Volume 2 Issue 5 Kitchen Drawer Illustrated

FREE TO A GOOD HOME

NOV/DEC ‘10

From Front Yards to Barn Yards From Front Yards Barn Yards From Front Yards to to Barn Yards We W Fin aF ence it all!

Finance it all! eW inance it all!

You don’t have toYou be adon’t farmer to qualify for a home loan. for Weacan helploan. you finance homes in townhomes or out inin town or out in be a to farmer to qualify home help you finance You don’t have tohave be a to farmer qualify for a home loan.

We canWe helpcan you finance homes in town or out in the country for up 30 years. if you’re interested in purchasing or in refinancing lAnd, we can lock in a thetocountry forAnd upyears. to 30And years.

And ifinterested you’re interested purchasing or refinancing the country for up to 30 if you’re in purchasing or refinancing lAnd,lAnd, we can we lockcan in lock a in a FIXed rate loanFIXed up to 20rate years.

Call now before rates go up! loan up to 20 years.

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loanS FoR: loanS F o R : loanS FoR:

Rural land

Rural land Rural land Recreational/hunting tracts

Recreational/hunting Recreational/hunting tracts tracts Farm improvements

improvements Farm improvements Farm Refinancing existing short-term Refinancing existing short-term Refinancing short-term land loans to long-termexisting fixed rates land to long-term fixed rates land loans to loans long-term fixed rates

Ri ck y G Ri ce Ri ck y G Ri ce Ri ck y G Ri ce 0-468-0671 (cell)

770-468-0671 770-468-0671 (cell) (cell) ice@agsouthfc.com rgrice@agsouthfc.com rgrice@agsouthfc.com

loanS FoR: loanS FoR: loanS FoR: home purchases home purchases home purchases Refinances

Refinances Refinances Improvements

Improvements Improvements Investments

Investments Investments Construction

Construction Construction

Wa n d a S m i t hWa n d a S m i

Wa (cell) nda Smith 770-468-2361 770-468-2361 ( 770-468-2361 wsmith@agsouthfc.com (cell) wsmith@agsouth wsmith@agsouthfc.com

1298 Enterprise WayEnterprise | Griffin,Way Ga 30224 | 770-228-8958 www.agsouthfc.com 1298 | Griffin, Ga 30224 | |770-228-8958 | www.agsouthfc.com 1298 Enterprise Way | Griffin, Ga 30224 | 770-228-8958 | www.agsouthfc.com

Photos by Stansberry Photography www.cindystansberryphotography.com

What’s In Your Kitchen Drawer?

Plug in to Kitchen Drawer........................... 5 Staff Picks....................................................... 5 Doctober Days............................................... 8 Deer Stand Philosophy................................ 10 Entrepreneur Focus..................................... 13 Freedman’s Finds......................................... 17 Paparazzi........................................................ 19 Ocmulgee Blacksmith Guild........................ 21 November-December Calendar................ 24 A Day in the Life: Fawne DeRosa............... 28 Sports: BCS or Bust..................................... 31 Slow Exposures............................................. 33 Artist Profile: Sam Granger....................... 36 Meet Your Neighbor-Tuck Smith............... 38 Fiction: Musings of a Semicolon................ 42 Vent................................................................... 47 Business Card Page...................................... 48

November/December 2010

www.kitchendrawer.net

Contributing Photographers Cover photo by Amy Davison Stephan Berna, stephan@liberytech.net Taylor Bush, 678-588-3891 Beau Gentry, bgentry71@gmail.com Erin Ison Cindy Stansberry, cindystansberryphotograpy.com William Wilson, comgr@bellsouth.net

Contributing Writers Amanda Cera, amandaocera@yahoo.com Chris Curry, anovelexperience@gmail.com Taylor Gantt, theganttinator@gmail.com Ronnie Garrison, http://fishing.about.com Rachel Scoggins, vrscoggins@bellsouth.net Allison Smyly, allison_smyly@bellsouth.net Cathy Willis, bubbleskid@gmail.com

Contributing Designers Kitchen Drawer name by Chad Baker Logo by Shannon Lake Carrie Jones, designaf@mindspring.com Ronald McClelland, Ronald.McClelland@bbdoatl.com John Powell Sylvia Scibetta, sylvia@agencysouth.com Drew Sisk, drewsisk@gmail.com

3

Strokes can be silent destroyers.

But fast, specialized treatment may limit damage.

Spalding Regional Medical Center is now certified as a Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission.

We have the specialized care you need when every second counts. And if your recovery demands a full range of medical and rehabilitation services, we have those too.

When it comes to battling strokes, your best defense is now in your backyard.

Close to Home. Far from Ordinary.

601 South 8th Street, Griffin, GA 30224 • (770) 228-2721 • www.spaldingregional.com 4

(770) 412-0441

Staff Picks What are you most thankful for?

Plug-In The best way to promote your event, your success, your story (and to be considered for publication in Kitchen Drawer magazine) is by registering at kitchendrawer.net. Take advantage of this free venue and unlimited space for posting your own events, pictures, stories, etc. And as always you can chat us up on Facebook and Twitter!

(770) 412-0441 kitchendrawer.net

www.kitchendrawer.net

Ben Johnson, Publisher Alexa Morgan.

Laurie Cochrane, Editor

What is yet to come.

Ashley Green, Manager My family, friends, and coworkers. I would not get by without a little help from every single one of them.

Nicole Scibetta, Art Director Support systems.

5

The Physicians and Staff of

GRIFFIN PEDIATRICS are excited to announce

EXTENDED OFFICE HOURS for sick visits

for Fall and Winter!

Beginning October 4th, our office will remain open until 7 P.M., Monday-Thursday Please call for an appointment

• Long-term care

Office Hours

• Assistance with daily activities

Monday - Thursday 8:30-7:00 Friday 8:30-5:00 Saturday 9:00-12:00

• Meal preparation • Light housekeeping

William S. Colvin, M.D. Kelley M. Cousin, M.D. Laura E. Lee, M.D. Eric V. McBryde, M.D. Kyendria K. Banks, M.D.

• Skilled nursing • Wound care • Home IV therapy

770-227-5510

1900 Zebulon Road | Griffin, GA

Corner of College & 8th Street 770-228-2788

Hobbs

Believe by Embellish | Nutcrackers by Silvestri Shirt by Samran | Bag by Alexas Angels Jewelry by National Jacket by Appraisal | Bag by Big Buddha Jewelry by National

6

(770) 412-0441

When I say "good," you say "neighbor."

Teresa S Grubbs, Agent 426 South Hill Street Griffin, GA 30224 Bus: 770-227-2512 www.teresagrubbs.com

ware. d r a h st an ju him & her! h t e r Mo ts for f i g t Grea

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Girls’ Selections by Three Cheers

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State Farm Home Office, Bloomington, IL

Bag & Stationery by Vera Bradley Serving Dishes by Sullivan

Weekender by Vera Bradley

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www.kitchendrawer.net

9

Sitting in a deer stand gives me

I sit for

A

long hours without seeing a deer, but when one appears, everything gets real exciting real quick.

by Ronnie Garrison | design by John Powell

ll that thinking I do between those exciting times can make me feel very insignificant. I realize how small I am and how short my time here on earth is compared to everything around me. The grand vastness of our natural world can be almost overwhelming, and when I consider the timeline of things around me, it really emphasizes how little time I have to enjoy it.

My stand is in a tree on a hardwood hillside that slopes off into Buck Creek 30 yards downhill. While sitting in the tree, I can see the terraces built to plant crops, probably cotton, on the steep slope. There are now 16-inch diameter oak trees growing on those terraces, so I know they are very old.

I often look at them and think of the work that went into cutting trees, digging up stumps, moving rocks and dirt just to allow some farmer to plant a crop that he hopes will bring enough money for him and his family to survive. It would be backbreaking work with crude implements, and maybe a mule to help, over 100 years ago when these terraces were built.

I imagined slaves working to make the terraces but then I realized the land is poor and would not be the choice of any farmer rich enough to own slaves back then. More than likely those terraces were built by the owner of the land, and maybe his wife and kids, struggling to make a life. He and everyone he knew and loved is long gone and forgotten.

If I get real quiet and still I can almost feel Indians easing along the edges of Buck Creek, looking for food. Hunting deer for them was not a sport; it meant eating or going hungry.

But they also knew about other riches of the area, from acorns they could harvest and make into flour to fish in the creek to catch and eat. They took advantage of everything nature has to offer.

Then I look at the rock piles on the terraces, the stacks of stones moved by hand to allow planting. How long had they lain under the ground, unfeeling and uncaring, until dug up 10

lots of time to think.

and exposed to light? And how many thousands of years will they stay in the same spot, where they were placed so long ago, until some other force moves them?

Even the rocks play a part in nature, giving shelter to critters from spiders to snakes. Squirrels stop on top of them to eat an acorn and chipmunks scurry around, digging holes under them to sleep through the winter. But the rocks don’t care.

Looking at the water flowing down the creek makes me think about the passage of time, and how that water will flow down Buck Creek to join up with the Towaliga River and then on to bigger rivers to the sea. There it will evaporate and be blown back over the land to condense into raindrops that feed the creek and start the journey all over again. That cycle is older than mankind, and will probably be going on long after there are no people left.

I can almost see the way the moving water has changed the land, digging a channel out so slowly no movie camera could ever catch it, but ending up with a valley dozens of feet deep. And the soil dug away is somewhere, maybe as sand on a beach on the coast now. Dirt that once grew oak trees may now grow marsh grass. How many thousands of years did that journey take?

A leaf falls and that makes me realize we do have more time than many other living things. A leaf sprouts from a bud in the spring, grows and does its job feeding the tree all summer, only to dry up and fall off the tree in the fall, rotting on the ground to further nourish the tree that gave it life. Its life is measured in months, but it does its job.

And the squirrel eating an acorn may live three or four years if it is lucky enough to avoid hawks and foxes. They are ever wary of danger, with nothing more in their lives than survival – getting enough food to reproduce and keep the species going.

Wait – there is a deer moving under the trees. Forget all the philosophy, just get into shooting position!

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Merry.

• Georgia Bulldogs • Atlanta Braves • Classic Hits & Current Favs

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Fun101FM.com

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(706) 647-7121

120 W. College St. Griffin, Ga. 4080 Hwy. 42 South Locust Grove, Ga.

(770) 228-1223 (770) 914-7994

(left to right): Terry Ison and Terri Ison, TNT Christmas Tree Farm; Natalie Haywood, 19 North Salon & Spa; David (Tripp) Brisendine III, Law Office of David G. Brisendine III; Craig Cardell and Deeanna Cardell, The Oink Joint

Kitchen Drawer’s Entrepreneur Focus features a group of local business owners who offer their talents, products, and services to enrich their communities.

We hope the stories of their struggles and triumphs while building their businesses serve to encourage and inspire those who may be considering taking on the risks, challenges, and joys of entrepreneurship. www.kitchendrawer.net

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Craig Cardell grew up in Griffin but lived in San Diego, Alaska, and Texas (where he met his wife Deeanna) before coming back to settle in Pike County. Among other things, Craig and Deeanna share a love for outstanding barbecue, along with its inextricable soundtrack – the blues.

Craig works his day job as an air traffic controller manager in Atlanta and started doing BBQ competitions under the name “The Right Stuff BBQ” with his wife for stress relief on the weekends. “It’s really just a massive tailgate party, usually around live music,” says Craig. The Right Stuff saw very humble beginnings, with the Cardells smoking their meat in an E-Z Up tent, but they soon learned that barbeque competition is a very serious venture. With $60,000 rigs and sponsors, Craig likens it to NASCAR. The Cardells set out to be serious contenders.

And serious contenders they are! The Right Stuff BBQ won one of the four Triple Crown series last year from the Florida Bar B Que Association (FBA). They also took both the 2009 and 2010 Georgia State Championships from the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS). Now, The Right Stuff rolls up to competitions in one of those coveted 36-foot trailers!

With all of this success under their belts, the Cardells took on the next challenge: “bringing competition barbeque to the table.” When Craig announced his intention to veteran BBQ slingers, he repeatedly heard: “It costs too much, takes too much time – you can’t do it.” Craig adds with a smile, “But we’re doing it.” The Oink Joint has been open a little over a month, but massive word-of-mouth success has kept The Joint jumping! Already 75% or more of their business comes from people driving in from out of town. The biggest hurdle was their location – a cozy, 24-seat storefront on the square in Zebulon. However, the local lunch crowd soon learned to stagger their visits, and the Cardells soon learned to smoke plenty of meat!

The Oink Joint serves brisket, ribs, pulled pork, premium sides, and the blues. There is traditional BBQ fare for purists and creative riffs for the more adventuresome palate, including a Korean Kogi pulled pork taco, served with fire and ice cucumber relish; and “pub food,” like pulled pork egg rolls with smoked gouda. Not the type to rest on their considerable laurels, the Cardells are working into a menu twice its current size. The Oink Joint caters and sells meat by the pound. Git you some.

16008 Barnesville Street, Zebulon | 770-567-5455 | Lunch only Mon-Thurs 11-3; Fri-Sat 11-9ish | Visit with the Cardells at The Right Stuff BBQ and The Oink Joint on Facebook | Check out their current menu at www.theoinkjoint.com.

David G. (Tripp) Brisendine III, honesty, integrity, and humility are David G. Brisendine Toforemost to building a solid law practice. His approach is refreshingly

L aw F i r m

honest: “I am not here to create controversy for the sole purpose of generating fees. If you come in to see me, but there’s really nothing that needs to be done, I will tell you that.”

Brisendine grew up in Williamson but now lives in Meansville with his wife Jennifer (Haywood) from Griffin and their three children: David (Griffin) IV, Claire, and Camille. Tripp went to work for Delta Airlines after graduating from Clayton State College and attended John Marshall Law School at night. After receiving his license in 1997, Tripp joined the practice of James L. Hendrix, Jr. in Zebulon on October 1, 1998. A year later, Tripp acquired the practice and has just marked his 11th anniversary in solo practice. His primary business and first love is real estate law, but a secondary area is estate work: wills, probate proceedings, guardianships. “We are basically a general practice,” says Brisendine, “lots of corporate work, restructuring, and so on.” Brisendine seeks to obtain the most value for his clients at the least expense, and the courtroom is not often the place to achieve that result. Essential to Brisendine’s practice are Jessica Dunn, his lead legal secretary of 8 years; and Kimberly Barnhart, who has been handling the bookkeeping and legal secretary duties for 26 years.

Brisendine is mindful of the tough economic times many are enduring, so he is adamant about meeting client needs without excess: “I know what we do best. If a client has a need, and I’m not an expert in that field, I’ll refer them to someone who is. It’s not an efficient use of my clients’ money to pay me to learn something. I believe my clients appreciate this attitude and have remained loyal to our practice.”

9451 Hwy. 19N, Zebulon | Call 770-567-3080 or email realestate@dgblawfirm.com with your legal questions. Look for an upcoming website at www.dgblawfirm.com.

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(770) 412-0441

TNT

Named after Terry Ison and his wife of 32 years, Terri, TNT Christmas tree farm offers over 7,500 trees and will begin its fifth season at noon on Thanksgiving Day.

Christmas Tree Farm

The Isons, along with their two children, spent many a Christmas season searching out that perfect tree at the Demski tree farm. Over the years, the Isons and owners Jim and Marilyn Demski became close friends, so when it came time for the Demskis to move on, it was natural for the Isons to pick

up right where they left off. “Jim and Marilyn took us under their wings and taught us everything we needed to know, and we can’t thank them enough,” says Terry.

Due to the economic difficulties many are facing right now the price of a tree will remain at $30 for trees up to 9 feet and $40 for trees over 9 feet. This price includes shaking, drilling, and netting for your tree. Also enjoy free hot chocolate, free wagon rides, a playground, picnic area, and bonfire. You can’t buy that kind of family fun at a department store! Making memories and having family fun are reasons why the Isons chose this business in the first place.

Making a choice between real or plastic? Go green! Real trees are a renewable, recyclable resource. Artificial trees contain nonbiodegradable plastics and metals (see the National Christmas Tree Association website at www.christmastree.org/faketrees.cfm).

TNT farm offers fundraising opportunities for churches, schools, and civic groups, and field trips for local schools.

695 Williams Mill Rd., Zebulon | Monday-Friday: 4pm-Dark; Saturdays: 8am-Dark; Sundays: 1pm-Dark. Special hours Friday after Thanksgiving: 8am-Dark | For more information or to make a reservation, call 770-468-0721.

Natalie Haywood’s grandmother was in the beauty profession for 62 years, and Natalie grew up playing in the salon her grandmother owned. Her mother has photos of five-year old Natalie rolling her hair and applying makeup on her dolls. After college, she received her Master of Cosmetology License and advanced training. Natalie has been in this profession for 14 years.

When Natalie moved to Pike County 10 years ago, she saw the need for an upscale salon that offers a wide array of different services. She selected a location in Zebulon that was originally a ladies’ clothing store, followed by a karate studio, and finally Dr. Sam Garrett’s veterinary clinic. Natalie and her brother-in-law, Tripp Brisendine, completely renovated the building, installing new flooring and knocking out walls to give it a very elegant look. Natalie recalls staying up all night to finish painting and adding the final touches before her Grand Opening on November 1, 2001. Her diligence and care for her clients has helped 19 North Salon & Spa develop a loyal clientele. Natalie’s appreciation for those clients is evident: “I have been very fortunate to have such wonderful clients who have become friends over the years. I even have one gentleman who comes from Key Largo!”

Continuing education is essential in this business to remain on the “cutting edge.” Natalie emphasizes, “In our line of work this is crucial because we want to give our clients the latest colors, cuts, and styles.” Natalie has attended training classes as far away as Australia. “It’s interesting to see styling techniques in other countries,” she says. “I have incorporated some of those razoring, texturizing, and color techniques in my own salon.” Just recently, Natalie and her staff returned from a hair convention in Birmingham, Alabama, where they met Nick Arrojo from TLC’s What Not To Wear. Nick’s presentation of the latest fall styles was both enjoyable and informative.

19 North Salon & Spa specializes in color, as well as color correction. They also offer trendy haircuts, spa manicures and pedicures, massage, facials, ear candling, airbrush makeup artistry, formal hair up-dos, and tanning. Keratin Smoothing Reconstuct Treatments will be available soon for the healthy, silky, smooth hair everyone wants. Premium haircare lines include Pureology, Kenra Platinum, and DermOrganic. Candles, jewelry, and purses are also available, as well as many other gift items, including the gift of pampering with a gift certificate.

Please join Natalie and her staff on Saturday, November 6, 2010 from 9 am to 3 pm for their Customer Appreciation Day, even if you are not a client. Hors d’oeuvres, door prizes, and free one-minute manicures for all. Also register for their Ultimate Gift Basket Giveaway

9475 Hwy 19 North, Zebulon | 770-567-0190 | Tues.-Fri. 9 am-6 pm; Thurs. late by appt.; Sat. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m

www.kitchendrawer.net

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Daily lUNCH SpeCialS Monday - Friday (11am -2 pm)

Hoodburger, Fries and Coke - $5.99 Philly, Fries and Coke - $5.99 Chicken Sandwich, Fries and Coke - $5.99

Thursday - Friday - Saturday

Delivery available ($30 Minimum order)

Call ahead for Speedy Service

133 Spalding Village, Griffin, GA • 770-228-4200

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4 p.m. until closing all yoU CaN eaT FiSH Includes Slaw, Fries or Onion Rings and Drink - $10.99

(770) 412-0441

dy a cad e t s 0 170

1915 typewriter

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The Christian Ministries Hospice organization is operated totally by volunteers and donations.

Gently used current, unique, and vintage Women’s, Men’s, and Children’s clothing

Bric-a-brac Books Something for everyone All profits assist indigent hospice patients from our community and fund our FREE Annual Community Health Fair.

130 W. Solomon Street | Griffin, GA | (770) 467-0232 www.kitchendrawer.net

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GRIffIn CCSP approved We accept Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurances

InTeRIOR

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Paparazzi

Caremaster Business After Hours

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A UGA degree is closer than you think!

Finish your bachelor’s degree at the Griffin Campus!

Agribusiness Biological Science Consumer Economics Environmental Resource Science Food Industry Marketing and Administration General Business Microbiology Special Education

Master’s Degrees in Agriculture Leadership Mathematics Education UGA Griffin Campus provides the atmosphere of a small college, but the benefits of a major public research university.

Spring semester application deadline: Nov. 19 Summer semester application deadline: May 1

A UGA degree offers quality and value. UGA ranks among the nation’s top 25 public universities and among the top 10 “best values.”

With small class sizes, you’ll get to know your fellow students and the faculty.

You can take advantage of local internships or work in one of the research labs on campus.

By earning a UGA degree, you join a network of more than 260,000 alumni.

770-412-4400 • www.uga.edu/griffin

Maddox & Harding, LLC a t t o r n e y s a t L aw

Divorce • Personal Injury • Family Law • Auto Accidents • General Civil • Criminal

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(770) 567-3882

(770) 229-4578

15 Jackson st., Zebulon

113 east solomon st., griffin (770) 412-0441

www.kitchendrawer.net

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T

he Ocmulgee Blacksmith Guild is a nonprofit organization, formed in 1992 to support both professional and hobbyist blacksmiths in the middle Georgia area. Currently, they meet the first Saturday of each month and usually provide a blacksmithing demonstration by members and encourage hands-on participation at the meetings. The organization is family oriented and averages about 100 members. Eddie Rainey is the current president. He describes blacksmithing as “hot, nasty, and physically demanding,” but the training is rewarding. “Blacksmithing is time consuming. It’s not about banging out profits; it’s about achieving precision and accuracy with your hands.”

The Ocmulgee Blacksmith Guild participates in various community events. They demonstrate at Buggy Days in Barnesville to raise public awareness of the craft. They also work with the Boy Scouts. Each year, the guild will teach groups of scouts the skills needed to obtain their blacksmithing merit badge. Part of their obligation as a nonprofit organization is that they demonstrate to the public for free throughout the year. Rainey believes “the only way to get into the craft is by participation.”

Each December, the guild hosts a benefit auction to provide full scholarships to three members of the guild to attend any school of their choice to take a course pertaining to blacksmithing and bladesmithing. Some of the craft schools members can choose from are in other states, such as North Carolina, Mississippi, Maine, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. After completing the course, the member is obligated to demonstrate what he learned at a guild meeting; then he will craft an original piece of work, using the techniques learned in the scholarship class, to be donated to the next auction.

This year, the auction will be held on December 4 at Dauset Trails Nature Center in Jackson, Ga. The guild will be auctioning off various handmade blacksmith items, such as fireplace sets, knives, lamps, and other wrought iron articles.

For more information about the Ocmulgee Blacksmith Guild, visit them on Facebook or on their website at http://www.ocmulgeeblacksmiths.org.

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Find Us On

Sunday

Monday 1

Tuesday 2

Wednesday 3

Thursday 4

Friday

Saturday 6 11th Annual

5

Mommy & Son Backseat Saints Date Night Book signing Truett’s Grill A Novel 4 PM

Congressional Election Day Georgia Voting Booth

Experience

Griffin Humane Society 11 AM

Boot Scootin’Boogie Griffin Kiwanis Club |6 PM

5:30 PM

ALL DAY

Chili Cook Off

Indian Festival & Pow Wow Stone Mountain Park

7

8

9

10 Apply to Childbirth Preparation Class

Daylight Savings Ends

Piedmont Newnan Hospital

6:30 PM

Starts 1:00 PM

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15

16 Business After Hours

Fried Chicken Sunday

Griffin Spalding Historical Society 5 PM

Farmhouse Resturant Serenbe

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Artisans’ Guild of Griffin Meeting Safehouse Coffee 8 PM

12

College Day Spalding High School

13 Foreign Film Night

Veteran’s Day

A Novel Experience

LEAF Meeting

17 Brown Bag

“The Papers” Camelot Theatre

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19

Women’s Council Drawing in the Lunch Group Luncheon Galleries UGA Garden Small Island by High Museum Building Andrea Levy 6 PM 11:30 AM

A Novel Experience 12 PM

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Illumination Ceremony Downtown Barnesville

7:30 PM

8th Annual Younglife Turkey Trot

Wyomia Tyus Olympic Park 8:30 AM

7 PM

Griffin Welcome Center 2 PM

11:30 AM

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11

Carter’s Drug Store Open House Downtown Barnesville 6:30 PM

25

Annual Tree Lighting Downtown Locust Grove

7 PM

20 Blacksmith

Demonstration Dauset Trails 9:30 AM

US Wounded Soldiers Foundation Magnolia Farms 6 PM

Holiday Market Expo

26

27 “Bury the Hatchet”

Pet Adoption

Doggie Do’s/ Historical Society Humane Society 11 AM 5 PM

“The Nutcracker” Griffin Ballet Spalding, Pike & Lamar County Schools Closed | Thanksgiving Break

Cobb Galleria

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Santa Claus in the Garden UGA Griffin Campus

ALL DAY

30 Stockbridge Holiday Festival Merle Manders Conference Center

5 PM

Griffin Auditorium

24 b

( 7 7 0()7 7401)24-102 4- 04414 1

FollowKD KDIllustrated Illustratedon on Follow

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday 1

5

Pike Co. Tour of Homes Sponsored by Crapemyrtle Garden Club

6 Southern Chefs Series Inn at Serenbe

1 PM Christmas Parade

ALL DAY

Downtown Griffin 2:30 PM

12 Spalding

7

Thursday 2

8

LEAF Committee Meeting

Artisans’ Guild of Griffin Meeting Griffin Safehouse Welcome Center Coffee 2 PM 8 PM

Griffin Spalding Art Association Griffin Welcome Center 5 PM

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Lamar County Family Collaborative

Friday 3

Saturday 4

Mistletoe Market

Griffin Welcome Center

11 AM

Blacksmith’s Auction Dauset Trails

9:30 AM

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Basic Birding Hike

Panola Mountain State Park 8 AM

Barnesville Library 9 AM

“The Nutcracker” The Nutcracker of Middle Georgia, Inc. Main Street Players Presents

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Co.Tour of Homes

Sponsored by Daybreak Rotary

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Spalding High Chorus Concert Griffin Auditorium 6 PM

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Brown Bag Lunch Group

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The Love Ceiling by

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GHS Choral Winter Booster Club Mountain Hike Silent Auction Panola Mountain Griffin High State Park School 8 AM Auditorium

Okimoto 770-228-8200 A Novel Macon Macon Experience Opera OperaHouse House 12 PM The TheFarndale FarndaleAvenue AvenueHousing HousingEstate EstateTownswomen’s Townswomen’sGuild GuildDramatic DramaticSociety’s Society’sProduction Productionofof “A “AChristmas ChristmasCarol” Carol”

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Fried Chicken Sunday

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Farmhouse Resturant Serenbe

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Downtown Development Authority Board Meeting Griffin Welcome Center

11:30 AM

8 AM

“Ruins to Rapids” Full Moon Hike

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25 Christmas Day

Lithia Springs Park 7 PM

Spalding, Pike & Lamar County Schools Closed

770-229-9916 770-229-9916

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Artisans’ Guild of Griffin Meeting Safehouse Coffee

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8 PM

Winter Break

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What does the future hold for College Football’s Bowl System?

j

T

Taylor Gantt design by John Powell

j

he world of college football perpetually deals with burning issues that require resolution.

Scandals regarding teachers giving preferential treatment to athletes; coaches exceeding the allotted hours they can keep their players in practice; and most recently, allegations of agents plying future clients with money and expensive gifts. Such a popular and fervently followed sport is bound to have its share of controversies.

But one fundamental quandary that the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) must soon address is that of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS).

In layman’s terms, the BCS is college football’s version of a post season. Computer rankings, coupled with various polling results, rank the nation’s top 25 teams every week of the season, based on performance, scoring, and some general opinion. Then, after the season is over, the system produces the two top teams and pits them against each other in the BCS Championship game. Then, the rest of the teams are positioned in many other bowls across the country, depending on ranking and conference. Sounds simple enough, right?

History and nostalgia run strong with the BCS tradition; however, a few disconcerting trends have emerged. The BCS ranking system deems a team worthy by using intricate calculations, which leaves little room for common sense to factor in. Boise State, for example, has had several perfect seasons over the past half decade, and has had convincing victories over bigger schools in highly regarded bowl games in those seasons. And yet, because this school is in a smaller conference with a less imposing schedule, the computer system deems them unworthy to play in the big game.

Even after beating juggernaut Oklahoma in 2007 and the formidable Horned Frogs of TCU in 2010 in huge bowl www.kitchendrawer.net

games, little to no notoriety has been given to this potential Cinderella story. The BCS system uses a logical equation: small school + anything short of absolute perfection = zero shot at a title.

Then there is the remarkable BCS gaffe of the current postseason system. The 2004 Auburn Tigers ran the table on their incredibly tough SEC schedule and stood poised at 13–0, a perfect regular season record. Unfortunately for the Tigers, though, two other powerhouse teams accomplished the same feat in different divisions, Oklahoma in the Big 12 and the University of Southern California (USC) in the Pac-10. Three teams atop the polls? Most people would say, let the teams have a playoff to determine the true champion. But the BCS computers made a more clinical determination. The calculations ranked USC #1, Oklahoma #2, and Auburn on the outside looking in at #3. All the Tigers could do was watch star-powered USC take the Sooners to the woodshed in a 55-19 thrashing, knowing they should have been the ones playing against USC for the title.

The NFL Model So what is the next viable option if the BCS is proven inexcusably fallible? The NCAA can simply look to their parent association, the NFL. In pro football, the 16-game regular season culminates in a 12-team playoff that decides the Super Bowl contenders. College football currently employs two top-25 rankings, one for the BCS and one for the Associated Press (AP). Simply change that number to 24, 26, or any even number, and an easy-to-format playoff schedule is born: #1 plays #26, #2 plays #25, and so on.

You wouldn’t have to completely abandon the BCS either, because regardless of rankings, the teams would be given an opportunity to play their way to the top.

The idea of a playoff system has been kicked around by many fans, coaches, and people close to the sport. But don’t expect to see change anytime soon. The reason? Money is the main obstacle to playoff clarity. Bowl games are sponsored by corporations or other groups. This obviously leads to many advertising dollars being thrown at the NCAA. And what’s good for the NCAA is good for the presidents of the BCS schools that make up the association. With so much money-making opportunity in these bowl games, why should the NCAA make plans to stop milking this perennial cash cow? Even though a playoff program may be more engaging and ethical, it just doesn’t float the boat financially for those pulling the strings in college football.

Here are a few questions to keep in mind as we move through the season: What happens if three mighty, deserving teams again stand undefeated atop the polls? What happens if another unheralded small school wonder-team separates itself and demands a chance at greatness? Will the computers give us satisfying answers to potential injustices? History tells us we will stay the course of the BCS. The real question is, for how much longer?

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SlowExposures

by Chris Curry

A Juried Exhibition Celebrating Photography of the Rural South www.slowexposures.org

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nyone who owns a Harley knows about the annual, almost mythical meet-up in Sturgis, North Dakota for enthusiasts of this all-American bike. We want to make Concord, Georgia the “Sturgis” of fine art photography in the South. For the past eight years, leading lights of the photography world, as well as aspiring artists and photography lovers gather for the SlowExposures Photography Exhibition during the last two weeks in September. The theme is always “The Rural South.” The show is created entirely by a hardworking group of volunteers from Pike, Spalding, Coweta, Fayette, Henry, Upson, and other nearby counties. Local merchants, individuals, and civic organizations generously support it through donations and ad sales.

The images run the gamut from rusted-out trucks to dusty wrapped turkeys in a taxidermy shop, raw eroded land on the edge of a subdivision and a young woman who is grasping a saw with, maybe, one leg on the ground by her side. That last image was awarded the first place prize by 2010 jurors Brett Levine of University of Alabama, Birmingham and Jack Spencer of Nashville. One of the most popular, and free, events is the Juror’s Talk –that’s when everyone gets to hear why in the world particular images were chosen for prizes. Agree or disagree, it’s a fascinating tutorial on seeing through the eyes of experts and master photographers. www.kitchendrawer.net

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Throughout the 2010 show, spirited conversations on every aspect of photography and collecting could be heard at the Exhibition; at the three satellite shows in Zebulon, Molena, and Griffin; during the black tie SlowExposures Ball; and at other events. Visitors from all over the country joined local folks to see work from emerging artists, to renew old friendships developed over the eight-year run of the show, and to enjoy the relaxed authenticity and hospitality of the “real” South.

First Place - Amy Davison “In the Quivering Forest” used on cover

Third Place - Charlotte Weber “Train Station”

Second Place - Joe Cattoni “Lonely Days”

SlowExposures was created to call attention to the native beauty and culture of our area before so much of it was bulldozed during the building boom of the early 2000s. What better way to get people to slow down than to use cuttingedge photography? And, to ensure that these lessons stick, one of the highlights each year is the Student Show, where local kids show the adults their interpretations of their home ground.

Everyone has stretched in the last couple of years to work and contribute. The results have been astounding.

The quality of the show has garnered praise from all over the country. Like the folks in Sturgis, we continue to invest in our own dream of welcoming the world to share our special place. True to its name, we’re slowing down, looking at the landscape and appreciating it even more through the eyes of our visitors, our kids, and our photographers.

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Artist Profile

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Granger his own lives. New und the r o r m a o s fr w o rgely e showed maller sh itting h s s r e e b come la b to t c s ast O He’ll ju Just this p wo shows: one in to his in thoughts. p o p l t . a wil his art in d one in Georgia g, an ide nd he a in k , in t h in t a d p n a oth aroun g to Alabama an art bo somethin p u r t e fo s e d ir in hea .

Locally h Pickin’ Fa ight then ffy, r n lu o F it t t f s o o e C t s a a e cre at the near th er did w d g n d n a e a r ir G , p s ia g org . n – in paintin Gay, Ge homaston g Chicke T .

The last in n t in e l a k a n ic iv o t h s s r c e Impe his god onated Bluebird F the Elvis

by Fluffy, He also d

Sam Granger

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art for the sec ond yea Blues P r in a r roject, w ow here it for cha was sho to the Alabam rity at t a wn and he charity auctione works w Evening of Art d ith kids an history of the g and tea d Blues. The en ch The Ala bama B re and how to es them the lu play the es Proje for him . Grang blues. er loves ct is a specia l p t h r oject e blues, a his art n is d b a lues ins Besides lot of pired. doing s h ows, Gr Antique anger s Grif ells his in public fin. Recently, h art at e held a ” event at Antiq “paintin he set g u e Griffin up in th – where e shop day. He a nd pain was able ted all while th ere. “Th to paint a few e neat p kids,” h thing ab ieces e says. ou They wil and be l walk u t it is the amazed p, while wa tching h sit down, im pain t.

The fir st “pain ting in public” was su ch a success that he another did one Thomas in ton schedule and has d a thir d.

The un ique pe Sam Gr r a n g e r is wh sonality of art so a t make intr s his much fu iguing. It is o bvious n he ha how s m enjoyme nt com aking it, and t hat es acr pieces. oss in “Of cou rse his art so I can kee I enjoy selling m p doing “but I it,” he s y like to a y s, kn somethin g to ma ow that I did k There is e s not mu omeone smile. the wor ch hap pin ld, so I just wan ess in people t to giv that.” e

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Tim “Tuck” Smith

By Allison Smyly Design by John Powell

“T

he Last of the Real Gyms!” A tiger with bulging muscles holding a barbell that has broken from the massive weights on it. A “No Excuses” sign on the wall. The images associated with Tuck’s Powerdome in Griffin can be a little intimidating, especially to those of us whose idea of heavy lifting is sliding the couch closer to the television.

Despite the formidable impressions some may have of Tuck’s Powerdome, behind it all is the very approachable Tim Smith, known to almost everyone as “Tuck.” On his Christmas break from Georgia Southwestern College in 1981, Tuck realized that he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. One thing he cared a great deal about, however, was weightlifting. Tuck came home to Griffin and saw that the gym where he had worked out in high school was for sale. He borrowed some money, using his 1973 Datsun 280Z as collateral, and Tuck’s Gym was born.

Tuck’s Powerdome (formerly Tuck’s Gym) has been a fixture in Griffin since that December day in 1981. “It becomes part of you, and you part of it,” says Tuck, who is inextricably linked with his business in the minds of most who know him. Tuck explains the iconic slogan, “The Last of the Real Gyms”: “Over the years, I saw the [fitness] businessgettingcommercialized – new experts condemning the use of free weights and advocating machines,” he says.

“I’m old school.”

Tuck believes that the use of free weights teaches balance and involves more skill than the use of machines. “It takes time to work on your form with free weights,” he says.

Although Tuck acknowledges that there is a place for machines, he believes that there is more athleticism and sportsmanship in free weights. He uses “squats” (bending 38

the knees and hips to lower the torso, then returning to an upright position, usually with a bar braced across the trapezius muscle in the upper back) as an example. “The fastest way to get everything you want in a gym is with squats,” Tuck says, adding, “they’re also hardest to do.” In recent years, squats have come under fire; some allege that they are too dangerous. Injuries result, Tuck insists, only when the lifter attempts too much weight or uses bad form.

The “old school” methods advocated by Tuck seem to have worked well for many over the gym’s 29 years. Two world-class lifters, James “Pit Bull” Searcy and Chip Edalgo, are regulars at Tuck’s. Both have won numerous competitions and have been featured in major power lifting magazines. According to Tuck, there is at least one person in each of the 50 States who has worked out at Tuck’s Powerdome at least once. Tuck gives credit to his mentor, Lyn Pinnell, another great power lifter who works out at Tuck’s: “He taught me everything I know about the art of lifting weights.” Another notable strong man connected to Tuck’s is Jay Scarpa, known in the professional wrestling world as Chief Jay Strongbow, from whom Tuck bought the building. Tuck himself was a competitive power lifter some years ago, and can still hold his own in the weightlifting arena.

Tuck refutes the notion that Tuck’s Powerdome is for men only. “Women can build muscle just as fast as men can,” he says. According to Tuck, many women avoid weightlifting because they don’t want their bodies to look too masculine. He explains that this should not be a concern because women do not have the same genetic makeup as men and will not build muscle in the same way.

Tuck believes that more women should add weightlifting to their health and beauty regimens for strength and general (770) 412-0441

good health. He thinks that everyone should focus more on fitness and less on externals such as clothes, hair, or even salary. Tuck believes strongly that physical fitness is an important component of overall satisfaction with life. “Your body is number one,” Tuck says with conviction. It’s hard to argue with him, especially when you’ve just watched him deadlift 405 pounds.

Tuck himself seems to have found a healthy balance between physical fitness, work, and family. A lifelong Griffin resident, Tuck is married to the former Kristin Housman and is the proud father of three sons. Tuck received his nickname at Griffin High School. Because there were two Tim Smiths in his class, he became known as “Tuck,” which was also his father’s nickname. It was during his years at Griffin High, when he was 15 years old, that Tuck discovered his love for weightlifting. He liked a variety of sports, but lifting provided just the right outlet for Tuck’s considerable energy. Tuck continues to enjoy living in Griffin. “I still believe we can make this a better place to live,” he says.

Tuck derives a great deal of satisfaction from his business.

“Once you get here and get to know the people, it’s like a second home,” he says. Over the years, he has learned a great deal about running a business, exercise physiology, and getting along with people, much of it self taught.

“I learned a lot of it the hard way,” he says. Tuck enjoys passing along his knowledge, especially in the area of

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fitness. He will provide complimentary training for new members who are unfamiliar with weightlifting techniques for the first few visits; he also provides ongoing personal training services for a fee.

The walls of Tuck’s Powerdome are a mini-museum of health and fitness memorabilia. A photograph of the “Class of 1983” is snapshot of the muscular young men who happened to be working out at Tuck’s Gym one day in that year. “Some of them have passed away... the others are scattered all over the four corners of the globe,” says Tuck. Another item on the wall is a poster of an extremely buff young Arnold Schwarzenegger from the days before Terminator, and long before anyone ever dreamed of a “Governor Schwarzenegger.”

Vintage workout charts with instructions for seemingly impossible exercises also adorn the walls.

And the incredibly muscular tiger that has become a symbol of Tuck’s Powerdome? The tiger is the real king of the jungle,” says Tuck. “They hunt alone.” Like the solitary tiger and small businesses everywhere, the small independent gym is somewhat of a vanishing breed.

“I tell Mr. Cook, the meat cutter down the street, that when we’re gone, there won’t be anyone to replace us,” he says. For now, “The Last of the Real Gyms,” Tuck’s Powerdome, and owner Tuck Smith are meeting a need for those in the community in search of a serious, nononsense workout.

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Kitchen Table Cranberry Pumpkin Oatmeal White Chocolate Chunk Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Cookies

by Cathy Willis This recipe combines many seasonal favorites into one moist, fluffy cookie.

Ingredients 2 c. all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice ½ tsp. salt 2 sticks butter, room temperature (soft) ¾ c. granulated sugar ¾ c. light brown sugar 1 c. pumpkin puree (such as Libby’s canned pumpkin) 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 c. old-fashioned oatmeal 1 c. dried sweetened cranberries 6 oz. Baker’s white chocolate squares, chopped into chunks

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Instructions Set oven to 350F. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a bowl. Stir thoroughly and set aside. In a mixer, cream butter with sugars. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined.

Gradually add flour mixture, then the oatmeal. When cookie dough is consistently blended, turn off mixer and stir in cranberries and white chocolate chunks by hand.

Place dough in rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake 15-18 minutes.

Unlike traditional chocolate chip cookies, these cookies are even better when they’ve cooled off!

Yield: Approximately 3 dozen (this really depends on what size you make your cookies).

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Musings of a Semicolon

By Amanda Cera design by Drew Sisk

M

y father was fond of structure– born. He’s never forgiven me for being spent his evenings sitting in a born. Neither has my brother. stiff-backed chair with brown My brother, the firstborn, came into mule slippers on his pedicured feet, the world promptly on his due date, to correcting the punctuation in The New please. My father admired his punctuality, York Times. He called Mom “Colon.” Gave excused his feebleness because of his her the nickname after we children were obedience, his willingness to follow. My born. We were examples of her, he brother was a sick baby, had wet lung. explained, concrete details that defined Mom swears the doctor suspended him by her, gave her meaning. his feet and smacked his blue bottom “Colon,” he’d call, “bring me the several times to no avail. He didn’t take June 5th, 1976 edition of the Times.” his first breath until Father commanded, The issues were stowed away in file “Breathe, Armand.” He’s been a suck-up cabinets or in black film canisters ever since. on microfiche in labeled plastic boxes My father named me Charles, after in the basement. Father compared Darwin, and my brother Armand, after the editors to see which ones were the Voltaire’s brother. I remember wishing my best grammarians. brother Armand would become a zealot He never gave us nicknames, but if priest, then I would have had a purpose, he had, I would have been Semicolon; could have been his antithesis. I could I’m a device that joins, that shows have started my own modern-day relation between oldest and youngest.

Enlightenment. I might have had a My brother would have been Period, better chance of discovering my niche, of like my father; my sister would’ve been living up to the spirit of revolution Exclamation Point. spurred on by later-borns: Galileo, Father worked as an adjunct professor Copernicus, Mendel. at Central Piedmont Community College.

I never tried to be orderly, punctual, He modeled himself after the staunch structured. Armand had too many years of saint of writers and journalists, Francis de practice for me to ever compare. Before I Sales. With scissors, he’d cut errors from developed a strategy, my sister Dee came students’ papers, slicing comma splices, along. She seemed to know instinctively run-on sentences, misplaced modifiers, how to get attention. She was a dramatist, until the essays looked like confetti. He a melodramatic actress, a contemporary never earned his doctorate, dropped his Shakespearean player. dissertation to teach full-time when I was

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I remember the moment I discovered The smaller monkeys, mostly female, my place in the family. My father had taken were disturbed by Dee’s wailing. They us children to a traveling fair. He was on tittered and paced, tugged at their hair sabbatical for the summer, and Mom was in and gnashed their teeth. The largest male, the hospital having a small tumor hunched on his back legs, watched for a removed. Armand, 14 years old, wanted moment, then, staring directly at me, he to fly to New York and tour the offices of bellowed. His dark eyes, surrounded by a The New York Times; Dee, at 5 years old, mask of white fur, laughed at me, and me, at 11, wanted desperately to go mocked me. He was the alpha male; to the fair. My father never dealt well with I was not. And we both knew it. disturbance of his peace. Dee was a All the monkeys grew silent. A few master of disturbance, so we ended up at of the females tentatively slipped next to the fair. him and cautiously groomed him. I felt We were standing in front of the tears welling in my eyes, but I couldn’t squirrel monkey cage, eating ice cream turn away. No matter which way I looked, cones, compliments of my sister’s at the monkeys or my family, the view aforementioned propensity for drama. was the same — the dominant and Dee was making faces at the monkeys, the dominated. sticking out her tongue and jumping back Mom’s period-sized tumor turned and forth in place. One of the monkeys out to be two plum-sized tumors, one on shrieked, and she dropped her cone and top of the other, separated by a slight bolted for Father before she realized the space. Father found this coincidence divine, monkeys couldn’t get to her. She wouldn’t an orderly, profound, grammatically stop crying, even after I surrendered my acceptable incident, until he found out cone. She wanted Armand’s cone. She the tumors were malignant. Mom lived wanted Mom. two agonizing years, took chemo, had I remember how sorry I felt for her several surgeries, but in the end, she then, crumpled on the ground at Father’s succumbed to the cancer’s persistence. feet like a balled-up paper, a substandard I was the last to speak with her essay tossed away, rejected. I stared at the before she died. monkeys in the cage and listened to their “Death by punctuation,” she joked. chatter rather than see Father and Armand “Killed off by a colon.” I couldn’t see the staring down with disapproving eyes at humor in the situation, but she laughed my sister, her back curved and her face until she cried. Then the tears would not clenched, now more like a question mark stop; a barrier inside her had broken and I than an exclamation point. www.kitchendrawer.net

was scared the flood would drown me.

Still, I stayed right there at her side; my throat burning from swallowing down my fear, my anger. And I remember wishing it were my father there in the hospital bed instead of Mom. I was 13 years old, sitting next to my mother’s hospital bed, sharing her last moments, while my father sat in the cafeteria, helping Armand write a freshmen English research paper about the collected works of Ernest Hemingway.

Somehow, I was glad they weren’t with me, weren’t there in the room to bear witness to Mom’s fear and regret.

Dee wandered into the room sometime during those long, last hours. She climbed up onto my lap and held Mom’s hand.

“Are you scared, Mama?”

Dee asked.

“No, baby,” Mom answered, the tears finally waning. “I only know how much I’ll miss the two of you.” Reminded of her loss, I could feel Dee’s body stiffen and begin to shake. “You two stick together, always,” Mom said, pulling Dee over onto the bed beside her. “Together, you’re stronger than your father and brother.” Mom ran her fingers through Dee’s long, brown hair and patted her back softly. To Dee’s credit, she never cried, though she snuggled so close to Mom it appeared she wanted to merge with her, to hitch a ride into whatever lay beyond this life.

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“Charles,” Mom said, when Dee’s breathing evened out into certain sleep.

“Don’t let them strangle you or Dee. You both are strong. Keep each other going until you realize that. Don’t let them tell you who you are. Don’t let them convince Dee she’s someone she’s not. They will try, Charles, now while you’re vulnerable.

It’s what they do.” I remember sitting there listening and nodding, promising to do things I didn’t even understand, while my little sister snored softly next to Mom. There were no alarms or buzzers to signal Mom’s last breath, but I heard it and knew she was gone. That breath was a long sigh, one of relief it seemed to me.

I was happy for her, though I didn’t understand why for 12 or so years.

I thought she was relieved to shed the pain, but as a grown man looking back, I know that sigh meant she was free of structure, the dependant clause suddenly content to be a fragment.

I scooped my sleeping sister into my arms and took the elevator down to the cafeteria to tell Father that Mom was 44

no longer under his jurisdiction, that she had gone to a place where life consisted of more than grammar rules and punctuation marks, somewhere he could never go.

The following years were some of my hardest as I struggled to redefine myself. Mom had asked me to be more than I was used to being, and my father wanted nothing more than to control that new definition I was struggling so hard to write.

I completed my bachelor’s degree in Zoology in three years, and my master’s in one and a half. For my doctoral dissertation I studied primates. My singular focus in those years was to live up to Mom’s challenge, to be who I was, to take enough breath to keep father from strangling me. Sometimes I felt on the verge of unconsciousness, so tight was his grip, but in those moments when I thought of giving up, I thought of Dee; I thought of Mom, and how they’d both seen strength in me that I’d never

known existed.

It was Frederic Cuvier, the French father of behavior science, who gave me my answer, by showing me what I was not. Frederic was the youngest son in his family and lived his life in the shadow of his oldest brother Georges, the self-proclaimed “bishop of science” who made a career of espousing Darwin’s theory of evolution as heresy.

While Georges blazed bright in the forefront of French society, his baby brother studied primates, discovered their hierarchical structure, silently wrote himself into the history books.

I remember reading his theory, his observations of European Gibbons, with my knuckles white, my hands clenched tight against the book binding, and how that long ago day at the fair became the turning point in my life. Dee’s cries reverberated through my mind. Once again, I stood frozen in front of that cage, staring into the eyes of the powerful, the dictator, and this time the alpha male’s

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eyes were green like Father’s, and when he shrieked, I turned my back to him, knelt down beside my sister, pulled her to her feet, and together we walked away.

Dee has gone through three husbands and too many career changes to count.

She’s been searching for her own answers, and I think she’s discovering them, at last. She teaches at Palmer Elementary School, encourages her first-graders to realize how special they each are.

I eat lunch with her once a week, cramming my six-foot-two-inch frame into a munchkin-sized seat, my knees pushing hard against the underside of the table. Her class is working on memory books, pages of crayon drawings and affirmations of uniqueness bound together with multicolored yarn. She’s making one herself, and she showed it to me as we picked at rubbery chicken nuggets and sipped 2% milk through straws.

It is bound in brown construction paper. As I flip through the pages, noticing her painstakingly perfect script, a steady stream of children flows toward her. Thin arms squeeze a quick hug, chubby hands tug at her pressed skirt, and I know Mom is proud.

The scene on page five depicts a fair; a large metal cage dominates the picture. My father and brother, drawn in rich detail, are crouched behind the bars, as a purple question mark stands staring.

“Turn the page,” Dee insists, so I do.

Though the rendering depicts another fair scene, the monkey cage appears as only a background detail. Dominating the 8- by 11-inch paper is a purple exclamation mark and a yellow semicolon. They are holding hands, their backs to the viewer, as they walk confidently away from the green-eyed monkeys in the cage.

I watch as she pushes up from the table, clapping her hands to get her students’ attention. In a dash, little more than controlled chaos, the boys and girls dump their Styrofoam trays into oversized gray trash bins and line up against the wall.

Dee helps a straggler up from the table with a quick kiss on the top of his brown head. For the first time, I notice the

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squareness of her shoulders, the easy curve of her smile. Dee has not only found her answers, but she’ll also help hundreds of students find theirs. I unfold myself from my seat, and hug my sister before walking outside to my car. On the drive to my afternoon class, Introductory Zoology, I think of Dee’s and my struggle, the process we’ve gone through to shed old identities and find ones of our own choosing. It is something Armand will never do, something my father never did.

Mom was right. Dee and I were stronger because we embraced the battle for self, instead of crouching trapped inside a cage of society’s making. The bars were invisible, but once we saw them, they couldn’t be unseen, and so we hacked away until we were free. My father never even caught a glimpse of the bars.

In moments of relaxation, when the responsibilities of career give way to leisure, I sometimes think of what words I want lasered onto my gravestone. Some people might think I’m morbid or depressed, but truly nothing could be further from the truth. I do not fear death, nor do I long for it. My life is fulfilling, and I hope to live to be a centenarian. I think most people have an irrational fear of death because even though they don’t know it consciously, at some level they know they’re in a cage.

What they fear is dying like an animal, trapped behind bars, never knowing what it feels like to give up the security of the cage, but also never experiencing the freedom of walking confidently in the sun, their backs to the shadow as they stumble wounded into the light. I’ve considered many options for the inscription on my tombstone, but there are no single words or groups of labels that encapsulate me.

Like Mom, I am comfortable being a fragment. Perhaps my tombstone will simply read “…I…” I am a living representation of omission and continuation. I simply and complexly am.

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