Hornets

While in Charlotte, North Carolina, last week, I took my girls to the Charlotte Museum of History. Located on the property is the oldest home in Mecklenburg County, the Hezekiah Alexander home (above). Our tour guide, Gary McCullough, was just excellent--knowledgeable and engaging. He has written a booklet on the historic house which is available in the giftshop.

One of the interesting comments Gary made was the origin of the term "Hornets" in refering to local residents. During the American Revolution, Lord Cornwallis was occupying a home in Charlotte. When he finally left, he commented that Mecklenburg County was a "hornet's nest of rebellion." Gary noted with chagrin that the NBA team by that name moved to New Orleans and took the Hornets name with them. Gary was really ticked off about this. The Hornets mascot for local teams has been a mainstay since Redcoats were challenging Yanks to tiddly winks.

This is an outstanding museum. Visit their website for more info: http://www.charlottemuseum.org/

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Email--Chisholm Trail Days

Hey Deb,
This past weekend I had the wonderful fortune to travel to Duncan, OK, home to the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center and the annual Chisholm Trail Stampede. The people in Duncan were so warm and friendly and a joy to work with! After leaving Duncan I felt like I made new friends that will always be special to me. This is by far one of the largest online galleries that I have created...it is a whopping FOUR PAGES of photos! There is a little bit of everything here-- food, chuck wagons, longhorns, American Indian dancers, Cowboy Cal the most kind and wonderful trick roper, Pawnee Bill, traders, horses, cowboys and everything in between! Enjoy the photos and if you are ever in Oklahoma and have the chance you MUST go to Duncan and see the exceptional film in their theatre. It is truly the closest you will ever get to experiencing the old Chisholm Trail short of riding in the saddle yourself!

Just click on the link below and once you are at the gallery click on the thumbnail and see the photos in a larger format and scroll through the pages of the past!
Enjoy!

Michelle

http://spotted.morningsun.net/pages/gallery.php?gallery=314410

DG--Great photos! Check them out, folks.
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Blog, Blog, Lincoln

For a while, Tom said I should just call my blog the "Lincoln Forum." But I'm not the only one interested in the 16th president. Soon-to-be-PHD Sam Wheeler has an excellent blog--www.lincolnstudies.com. Great commentary and interesting images. Visit and tell him Deb says "Hey." (image theatlantic.com)




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Blue and Gray Border War Days. . . .

. . . this weekend in Lonejack, Missouri. Visit their website for details.http://www.historiclonejack.org/

Fans of John Wayne may remember that Rooster Cogburn (left) lost his eye at the Battle of Lonejack. And speaking of the Duke, his centennial birthday in May. We'll keep you posted on the party.

Happy Birthday, Grant

Today is the birthday of Ulysses S. Grant. Even though I am a Southerner, I can acknowledge that the General had redeeming qualities. You know, what has always struck me about the Grants is that they were such NORMAL people. Grant wasn't born with a silver spoon, but nor was he the devastatingly poor person that Lincoln or even Andrew Johnson was. He was just a regular guy with incredible ability.

A while back, Tom and I had the pleasure of visiting the Grant Farm at St. Louis. This is the home where Julia Dent Grant had grown up, and her family had entertained prominent people. Julia's father was a Southerner, through and through. When the Grants went to live on this acreage, Ulysses built a cabin for his own family rather than share quarters with his father-in-law. Not long after, however, his family moved into the same home and Grant was forced to deal with his Southern-leaning relative on a daily basis. When Grant was president, his father-in-law would sit on the balcony and regale visitors with the glories of the Southern Armies. Grant must have been a saint not to have tossed that old buzzard out in the street!

But Grant loved Julia, and she loved him. They sacrificed for one another and forged an incredible bond. I believe there was much good in him.

Julia was born and raised near St. Louis and thus the Missouri Historical Society has many of her personal items, like this bodice. This was likely worn when the Grants went abroad, after his presidency. Click on www.mohistory.org/content/firstladies/bodice.html for a description.

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Portraying Grant

Our bud Randy Durbin (left), who doubles as a bank president, is a great admirer of the 18th president, and though he is taller and decidedly better-looking, portrays the General from time to time. The General's birthday is an annual celebration at their home, and we are invited to the party this weekend. Folks are encouraged to bring Grant's favorite dishes. I asked Randy why he began portraying this gentleman:

Hi Deb,

After I grew my beard and started reenacting, I was told I resembled Grant. His reputation has suffered in recent years and much of what is said about him today-- about being an alcoholic, a butcher, and of small intellect-- I have found is untrue. He was probably the most popular man in the country in the latter decades of the 1800's, much more popular than Lincoln. His funeral procession in New York was viewed by more than a million people.

The more I have read and studied about Grant the more I have come to admire him. The pressures he was under and the hurdles thrown up in front of him during his life and the war were tremendous. His rise in seven years from a clerk in his father's leather goods store to President of the United States is phenomenal. Everything depended upon him being successful against the Confederates and the best they could put up against him. He very deftly calculated the advantages he had over his adversaries and utilized his assets in a very efficient manner. Time after time in the war, he achieved victory after many failures by his predecessors. He was a quiet, unassuming man and did not promote himself. He served to the best of his ability in any task that he was asked to tackle. No bravado, just steady hard work, drive and perseverance.

Randal F. Durbin
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News from the North

Rich Rosenthal reports from the North Jersey Civil War Round Table that their 55th meeting will be on Thursday, May 24, 2007, at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, 53 E. Hanover Avenue, Morris Twp. (opp. the Morris County Library). The meeting begins at 7 PM and it is always open to the public. (Members, please bring a friend or two - new recruits are always welcomed.) The group welcomes Prof. Robert E. Sheridan on "The USS Monitor at the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff. "

We're happy to share your CWRT news. Just let us know! We also encourage you to visit other CWRTs while you're traveling this summer.

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Confederate Memorial Day

I have a friend here in Topeka who is from South Carolina. We do not celebrate Confederate Memorial Day on the same date (Which is okay. More opportunities for parties:). Confederate states, like Bedouin tribes, cannot agree on much. States that celebrate some form of Confederate Memorial Day are:

Alabama -- 4th Monday in April

Arkansas -- April 25

Florida -- April 26

Georgia -- April 26 (or as designated each year by the governor)

Kentucky -- June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday)

Louisiana -- June 3Mississippi -- last Monday in April

North Carolina -- May 10 (Jefferson Davis' capture by Union troops)

South Carolina -- May 10

Tennessee -- June 3 (Known as Confederate Decoration Day; not an official state holiday)

Texas -- Jan. 19 (Robert E. Lee's birthday; also known as Confederate Heroes' Day)
Virginia -- Jan. 19 (Lee-Jackson Day; for the birthdays of Lee and Stonewall Jackson, the latter Jan. 21; May 30, the traditional Memorial Day, also commemorates Confederate War dead)Sources: Carl Vinson Institute of Government, the University of Georgia; news sources
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Theme Songs for Your Life

A couple of days ago, I mentioned hearing David Holt play at Cedar Ridge Elementary School, near Round Peak, North Carolina. (My Daddy used to pastor Round Peak Primitive Baptist Church; just thought you'd like to know.) My 3-year-old granddaughter was so moved that she had to get up and dance. There's just nothing you can do with that hillbilly blood! Well, David was so impressed that he gave her a CD--"I got a bullfrog: folksongs for the fun of it!" She loves this CD. My daughter has called to say that Lulu jumps in her carseat and says, "Play my CD the man gave me." Her favorite song is, "The Cat Came Back." I love that one, too. In short, this is a CD that your kids can listen to and enjoy and it won't make you slit your throat. You'll be singing with them. Get it, by all means.

I also picked up the CD, "Legacy: Doc Watson and David Holt." This is a three-CD set and I can't say enough good about it. I've enjoyed the conversation as much as the music. Visit davidholt.com for information on ordering.

Life should always have background music.
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Last Words

From our buddy D. K. Clark--
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." - Mark Twain

More Civil War Month

It was on this day in 1865 that John Wilkes Booth was shot and killed--by the lunatic "Boston" Corbett. Corbett, who castrated himself and moved to Kansas (at least one of those indicates he was a nutcase), has a life you couldn't make up--even if you wanted. Tom has written extensively on both so visit his website to read more. Tom was also a part of the recent documentary "The Search for John Wilkes Booth." We've spent countless hours in the Library of Congress researching the assassin.

If I could sit down to dinner with any family in history, it would be the Booths. No, I do not condone the action of John Wilkes; the assassination of President Lincoln was the worst possible thing for our entire country, North and South. But I don't believe Booth was a devil. Nor was he necessarily representative of his family's politics. Living in Maryland, a border state, the Booths themselves were divided in their loyalties.

Brother Edwin (right, in a theatre poster) was a staunch Unionist, for example, and saved the life of Robert Todd Lincoln during the war. The Booth children had been brought up to think independently and to express themselves. They were a strikingly beautiful lot, dramatic, well-read--in short, interesting. I can't imagine a more lively dinner table, before the assassination, of course. Afterwards, the family was devastated by their brother's actions. (Tom discusses this in The Darkest Dawn. )

Even if he remains a despised figure, Booth is a pretty popular subject. Our friend John Sellers, Civil War Curator and Lincoln Specialist, LOC, was staying with us the past couple of days. We were discussing Manhunt, the bestselling book by James Swanson. The movie rights have been bought and the film will star Harrison Ford, not as Booth but as a detective searching for him. It is rare that history sells so well and that movie rights are involved. We had the pleasure of speaking on the same program with him in Clinton, Maryland, just a year ago at the Surratt Society's annual symposium. He's a great guy and a good historian. Kudos to Swanson!

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Confederate Memorial Day

At left is a photo of a Georgia State Historical Marker. The text reads:

CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY
First Decoration, or Memorial Day, was observed in Kingston in late April of 1865, and has been a continuous observance here since that day, the only such record held by any community in this Nation. The first Memorial, or Decoration Day, was observed while Federals still occupied this town, flowers being placed on both Confederate and Federal graves that day. Much credit is due the Dardens and other patriotic citizens of this town for their untiring efforts to keep alive memories of the gallant Confederates -- greatest fighting men of all time.

There are many Confederate Memorial Services the last weekend of the month. Here is one, and feel free to send notice of others:

On April 29, a ceremony will take place to honor known veterans buried in the Forest City, Missouri, Union Cemetery. Planned for 2 p.m. by the Holt County Historical Society, the service will recognize the traditional Confederate Memorial Day that was set aside on the last weekend in April by several southern states. The purpose was to pay tribute to those who had served with the Confederate forces during the American Civil War. Several Civil War veterans are buried in the Forest City cemetery. Area Civil War re-enactors will be a part of the historic ceremony.

The Forest City Cemetery board will serve refreshments. Anyone interested is welcome to attend. There is no charge. For additional information, contact Mike Girdner at (816) 487-2084.

Charlotte

I just returned from Charlotte, North Carolina, yesterday. It was a gorgeous time--azaleas in bloom, lawns bright green, poplar blossoms dropping in your path. As ever, I was searching for history.

As I said in my previous blog, April should be Civil War Month. While in the Queen City, I searched for evidence of Jefferson and Varina Davis. Varina sought refuge in Charlotte after fleeing Richmond, actually set up housekeeping for about a week before she and her children were forced to continue south. Jeff followed her, a scant few days later. It was here that that the Confederate President learned of the assassination of President Lincoln. The marker pictured above is on the corner of 4th and Tryon Streets, smack in the middle of downtown.

Varina wrote of hearing of Lincoln's death, as she and her husband were travelling separately:

A courier arrived with the news that General Johnston's army were engaged in the preliminary arrangements for surrender. He also informed me of Mr. Davis's arrival in Charlotte, and of the announcement made to him there of the assassination of Mr. Lincoln. I burst into tears, the first I had shed, which flowed from the mingling of sorrow for the family of Mr. Lincoln, and a thorough realization of the inevitable results to the Confederates, now that they were at the mercy of the Federals.

Davis himself had said it was the worst blow that could befall the Confederacy, coming at this time. Both the Davises were well aware that Yankees would be inflamed by the news.

A few blocks away, I found the sign on the above right, marking the last full meeting of the Confederate cabinet. Sadly, the house Varina rented has been razed and the coliseum occupies the spot.

To my great delight, however, the home where Western film star Randolph Scott is still standing (left), and is being remodeled for "a young family." I went inside and visited with the guys who were refinishing the floors. It is a beautiful neighborhood, not far from where my daughter now lives. I hope to return and it is my fervent hope that the young family that will make this their home appreciates the movie star who lived here so many years before them.

It was a thoroughly satisfying trip.







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Speaking of Jeff . . . .

Restoration begins next week on Beauvoir (below), the Biloxi home of Jefferson Davis that was nearly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Officials hope to have the residence repaired in time for the 200th anniversary of Davis's birth on June 3, 2008.

"The skill and knowledge that goes into restoration work of historic buildings is unbelievable, as we've learned in interviewing craftsmen and specialists," Richard Forte Sr. told the Associated Press. Forte, of Hattiesburg, is Beauvoir's acting director and chairman of Beauvoir's boards of trustees and directors.

The Lathan Company of Mobile is the contractor for the restoration, which is expected to cost $3.9 million. Beauvoir received flood insurance but is in litigation with its wind policy. Beauvoir will be rebuilt first, followed by repairs to the adjacent library.

Forte said Gov. Haley Barbour and other local and state officials are expected to be on hand on May 3 when the restoration is launched.

Beauvoir was hit by a nine-foot wall of water when Katrina roared ashore. The home, built in 1852, had survived 21 hurricanes before Katrina, but the Aug. 29, 2005, storm nearly destroyed the popular beachfront tourist attraction. Katrina shredded Beauvoir's roof, front porch, chimneys and pillars and flooded the elevated interior with about a foot of water. The hurricane also damaged a library, museum and other structures on the 52-acre property and swept away about one third of Beauvoir's artifacts, including some of Davis' manuscripts and roughly $250,000 worth of Confederate currency.

The Mississippi Sons of the Confederate Veterans operate the estate as a museum to the life and times of the Confederate president.

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Other Events

Cruel April

April should be Civil War Month. No more momentous events of the War occurred than in "the cruelest month." In 1861, of course, was the fatal firing on Fort Sumter. On this day in 1861, Colonel Robert E Lee turned down the offer to command Union armies. After the War had started, there is no end to the number of battles and skirmishes that transpired in April. In the spring, a young man's mind turns to waging war. . . . Then came April of 1865--the siege of Petersburg, the flight from Richmond, the surrender, the raising of the U. S. flag over Sumter, the assassination--events unfolded too quickly for people to comprehend. On this day in 1865, Confederate General Joe Johnston met with Union General William Tecumseh Sherman in North Carolina to discuss terms of surrender. They would sign the official document a few days later.

I write this from North Carolina, from the mountains about a half-mile through the woods to the Virginia stateline. I was in Hillsville, Virginia, yesterday, visiting my brother and sister-in-law who have a produce market. News from Virginia Tech permeated every conversation, every thought. Everyone here has someone at Tech. Football coach Frank Beamer hails from Fancy Gap, and a high school friend of Beamer's stopped by the market to visit and talked of speaking to Frank on the phone the night before. In a place where everyone knows everyone and most of us are kin, these stories hit especially hard.

April can, indeed, be a cruel month. Later in the day yesterday, we visited the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. While my sister took an exam, I walked around campus with my girls. Flags were at half-mast and everywhere we overheard the conversations of reaction to the news at Virginia Tech. UNCG is a beautiful place. Honeysuckle was in bloom and azaleas were just starting. A few dogwoods in shaded spots were in full glory. In a few weeks, the waxy magnolias will fill the entire campus with perfume.

While driving home and listening to the sad, sad news on the radio, one of our aunts called to say our cousin had just been wheeled into surgery for a long-awaited kidney transplant. I was overcome by the emotion of the past days.

April is the month where Nature reclaims all. The rain, the wind, the cold, the warmth--April shakes and stirs the earth and the soul. From cold and tragedy, April wrests hope.

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David Holt and Jesse James

David Holt (right)performed here this week and my old friend Jimmy Vipperman (left) accompanied him. After the performance, David and I were visiting and somehow the subject of the Civil War in the West came up and we began discussing Jesse James. Is there no end to the fascination folks have for Jesse?? No, I tell you, there is not! I will write more on David and his own links to Civil War history when I'm back on terra firma in Kansas. In the meantime, visit his site at davidholt.com.

Blowing in the Wind

The sun is shining now, but when I began writing at 12:30 this morning from the mountains of North Carolina, the wind was gusting between 50 and 70 mph here in the shadow of Fisher's Peak. On the local news, reports of power outages from Reidsville to Sparta to Galax. Thunder, rain, snow, hail, winds howling around the windows--it was like a mystery movie set. I didn't sleep. It was a wind that built up momentum and sounded as if it would erase everything from its path.

In Kansas, we have tornadoes, but I have never experienced wind like here in the Blue Ridge.

My sister and I were recalling a day when we were children that the wind had knocked down power lines. Our cousins were staying with us and without power, we all put our sleeping bags in the living room floor. Somehow, when the lights are out, you like feeling people are close. That was the night it ripped our storm door off the house and wrung it out like a dishrag. It knocked the supports from under our carport. Our neighbor, a bit further up the mountain, had his entire carport ripped off the house.

While Tom and I were living back in Virginia for a few months, we rented a little cabin that backed up to the mountain. He was visiting his mom back in Kansas one night when we had winds that sounded like a league of banshees shrieking out of the hollow. It blew the bathroom window open and I had to nail it shut. I had just gotten a satellite dish that day (don't you dare make a joke!), and the technician had attached it to a porch column. The column and dish were both gone the next day as was the porch ceiling.

I don't think I've ever been as nervous because of the wind as last night, though. With sustained speeds around 30 mph, and gusts up to 70, I expected the world to be gone this morning. It's funny though. There are still flowers on the dogwood trees. It's amazing what nature can endure.

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Virginia Tech

The weather was the biggest news here and across most of the country until the events unfolded at Virginia Tech. We have so many friends there that our hearts are just broken. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.

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Today in 1865

Robert Charles Tyler: Last American Civil War Confederate General Slain in Combat

Against impossible odds and following orders issued half a year earlier, Robert Charles Tyler became the last Confederate general slain in Civil War combat.

By Stuart W. Sanders

One of two bullets fired at West Point, Georgia, on April 16, 1865, killed Confederate Brigadier General Robert Charles Tyler. As Tyler barked orders at his garrison of ragtag convalescents, which defended an earthwork fort named in his honor from a full brigade of Federal cavalry, he was shot at twice by sharpshooters. One bullet slammed into his chest. The second snapped his crutch in half, toppling the one-legged Southerner to the ground, where he died.

Tyler had lost his leg to amputation following a grievous wounding at Missionary Ridge while leading Bates' Brigade with the Army of Tennessee. He had previously been wounded at Shiloh and Chickamauga. Confederate Lt. Col. John W. Inzer, who met Tyler in 1863, stated: "He was a stout, robust [officer], and had firmness, determination, and courage written in every line of his face....[I] soon learned to look upon him as one of the bravest men I ever saw."

Despite his rise in the Confederate army, Tyler's prewar life remains shrouded in mystery. Ezra J. Warner, author of the classic Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders, once commented, "Tyler is by all odds the most enigmatic figure of the 425 generals of the Confederacy."

Tyler was apparently born in Baltimore, Maryland, about 1833, although nothing is known of his early life. At age 23 he joined William Walker's 1856 filibustering expedition to Nicaragua. He served as a first lieutenant in Walker's infantry but remained abroad for less than a year. When Walker returned to Central America in 1860, Tyler was working as a clerk in Baltimore. He moved to Memphis, Tennessee, as civil war threatened.

This article first appeared in the Spring 2006 issue of MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History. To read the entire article, go to http://www.historynet.com/magazines/mhq/3038531.html?featured=y&c=y

From Dub to Denver

Just back from Denver where thankfully the blizzard missed us and we were able to fly out today. Stayed with dear friends Jeff and Kelley Broome. A couple of years ago, we visited the Broomes on their wedding night. The nuptials occurred just before the Indian War Symposium started, and well . . . . Not all brides would have been as happy as Kelley to spend her wedding night feeding and feting guests, but she's a unique lady. Sat up until the wee hours talking Indian Wars and Civil War. . . . The lives of nerds go on. . . . .

While in the mile-high city, Tom and I were interviewed for a documentary . I think this is a general Western doc. The company that is producing this one shot a first-rate DVD series on the Indian Wars (left), in which our friends Jeff Broome and Greg Michno were talking heads. This is really an excellent, well-researched, beautifully filmed overview. If you know absolutely nothing about this conflict, you will get quite the education. If you are familiar with the subject, I guarantee there will be nuances here you never realized.

The film crew was just great to work with. Met us at the airport; chauffeured us and fed us. (Lord, give me a driver in my next life. . . . I could so get used to that!) Very professional folks. Looking forward to the finished product.
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Speaking of Films

Tomorrow evening, April 14th, the documentary, "That Guy: The Legacy of Dub Taylor," premiers in Dub's hometown of Augusta, Georgia. Walter Clarence "Dub" Taylor (below) is credited with acting in more than 200 films and television shows, and was most well known for his portrayal as Michael J. Pollard’s double-crossing father in Bonnie & Clyde.

"He pops up in everything," Director Mark Ezra Stokes said.

“I had never heard of him before Mark brought this project to me in May of last year,” explained Executive Producer and JamesWorks Entertainment Chairman James Kicklighter. “But you know, there are so many talented actors and actresses in movies past and present that seem to have small, insignificant parts upon first viewing. When we look at them in retrospect, we realize that their role was the part that made the movie work."

That was certainly true of Dub. While on the plane today, an episode of Gunsmoke was on with Victor French and Dub and I swear, it was one of the best ever. Dub played a preacher, and Lordy, did he have that part nailed. (Though, I have to admit, he's so full of devilment that he looks like he might sprout horns at any minute.)

Taylor’s recurrence in popular films without gaining notoriety among the average American moviegoer is what fascinated Stokes in the first place. Former Georgia State Representative Roger Byrd, a producer on the film, first brought the man to his attention."Roger is the biggest film buff in the world," Stokes said. "Like most people, I had no idea who he was talking about, and then he showed me a picture of him and I was like, ‘Oh, that guy.’ In fact, that’s what everyone says about him when they see him: ‘Oh, that guy.’ And that’s going to be the name of the film: That Guy," Stokes said.

This film has taken Stokes and Assistant Director and Executive Producer James Kicklighter big places, interviewing Taylor’s friends and co-workers, including director David Zucker (“Airplane,” “The Naked Gun,” “Scary Movie 4”), Don Collier (“The High Chaparral,” “Little House on the Prairie”), Dixie Carter (“Desperate Housewives,” “Designing Women”), the Grammy-winning Riders in the Sky (“Monsters, Inc,” “Toy Story 2,” “Cars”), Cheryl Rogers-Barnett (daughter of Roy Rogers), novelist Bill Gulick (“The Hallelujah Trail,” “Snake River Country”), Emmy Award Winning Stunt Coordinator and Grandson of Dub Taylor, Matt Taylor (“24,” “Déjà Vu,” “Kill Bill: Vol. 2”), son of Dub Taylor, Buck Taylor (“Gunsmoke,” “The Alamo,” “Comanche Moon”), among many others. (Buck is pictured at left unveiling his plaque on the Walk of Western Stars a couple of years ago.)

Additionally, the project has already received affirmation from several in the film industry, including Peter Fonda (“3:10 to Yuma,” “Wild Hogs,” “Ghost Rider”) and Bill Cosby (“The Cosby Show”), with assistance from Academy Award winner Dana Adam Shapiro (“Murderball”). Christa Maerker (“Die Schweizermacher"), an award-winning German documentary filmmaker, also serves as Supervising Producer for the project.Another unique feature of this film is that the feature-length documentary is counted as the first in-depth look at a man who most in the industry knew and respected, but was content to stay out of the limelight.

"Dub didn’t want awards; that wasn’t his goal. He just wanted to make enough money to support his family and his hobbies; hunting and fishing," Stokes said. "His family has been very supportive of the film, and his son, Buck, and grandchildren, Matt and Cooper, have interviewed for the film.”"If there is one thing that I hope viewers get out of the film, it’s that you don’t have to be Paul Newman or Nicole Kidman to be famous. Some of the biggest stars in Hollywood are the ones you can’t name," said Kicklighter. For more information, visit the official websites at http://www.thatdub.com/. The premier will be held at the Morris Museum of Art.

Taylor’s last role was a cameo in the 1994 blockbuster, Maverick, starring Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson.

For many of our readers, Dub Taylor was never anonymous and I'm thrilled to see this project devoted to him. I can't wait to get my copy of the DVD, and Mark, Jim, we'll be toasting you and Dub tomorrow night.

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Only in the South. . . .

Okay, Rusty is NOT my cousin, but he is my niece's dad, so we're sort of related. His newest ballad involves a sexy chicken from Fort Worth, Texas, and is getting lots of attention. Of course, I don't think he'll ever beat his first hit, "The Surry County Jail Break." This was a true story of a poetry-writing convict that busted out of the clink in Dobson, North Carolina. Check out Russ Ashburn's website at http://www.russashburn.com/ for some of the most original tunes since the squirrel crawled up Ray Stevens's leg. Dub Taylor would have loved this!