Carol Fay, "the Biscuit Lady"

I was on the road over the weekend. I was in the greater Nashville area on Sunday morning and saw that NPT (Nashville Public Television) was running a special on the Loveless Cafe, a converted motor hotel on Highway 100. I’d seen piece on it months earlier on the Travel Channel and thought since I was heading in that general direction, it might be a good idea to stop by. After all, Carol Fay Ellison, “the Biscuit Lady,” has gained a lot of fame cranking out hot fluffy biscuits.

Hot & Fluffy

Of course, any place that has had that kind of publicity is going to draw a pretty good crowd, particularly on a weekend. We got there a little after 11am. I don’t think we sat down until after 1pm. Since we came for breakfast, we had that anyway, although I’ve heard the supper menu is pretty good too. Either way, you get biscuits with every order; in fact, you get a couple right after you sit down. Now, I’m not knocking the place, because the food was fine. But I’m thinking the Biscuit Lady was off last weekend, because those were pretty ordinary biscuits. Good, but not spectacular in any way.

Bob Evans!

In fact, I’d almost have to go back when I knew the Biscuit Lady was on duty to make a final call on whether the biscuits were really what they’re cracked up to be. Unless and until, I’ll have to fall back on my favorite, Bob Evans. It’s a pretty big chain now, but not so much when I was growing up in Ohio. Big, flaky & fluffy. Buy the mix at the restaurant and you can pretty much get that at home too. There’s only one in Memphis, out on Highway 64. There used to be another on Winchester, but it was shut down by the time I moved back to town and was driving by every day. I know every time my Mom comes up to Columbus for a visit, she angles to find someone who’ll take her to the Bob Evans down the street from my sister’s house.

Trying to Get it Right

More than a network, a movement.

I’ve been trying to switch cell phone plans. I’ve been using Credo Mobile (formerly Working Assets Wireless) for years. I started using their long distance service in the late 70s, early 80s. They donate a portion of the bill to non profit causes, which I liked. However, I was spending more than I wanted, plus, the office uses Apple products, including the iPhone. Making the switch was a little bit harder than you’d expect. Credo is a small company that leases its wireless access from Sprint. But, “porting” my old number to my new phone had to be done by hand (I know that sounds strange, but that’s how it came to me). The AT&T rep had to call me when he had not one, but two Credo people on the phone to try and work this out.

Not There Yet

After two weeks, the new phone came today, and getting it activated took a bit longer than it should have. Everything should be fine, but I had ordered a 3Gs 32GB phone. As I was plugging everything in I looked at the box an noticed that they had sent me a 16GB phone. So the drama’s not over. AT&T has got to get me a replacement… and I’ve still got to figure out why my Bluetooth earphone isn’t connecting.

I’m beginning to think that there’s something about my return to Memphis in 2007 that is jinxed, or starcrossed, or just plain unlucky.

My poor car!

I decided to grab lunch the other day by going to the Kroger across from where I work. It’s a quick walk across Kirby Parkway, but since it was a little chilly that day, I decided to hop in the car and drive over. I was on my way back, waiting for a break in north and south traffic so I could drive back across Kirby. When that break came, I pulled out into the intersection. A couple of seconds after that, a 17-year-old in a pickup truck coming from the opposite direction decided to turn left — right into my driver’s side door. After rolling to a stop after the crash, I found that I couldn’t get out — because the door was pushed in so far. I climbed over to passenger side and got out that way. The 17-year-old, who was in a F-150 with drive-out tags asked me what I wanted to do. I think he was hoping I’d just let it go. This is even though the front left of his truck was jammed against the front tire. I called it in. I remember this from my last traffic accident in Memphis — if there aren’t any injuries — expect to wait a looooong time.

I was able to use the first few minutes to call the office, which I could see from the intersection and let them know I’d be late getting back from lunch. I also got in touch with my State Farm Insurance agent (Kathy Thurmond-Edwards, a former television journalist and a pretty good person; if you’re looking for home, life or car insurance, give her a call). After about a half-hour, an off-duty traffic officer stopped by long enough to have the other driver back his truck out of the intersection. Another half-hour passed, and Officer Downs showed up to take the report and call a wrecker for the other driver’s truck. I was going to go ahead and drive, since all I’d have to do was some acrobatics to get behind the wheel.

I was a bit annoyed that the young guy had smacked into me; but I was relieved that I was able to walk away from the crash. My mild annoyance increased exponentially when the officer told me I was the one being cited. The kid gets away with it because he was coming from a city street. So, even though I got hit, it was after I pulled out of a private driveway. There goes that $500 deductible. And then I found out that my car wouldn’t start. The best we could figure is that the impact tripped the car alarm’s kill feature. So the officer had to call a second wrecker which took another half-hour.

Now Gordon's Auto Body!

So, this is the second time somebody has hit my car since I got back to town. I got rear-ended on 240 last year. I took the car to a State Farm-approved body shop, Gordon’s, on Monroe, near the Wonder Bread bakery. They did an excellent job, so I wanted to go back. There was a little confusion at first, ’cause they’re not there anymore. turns out they’ve consolidated operations with their other body shop, Bobbie Smith Auto Body at 448 Beale (at Danny Thomas). For some reason, they’re very busy right now. The first time estimate I got is that the car might be repaired by Christmas!

The Temporary Ride

One reason I wanted to go back to Gordon’s, besides the lifetime warranty on body repairs (901-527-3345 if you need quality auto body work) is that the old garage was a block behind Enterprise Rent-a-Car on Union Ave. No need to be that close; my young lady friend was nice enough to give me a ride to the body shop and then to Enterprise, where, slightly unnerved by my luck on the road, I rented a Buick Enclave. It’s classified as a mid-size SUV, but the think is honking huge, let me tell you! One of my brothers just got a lease on an Enclave, so I wanted to see how it drove.  Smooth, comfortable, quiet; and it’s honking HUGE! So at least I feel safe. I have to say, that after two wrecks, a boatload of personal drama and getting fired, 2009 has had its drawbacks.

Hello, Goodbye

Goodbye...

Going through another change right now. Finally got rid of cable TV. I had gone through several levels of Comcast since moving back to Memphis. Standard, HD, HD with DVR, no box at all. I’m still alternating between throwing money away and trying to cut costs. I still hadn’t gotten the channel lineup straight, finding myself looking for channels where they were on my service in Atlanta. After talking to my friend Joe Larkins, who recently removed the last vestiges of cable from his house in favor of satellite TV, I decided to give that a try.

Hello.

The Direct TV guy was here a few days ago, putting the dish up outside my kitchen window. With the specials, I’m getting an HD-DVR box, an HD box and a standard box with 3 premium channels for less than I was paying Comcast for one HD-DVR and one premium channel. Is it better than cable? Ask me again after a heavy storm. Right now, I only know that it’s cheaper. There’s no picture-in-picture, which I had with the cable HD-DVR. But when you fast-forward through commercials and overshoot where you want to stop, you don’t have to fiddle around with the rewind like you do with cable. The satellite automatically goes back to just before the end of the commercial break. Nice. Comcast will just have to use someone else’s money to pay for NBC Universal.

"Candygram for Mongo"

Sky Diver

I was at a seminar today, listening to a guy who made a boatload of money using social media talk about using social media in business settings. Peter Shankman started with AOL long enough ago to get the “peter@aol.com” address for his email. He’s running a site out now to help journalists. Help A Reporter Out (HARO) lets people set themselves up as sources for reporters trying to find people for different types of stories. It’s not a bad idea, but I think it lets reporters avoid one of the main points of the job. The legwork of finding someone to talk about a story is what makes a real journalist.

The Memphis PRSA brought Shankman to town for a presentation “At the Speed of Send: Taming the Power of Social Media…” Shankman discussed the importance of understanding how to utilize the many aspects of social media. And then elaborated on the benefits of using social networking and viral marketing correctly, as well as the dangers of using it improperly. The first thing he did was make a reference to another social media presentation that took place in Memphis back in January.

Key Influecer

At the time, James Andrews worked for the Ketchum advertising agency and came to town to talk to the communications department of my former employer. His Twitter name is “key influencer,” supposedly because of his ability to promote things and events online. It came out while he was talking to the group of communicators on the value of tools like Twitter, that he had posted a tweet that some people thought was more than a little disparaging about Memphis. Andrews’ unfortunate Twitter post led him to apologize in a fashion. At the time, Shankman was quoted in a the reaction piece on Advertising Age’s site about the riskiness of not being careful about what you type. One of the points that Shankman made today was if someone calls himself a “key influencer,” he’s not one. Ouch.

Andrews isn’t with his former agency anymore, having gone into business for himself. My former employer is still trying to improve its social media approach. There’s a major fascination among some with things like Twitter, the top word of the year, but no one from there was at today’s event. Hmmm.

Welcome Home

Got back to the city after a delightful Thanksgiving holiday with the family. There’s something interesting about airports. There’s always a sign in every airport I’ve been in. The one that says Mayor So-and-So welcomes you to wherever-you-happen-to-be. I flew into the city during the temporary mayoralty of Myron Lowery a few weeks ago. The large brown sign over the escalators heading down to the ground transportation level at Memphis International Airport had read “Mayors Dr. W.W. Herenton and AC Wharton Welcome You to Memphis.” Because of the temporary change at in city leadership because of Dr. Herenton’s retirement, a temporary placard with Lowery’s name had been pasted over Herenton’s.

Of course, the names have changed since then. Lowery has gone back to City Council. Shelby County Mayor Wharton is now Memphis City Mayor Wharton. I didn’t think of that until I got to the escalator Sunday night. An entirely new sign had been installed. The blue sign, obviously added after Wharton had ascended to the city job, read “Mayors AC Wharton and Joyce Avery Welcome You to Memphis.” D’oh! I guess the version of the sign with the name of current county mayor Joe Ford is at the painters. I guess that’s the benefit of having long-serving mayors.

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright…

The Woods

Having been married (and not married), I know I’m not the right person to give anyone marriage advice. So I’m not going to step too far into the car wreck controversy swirling around Tiger Woods. I don’t know why he couldn’t get his SUV out of his own driveway without hitting anything. I don’t know why his wife, Elin Nordegren, had to use a golf club to bust out the window of the SUV. I don’t know know anything about NYC club hostess Rachel Uchitel and whether she’s ever done anything more than show TW to a seat in a club. I’m not even going to try and guess why Uchitel has retained spotlight chasing attorney Gloria Allred.

Really?

I do have a couple of questions. If Woods isn’t legally obligated to talk to police, why is the Florida Highway Patrol trying so hard to get a statement? If they thought anything was going on, they should have acted on any suspicions that morning and taken someone in for questioning. Of course, if it was just a situation of Woods missing the end of the driveway, why not talk to police and get it out of the way? If he’s been pitching Buicks for all these years, why was he driving a Cadillac? Okay, that’s not that big a deal, but – since he was in a GM vehicle – why not just call OnStar and have them unlock the doors automatically and skip using a golf club to bust into the car? And would someone so widely recognized step out on his wife and two kids step out with someone who works in such a public arena?

Two last thoughts. David Letterman has got to be glad someone else is in that spotlight… And how long will this keep the sports media in a choke hold?

I really don’t expect anyone to read this blog before Monday. After all, it’s Thanksgiving, Black Friday and a big weekend for college football. Everybody should have better things to do than read blogs. Although I have actually gotten several Facebook messages from people in the last few minutes (one from one of my best friends after getting together for lunch for the first time in years, two from a couple of lovely women I know — that’s why I went into TV! Don’t get the wrong idea — both are happily married).

Back in the Big C

Did some traveling for the holiday. Had enough Delta miles for a free ticket to Ohio, so I’m in Columbus, staying with my sister. Mom is up from Florida, so just about everybody was on hand for the holiday, which went very well. There was a little snow on the ground this morning, giving the visit that nice winter-timey feel. One nephew is getting ready for grad school, the other just turned 7. My niece turns 13 in a few months — so I’m really feeling for my brother and sister-in-law — teenagers are so much fun. Although, she is incredibly nice and very well-behaved. Hopefully, her head won’t start spinning around when she has that birthday.

As I mentioned, I had lunch Friday with my friend Jim. We met when I started working at the University City McDonald’s in 1975. About 8 years later, we worked together in the sports department of the Columbus Dispatch. It’s always been one of those friendships that’s been easy to maintain. Funny story. In 1987, I was in my second job in TV news, in Savannah, Georgia. He came down for a visit so we go to a Japanese restaurant. As the chef worked the grill in front of us, I was telling Jim how (relatively) well-known I had been at my previous job in Casper, Wyoming. One, not a lot of African-Americans on local TV there. Plus, it was a relatively small market. When the Dispatch ran an article about me (local guy makes good out in TV out west), I ended up getting a congratulatory letter from Wyoming’s single congressman at the time — Dick Cheney (!).

Good Burger!

Anyway, we’re sitting there and a woman sitting next to us interrupts to ask if I’m the Doug Johnson who does TV weather. I’m pretty impressed now, since I have the chance to show my good friend how I’m becoming well-known in my new market. Yes, I tell her, and thanks for noticing. Then she asks me what I’m doing in Savannah. Now I’m confused. Turns out she had also recently moved to Savannah from Casper — and knew me from Wyoming, not Georgia! Anyway, Jim and I went to the original Max & Erma’s in German Village today. If you’re ever in Columbus, try to get by there. It’s a really cool neighborhood and a nice restaurant. It’s a chain now, so it’s lost the quaintness it had when it was just one or two places here, but the food’s still pretty good. Take an appetite and order the Garbage Burger. You’ll thank me.

Can you hear me now?

I’m kind of excited for the upcoming week. I broke down and ordered an iPhone. Considering I regularly use two different Apple computers at home, a third a work and own 3 iPods, I’m kind of surprised that it’s taken me so long. Since we’re a Mac-based office, the bosses are generous enough to pay for the plan if we pay for our own phone. I had held off since I had about a year left on the contract of my current phone. But even though I’ve increased my plan a couple of times lately, my bills have still been pretty high. High enough that I’ve just become willing to pay the $100 to end the contract early.

Hello?

I am curious as to whether the AT&T 3G network is widespread enough to make having the thing worth having, especially when I’m on the road, since I am doing a lot more traveling for work. I know that Luke Wilson has been spending his time between movies appearing in a series of AT&T TV spots trying to downplay the alleged difference between Verizon’s 3G coverage and AT&T’s. Well, it’ll be easier to send texts using a keyboard instead of the number pad on my old phone.

11 and 0!

And props to the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. The football team beat Illinois today, going 11-0 for the first time in school history. Nice job and good luck in the Big East championship!

Combating Crime

Memphis has made another list. This time, like a lot of times, it’s one of those lists that no one wants the city to have made. CQ Press goes through the FBI crime stats for 2008, looking at serious crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. While Camden, NJ is the most dangerous U.S. city, according to the list. Spot number 10 belongs to Memphis. You can see the entire list here.

#10 (with a bullet?)

The survey is sort of a “raw numbers” comparison, looking at the incidence of crime by population. The fact it doesn’t look at other factors has leaders in the cities that make the list complain that its too simplistic. Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin has said in the past months that the ongoing Blue Crush initiative has made strides in making the city a safer place. Whenever you’re dealing with statistical information, you can get nearly any type of answer you’re looking for. No one knows who said it first, but Mark Twain said it best: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

It’s hard to say whether Memphis is truly the 10th most dangerous city in the United States. There are parts of the city where I wouldn’t want to linger, even in the middle of the day. On the other hand, there are parts of town where I feel comfortable walking well into the night. That’s something that’s probably the case in most places. There have been a more than a few stories on the evening news of late that remind us of the crime problems our city suffers. There’s no easy answer. More police could help. Citizens being a little more careful and concerned about their surroundings would be good too.

Keeps your eyes open. It could help.

I got the chance to make the big drive from Memphis to Little Rock over the last couple of day. We went for a video project, which went very well.  It was cloudy on the day we had to be inside and bright and sunny on the day we had to be outside.  Can’t ask for better than that.

Fine dining in FC!

Anyway, the big part of the trip wasn’t necessarily work, although that went extremely well (nice clients; one from Central Ohio). No, we had to figure out whether we were going to eat lunch on the road or when we got to Little Rock. Will saw a billboard for the Ole Sawmill Cafe in Forrest City; we decided to stop there after a little in-car debate. Good move. Think a local version of Cracker Barrel – gift shop full of knick-knacks when you walk in, then you go through a door into the dining area.

BIG buffet!

What'll have, hon?

Buffet service. According to the website, it’s the longest buffet in Arkansas (I’m taking their word for that). We got there on fried chicken day (as we found out, every day is fried chicken day). It’s been a long time since I’ve had fried chicken good enough to mention it to another person. Crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside. The vegetables were cooked to within an inch of their lives, but the lasagna was good, the gravy for the mashed potatoes was outstanding and the place was full of waitresses who called everybody “hon.”

It was good enough that we talked about it after lunch most of the way to Little Rock. And talked about it some more when we had a really bad dinner at a restaurant in downtown LR. Once we finished our shoot the next day, it was coming up on lunchtime, but instead of dining somewhere in town, we decided to wait the hour or so it would take us to drive back to Forrest City so we could hit the Ole Sawmill one more time.

The chicken was good again. I overhead one of the kitchen staff say that he was in the back cooking chicken so fast it didn’t have time to be anything but fresh. The pork chops were pretty meaty too. I had to sleep a few extra hours after getting home because of all the food I ate. I think Will & Dave were feeling it too.

Miles of smiles

So if you’re ever on I-40, take exit 241-A and stop by. They’re open at 6 in the morning everyday of the week and open until 9 at night, except on Friday and Saturday, when they’re open until 10pm. And you can get in there every day of the year except Christmas.

He Gone

I’m one of those people who can admit a mistake (some of the time). I had been a tad critical of some of the local TV coverage of Allen Iverson’s exit from the Grizzlies. There seemed to be a bit too much supposition on his reasons for leaving without any sourcing.

My point at the time was that we should actually wait for something a bit more definitive before throwing AI under the bus. Sure, it was pretty likely that he had walked out on the team because he didn’t want to accept a backup role. But everybody thinking that doesn’t make it reportable, even if it happened to be true.

So, once the Grizzlies waived Iverson, we had a better idea that it was actually true. Of course, I have to note, that even though the team has released the reluctant player, there’s still no confirmation from the man himself that he’s not playing anymore.

Okay, I guess that whole multiple source thing is no longer applicable in journalism. I can accept that. Seems like in some cases, no source is okay too. Kinda cheapens the whole profession, but if that’s the way it goes, I’ll go along.

Making Progress

So Far, So Good?

The Grizzlies have gotten off to a bad start. The Tigers are 1-1, but that one in the loss column was pretty close, and a lot of observers have already accepted this season as a write off. The idea is that Coach Pastner has lined up one of the better recruiting classes in recent memory. So, no matter how the team does this year, they should be gangbusters by next year. Either way, it appears that people are coming to terms with the exit of the former coach.

I’ve only met Pastner once, but he is a pretty personable guy. I can see him being very convincing when it comes to getting recruits to commit to the University of Memphis. And even if he’s not the strongest floor coach, he’s got enough talented help to get by. So, will he be another John Calipari? Another Tic Price? Gene Bartow? Dana Kirk? Larry Finch? Way too soon to know, but I’m thinking that’s not going to stop some fans from building him up… while some others are waiting to tear him down.

Boss, de plane!

Joe Going to Mow

No mow!

The first time I went up, I wondering where we’d land and how we’d get from the airport to the family home, and to deer camp, for that matter. Imagine my surprise when Joe landed on a 3-acre strip across the street from his mom’s house. Really. In fact, the strip, known as Larkins Farm Airport, is an FAA-approved facility. So, we pretty much land, he turns the plane around, locks the door, and we cross the street and say hi to whoever’s at home. This year, the strip hadn’t been mowed for a while, which gave Joe & me something to do before getting on with the day’s business. We hopped on two Scag Turf Tiger mowers and proceeded to cut the grass down to a more manageable height for take off. It took about half the time. I say about because I had a bit of a learning curve with on the mower.

Deer Camp

After that, visited with one of Joe’s brothers in town and then headed off to deer camp. The biggest difference between this year and last year is that it was unseasonably warm this year. I say that showing up at 2 in the afternoon. Most of the folks who were actually hunting not only spent the night in the cabin but were in deer stands when it was still dark (and cold). Still, everyone seemed to have been having a good time, and while the camp stove was not lit, many tall stories were told.

The Approach to Camp

Calvin and Joe

On the Run!

The wooded area where the majority of the hunting is done sustained a little damage in last winter’s ice storm, but I’m told there were still a lot deer out there, and saw more than a few quail (not usual for the area). Of course, there was time for 4-wheeling. I didn’t get to take the big machine out, that one was carrying Joe and his brother Calvin. Once I got the Honda out of first gear, I did okay.

CSI Bardwell

There was a bit of a mystery that needed solving. Calvin’s son-in-law (who’s name I’ll withhold to protect him), took his wedding ring off while shooting earlier. He’d set it on the 4-wheeler he was riding, but forget to put it back on before riding off. That necessitated a full-on search with a father-in-law with a metal detector, a not-too-happy wife, a nervous husband and a couple of former journalists. Believe me, it’s hard to find anything in a plowed-over field. The detector, set on high, did pull up a couple of shell casings. It also beeped when it passed too close to steel-toed boots or a 4-wheeler.

Found! The detector and the ring (where it belongs!)

However, to the relief of everyone involved, we did actually find the ring after a few minutes of searching. For the sake of marital peace, I had actually volunteered my old wedding ring. After all, I haven’t had much use for it since 1996… but there was a thought that it might be carrying some kind of jinx, so it’s probably good we found the one we were looking for.

Joe, who runs his own blog, tells me he’s planning to post something about the day too, so you’ll have something to balance my ramblings again. I didn’t mind leaving town knowing I’d miss the big game between the Ohio State University and Iowa, because I was recording the game on DVR. Another person in the Larkins family sort of put the kibosh on my need to watch the game while Joe & I were flying home, but since the Buckeyes are going to the Rose Bowl, I’m okay with it.

Happy Anniversary!

Just got through the Memphis Flyer’s 20th anniversary issue. The Flyer was a little more than a year old when I moved to Memphis the first time. It’s always been good reading and I think it’s become a pretty big player in the Memphis media scene. I mean, Jackson Baker seems like he’s everywhere there’s politics being committed anywhere in the area.

The Flyer was my first experience with a local weekly, but in the places I’ve lived since (Nashville & Atlanta), and in my home town (Columbus, OH), I’ve seen how good weeklies are often willing to take on subjects that local dailies don’t always want to get into. Of course, while I am a fan, they haven’t seen fit to add me to their list of “Blogs We Like.” Joe Larkins is on the list, but I guess people like him better.

On… or Off?

You can leave your hat on, but take the shoes OFF!

This one courtesy of co-worker Joe Stuber (no, Joe, no payment for the idea). Is it proper etiquette to remove your shoes when visiting someone’s home? One of us thinks it is commonly accepted (and acceptable). The other one of us understands the reasoning behind the idea (comfort, not tracking dirt), but isn’t so sure that it’s really a widespread concept in this society.

The floor is open for your opinions. Thanks in advance for your participation.