End Of Vacation Blues

The Party's Almost Over...


If there is anything we haven't done that we needed to do this week here on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, I guess that we have to do it today.

That said, I think we've pretty much covered the whole spectrum of things on our list this week and anything we didn't do didn't actually need being done in light of the upcoming month I'm facing professionally.

After the usual morning trip over the the Puppy Beach yesterday morning, a line of thundershowers came through the area so everyone bedded down and took a mid-day nap and then we lounged around watching the rain and recovering from five days of intense sunlight exposure.

In the process I've spent the entire past week just on the edge of being sunburned lightly on my face and the top of my ever greying, ever balding head, so the respite from the incident solar radiation was really appreciated.

Wait a minute...

This just in...

I took a break from writing and wandered out front on the condo balcony facing the parking lot and to my amusement there was some sort of bru-ha-ha happening over across the street at the Waffle House.

It started out with women yelling and some guys talking loud, and then within about 30 seconds first one and then a total of three Police cars showed up.

This coming weekend is "Thunder Beach"--an annual motorcycle event for the past ten years or so--and we have the privilege of having the main headquarters and all of the vendor booths set up in the shopping center parking lot across the street from us each year.

The bikers have been slowly filtering into town all week and today and tomorrow I expect things to reach a crescendo...

...and as is usual with any given group there is 5% of the crowd which has to show their butts at 3 AM in the morning under the influence of fermented and/or distilled hydrocarbons.

OK, I just checked and apparently there were no arrests and the crowd has dispersed and the Cops are heading on down the beach.

So any way...a busy day today trying to enjoy the last vestiges of the time on the beach and getting laundry done and starting to haul stuff back down the elevator to the car in anticipation of an early Friday morning departure back toward the Turbo Pup Compound on the Banks of the Mighty Tennessee River.

Y'all have a LOVELY day...I insist on one myself...

Beach Induced Catatonia

I'm NEVER Going Back Home...


I'm pleased to report that day five of the current ongoing Beach saga dawns this morning with us enjoying continued exceptional weather and me suffering from an ongoing inability to think seriously about much of anything except eating, mixing cocktails, and hanging out in and around the water.

I spent over two hours on the beach and five hours at the pool yesterday. For the first time since we moved to Knoxtown I actually have a nice, even, really dark suntan.

And the good news?

We plan on doing EXACTLY the same thing again today.

The Turbo Pup has been spending each morning practicing her digging and fetching skills on the beach with great success. Yesterday she found a shady spot beside our giant beach bag and dug a "dog deep" pit in the sand and then proceeded to lounge and wallow around in the moist soil making us laugh at the sand on her nose and face.

There will definitely be another bath in her future before we put her in the car to head home on Friday.

That said, it's time to do a little reading and possibly some more writing--and some paper work if I can force myself to sit still and concentrate--and in the mean time feel free to entertain yourselves.

Regards Y'all...

You Just Can't Have Any More Fun ...

Than The Turbo Pup Is Having...


Needless to say our little Missy The Turbo Pup is worn out every day by dark.

I'm real tired way before then but then again I'm OLD and getting started on the beach before 7:30 AM takes a real effort on my part.

Amazingly, the new beach front pet friendly park the City has constructed is totally under-utilized. I guess that it could be because the tourists don't know about it and few locals are able to come out on week days because of their jobs.

Yesterday we were the only party sitting on the two hundred yard long stretch of beach and the Turbo Pup was the only dog running around chasing her toys.

Regardless, with the change of rules at our condo allowing pets and the new pet beach we've had a prefect beach trip with everyone getting to do what they want to do in good measure.

The surf and pier fishing has been real slow according to the locals and we walked the docks over where the charter boats are docked and all of the boats were in with few opportunities to sign up for a split trip--so I guess I probably won't go fishing this year.

The price of Diesel fuel has trips running $450 per half day (4 hours) where I'm used to paying more like $360 but it has been 10 years since I did a trip out of Panama City so I guess it's not unreasonable for inflation to raise prices.

So now an hour from now we'll load everybody up in the car and head back over to the puppy beach for a couple of hours, then home for brunch and then out to the pool and beach this afternoon.

I'll drink a drink with a little umbrella in it for you again if you want me to...and y'all have a LOVELY day...

...if you will.

Headin' Back To The Puppy Beach This Morning

Somebody's Got To Do It I Guess...


We've learned that the new pet friendly beach down the road about five minutes from here at the new development called the Pier Park is pretty cool.

It's not just a giant long fishing pier on the Gulf of Mexico with a football field sized section of beach reserved as "Pet Friendly", but there's also an extensive outdoor "shopping mall" type complex with practically every bar and restaurant and store on the planet across the street from the beach.

The Turbo Pup has been there for a couple of hours the past two mornings and if you go at 7 AM there's only a half dozen people and one or two other dogs wandering around so we sort of ignore the "leash laws" and just let her hang around with us.

Pat's been taking her ten or twenty yards offshore in the flat water and turning her loose and letting her swim back to shore by herself.  She then comes up on the beach towels and wallows all around and then runs back to the edge of the surf and they do it all over again.

I have the best beach dog in the whole world in my opinion...all 13 pounds worth loves the salt air and water and sand.

Y'all have a LOVELY week while our vacation antics continue...

I've Got My "Pirate" Groove Back On

"Argggggghhh Me Maties..."


I was really beginning to be afraid that like Samson cutting his hair because of Delilah in the Biblical story, that somehow I had severed my connection with the Ocean and the Beach in the past half dozen weeks.

Remember that the long hair/pony tail disappeared last month for professional reasons, and then when I returned to my home port/childhood beach a couple of days ago the karma was just weird and I was too busy being tired and distracted to actually leave the condo and go outside.

Fortunately yesterday everything changed, and time warped and the planets re-aligned and at about 7 AM I found myself sitting on the "pet friendly" section of the locale beach with Pat and the Turbo Pup just being completely useless.

The Turbo Pup ran and ran and ran and swam until she was exhausted. I sat on a beach towel and basically did nothing...something which I have a Phd in the advancement of the art.

Then we came back to the Condo and Pat went to the Pool while I watched the Georgia Tech Football team go 4-0 for the season...beating North Carolina at home in a tightly contested game 35 to 28.

Starting out this Football Season un-ranked, and last week only being Number 25, Tech has in only four games amassed over 2100 total offensive yards and scored 210 points.

Our opponents have only scored 94 points in this process...

This means that my beloved Georgia Institute of Technology Football program is leading the nation in offense and scoring.

I don't want to jinx things or otherwise gloat, but being a GT Football fan since 1977 I have to crow a little when things go this good. This season is starting out like the 1990 season when GT split the NCAA Div I national championship with Colorado.

They still have seven more games to play including rivals Miami, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and of course the cross state rivals Georgia...but I'M FIRED UP FOR MY YELLOW JACKETS.

And meanwhile, back here on the beach...I have a date with my puppy at the puppy beach in a couple of hours, and then I'm planning on taking a nap poolside in the shade before lunch.

Regards Y'all...

Acting Like An Old Fart At The Beach...

Nap Takes Precedence Over Pool/Beach Time


I'm pleased to report that the Turbo Pup and her entourage made it down to the Condo by about 12:30 local time yesterday afternoon and she proceeded to wander around sniffing everything while I got the car unloaded and the contents trundled up the elevator.

This is the first year in the 25 years we've been coming down to this unit that pets were legal on the property, so by default this is Missy's first trip here.

Unfortunately for pets the beach itself is off limits as well as the pool and pool deck, but at least we got to stay here with her this year.

Meanwhile, my personal energy level prohibited me exhibiting my previous normal beach behavior where within 15 minutes of arrival I threw on my bathing suit and ran screaming out onto the sand.

Yesterday I walked out onto the balcony, broke a sweat looking at the beach, and retired back inside to contemplate a late lunch down at Schooners ( http://schooners.com/ ) "Last Locals Beach Club".

A couple of Corona's and an Oyster Po Boy later, a trip to the grocer for provisions, and I was DONE FOR THE AFTERNOON.

Didn't set foot on the beach or at the Pool AT ALL. Didn't even THINK about hitting happy hour anywhere.

Dang I'm getting OLD I guess.

I did manage to fire up the computer and verify how to use the Internet...which isn't wireless...its hard wired.

But it (the Internet) works so now after a loooonngg nap I'm back up continuing to plan our busy upcoming three weeks.

Y'all have a LOVELY weekend...I know I will...

Random Travel Ramblings...

Insights From Lower Alabama...


So after a sort of lazy semi-rainy day spent nursing a headache and lack of motivation here on the Farm, I find myself this morning less than 12 hours from being able to stand in the sand on Panama City Beach Florida.

It's been a while since I've been to the Gulf coast to stay...about two years after going at least once if not two or three times each and every year for most of my life.

I'm just liable to strip off my clothes and just lay down in wallow like a dog in the sugar white sand.

OK...Maybe not...

But Still...

Everybody including Missy the Turbo Pup is pretty excited about the prospects.

The weather is blowing on through to the east this morning and it looks like we will have at least three or four days of excellent fall Florida weather with little chance of rain in the process.

And the Atlantic and tropical Caribbean has managed to piss Owl Gore and all of the sniveling, tie dyed, booger eating, tree hugging, patchouli stinking, eco-friendly hurricane alarmists off.

The reason being that there has only been one land falling Hurricane/Tropical Storm so far this season in the US (knock on wood) and there is nothing on the satellite right now which could possibly ruffle our feathers and run us off the beach in the foreseeable future

Now back to the Beach discussion after that lovely piece of political commentary...

For the uninitiated, the Gulf waters this time of the year are still at a temperature of a warm bath, and I brought my surf rods and surf fishing tackle and hope to feed the local fish some pieces of Squid and Shrimp and maybe even catch something worth cleaning and eating in the process.

If not, there is plenty of fresh seafood available to cook in our kitchen or we can go out and let someone else cook it. I may even take an offshore fishing trip depending on the opportunities available and if I can get up off a lounge chair long enough to get to the Pier.

All of that said, I guess I will go now and try to get a few hours sleep before packing the Turbo Pup's lockers and sea chests in the car and heading south later this morning.

Regard's Y'all...I'll drink a Frozen Drink with a little Umbrella in it for you if you want me to...let me know...

T-Minus One Day And Counting

I Can Almost Smell The Ocean Air...

As is often times the case, the weather this past week here in Lower Alabama has been sort of hit or miss, with periods of sun and overcast interrupted by rain.  I swear it can not rain for a month here and within 48 hours of my arrival it will start raining on and off for a week at a time.

That pretty much describes this week I think.

Today I have to wrap up a few minor projects...mostly indoors, before packing up Missy the Turbo Pup's Lockers and Sea Chests in anticipation of heading to the Gulf Coast tomorrow morning.

I'm still a bit mentally exhausted from doing some administrative work I've had to bring with me, so if you will excuse me I'm going to nap a little now before sunrise and then get going.

Regards Y'all...

100 Miles From The Gulf Of Mexico

85 Degrees F At 6 AM...

As usual this morning, when we come down here in the spring and fall we invariably get rained on at least a little bit.

That axiom is true yet again this morning.

The good news is that it looks like the front will be passing on through here at least in the next day and we can enjoy some more good weather like we had on Monday.

Little Missy the Turbo Pup went fishing TWICE yesterday and managed to give two big fish a good barking.  We had to wash her face and front paws off after letting her nip at their slimy fins and tails before I pushed them off of the dock with my foot.

We also managed to keep her from falling or jumping off the dock in the process. 

Today will be sort of a transition day trying to get further organized to do a little home improvement work around the place before heading to the beach on Friday if the weather holds up.

Hope everyone has at least half as good a week as I plan on having.  I'm trying to make the most of this week because the opportunity to sit around here for a week five or six times a year is probably ending shortly for professional reasons.

Regards Y'all...

Everybody...Run For Your Life....

There's A Wild Dog On The Beach...

That's a dang fine little dog we got right there...don't you think?

Live From Our Little Island

Back In Paradise...


I'm pleased to report that after starting yesterday morning standing in a chemical plant in South Carolina sweating my brains out, that as of about 4:30 PM yesterday my soul was at one with the Universe again, having made the 4.6 mile drive across the series of bridges and spans of asphalt across the Marshes of Glynn from the mainland to St Simons Island, Georgia.

We arrived at our host's home just in time for a small Happy Hour gathering with a bunch of old and new friends, followed by dinner, and then the next thing we new it was 9 PM and everyone was heading home.

This morning we're heading over to the beach for a while with the Turbo Pup before the temperature reaches 100 degrees F, then the swimming pool here in the Condo complex will probably supply some relief from the heat in the afternoon.

Y'all have a LOVELY day now...I know that I will...

Watching Old Men Sing

Dang...I'm Old Too...


Well, I managed to spend the night for the first time since we lived in Eastern Tennessee in downtown Knoxtown last night after going to see this guy in concert:





Yes, that would be Gordon Lightfoot (acually the opening photo is his original  lead guitarist Terry Clements who just passed away February 20th at the age of 63.)

Talk about sitting in a building full of middle aged to old white people...

Any wayyyy...

We had tickets down front on the second row about 25 feet from Gordon who sang his heart out but physically has seen his better days at the age of 73.

He did a 45 minute opening set, and then did a little over an hour after a 30 minute intermission opening the second set with his Billboard number two hit "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."



Of course Mr. Lightfoot looks a little different than he appears in those videos, but he still delivered the show with a great deal of enthusiasm and vigor and came back for an encore in polite response to the crowd's ovation.

So now we'll get moving I guess and wander around a little in the downtown Knoxtown Market Square district and have a late Brunch at one of the Turbo Pup Friendly patio restaurants before heading back home to the western banks of the Mighty Tennessee River mid afternoon.

Until then...Regards Y'all...

Travel & Success Successful Travel

Back Toward The Turbo Pup Compound...


Well, after a good visit with family and a series of profitable & productive business contacts over the past five days, it's time to load the old Chrysler 300 up again and head back east to the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River.

As we did on the trip westward, we're breaking this journey up into two legs which will see us home Thursday afternoon.

Honestly I'm ready to get back home because I have things to do...important things like sleeping in my own bed and on my own sofa.

And the Turbo Pup needs to give the rabbits and squirrels in her yard a good barking, and Pat's got a bunch of work scheduled for Friday so as the month winds down toward Memorial Day weekend we'll be in a good position to hit the grocery store and the liquor store and then go home and hide from the masses celebrating the holiday.

You couldn't PAY ME to go anywhere near the beach this weekend, and local attractions like Cade's Cove and Dollywood and Gatlinburgh are also definitely off my to do list for the next weekend for the next month for the next hundred years pretty much any time.

The older I get, the more I have an growing aversion to any place with crowds of "tourists" and most anything corporately produced to be considered a "tourist attraction."

I guess the crowd phobia also causes many natural attractions like parks and islands and oceans and things to be on my "not-to-do" list except in the "off season."

So any way, thank God for the Interstate highways, allowing us to make what once was a two or three month journey across country in just two days.

Wish us a safe trip, if you will...

and Regards...Y'all...

Crime Scene Chili Photos

Visual Evidence As Promised...


I'm pleased to report that we made it back to Knoxtown on Sunday after an uneventful 8 hour ride.

Now after drinks & dinner and sorting out the mail, I figured that I'd post some stuff here showing everyone what we've been up to the past five days.

Here's a view of the pile of raw materials after being dumped out on the ground at the Event Venue about 6:30 AM Saturday morning (click on any of the photos to enlarge).

And here we are with the tent set up, all of the food delivered, and the "Chili Shack" erection well under way.



All the roof framing up, and just a few more skins to install...that's EIGHT GALLONS of rendered pork stock there on the table in the big plastic containers.



The finished product, with decorations in place ready to serve our Chili...



There's Little Missy the Turbo Pup standing guard duty back behind the tent.

General crowd pictures...as you see the place was PACKED...and they started clammoring to be fed at 11 AM although the official start time and first judging sample wasn't supposed to happen until 11:30...





My 15 gallon chili pot somewhere about 12:15...we were in panic mode because we were supposed to serve until 2 PM but we ran out at 1:15...



The Turbo Pup again, sitting in the shade, looking for someone to give a good barking to...



A look behind the scenes at the cooking area and tent...notice the blue insulation board lables on the back side of the panels...

More crowd photos looking from inside the serving area in our Chili Shack. We were only one of three teams that actually did something besides tents and tables with banners/signs...





The unofficial estimate was a little over 2000 tickets sold.





Pat and John and our friend Walt yucking it up and handing out Green Butt Chili...



And the end of the day about 4 PM with everything loaded back in and on John's Explorer ready to head back to the Blackwater Grill...



And here's a look at the Guys and the Booth that beat us again this year...





Go figure...

We Ran Out Of Chili

Can You Say...MOB?


Sorry I didn't write anything earlier, but I was absolutely dead when we got back from the Chili Cookoff after being awake since 1 AM

I ended up passing out falling asleep in the middle of changing clothes for dinner...which I'm just now warming back up as the other guests are leaving...I hear the microwave beeping...hang on...

The good news is we pounded out 15 gallons of the "Jamaican me Cajun Green Butt Chili" in the allotted time, but (but not butt) the bad news is not enough of the locals and tourists were impressed with a pork based chili to net us any of the tasting prizes.

And the Chili Shack looked great...photos to follow when I get back to my own computers on Sunday...but the same team that beat us last year with their booth did another good one this year and walked away with the "Best Theme" prize.

Otherwise the event was a HUGE roaring success with a record attendance of over 2000 people showing up, and with only 27 teams this year everyone ran out of chili before the 2 PM cut off time.

Even though we made about 15 gallons...three gallons over the mandated 12 gallon quanty..we were actually out of the Green Butt Chili by 1:15 and had to stand there and apologize to people that still had tickets and were voting for the "Peoples' Choice" prizes.

Lesson learned...

John invited me back to cook again next year and we agreed that we'd probably go back toward a traditional top round beef based chili with red beans and give up making white chili from here on out in an event were everyone else's chili looked almost identical.

All and all, in the end we had a LARGE time and it's important to not miss the concept that the prizes are secondary to raising money for local charaties.

Time to go read the internet news and catch up on my fellow bloggers now, y'all have a LOVELY balance of the weekend and I'll report back in once we get through vibrating our way up the interstate to Knoxtown.

It's All Over But (But Not Butt) The Shouting

Massive Quantities Of Chili Ensue...

So we swept up the sawdust and other trash and stacked up all of the prefabricated and painted wood and foam panels and skeleton parts about 4 PM yesterday (I was too busy to take pictures.)

After working all day again like a Madman myself, with John and Pat wielding paintbrushes and the Turbo Pup standing guard over the proceedings, we then ran home and showered and cleaned up and came BACK to the restaurant with our housing hosts, Bruce and Ski, and John then fed us a feast fit for a king.

I had a beef tenderloin that had to have weighed 3/4's of a pound...the Turbo Pup got to finish it when we tumbled and stumbled back home, partially as a reward for her Sentry Duties but mainly just because she's spoiled rotten.

Now I've had a few hours sleep and had time to answer a bunch of business related e-mails...we landed another order during my absence from the office...and after a little more Googling and news reading I'm going to catch another few hours of sleep and then get up and be back at the Blackwater Grill at 6 AM ready to make two or three trips over to the scene of the crime Chili Cookoff venue.

I forgot to mention that we drew numbers at the "Captains Meeting" last night and we managed to get an excellent booth location, about twenty feet from where we were last year, right across the common area from where my Buddy Kimbo's band the "StringRays" will be playing music all day.

I just ran the numbers in my head and with 25 teams (down from 32 last year) cooking at least 12 gallons of chili each (we're doing about 15 gallons,) there will be THREE HUNDRED GALLONS OF CHILI cooked and consumed on St. Simons Island in the next 12 hours.

I swear that you can't pay enough money to buy stuff and do things that's this much fun, but still I have to be going now and get ready to try to win....

(drum roll please...)

People's Choice (First or at least Second Place)
Most Unusual Chili
Best Booth/Theme
Best overall Chili--By the Judges

Even if we just end up coming away tired with nothing but an empty chili pot the day will have been a success, because all of the proceeds from the entry fees and tasting tickets go to local charities.

Wish us luck...if you will...and Regards Y'all...

T-Minus One Day And Counting

Trying To Stay Cool Here Boss...


OK, ok, Ok OKAY...I admit it...

I can't leave "Good Enough" alone...things went like this since I started construction yesterday on the "Jamaican Me Cajun Green Butt Chili Shack."

My chili cooking partner John and I met for breakfast at the local Huddle House, an Island "Institution" since a place called "Poor Richard's" closed down about a dozen years ago, ran to Ace Hardware and bought funky pastel colored blue and yellow and pink paint, did the local Island lumber yard for sticks of wood and slabs of foam sheeting, and by 11 AM I was making sawdust on the back deck of the restaurant.

My friend Jamie, the head chef over there at Blackwater Grill, already had 80 pounds of Boston Butt cooked down to where it was falling apart, and the resulting 8 GALLONS of stock from the cooking was cooled and skimmed and de-greased so I was confident that what I was looking at was basically a construction project for Thursday and Friday before putting the Chili Shack and the final "Green Butt" Chili concoction together on site at the "Rotary Red Hot Chili Cookoff" on Saturday morning.

Then as is usual, me having spent months drawing hand sketches and twenty five pages of AutoCAD drawings, once again I couldn't help starting to improvise here and there with some things that caused me to end up using up an hour and one half of unplanned time thinking about and revising my sketches, and then in the end cutting up and running out of lumber before I had the entire framework put together.

And we ended up not smearing a single ounce of paint on anything by the end of the day either.

At least Pat and the Turbo Pup got to act like they were on VACATION, but all I did was look at the marsh behind the restaurant deck and stumble around tripping over my power cords in full blown panic mode by 3 PM.

So any way, after spending time re-planning and regrouping I'm getting an early start this morning by going BACK to Ace Hardware for a few items and BACK to the Lumber Yard for some more boards.

Then after giving me a head start making more sawdust John and Pat are showing up about 11 AM to begin smearing the base coat of paint on the parts of the structure I have finished.

Then this afternoon I will come back across everything with a roller or paint brush doing details and highlights and generally trying to make things look like an old weathered beach bar/"Tiki Hut."

And even though the process will possibly take most of the day, I know that we'll be finished and can proudly use whatever we have as a finished product Saturday morning, because most of the teams just set up a portable canopy tent and hang up a sign and slop chili around for three or four hours.

I MIGHT actually make it to the beach for a few minutes over the next two days, but then again I MIGHT NOT.

After all, I came down here this week to cook chili, and everything else is a bonus.

How do you say that in Latin?

Vedi, Veni Vici?

Virgil Freakin' Crazi?

OK, I give up...I'm taking ideas if you have any...

Coastal Induced Coma

Just Report Me "Missing"...


Well, we made it... nearly 8 hours and 550 miles later.

We delayed our departure a few hours yesterday morning, for what turned out to be no good reason, because the stupid weather and news people were yapping about Chattanooga getting SEVEN INCHES of snow and our path between Knoxtown and the Georgia Coast intersected with that area on the interstate and we didn't want to be fighting with tractor trailers while things might be below freezing.

Thus we arrived about sunset and missed happy hour and had to go straight into dinner mode with our Friends Bruce and Ski.

I swear I feel fifteen or twenty years younger when we turn left off US 17 and start driving east across the marsh and we can see the bridge over the Inter coastal Waterway and the Island on the horizon spanning north...all eleven miles worth...and Jekyll Island south of the ship channel and St. Simons Sound.

It was nearly 60 degrees outside and we had the windows down in the car on the way across the creeks and marshes and the Frederica River.

Even the Turbo Pup seemed to really understand where she was going.

I wish everyone could have the opportunity to find somewhere like this that they really, Really, REALLY love being at/in. And I know many others do, but so many people don't because they either have no choice of where they're born or where they live or else they're just afraid to step out into the world and seize the moment and make a change in their existence and lifestyle.

We've done it before and I hope to be able to move back here permanently in 2011...only time will tell.

Some people might consider me to be a bit unreliable or distracted or unconventional, but based on what I've seen and done over the past fifty years I say that looking at things from my own life perspective, tempered with my personal near-death experiences over the past twenty years, that I've struck a pretty reasonable balance between "shoulder to the plow"..."nose to the grindstone" and my own "Devil May Care" philosophy.

And tomorrow at 9:30 AM I get my first look at my 80 plus pounds of cooked Boston Butts, greet my friend John Howton, and I get to see the components of last years "Bayou Chili Shack". And after a trip to Home Depot for paint and foam board and some lumber I'm going to spend three days doing EXACTLY what I would rather be doing...something that most likely can't be done anywhere else in the world on March 4th, 2010...except on our Little Island.

Wish us luck...if you will...and photos to follow...Y'all...

Almost Famous?

I'm Associating With Celebrity...


Finally, after three months of research and development, I'm happy to report that I believe that I have my soon to be internationally recognized "Jamaican Me Cajun 'Green Butt' Chili" concoction completed, and scaled up to a 15 gallon recipe.

Late yesterday afternoon I called my good buddy and fellow Georgia Tech alumni John Howton, owner of Blackwater Grill, to give him the news and deliver the shopping list for Boston Butts and other stuff we were going to need for the Chili Cookoff.

John proceeded to blow me away...we hadn't spoken in about ten days...when he told me that Food Network's Guy Fieri's crew had just finished filming his restaurant to be shown on "Diner's, Drive-in's, and Dives" next month.

Isn't that TOTALLY COOL...or what?

I can't claim credit, but I did write to the show a few months ago to tell them about Blackwater and our Little Island in general, and turns out they called last week, said they had heard from a number of people about Blackwater, did a phone interview, then showed up last Sunday and again on Tuesday to film the show segment to be aired sometime in the next six weeks.

John's head was spinning I'm sure.

They also filmed a segment over at Southern Soul BBQ right around the corner from our old house on the island. We didn't spend much time there but it's still cool to have the people and places around our favorite spot on the entire planet featured for the rest of the world to see.

I wish we could have been down there because John invited a bunch of his friends and regulars to come out for the filming, but he knew we couldn't make it from Knoxtown with the trip next week already in the works.

This kind of stuff couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, a man who loves the restaurant business and has spent 45 years developing his skills and loves to deliver a superior dining experience to tens of thousands of satisfied customers every year.

Meanwhile we've got to start winding things down here going into the weekend and finish the last minute design details on the Chili Shack and some other professional stuff in anticipation of spending five nights in PARADISE.

It's 24 degrees outside here with snow flurries right now, and it's going to be near 60 tomorrow on St. Simons.

I just hope that the weather holds up for us there the following weekend...

They Already Have The Christmas Stuff Out???

And I haven't Even Carved My Pumpkin And Made My Scarecrow...


So there I was, back in Home Depot this morning...making my bi-weekly visit to the "return counter" (this time with receipt in hand...got a cash refund...Woo Hoooo...)

While wandering away into the sea of "home improvement" products counting my change I momentarily noticed something I had failed to comment on EARLIER and which I was JUST again reminded of by a TV commercial on FOX News advertising something defined as "seasonal music."

What I'm talking about is that here it is...the thirtieth day of September...and Home Depot and the late night TV advertisers are already talking about trying to get me to spend money on of all things...

C H R I S T M A S ?

Further...

Christmas Decorations?

Let me ask everyone...IF I bought lights and a boat load of shiny tinsel, where am I supposed to put these trapping to store them between now and the time I can legitimately hang them out on my front door and along the eaves of my house?

Am I supposed to have a pumpkin with colored lights and fake snow and a herd of Reindeer grazing on the lawn nearby?

Or could I erect a display on my lawn of Pilgrims eating the first Thanksgiving Feast with a "weird beard" Santa and a flock of mutant radio active turkeys from the TV series South Park looking on?

Not to worry...being the ultimate "non-consumer" I'll easily pass the animated cackling witches and the smiling and nodding Santa mannequins and keep myself focused on the Tapcon Concrete fasteners and the products on the electrical isles.

In other news, later this morning I'm loading Pat and Missy the Turbo Pup and all of their luggage and lockers and sea chests up in the newly washed and serviced Chrysler 300 and we're heading off toward Kansas City, Missouri for a week or so, stopping over night in St. Louis to break the west bound trip into two smaller segments.

In addition to visiting with Pat's family and celebrating a Grand Daughter's 18th birthday, we also have the privilege of attending a private party at the American Royal BBQ Event on Friday night and then there's a bunch of other business stuff going on which I'm not at liberty to talk about publicly yet.

Once again the Internet availability will be somewhat questionable along the way, but I ask that if you don't hear from me within three or four days that somebody please send up a flare and organize a search party.

Regards Y'all...