years of apparently being a Scrooge!

I must say, however, that finally getting a tree opened my eyes to something--you don't always agree (with your significant other) about how to decorate that damn conifer. Growing up, my family always used the bigger, multicolor FLASHING bulbs. And we obviously hung our own ornaments. This year it wasn't like that. First of all, my ornaments are still used by my parents on THEIR tree. Second of all, the PRINCESS (Hadley) doesn't like BIG bulbs, nor does she like FLASHING bulbs. At least I got one out of three and got to use multicolored ones. And lastly, we always went out and cut our own tree. This was always a family event, and all of us would pile into the truck, trespass onto someone's property, cut down a tree, and get the hell out of dodge before we were caught. Could I convince Hadley...whoops...I mean the Princess, to do that this year? Of course not....we got to go down to Big John's and buy one for $120 like idiots. The funny part is that we were actually on our way to Home Depot to buy one, when we passed by Big John's and assumed the ones there were the same price at Home Depot....and we were wrong. Apparently several of our friends went to Depot and got trees for under $50. Shame on us!

Anyway, at least we have a tree this year. I can't complain. No matter what kind of day I've had, the minute I get home and see and smell that tree, I'm ecstatic. But that happens to me anyway when I get home and see the Princess...right?!

K.D. Sanders

As the article above describes, 20 years ago KD Sanders killed his grandparents and disappeared off the face of the Earth. His grandparents had a cabin out at Pickwick, which is where they lived and were killed. This cabin was down the street from Judy Whitehurst's cabin, where we always congregated once we were old enough to drive and find our way out to Pickwick. When the news of this horrific murder got out, for years we were haunted by KD Sanders. Any time we were camping or out and about late at night and we heard something in the bushes, we immediately thought it was KD coming to kill us all....

Most of my friends from Corinth always comment on how good my memory is....I always seem to remember more than most. But in the case of KD Sanders, when it was announced that he'd been caught, all of my buddies called me and left messages....but I didn't remember anything about it. So for days I kept trying to remember all of this, and it's finally come back to me. KD scared the hell out of all of us....and now he's finally caught....and we can all sleep soundly again....

By the way...

For those of you that were stumped by the "Idiots Guide to Ebay" story last month, here's a clue:

Look on the wall.....

Beat Navy!!

Leave it to a Navy graduate to try to leave his mark in some form or fashion. Since the Army/Navy is this weekend, he decided to put this little statue in our meeting room this morning before our usual Friday morning meeting. Since I got there a little early, I decided to have a little fun with it. Perhaps it's a little politically incorrect, but I couldn't resist...especially since we all know the Navy squids are all women anyway!!!