Random Scattered Thoughts

This is not the kind of press event you want to be invited to... last minute and in a big room with not many people in it.... just our Wiregrass leadership (affectionately,  I refer to them as M⁴   -- Mike, Mark, Matt and Mike) and a handful of media folks.

Our own Always L8 and Lucky Penny are championing the Wiregrass Area Food Bank's  "Souper Bowl" Soup Drive for their Food Pantry.  Now, the Food Bank's goal is 7000 cans of soup, and that's a BIG pile of soup cans, for certain.  WiregrassLive's goal is 2010 cans - well, because it's 2010 and all....

Play it Again Sports in cooperation with Yes We Can Dothan put this effort together at Circle West Theater.  Donating sports equipment for schools - what a novel idea!  It let me get some space in my closet and in exchange, Dothan City Schools received a donation from Play it Again Sports. Please read this thread in our Dothan Forum for specific details on how you can help this Saturday, January 23rd.

Saturday, Miracle Field.  This rain-delayed event got started under overcast skies, and  a coolish mid 50's made for comfortable play, if not for the FREEZING people in the stands.  I swear we all under-dressed for the wind and temperatures.  But, in our defense, we were all led astray by dang Connor Vernon's promise of 70's temps.  Rickey Stokes was up in the booth keeping the spectators entertained with his commentary.

These are the faces of some of our Houston County Commission members. Why are they smiling?? Well, they've just been handed an unbudgeted check for over a MILLION dollars!

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Today Houston County received a windfall. Sort of an anticipated windfall, but all in all, STILL a big ole chunk of money. Over a MILLION dollars for the County to use for capital expenditures, not operating expenses...... a MILLION dollars. This money came from the requirement that Country Crossing (HEDA) purchase a stamp for each bingo machine in the facility at a cost of $1000 each. Well, there are 1693 bingo machines at Country Crossing, and that tallies up to $1,693,000 dollars. Plus, there was added money for December operations for a grand total of $1,835,500. That's almost TWO million dollars in unbudgeted revenue for the County.
County Commission Chairman Culver remarked on the difficult times that this year has brought, in family, budget, business and economic challenges. He was hopeful that this money would end the year on a more positive note, and provide some additional money to augment the County's budget.
So - why is it not the promised "Two million dollars annually promised to charities?" This is a different deal. The money recieved today is paid to the County Commission yearly for stamps for the bingo machines. The County Commission will determine how it's spent. The "Two million dollars annually (minimum) promised to charities" is money that will be paid to the Houston County Foundation to be distributed to charities within the County. Houston County Commission has nothing to do with those dollars or their distribution. The charitable dollars are to be paid from the net revenue after the cost of operations of bingo. According to Frank Wendt of HEDA, that first distribution is currently scheduled to take place around the end of February, 2010.
Today's money cannot be used to pay salaries or provide pay increases. It is by definition to be used for other than normal operating expenses. So, the plan is to use this money for stuff so that next year's budgeted-from-revenue dollars can be used for things like employee salaries and wage increases. unlike this year.
So, some of the possible items that the money COULD be used for are to help pay the county's portion of the money to purchase land for the new Houston Love Library, to partner with the Water Authority to begin pulling water from the Chattahoochee river, EMA/Juvenile services relocation project, and the County Jail expansion.
All those stamps paid for today must be affixed to the machines by midnight tonight, and Wendt said "there's a special team standing by to get them all in place".

Seems like new starts call for old traditions to sort of “balance them out”…… the yin and yang of the world. Take New Years’ traditions in the south. From specific foods to eat, to who enters your home, to a baby’s birth day, to household tasks and what clothes you wear! These all swirl into a conglomeration of one’s holiday traditions. My family happens to have some pretty rigid New Years’ traditions (superstitions is *such* an ugly word!)….. Ever how many black-eyed peas you eat is how many days of good luck you’ll have in the coming year. A baby born on New Years’ Day will have good luck all its life. The first footer (first person in your home after the New Year) must be a dark haired man, and he has to knock to be let in. Greens. We have to eat greens. Collards, kale, spinach, cabbage, doesn’t matter, as long as it’s greens. Oh, and they have to be cooked with fatback. (Ham is an acceptable substitute). Greens provide the money-luck! Red clothing on New Years Day. No clue why, we just do it. No spending money or crying on New Years’ day – whatever you’re doing on New Years, you’ll be doing a LOT of all the next year. Hmm…. I suppose that explains why we don’t take stuff out of our house on New Years…. trash, old clothing, nothing. That is an odd part that personally I’ve never held to, which makes my Mama cluck her tongue at me. Regardless, there are as many different New Years’ traditions as there are families….. what is YOUR family’s tradition??

Appetites and Attitudes, Everybody's Got One. That's the tag line on the menu from Richie B's, 3590 Ross Clark Circle Dothan. That's between Circuit City and Guthrie's, across from Waffle House and Comfort Inn. Open Monday - Saturday 11am - 9pm, it's a good bet you'll find Richie inside, cooking, visiting with customers, watching TV, or eating. Here's the sign you're looking for.... And eating is what Richie B's is all about..... "New York Style Sandwiches and Pizza" is their claim to fame, and they do it well. Plentiful, tasty and authentic - you'll be pleased with any choice. From the Boar's Head cold cuts and cheeses on the sandwiches to the monster-sized slices of thin-crust pizza, you're certain to find something on their menu to make you happy. My choice this day was a slice of the traditional pepperoni ($2.75) - here's a look at it for you Delicious crust that doesn't overwhelm the pizza sauce and meat and cheese on this huge slice..... totally foldable, like traditional New York style pizza. And that thin crust? Worried that it might be soggy or doughy??? Take a look at what's *under* the sauce! Yummy stuff, huh? Well, hold on... I had TheBigGuy with me, and managed to convince him to order something totally different than I did, he decided on the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich with onions, cheese, mushrooms and peppers ($7.95) Here's a photo for you before he totally destroyed this sandwich...... Way tasty-looking thing, wouldn't you say? I waited patiently for his opinion, and for him to offer me a bite..... it was tough to snag some of it, but I managed a bite - man, this was really delicious! I asked him to compare to his favorite Philly Cheese Steak joint in Augusta GA,which rates a 10 on TBG scale, and he gave this one a 10 as well! Thank goodness we won't be making that drive anymore. Oh, and there's this sauce too, some white peppery something in a squirt bottle.... just put some on that sandwich, trust me. Onion rings rounded out our meal, ($3.95) and they were good, golden brown without being overdone and were fried in oil hot enough that they didn't turn out greasy. Fat slices of onions inside, no little pieces parts of something onion-ish here. Richie B wandered over to finish his half uneaten sandwich, an Italian sub, I think.... asked what we were thinking, how we liked it. Told him we were pleased, and that we'd be back. He asked if we'd tried the cherry poppers, and we said "no, just the onion rings today"....well, a few minutes later, a sample of the cherry poppers showed up at our table, and these were REALLY delicious little morsels! Cherry peppers, olive oil, cheese and proscuitto ham. ($1.75) Oh my. Take a gander..... All in all, a great spot for tasty sandwiches or pizza. Casual, comfortable, clean and a good spot to watch a game. Oh, and they serve both Coke and Pepsi products - first time I've ever seen that! Richie's an exotic car buff, there was chatter about Vipers and a bunch of other kinds of cars that I blocked out. Great job, Richie B's, and welcome to Dothan.

 Ah, the Holidays! All the fun, the visitors, the extra guests in your home and at your table! Makes for great fellowship and friendship, but can wreak havoc on your budget. But, with some planning and careful shopping, you can serve wonderful Holiday meals without emptying your bank account!

Christmas in the Trailer Park Our family lived much like a tribe of gypsies - there were 4 brothers, 1 sister, and the parents (my grandparents)..... and since the brothers all were welders who worked on pipelines all across the country, when the pipelines got longer, we moved. Or if the job ended, we moved. Each family had their own trailer (or mobile home, emphasis on the *mobile* part!) Now, the trailers we lived in were *not* at all the large, luxurious mobile homes now available... these actually had wheels that were never taken off, they were used to roll down the highways. 

What a glorious day it was for a Downtown Celebration – cool, brisk, windy, bright blue skies. Dothan was really hopping with activity – people walking around, in and out of stores and shops, checking out the arts and crafts vendors and even trying out the bungee jump thing. The cookie-decorating tent was a popular stop for kids of all ages, this little gal looks like she’s pretty intent on decorating that cookie! This young man was really proud of the natural beeswax candle ornament that he'd just made at another station. Dothan’s finest was out to make sure we all stayed safe and had a good time. Thanks for the help, guys! There was a train to ride, as well as a horse-drawn wagon – folks were sitting in it, riding past, smiling and waving and looking at all the activity. Our own Catfish was on the back of the horse-drawn wagon, keeping folks safe and entertained. Many restaurants were offering specials during this event – our own RJSaxon had a pizza and hot dog special – the pizza was hot, fresh, and tasty! There was some pretty standard fair fare (lol) to eat, with the longest lines outside the booths serving warm foods and drinks. Tons of arts and crafts vendors, everything from painted turkey feathers to team-logo’d chimineas for your patio, candles, honey, jewelry and pocketbooks. There was a nice variety, and reasonable prices. This downtown festival was made complete with a pony ride for the children. Along with those bouncy things, what are those called??? The snow was the big draw though, with kids and adults alike inside the fenced enclosure – lots of memories were being made inside there for sure. I really liked the way this was set up too, controlled access, with little of the roughhousing that we’ve seen in years past. Just some old-fashioned family fun! Complete with Dancin’ Dave, he was proud to show off a local publication with him on the cover – sadly, he’d already handed out all the ones he’d brought. He displayed it with a smile and a wave, though, and reminded us all that Pearl Harbor Day was coming! The old First National Bank building was open for visitors as well, their reception area was lovely, and had such a pretty tree in the center. There was a small conference room in what I’m guessing was the old vault, with a beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Lots of folks were visiting, seeing old friends, and you’d hear snippets of conversations like “well we haven’t seen you in for*EVER*” and lots of hugs. Kind of a family thing, lots of children dragging their parents around, dashing ahead of them, trying to hurry the slow parents along. A great day, fun, relaxing, and well-done. Thanks to all that made it possible!