Southern Accents

There is a song on the great album “Unchained” by Johnny Cash, named Southern Accents. He is know to have said it should have been the anthem for the south instead of Dixie.

The song talks about how every aspect of the singers life has a southern accent. Not just the way he speaks, but everything. It’s true, and what it makes me think is that we are not any different than anyone else in this world, we’re just from the south. Yes some of our customs, transgressions if you like, old and new, may be questioned by others, but we are no different then anyone else, we’re just from different parts of the world. We are from the south, and we do things with a southern accent, and that’s the difference. We celebrate that difference. We don’t run from history, we know the history of everyone, everywhere, has questionable moments, but we look forward, with a southern accent.

So last night we attended the taping of a pilot for a t.v. show. It was a take off on Iron Chef, with a southern accent. The twist on this show is that the challenger is interviewed before the cook off. So it got me to thinking how everywhere, everyone is basically the same and wants the same things from life. Different cultures are always being bashed for being different. That’s all there is to it, they are different and that alone turns people off. Now I get pissed off when the south and southerners are labeled rednecks. The biggest redneck I ever met was from New Jersey. I’m sure there are what one would call a redneck from everywhere. It’s not the locale that makes you who you are, it only adds flavor to who you are. An asshole is an asshole, I don’t care where you are from. Asshole is just another word for redneck.

But what got me to writing this is the fact that down south here, folks are working on t.v. shows, running huge companies, raising families, wait a minute that’s not true. What really got me to writing this was the job I did yesterday repairing my toilet. See, I replaced a toilet in our house a year or so ago. It never worked very well. When you flushed it huge bubbles came up and not much went down. I asked questions and did research and was told the air vent was stopped up. When you flush the air in the pipe has to go somewhere and if it can’t leave through the vent, it comes back up through the toilet. Well, for a year I have tried every trick I have read about or had been told to try. Nothing worked. So it hit me yesterday, a way to fix my toilet, with a southern accent.

So what I did was, drain the water from the toilet bowl, crank up my heavy duty, backpack leaf blower and stick the blower hose in the toilet and turn it up to top power. Well the back cover of the tank went flying as well as lots of water, the dogs ran for their life and Stacey came racing in to see what was going on. I was soaking wet, the room was soaking wet, but the toilet was working just fine. Thank you very much!

Little Rock

That’s where Stacey and I spent the weekend. Just hanging out with oldest sister, eating, drinking and trying to stay out of jail. OK, so there was really no chance of anyone going to jail, but we tried.

Like I have said before, I like to visit Arkansas, and I like Little Rock. Each time I go I find something else I like about it.

This time it was David Family Kitchen. We called to get the location and we were told 23rd and Roosevelt ave. We thought it might be a rough neighborhood, we hoped it was rough cause you always find good soul food in the hood. Well it wasn’t rough at all, in fact it was a beautiful neighborhood. It was marked by signage as the Little Rock Historical District. The homes were awesome. They were old and big and all different styles of design. There was also a beautiful cemetery that appeared really large. Next time I am there I plan to visit it. I’m thinking a long walk after a huge meal of fried chicken, meatloaf, black-eyed peas, mac and cheese, lima beans, cream corn, spinach casserole and cornbread. That’s the kind of stuff we had at DFK. And it was great.

We also ate a the local oyster bar. It was a dive and that’s what attracted me to it. Once again, places like soul-food joints and oysters bars should be dives, in tough neighborhoods. Well this place was a dive and the fried oysters and shrimp were good, but I must say the gumbo, and etouffee really, really sucked. I know gumbo and I know etouffee and not only did this stuff suck, but it didn’t come close to being what each was named. We didn’t let that bother us, we were glad we tried it, marked it off the list.

I can’t wait to get back and try Juanita’s Mexican Restaurant I found on the internet that the locals say is the best!

Let me tell ya ’bout my dawgs

I am talking Brown Boy, George, She She. These are my dogs, I’m supposed to be taking care of them, but I think they are taking care of me. Here’s the line up.

Brown Boy. One day in 1987,. I was working at the pawn shop on Peters St. in Atlanta and I found this little black dog out front, I brought her in the shop and feed her. She was a small puppy and I knew right where she came from. The auto parts place across the street. It was basically an in-town junk yard. So I took this little black dog home and took care of her for the next 18 years. Brown Boy is her grandson, her name was Black Girl.

Brown Boy or Brownie or Brown or Mr. Brown Boy actually has a brindle coat. He has long, thick hair. He is a lover, as all my dogs are.

George, if you have met George I don’t have to tell ya. If you haven’t, the first thing your gonna do when ya see George is smile. He has that affect on everyone when they first meet him. He is a well dressed, kinda well behaved mix of Basset Hound and Black Lab. He is like a big black and white Basset. I found George roaming the streets and have been taking care of him for about 3 years now. Right now he has a bum foot he can’t walk on unless he needs to get upstairs to eat! Then he seems alright.

She She is a coyote. No shit, I went to the mountains and found and wrestled She She away form her full grown coyote mother. I really found her in my front yard, but my vet said she looks just like a coyote. I did some research and she does. She is also a murderer! I swear, she kills all kinds of small animals. She even eats the rabbits she catches. But really she is a lover also. She She thinks she runs the show, but Geo and Brown will let her know who the new comer is when ever necessary.

Dogs are good to have, if you don’t have any get yourself a few. It’s easy, they are everywhere and you can always go to the humane society and save ones life.

Transplants

No, not bone marrow, not again thank you very much. I’m thinking about people, friends and clients who live here in Atlanta, but are not southerners by birth.

This morning I met with Krista, she and Jake are the owners of Tajmahound. They make dog treats and other goodies for your pet. They are about to open a new store in the Kirkwood neighborhood, in the city of Decatur. These guys have been at it for 5 years or so and growing their business at a nice, steady pace. I have worked with them before, helping build-out their first retail space. They are both from the New York/New Jersey area, but now they are living here in the south. They are two of the nicest folks you could ever meet. Doing business with them is easy and I always look forward the next time we get together for drinks, business or whatever. They truly have the heart and soul of a Southerner.

Now I just hung up the phone after speaking my friend Ute, she is on her way down to my place to talk about something she wants built. So I’m gonna get a couple po boys for us. She read about them on this blog and told me she wanted to try one.

I have known Ute for 7 or 8 years or so. I have built furniture for her and we have become friends. Her dogs name is Rusty and paid a visit today as well. I have also traded some custom work for a weeks stay at her home in the Basque region of France. She is from Germany. Her husband is from Spain. They seem to have homes all over the place. Their latest is in Figueras, Spain. That is where Salvador Dali is from. They are currently renovating this place.

The place in France is in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains, very near Saint Jean de Luz and not to far from San Sebastian, Spain. That is one of my favorite cities in the world. If you ever have the chance to go - by all means do it. It is a beautiful, rugged town on the Atlantic coast. It is full of tapas bars and friendly, beautiful people. I want to live there and repair the old wooden boats to make my living.

Ute is a really cool person. She is also a very kind person. I think she does a lot of volunteer work here in Atlanta. And anyone who would share their home with you has to have some kind southern blood running through them.

St. Simons Island.

My friend John and my other friend Rhonda, yea they are married, have a restaurant there, Black Water Grill. That’s really all you need to know. Go every chance you get. Everything they serve is always the best in the world. It is as simple as that, no matter what, at Black Water it will be very good. Always.

The great chef Mario Batali once said “If you go to a restaurant and the foods good and you go back and it is different, then that place sucks”. I agree, consistency is the most important thing.

John has worked in the most wicked restaurant conditions in the world and made it work, hell, he more then likely made it fun. So Black Water Grill has probably been a walk in the park. Other than the long hours.

I have never had anything but a great time and good food at Black Water. Any time someone mentions St. Simons, I ask if they know Black Water and the answer is always yes, we love it.

When Rhonda say’s “Hey ya’ll”, well, you know your right at home. These guys are old friends. So are Keith and Mikey, the folks we were gonna try and meet at Black Water Grill last weekend for a birthday dinner for Mikey. We could get there but getting home Sunday was gonna be a problem. No seats on the plane, so we couldn’t make it. But we will get over that way soon, cause I’m jonesing for an andouille corn-dog and some shrimp and grits.

Almost went to St. Simons Island!

That’s another story for another day.

This is the Monday Report, thank you very much! Here are some photos of the stuff I talked about last week - jobs I was working on.

The bench/coffee table made from slabs of wood with raw edge is something I have been doing lately. This table has no nails or screws. It is held together by joints and glue.

The light bulb picture is a commissioned piece for a guy who writes books about Idea Spotting. Sam is a good friend and a client. Doing this painting for him was a pleasure.

The Angel painting sold this weekend at the organic farmers market in Midtown Atlanta. I have been selling my wares at this market for about 10 years. I have made a career in this parking lot. The folks that bought the Angel painting were in town for a Emory University reunion. I wanted to tell them of my history with Emory but didn’t get the chance. Another brilliant couple.

Every chance you get listen to “This American Life” on NPR. You can listen to it anytime on their website. Also, always watch the television show “No Reservations” with Anthony Bourdain. Good stuff, all of it.

Kingsized

Now I could be talking about the band, or rather the orchestra, but I’m not I’m talking about the bed the brilliant couple is having built. It’s big and white and old looking.

So, the couple known here as “Julie and Chris” had me build a table for their beach house and then we got together and planned a bed. Like I said it’s big. The foot and headboard have 6″ square, antique pine post on each corner. The headboard is almost 6′ tall. They both have slats, 7″ wide, used for the panels, the panels are 70″ wide, so there are ten slats in each the head and footboard. The slats are pine that was used as decking on a Mardi Gras float in Mobile. The rails are made from antique pine, they are 2″ x 5″, 80″ long.

Each piece of lumber was planed with a hand held electric planer. Then it was all sanded with 50 grit paper on a 4″ hand held belt sander. Then all the lumber was sanded with 80 grit paper on a 5″ disc sander and then with 12o grit on same sander. After all that sanding I painted the whole bed white with flat latex paint and once it dried I sanded it for the last time using 120 grit paper and giving it a distressed finish.

Julie brought to my workshop eight antique tin ceiling tiles which are about 8″ square each. They are gonna look great mounted in the headboard. Each has a different design and each has a different distressed finish. Together, in two rows of four they will really make the bed.

I have just about finished this bed. I got a few other fun things I am working on and would like to finish a coffee table for the market this Saturday. I just finished a painting a fellow ordered. I will post a photo of the bed and this painting soon.

I also met with a lady today and she ordered a painting of her dogs. Two dogs in the same painting which is gonna be 3′ tall and 4′ across. That size should work well for what she has in mind I will try and remember to post a photo of that painting when I finish it.