[The last photo from Seattle taken right before we headed down Queen Anne Hill, due south. I've never seen the rain so furious.]
We’re here. Sweet home, Alabama.
3,260 miles
11 states
6 days
2 cars
…and a partridge in a pear tree.
It was a long, eventful, exciting trip. We’re home, and it feels good.
Maybe 9 of you will appreciate this post. (Short ‘n sweet background: Phyllis Dotson raised us.)
Thanks for the video Jody Gambrell!
You’ve got to read this article.
Girl pays $20K/year to get a teaching degree from Samford. Graduates and starts a scrapyard.
For all the page-filling nonsense my hometown paper tends to resort to, this article is brilliant in that it’s interesting, inspirational, and head-scratching in the best of ways.
Kudos, DME.
Like many of you, I’m getting my Mad Men-less fix on AMC from The Walking Dead.
I definitely not your omg-I-love-zombies guy, however, I’m a sucker for the post-apocalyptic fiction. What ‘nerd’ I have in me is tucked away and flourishing quite nicely within this genre.
While I don’t endorse the antics nor attitude of his character, Merle Dixon is played by Michael Rooker has the potential to be a major character. Rooker was born and somewhat raised in Jasper, AL, the greatest city in the world. After this week’s episode (you may remember Merle went crazy, cut off his hand, and ran into downtown Atlanta… which is full of zombies) I’m interested to see how big of a role his character plays.
Rooker also stared in Days of Thunder, one of the best major motion pictures about NASCAR in 1990. (I’m not doing much for my image as a non-redneck living in Seattle, am I?)
Also, side note, here’s a Q&A with Emma Bell (Amy) whose character was the first lead to die this Sunday.
It’s all over Facebook and Twitter. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Jasper, Alabama now has 3G capabilities.
I think this news deserves it’s own post. God bless you, Jasper. Miss ya.
So there’s this thing in Alabama called Thursday Night Lights. I never knew about it until last week. Each Thursday during high school football season, the local My-whatever channel broadcasts a game.
It’s awesome.
The week I was home was Walker vs. Curry. Yes, the greatest rivalry in Walker County was broadcast through the majority of the greatest state in America on the only weekend I’ve been home this year.
Walker won… very easily, mind you. If you don’t want to read the article, the image above and video below pretty much sum up the game.
In Seattle, only one day in September had temperatures above 80 degrees. Needless to say it was a bit of a shock to land in Birmingham, but a pleasant visit nonetheless. The nights were chilly and ideal for football.
The Daily Mountain Eagle was in rare form yesterday, and I cannot let this opportunity pass me by.
You may remember when I put out a request for a Walker High Vikings Football hoodie. My wish was granted.
Friday afternoon I had a package arrive at work. Upon opening, I freaked out out. Seriously, I did an in-office fist pump, putting the hoodie on immediately despite the fact that it was already quite hot at my desk.
Big thanks to WHS Head Coach, John Holladay for making it happen.
The blog has a such a variety of readers that it’d blow your mind. From Atlanta to London to Taiwan and Australia, people read what I write and I have no idea why. However, none are more special than those from Jasper, Alabama. Why? because Jasper’s home and the people of Jasper were the first ones to actually read my online accounts back when I was cutting my blogging teeth in 2001. Also, Jasper is awesome, and if you’ve ever visited you would know that already.
Jasperians are also the best at reconnaissance missions… and I’ve got one today. See that sweatshirt that Walker High School football coach John Holladay is wearing? Find it. Preferably in a hoodie, but a normal sweatshirt will do as well.
When you find it, email me and I’ll pay for it/postage to Seattle.
[This blog post will self destruct in 5 seconds... because someone from Jasper planted a bomb in it.]
Article: Bride gets a DUI on her wedding day
A Trooper noticed the woman driving erratically on I-405 and speeding at over 90 mph Saturday at about 6 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 21 near Northeast Eighth Street in Bellevue. She registered a blood-alcohol level about twice the legal limit.
The trooper processed the woman and then let her take a cab home in time to make it to her wedding in Burien.
The mighty city of Jasper and the lowly redneck-filled crevasse of Cordova are a mere 15 minute drive from one another. But you mean to tell me that they haven’t played a regular season high school football game against one another in almost 50 years?
(I’m just kidding, by the way. Cordova isn’t “filled” with rednecks… it’s populated by them.)
I love this. Really. If Jasper becomes the competitive disc golf center of the universe, nothing would make me happier.
Credit CG for the tip:
Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth cause a stir at Walmart in Cullman, Alabama
Warnke says she doesn’t have any idea why Cyrus was in the Cullman Walmart, although she says rumors have been flying that Miley or her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, have a house on Smith Lake. “No one knows if it’s the truth,†Warnke says.
Oddly, the article is quite crapily titled Too smart for our own good?
Hundreds of years ago, a brave group of religious outcasts, hired servants and freedom seekers embarked on an uncertain voyage that would subsequently transcend the course of civilization. These valiant individuals sought a means by which to escape persecution levied by an unforgiving dictatorship and they found such means in the establishment of what is now the United States of America. These people, our forefathers, created a democratic government that, to this day, thrives on the collaboration of each citizen.
Without this collaboration, democracy, despite its beauty, encounters its own fallacy; meaning that as we, as a trailblazing nation, have grown and progressed, our priorities have shifted greatly. In a day and time where our own practical application of science is becoming master over our society, we must ask ourselves: Is technology threatening to become our downfall?
The title implies I’m making fun of my hometown website – and i kinda am – though I’m actually quite impressed. The site is more well organized than it’s former, bland counterparts [1998, 2000) though I wouldn’t go so far as to call the appearance “clean” like the NYTimes.
The ability to ‘thumbs up’ articles is nice… but for some authors (I’m talking about you, Ben Hamilton) a ‘thumbs down’ could come in quite useful. Comments under the articles? Yes, please. You’re begging for post-game online commentary battles between rival schools.
The kicker: social network-integrated. Yes, you can create your own DME profile. I did.
Jasper has a “Duck Hunter”. Wish we could tag this with ‘things I wish I was joking about.’
Jasper debuted it’s brand new disc golf course yesterday, and they pulled out all the stops. You think I’m joking.
Following the event, participants got to learn more about disc golf from Tom Monroe, a national world champion whose artistry with a flying disc earned him a Guinness World Record.
Let me get this straight: The town without one espresso-centric coffee shop has found enough public dollars and public support to develop a disc golf course.
Jasper, you never cease to entertain me.
Make no mistake, disc golf is a blast. And if the Jasper Park & Rec starts weekend tournaments in the college football and men’s/women’s softball off season, people will show. Wait. What was that?
“…more tournaments to be held at the 18-hole course are being planned.”
I’ll pay good money for a ’2010 Jasper, Alabama Disc Golf Champion’ t-shirt.
