[Past Piedmont Chronicles] - A Trip Around the Dawgosphere

*ed.note: in anticipation of the commencement of UGA Football's spring practice in only 20 DAYS!, I decided to brush off this dandy I did almost six years ago detailing the family of websites that is the Dawgosphere. This 2013 write-up is also what spawned my foray into this family with Go You Silver Britches!

Hope you enjoy and...GO DAWGS!!! GATA! 

There are many great websites and blogs out there that cover UGA athletics and football in particular. I once read where it was thought that there may be more UGA-centric blogs and sites than any other school in collegiate sports. Maybe at one time, but I'm not 100% sure about that now. But if UGA doesn't have the most, they've got to be pretty darn close. There are literally dozens and dozens of pages out there dedicated to all things UGA. There are several that are now defunct, or only post sparingly (not that I could really say much about that). There are those that seem to be followed by a ton of people, and those that don't seem to really get much traffic. But they are all parts of the entity that is the Dawgosphere.

With apologies to any who were excluded, here is my personal list for the best of the best: 


Get The Picture - The Senator

The UGA football blog. It's the best of a very good group. From the name of the site referencing Larry Munson's famous way of describing what UGA and their opponent were wearing on the field right before kickoff, to the aura and mystique of The Senator himself (ESPN did a piece where they actually gave his real name...I immediately blocked it out - to me, he's the Senator). 

His posts can be short and sweet, or long and involved, but they are almost always just about right. His insights are sharp - he can always cut right through to the heart of the matter. His snark is beyond comparison, but he never comes across as a jerk. Add to that a very strong understanding of the game, and you've got yourself one hell of a blog. Simply put, Get the Picture (GTP) is the cream of the crop. 

From the moment you first pull up the page and see that picture of Dooley and James Brown at the top and begin to read a few posts,  you think to yourself - "Yes! This is it. This is what I've been looking for. This is what I've been waiting for." At least, that's what I thought about five years ago when I first visited. I've been, pretty much literally, an everyday reader since.With a very large, loyal, and eager readership, you can count on a ton of comments and discussion. Morning buffets are always a much anticipated happening, and his musical palate cleansers are great as well. In addition to everything else, the man has superb musical tastes - he once played a Jo Jo Gunne tune! What else needs to be said?

Dawgsports

A fairly close number two that might be closer if this page's founder, T. Kyle King, was still involved. As I mentioned, Kyle is no longer there, but page manager MaconDawg still is and that means a lot. MD has great football knowledge and just the right combination of snark and humor to make him the 2nd best UGA blogger currently out there (and he also has very nice musical tastes). In addition to him, there are several other great contributors including vineyarddawg, Mr. Sanchez, Chuckdawg and others. 

One key difference between this page and GTP is that Dawgsports covers all UGA sports heavily, not just football. And I'm not only talking basketball and baseball here: tennis, gymnastics, golf, and pretty much everything else get the full treatment. Also, more than probably any other site, Dawgsports is very much a community. There is nothing quite like an open comment thread with dozens of your fellow Dawg fans online for a UGA football game that you couldn't attend in person. 

These guys do a really good job, and it's a fine page. The commenting is smart and savvy, just like the blogging. Great discussions, and occasional arguments, will happen. Just have you're grammar and syntax in order (ha, ha - see what I did there), although that might not be as much a prerequisite now that the Mayor is gone... 

Bernie's Dawg Blog

This is a fun page. Whereas GTP and Dawgsports are everyday stops for me, Bernie's Dawg Blawg is more like an almost everyday stop for me, but I usually visit at least 3 or 4 times a week. Like other UGA blogs, this started out as a weekly email back in the day and officially launched as a blog in 2008. Bernie brings a good sense of humor and a strong understanding of the game to the table. And you can usually count on a good bit of posting. With a decent amount of regular readers, you will see some pretty good discussions from time to time. A really good page (ed.note: no longer active).

The Grit Tree 

This is one that holds a special place in my heart being that I'm a huge enthusiast of the following things: UGA football, Lewis Grizzard, and Southern BBQ (is there any other kind?). I'll just let their intro page sum it up:

Welcome to The Grit Tree, where it is all things Georgia and all things Southern.  With all the other options out there in the blogosphere, we are glad that you have chosen our blog to read.
We are just four friends who have a passion for the Georgia Bulldogs, Atlanta Braves, southern food, peaches and Lewis Grizzard.  Though we come from all different parts of Georgia, we now reside in Middle Georgia.
We have decided to take our passions and turn them into a blog.
 There are principles on which we stand by, and will guide any future posts:

1. The Georgia Bulldogs are one of the premier teams in not only the SEC but the entire country during the first decade of the new millennium.  We are led by a great man and equally great coach in Mark Richt, and Coach Mark Richt will bring a MNC to Athens.
2. There is no better place to live in the world than the American South, specifically the great state of Georgia. 
3. We prefer pulled BBQ pork, homemade soft serve peach ice cream, and sweet tea with a lemon.
4. It will always be “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”   
5. It is appropriate to wear a collared shirt to a football game, regardless of what Florida fans in their number 15 jerseys say.

 The Grit Tree will look something like this:
 July-January:  Heavy Georgia Bulldogs football
 January-July: Georgia Bulldogs football and other topics such as the BBQ restaurant of the       month or anything else.

These guys post a good bit and you won't want to miss their Thursday BBQ or Lewis Grizzard Wednesdays. Great stuff (ed.note: no longer active)! 

About Them Dawgs! Blog

This is one I have a particular fondness of since I am, after all, a history enthusiast. This is the online blog of one, Patrick Garbin, a UGA football historian of some note. I have literally spent hours at this site. It's really great. According to the page, it is "the only blog primarily focused on the rich history and tradition of University of Georgia Football." And that would be an apt description. While other pages, including some mentioned here, will from time to time cover the history of UGA football, Patrick's is the only one that is pretty much dedicated to it. Seriously, if you haven't visited this page yet, be prepared to invest some time. If you're a DGD, you'll be there for awhile.

The Lady Sportswriter

This is a page I've recently become aware of. Listed on several blogrolls throughout the Dawgosphere, Kimberly Nash, owner and administrator, obviously has the street cred to be considered one of the top Dog Bloggers out there. And after having visited her site several times, I can wholly attest to her skills. This lady knows football, and she's a helluva writer.  Here is her personal description from the page:

I am not a 'journalist' by trade, nor do I present myself as such. I am just a wife, mother, and Georgia Bulldog fan who likes to write about two of her favorite things: the Georgia Bulldogs and college football. I write. You read...it's a give and take experience.

A superb site, albeit maybe a bit Ad-cluttered, it's becoming a regular stop for me.

Georgia Sports Blog

This is Tyler Dawgden's blog, and it's a nice one. A good writer with a good sense of humor, I don't make it over there as much as I should. He posts pretty regularly and has, I think, at least one other contributor. Whereas some of the other Dog Blogs will end up covering a lot of the same things, Tyler seems to do a good job of mixing it up and keeping things fresh.

Sic 'em Dawgs

This might be considered more of a news site as opposed to a blog, but I just really like it. Plus, they've got a link that has the results from every season since 1980 which, I believe, is the only page in the Dawgosphere that does. Now...if he gets every season since 1892 up, I'll be real impressed. LOL!...just kidding. This is a really great page and I check it quite often, especially during football season.

News: 

One more site I would have to recommend would be The Dawgbone. It posts links daily from every blog and news site in the Dawgosphere. And speaking of news resources, here are the following places to go to get good solid UGA sports news without having to fool with the goddam AJC:

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
The Macon Telegraph
The Athens Banner-Herald
 
 
And that, in my opinion, is the best of the Dawgosphere. So...how long until that Clemson game?

G.A.T.A.! 

GO DAWGS!!! 

Postscript:

Here are a handful of blogs that haven't posted recently but may reactivate for football season:

Jack's Bulldog Blog: A cool site. This guy does a pretty good job.
Bubba 'n Earl Sittin on the 50: Wish this page posted more...
A Bulldawg in Exile: See above. Unfortunately, I think this one might be done.
Hunker Down Dawg Blog: See above.

Update, 6/28/13:

Here's an In Memoriam: Catfish and Cornbread. And here's one of their best posts.

[MB McCart] - Wednesday AM Buffet: Alcohol at Gaither's (Finally!); Status of Term Limits in the COV; Miscellany & What-not

Happy Hump Day, TPCers! I've kibbled up some vittles & bits - real special-like - just for you. Some really tasty morsels, I fixed 'em up because I care. About you. I truly do. Your pleasure is my pleasure & I most certainly aim to assuredly please. To get it just right. Hope you brought your appetite, because I've got an adult portion lined up. So with a tip of the hat to the Senator, let's hit those bullet points and get that REAL Story (can I get an Amen?) here in the Glorious Georgia Piedmont!

• Alcohol at Gaither's 

I remember in the year 2000 when a buddy of mine worked as the caretaker of Gaither's Plantation & finding out that the county would not allow any type of alcohol on the premises. I distinctly remember scoffing when informed about it. "Bad move," I thought to myself...

Fast forward 19 years & they finally got it right. They being the Newton Co. Board of Commissioners. Well, better late than never, I suppose. Governmental bureaucratic inertia is a thing, folks. It's akin to those six dreadful words that represent the mantra of government: "we've always done it this way."

And I've got to give credit where it's due here. The Chairman of the Board of Newton, Mr. Marcello Banes, was a driving force on this, as was the Steering Committee he helped to set up. Well done, people.

Though if you read the Citizen's piece, you'll see that Nancy Shulz had to inject a little big government, nanny statism in there, but...we'll take what we can get. Also notice that JC had to JC.

Look for Gaither's to really become a real hot commodity when it comes to weddings & special events with those very competitive rates. 

• Term Limits in the Home City 

For those of you who have been following this story, you know that the Covington Council voted 6-0 to approve a change to the city's charter that would enact term limits for the first time in our history. But as you may have seen if you read Councilman Josh McKelvey's Letter to the Editor in this publication, a snag has been hit as Pamela Dickerson, HD 113 Rep, has stated her intent not to support this change.

Based on my understanding, having to get the full local delegation (state house & senate members representing a particular county) to approve any charter change is not actually codified, it's just how it's always been done. Personally, I think it goes against the legal concept of "Home Rule" especially in light of a unanimous vote by the city's governing authority.

Ultimately this charter change can be made WITHOUT full approval of the local delegation, and I have no doubt about it. Whether or not they do remains to be seen. Term limits make some folks nervous. Those folks? Politicians, of all levels. As of a couple of years ago, only 7 cities in Georgia have enacted term limits. 

Dickerson has purportedly said her big problem is that we already have a term limit mechanism - the ballot box. Well, friends, in the context of famed Israeli physicist & management guru Eliyahu Goldratt's Theory of Constraints, any system is only as strong as its weakest link. In terms of our system - Society & Governance - our weakest links are quite weak indeed. We need term limits - at ALL levels of government.

• Odds & Ends 

Not a whole lot to report here, folks; well, actually there is, but it'll have to wait for another time. 

Hope all is well. 

Your Friend & Semi-esteemed Editor, 

MB McCart

[Perrin Lovett] - The Time (for Civilization) Has Passed: Drafting Women Into Racket Wars

Great juridical news for feminists, neocons, anti-Christians, Europhobic enthusiasts, haters of Western Civilization, and anyone generally lacking logos. A federal court in Texas held the male-only selective service and martial draft system unconstitutional. The ruling starts the ball slowly rolling towards total equality, diversity, and inclusiveness in the United States Imperial military and, hopefully, for society at large.

Just imagine. The Old Boys Club has been cracked at last. Now, American daughters, sisters, and mothers can be forcibly recruited into the lethal service of the military-industrial complex, big oil, other big corporate interests, the neo-Palestinian diaspora lobby, and the banksters. It’s not only fair, it’s gurrl power.

The landmark case is National Coalition for Men, et al. v. [Imperial] Selective System Service, et al., Slip Op., 4:16-cv-03362, Civ. Action H-16-3362 (So. Dist. Texas, Feb. 22, 2019).

READ THE OPINION.

The case was instituted by two American male citizens and a Men’s Rights organization. Do not let the media fool you. This ruling is beyond a mere victory for MGTOW. It’s a victory for American gals, Margaret Sanger, the Constitution, 3,000 years of Greco-Roman-Anglo-American jurisprudence, Raytheon, Athena, and Artemis. It reverses centuries of discrimination (against men and women) in America.

Judge Miller’s legal reasoning, if alarming, is sound:

In short, while historical restrictions on women in the military may have justified past
discrimination, men and women are now similarly situated for purposes of a draft or registration for a draft. Rostker, 453 US. at 78. If there ever was a time to discuss the place of women in the Armed Services, that time has passed. Id. at 72. Defendants have not carried the burden of showing that the male-only registration requirement continues to be substantially related to Congress’s objective of raising and supporting armies.

-National Coalition for Men, Slip at 18 - 19.

Think of the possibilities. Your little girl, the one you toted to ballet lessons, soccer games, and for whom you devised such a sweet sixteen party (complete with ponies!), can tromp off to some third-world hellscape which you’ve never heard of and which in no way poses America any threat. She can (will) go there and die for the whims of depraved, aged Satanists who hate you.  

Will she come back in a box or in a bag? Will the bag sport a flag? The gun-salute ended, will some sinecure piece of shit in a snappy costume offer you the flag as a memento from a grateful nation? Will you stand there at her graveside and graciously ponder her ultimate sacrifice?

Or, maybe she won’t come home. Perhaps you can stand in the rain, one day, reading the list of names on an MIA/KIA memorial - Sally, Elizabeth, Amber, Ester, Reagan …

Yes, your baby girl - or the mother of your baby girl - or the sister you used to taunt mercilessly - could join Boudica, Joan of Arc, Wonder Woman, and all the other valiant female warriors of herstory … well … those three are about it… (Does Wakanda keep an elite Amazon Corps? Oh, yeah...) Maybe your someone special can be the big number four.

Anything boys can do, girls can do better. The significance of Footnote Six:

The average woman could conceivably be better suited physically for some of today’s
combat positions than the average man, depending on which skills the position required. Combat roles no longer uniformly require sheer size or muscle. Again, Defendants provide no evidence that Congress considered evidence of alleged female physical inferiority in combat - either in 1980 or 2016 - and concluded that drafting women was unwise based on that evidence.

-National Coalition for Men, Supra, Slip at 18 (Note 6).

Physical inferiority? How insulting. Just because the average adult woman maintains the physical prowess of the average thirteen-year-old boy means nothing. The fact that no woman can even remotely compete with men in powerlifting or any other contest of strength is irrelevant. A smokescreen we witness in the military’s own lower physical standards for women. Facts, friends, are as sexist as IQ tests are racist.

And, as the Court correctly notes, not all “combat” positions in the 21st Century rely on brute strength anyway. We already have sterling examples of female service in such endeavors.

For instance, Deck Officer, Lt. Sarah Coppock, proudly womaned the bridge of the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald. Her adept feminine manner led her to allegedly terminate communication between the bridge and the combat information center (really, a trivial matter - ask any sailor). And, this alleged breakdown in chit chat allegedly contributed the barely-functioning-as-was destroyer colliding with a container ship, at the expense of seven crewmen and more than a few million dollars.

The Fitzgerald, 2017. No jokes about women drivers! Picture by Navy Times.

Then, there’s the pride of the USAF, Captain Zoe 'Sis' Kotnik. Sassy Sis Kotnik deftly pilots an F16 as an equal member of the Air Force’s Viper demonstration team. Or, she did. For two weeks. Before being canned for “loss of confidence in her ability to lead” and for “mistakes.” Her career did end better than that of the Navy’s first female fighter pilot, Lt. Kara Hultgreen. Hultgreen flew her F14 Tomcat where no woman had gone before - straight into the sea behind the USS Abraham Lincoln.

There was the Marine Corps first female combat officer, kicked out for fraternization with a subordinate …

The facts and anecdotes, as many as there are, aren’t the point. The point is that any nation that, absent near-incalculable emergency circumstances, drafts women into combat, is morally dead and doesn’t deserve to exist. Drafting men is bad enough. Free countries usually count on volunteers, men ready to defend their families and their land. Drafts, like standing armies, are the stuff of empires, compelling men to fight and die for the elite-serving lies of the moment.

But, odds are, this is a done deal for our done empire. Look for formalization in the future. Look for usage in the future. Look for Republicans to boast about ours being “the best trained and equipped girls in the world.” I’m thinking there may be two major wars before this thing finally runs its course. The time really has passed.

Digital Gangsters

- Perrin Lovett

[Bess Tuggle] - Memoirs of Surviving Children: Siblings

Siblings have a special relationship.  I won’t say it’s good, bad or ugly, but it is special and different.  I know this for a fact.

Growing up, I can remember getting in trouble at the supper table.  My sister sat right across the table from me.  We’d get down to the peas on our supper plates.  Neither of us wanted to eat them, and neither of us was allowed to leave the table until we cleaned our plates.  That’s when the trouble started.

I’d look at my sister, and she’d look at me.. and then we’d both start to giggle.  Our parents weren’t really happy with that, but the giggles turned into full laughter.  There was no eating –anything- after that.  I really can’t remember what happened to the peas, I just remember laughing too hard to eat them.  We didn’t even have a dog back then to save our butts!  We finally got a dog.  Morsels fed under the table kept the dog happy and us out of trouble, but that was a LONG time ago. 

I was also the only one allowed to torture my sister.  I did it on a regular basis.  If anyone else tried to mess with her I’d take ‘em out, but yeah, I have to admit, I put her through the hoops.  It was reciprocal though.  She still has some of my records that she bribed out of me so our mother wouldn’t find out ‘something’ that I did.  I don’t remember what I did, but she still has my records.  

Then come my children.  Yes, siblings. 

One is fun.  Add to the crew, and you better have a good sense of humor.  A really good sense of humor, or be prepared to lose your mind.

When the boy’s got a little older there was a ritual at home.  When I got off work I needed 10 to 15 minutes to “swap gears” between work and home.  Even when I worked from home.  Front porch, my newspaper, a little bit of quiet in my rocking chair and I could handle everything the rest of the day.

Thing 3 forgot about that.  Completely and totally forgot.   

As I’m on the front porch trying to unwind, I hear yelling and screaming.  “Mama, he’s HURTING me!” “Ouch, MAMA!”  “Mama, MAKE HIM STOP!” 

Looking through the front windows of their bedroom, that faced the front porch, I could see Thing 4, with his arms crossed, standing in the doorway to their bedroom.  Thing 4 saw me, Thing 3, with his back up against the windows, didn’t realize I saw the whole thing.  About twelve feet separated them.  I saw just how bad he was hurt.

Thing 3 had nary a hand put on him, but you couldn’t tell it by decibel level of his hollering.  I was witness to the whole thing.

Siblings.

- Bess Tuggle 

A Letter to the Editor by Covington Councilman Josh McKelvey: It's Time for Term Limits

- UPDATED: 2/24/29 - 7:50PM (see below)+

*ed.note: Councilmen Josh McKelvey & Kenny Morgan+ have spearheaded the movement for Covington to enact term limits for the past two years. Now, after the Covington Council has unanimously voted 6-0 to make this change, one member of our local delegation to the State Assembly, Ms. Pam Dickerson (HD 113), has purportedly decided not to support the will of Covington, and its Citizenry. Ms. Dickerson can be reached at: 404-656-0314
+ Mr. McKelvey reached out to this publication to inform us that it was actually Mr. Morgan who spearheaded this movement in Covington & that McKelvey has been working to help try to make this a reality.
###

Hello Covington!

You may have heard about the City Council’s requested Charter amendment being held up by our local delegation to the State Capitol this week. I’m writing today to let you know more about why the legislation was held up, and how you can help make sure we get term limits enacted this year. I only have 500 words or less to get my message out there, so I’ll do my best to keep it as condensed as possible!

First, let’s cover some basics:

1. The City of Covington operates under the authority granted to it by the State of Georgia. Its governing document, commonly referred to as “The Charter”, sets forth the structure of our municipal government. To enact term limits, we must have an updated version of the charter ratified by the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate.
2. I’m not sure if this is codified in the House or Senate rules, but I do know that when it comes to local legislation, a bill won’t see the light of day unless everyone in the local delegation is on board with it. This means it only takes one nay vote to “kill” a bill.

For those of you following the story, you know the Council voted unanimously to draft a resolution requesting our State Senators and State Representatives, aka “our delegation”, to amend the City Charter during the 2019 legislative session. The resolution requested that we change the language of our charter to impose a limit on the number of terms one can hold office to 3 terms. The decision did not come easily. It took debate and compromise in work sessions spanning the course of a year to reach a unanimous consensus. With the final decision to impose 12-year term limits on the Mayor and Council being unanimous, we fully expected the legislation to sail through both houses of the General Assembly. Keep in mind, we aren’t asking our delegation to choose a side in a controversial policy decision. We are asking them to work on behalf of a united City Council, because we aren’t authorized to do the work ourselves.

Here’s what I found out this week about the charter change after speaking with all four members of our delegation.

1. Tonya Anderson will not support the charter change without a binding referendum.
2. Pam Dickerson does not agree with Term Limits and does not support the charter change as is currently written. She has suggested a non-binding referendum, essentially a poll of the will of the people, be put on the ballot this fall.
3. Brian Strickland - Being that this is local legislation requested by all 6 members of Covington’s legislative body, he believes this needs to get done for the people of Covington.
4. Dave Belton has taken the lead on this under the Gold Dome since Kenneth Morgan and I reached out to him about it last year. This councilman is thankful for the effort he’s put into doing what the City of Covington has asked.

Despite the differences of opinion, a compromise was in the works on Thursday evening. The suggested compromise was that the Charter be changed to impose a maximum of 3 terms of service for the Mayor and Council, which would go into effect following approval by the voters in a referendum in November 2019. As of Friday morning, Pam Dickerson was the remaining hold out. At the time of this writing, a compromise of 4 terms of service, contingent upon approval by the voters of Covington this November is going to be presented to Rep. Dickerson. I’m not a fan of this deal, but if that is what it takes to get term limits enacted in 2019, I think it’s a win.

Please join me in respectfully requesting Representative Pam Dickerson join the rest of our local delegation in supporting Term Limits for the Mayor and Council of the City of Covington, contingent upon the outcome of a referendum on the matter in November of 2019.

Rep. Pam Dickerson
GA House District 113
404-656-0314
pam.dickerson@house.ga.gov

Respectfully, Josh McKelvey

[Melissa Morgan Parker] - City Pharmacy's First-ever "Social Sunday"; Atlanta Band Coyote Anyway Playing

Sunday will see live music for the first time ever at City Pharmacy, as Atlanta band, Coyote Anyway, will be headlining CP's first-ever Sunday Social. Things start up at 5PM & tickets are $25 per patron. You can learn more at the event page.

From the Pharmacy's Facebook page: 

We are very excited to announce our first 'Sunday Social' at City Pharmacy happening on Sunday, February 24th! Our hope is that the social will allow us to come together as a community to enjoy live music & food while raising awareness about local organizations or causes close to our hearts.

You'll be treated with music from Coyote Anyway from Atlanta, GA, playing originals as well as their take on early American Roots music such as Bo Diddley, Rolling Stones, JJ Cale, Roger Miller, Grateful Dead, Blaze Foley, & Taj Mahal to name a few.

Tickets include admission, food, & 1 raffle ticket. Our friends at Ridge Avenue are organizing a raffle for the night with prizes from local businesses. Several businesses have already contributed prizes that we'll be announcing in the weeks ahead. If your business would like to donate to the raffle, please contact Amanda Shivers at Alcovyfarms@gmail.com.

The proceeds from this month's Sunday Social will go to the Chance Cown Cancer Recovery Fund. Chance is a member of the Atlanta Fire and Rescue Department. He and his wife Megan (a school teacher in Oconee County, GA. ) are raising two young children ages 3 and 1.

In order to get the "real story," I decided to reach out to City Pharmacy Proprietor, Tedo Stone.

Our conversation follows. 

Where did the idea for a “Sunday Social” come from?

It was a combination of ideas we’d thrown around over the last few months.

I’d made friends with a lot of super talented folks through playing music in Athens/Atlanta & beyond over the years. We’d talked about ways of hosting some of those bands in the space, but didn’t feel it would fit our typical nights at City Pharmacy given the layout and size.

We threw our one year anniversary party back in December & had our friends Cicada Rhythm play. We transformed the space to allow more standing room with food stations & passed apps. It was really cool being able to offer a different experience in the restaurant and see folks from the community come together while enjoying a band we love that had never played in Covington.

We’d also talked about hosting community suppers to raise money and awareness for different organizations or causes that are important to us. After the one year anniversary party, the idea for the Sunday Social came together to combine these two ideas into one event to take place the last Sunday of every month.

Proceeds from the first social benefits the “Chance Cown Cancer Recovery Fund." How did you decide on this cause? 
Chance and I grew up together and he has recently been diagnosed with a rare blood disorder,  Atypical Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.

Chance is married with two children and will be faced with medical expenses, as well as having to take time away from working with the Atlanta Fire Department for recovery. When I found out about his diagnosis we spoke with our friends Amanda & Devin Shivers, owners of Ridge Avenue across the square, to figure out a way we could help. We’d all attended grade school from kindergarten through high school.

With the idea of the Sunday Social starting to take shape, we decided to take the proceeds from this first event to donate to the Cown family. Amanda and Devin have put together a lot of prizes donated from local businesses that we’ll be raffling off on Sunday to help raise addition money for the family. Raffle tickets will be available for purchase the day of the event.


What’s your hope for future “Sunday Social” endeavors at City Pharmacy?
Our hope is that it becomes a standing tradition at CP and something the community can look forward to every month. We’d like to continue to bring in more great touring artists and bands to Covington, while partnering with local organizations and causes to raise awareness of their importance and needs.

Very cool. Now, let's talk about that music...

Coyote Anyway is an Atlanta based Roots Rock band that's been making a name for themselves with their unique blend of Country, Americana, Rock & Blues. I got a chance to ask bandmember Matthew Pendrick a few questions: 

What was a defining moment that made you choose music as a pathway through life? 

Some of us were born into it i guess. Zeke and Matt (bass and drums) really grew up in musical families. Zeke's family ran the Shoal Creek Music Park in Lavonia GA where his parents played music and held concerts at a historic music park that had hosted everyone from Dolly Parton to Porter Wagoner. Matt's family also had a band. 

For me, i think reconnecting with my childhood friend Dave Kirslis (guitar and vox) over music while we were in high school was a real turning point. I don't think either of us were  considering music as a career, but we really propelled each other into starting bands and playing shows. Seems like we've just been stumbling up the mountain ever since. 

You all were raised here in Ga, how has southern culture influenced your music? 

I'm sure Zeke and Matt G got a great education in southern music by virtue of their families and surroundings. David and I dove real deep into the Atlanta music scene and have been greatly inspired by the local folks. Atlanta has a deep musical history that doesn't get talked about a lot, but the culture is still thriving. The city is a very diverse and vital place and i think that inspired a kind of anything goes ethos in me that i cherish. We love older and more traditional music but i also don't think any of of us feel bound to those conventions and i think thats keeps things interesting.

Do you feel “the arts” receive adequate support from local communities? 

Sure, i know Everyone loves music and i think we're starting to rediscover how to cultivate that culture  and make sure that we're taking care of it for the future. The internet changed everything for better or worse. Making a living as an artist is tricky today, but it  always has been. What I'd like to see happen is for people to take a deeper look into how to support artists, particularly on a more local scale. Similar to the movement to more sustainable eating, we have to create and support music on a local scale if we want to see it thrive in the future. It's great to see lots of smaller communities bringing live music back into the public spaces and using music as a way to bring people together. 

What are you spinning?

Everything! Dave and i just went to see reggae legend Lee Scratch Perry but before that we were listening to one of my new favorite records by folk singer Greg Brown (The Iowa Waltz) . I've been listening to lot of african guitar music like King Sunny Ade and a great ambient series that Zeke hipped me to by an artist called The Caretaker, which is inspired by the way that the memory erodes with Alzheimer's disease.

This should really be a great event. Hope to see you there.

- Melissa Morgan Parker

TPC is very proud to have the talents of Melissa Morgan Parker as a Correspondent, Stringer & Contributing Writer. A multi-generational Newtonian, Mrs. Parker is a Mom, Wife, Music Lover, Artist Extraordinaire & Educator who very deeply cares about all & everyone that is the Glorious Georgia Piedmont. 

Past Piedmont Chronicles: Georgia Courthouses

*ed. note: originally featured in About Covington to Madison magazine, June 2013. 

Greetings. Hope everyone is well out there. First off, I’d like to take a moment to thank you for all of the kind words after my last column. It’s great to be back, and I’m so glad that so many of you are excited about it.

Hancock Co. Photo by Keith Hair. From GA Info.

In the last column, I talked a good bit about courthouses. Well, I thought I’d expand on that a bit with this column. I received an email from a fellow by the name of Brant out of Oxford, GA. Brant, like myself, seems to be an enthusiast of Georgia courthouses, and he made a very good point: perhaps one of the best looking courthouses in our state, especially in terms of the view as you approach it, would have to be down in Sparta, GA (Hancock Co.). That is a great courthouse. As I responded back to him, Hancock’s would
probably be in my top 10 (maybe even top 5). Built between 1881-1883, it incorporates a Second Empire architectural design (the same as Covington) and is absolutely beautiful. Hancock Co. is an old county. It’s been around since 1793 which makes it a good bit older than Newton or Morgan, although not quite as old as the original 8 Georgia counties that were created in 1777. Hancock Co. and the city of Sparta, isn’t that far from us, just on the other side of Putnam Co. And as Brant said, Sparta might be Covington in another universe (as Covington portrayed the city of Sparta, MS in the famous show, “In the Heat of the Night”).

As a Courthouse enthusiast, I have found a wonderful online resource for those of you who share an affinity for this subject. Go to: http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/courthouses/contents.htm. From this site, you can visit links to all 159 Georgia courthouses complete with pictures, design style, and background information. This resource is called GeorgiaInfo and is offered by GALILEO and the University of Georgia Library system as part of the Digital Library of Georgia.

In addition to the courthouses, there is a plethora of other historical information available on the main page: http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/ Check it out sometime – you’ll be glad you did.

Some of my favorite courthouses in Georgia other than Newton, Morgan, and Hancock are found in the following counties: Colquitt, Jasper, Talbot, Washington, Oglethorpe, Upson, Lincoln, and Meriwether. A bit of trivia: the oldest courthouse still in use in Georgia? That would be Columbia Co., in the city of Appling,

Talbot Co. Courthouse. Photo by Keith Hair. 

built in 1856. And the oldest one still standing that’s not in use? That would be Fayette Co., in Fayetteville, and was actually built way back in 1825!

There are several different types of architectural styles found in Georgia’s courthouses but most fall under these designs: Beaux Arts, Greek Revival, Italian Renaissance Revival, Neoclassical Revival, Second Empire, Modern, and a few others. I’m partial to the Second Empire and Neoclassical Revival styles, myself.

Georgia is very fortunate to have so many courthouses. Our fine state has 159 counties and therefore can lay claim to 159 courthouses as well. Only the state of Texas has more counties than Georgia does and obviously Texas is a much larger state. Why does Georgia have so many counties? That’s a good question. The explanation for that is as Georgia grew over the years, it was decided that the county seat of every county would be within a one day round trip for anyone on a horse or in a wagon. So, naturally, that lead to a rather large quantity of counties as the state expanded. And as counties are the primary political subdivision in our great state, that meant anyone needing to conduct county business with the Ordinary (now called Probate Judge), Sheriff, Clerk of Court, or anything else would be able to do so without having to leave the farm for more than one day.

Of course, these days we have cars, so perhaps having so many counties would be considered a bit outdated, but I sure wouldn’t want to change it. I think it’s pretty neat that we have so many counties.

Have you ever tried to name as many Georgia counties as you could from memory? Try it sometime – it’s pretty tough. As a quick aside, a buddy of mine and I are planning on publishing a book about Georgia’s courthouses. Maybe one day that will come to pass. I sure hope so.

Thanks for reading! 

[Ellis Millspas] - A Day in the Life

I've been watching a lot of TV lately, movies on TCM, but mostly the continuing saga on cable TV as to how or if the republic will survive Donald Trump. This causes me to see a lot of commercials, many if not most about prescription medicine.

The people in these commercials seem almost proud of their afflictions, giving them cute and sometimes meaningless (to me) nicknames like hep C, DVT or PE, or “Afib not caused by a heart valve problem.” They make me almost wish I had these diseases. They seem so happy with their medication, finding romance, making new friends, riding bicycles, bonding with their families.

But then come the disclaimers which run along  these lines:

         Succedrin can make you batshit crazy. If you don't kill yourself, you may wish you had. Loss of limbs and vomiting up of internal organs have been reported. If any of these symptoms occur, stop taking Succedrin and seek medical attention immediately, but preferably not from the quack who prescribed this poison in the first place.

As to the programming, I watch it with the cranky English major’s eye. I'm struck by the number of educated people who pepper their conversation with trite redundancies such as’ each and every,’ “first and foremost,’ “in any way shape or form.’  Pick one dammit. They're all the same. I hear talking heads telling me “it's really clear.” One learns in law school, or should, never to say “clearly” or “it's clear.” in legal writing. You probably don't need to say it at all if it’s clear, but you certainly don't need to say” it's clear.”  You're wasting the judge’s time.

As to the trending metaphors,” I'm old enough to remember”,”is big during the Trump era, intended comically to mean “before Trump.” ”Off the rails,” “the view from 30,000 feet,” “up(or down) the food chain,”and “moving the goalposts,” are coming on strong.  Fading are”a perfect storm” and ‘jumping the shark.” Sorry Fonz.

But what's bothering me “at the end of the day” is that all this rain has given my beautiful broccoli crop root rot.  I just ordered artichoke seed. I'll let you know how that goes.

- Ellis Millsaps