johndh1

Probably "Oh Holy Night," especially the Celine Dion version. I also like Andy Williams' "Most Wonderful Time of the Year." It's so hard to pick just one. I LOVE "Christmas Canon" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Billy, I really wish you could hear this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGrhzCgy_bg Roll Tide Roll

I think you have me confused with McBeth my dear... although I was pretty drunk the past 2 weekends, pretty sure I didn't flash any boobies. And I can't believe you'd stick me on an island with Spence and Billy! I thought we were friends.. man! No, no confusion (I remember those distinctly), I'm just thinking that on those long days of working tirelessly on the island to make this thing happen on time, perhaps everyone would grow weary in toil. This is when a resourceful and determined Wonder Woman such as yourself would have the opportunity to go the extra mile and throw out a distraction from the agony of the island's misery. We won't tell anyone, we promise. It'll be our little secret. No one will no a thing, except for when later you have to keep yelling "STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!" or "NO, I WON'T COME SIT NEXT TO YOU AT TRIBAL COUNCIL!" or "NO, I DON'T WANT TO GO OUT INTO THE JUNGLE 'SEARCHING FOR FOOD!'" "GET LOST, WEIRDOS!" Roll Tide Roll

That "Drummer Boy" version by Bing Crosby and David Bowie. I hate the Grandma/Reindeer song too. I never found it the least bit amusing. Roll Tide Roll

...don't forget to take care of the workin' girls. They need some generosity, otherwise the chicken ranch will close down for good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErOO4WHgyI0 Roll Tide Roll

Whatever. Last Saturday night there, I drank myself into a blur of non-discriminatory availability (even after Justin's horny-toad dance), and still woke up alone and unviolated, with no stories to tell my therapist about what went wrong. Maybe next time. Roll Tide Roll

I feel like my testicles have drawn up inside of me in eager anticipation... Roll Tide Roll

Amazon...somehow I am drawn to you like moth to flame..you are both Hellish and exquisite. Roll Tide Roll

Spence - for his experience at improvisational dropzone BillyVance - for his Spanish-Armada bravado to keep a hold on the Eastern front ChaosKitty - for her "flash the boobies" distraction. a la Phoebe, "Friends." !-800-You-GoGrl! Oh, and shermanator, "you can't be a dentist, you're an Elf!" Roll Tide Roll

Oh, turns out I was very familiar with the culprit. Maybe I was just blocking out some past trauma that it had bestowed upon me Roll Tide Roll

Billions and Billions - Carl Sagan (forgive me, I forget if books are in "quotes" or underlined. or, The Bible, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, by Thomas L. Friedman, Understanding the Arab World, by Louis Bahjat Hamada, or The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. Penthouse Letters always keeps me involved too. Roll Tide Roll

Ummm...I guess those of us who saw the rest of Justin's burlesque show will only have the memories burned into our retinas until the end of time. Few can be so lucky. Roll Tide Roll

So here's another critter story: Late last Winter, I woke up in the middle of the night for some reason. I was lying in the bed, and of course rolled over a bit like I frequently do. I sleep with 3 or 4 overstuffed pillows on a firm orthopedic mattress - no flat-laying for me. Well, between my firm and sinewy torso and one of the pillows at my side, I felt something odd and strange and soft, and it seemed to shift only slightly with my own movement, as if adjusting itself. Now, I often keep a couple of friends' dogs if they go out of town and I don't go, and for a second in my sleepy mind, this little critter felt like my close friend Sandy's now-deceased Penny, a miniature Dachshund which she got from a litter from Ray Lett, who runs the Sylacauga airport (I am like the "doggie grandparent" - no diets at my house, no discipline, etc. Bark, sleep in the bed, have some chips, etc...I'll just send you home to them guiltless. That's why all the doggies love me). As I slowly woke in the AM, I realized I was not babysitting that night, but rather something had found a warm place to snuggle between myself and the pillow. Instantly and with great panic I was aroused and my heart was pounding!!! I bounced around trying to get away from this little creature in the dark, and it just followed me in my tossing and turning, bouncing with me on the bed and hitting me in the side, the head, the stomach, etc., and surely it was as alarmed as I was, trying to get away, and every time I would flip, it would uncontrollably flip with me! I finally got a grip and got my hand on the lamp switch and turned it on with my heart racing to reveal that to my horror and before all this excitement... ...that I had slept awkwardly, and my hand had fallen asleep, and that's what the critter was that crawled into bed with me, and what I wrestled unsuccessfully to get away from. Roll Tide Roll

Oh Billy, I meant the notorious Skyridius Depravitus Cockaroachius Benbutt-holeous species...the most unsavory kind of all. Roll Tide Roll

That Billy. He's always ready to take on a snake isn't he? Roll Tide Roll

Yeah, but I've seen many a Tough-Guy make some strange and less-than-brave noises in too-close snake encounters. Roll Tide Roll

I think Liam may be closer than anyone thinks. No proof, just a hunch. He seems too eager to follow this one little snippet. Permit? Come on. Why would he even ask that, and not just assume one was obtained should it be required in this higher-profile situation? He's either a troll, and "old friend," a moron, or all three. Roll Tide Roll

I didn't think so either, but a lot of the little mammals have gone into hibernation because we've had some really cold days, which is probably one of the reasons this snake was in the road to begin with. Plus, it didn't have flies or rot because of the cold, either. Guess the hawk was hungry. Speaking of, I was just talking to someone yesterday about how many of those I have begun to see around here lately. Roll Tide Roll

I really think this was an escaped pet though, considering its healthy appearance. You're right that they might be able to migrate here, but it does get well below freezing in Winter months - I don't know that it's ingrained in them to find a hole to stay in deep down for a few months. The portion below Montgomery, as you get closer to the Gulf Coast, would be much more feasible. Since the Balls are the most docile and fragile, I don't think they would make it as far North as here (I-20, between Atlanta and Birmingham) - from what I have seen, the majority of the South Florida snakes have been the much-tougher (and way larger) Burmese and Reticulated Pythons. Only in the last 12 or 15 years have I seen an influx of armadillos here, Now that is a nasty little bastard I wouldn't mess with. We did have a major panic a few years ago in a nearby town - this psycho was keeping snakes in his drug house, and some of them got out into the community. The Birmingham Zoo didn't even have the antivenom (antivenin?) on hand for all the different snakes, and it had to be shipped in just in case - not just rattlers and copperheads, but a spitting cobra and some other little monsters like that. Roll Tide Roll

So the other evening I was leaving home, and got about 50 yds. away from the driveway on the road, when I saw a snake curled up right in the center of the road. I knew it was already dead by the fluid around it, and didn't have time to stop and examine as I sometimes do - I like to keep up with what types of snakes are roaming the area here by the lake (Logan Martin, Central Alabama), and if it's non-poisonous, (if it's alive) I usually either get it off the road or catch it and play with it a bit or scare some old lady before I let it go. Something about the way the snake looked struck me as weird at first glance, but it didn't hit me until I got back later that night and stopped in the road to examine. It was so oddly out of place, that it took me a second to come to grips that I was looking at a fat, healthy, 5'10" Ball Python. Apparently, someone is missing a pet. A day later, a big Red-Tail Hawk was seen carrying it off. That bird will probably never know what an exotic meal it had that day. Roll Tide Roll

This Spring VW is going to start selling the "clean diesel" in some of the models - 40+ City, 50+ highway, 95%less sulfur, and almost no smell. Whether buying new or used, I would much rather have a diesel than a hybrid any day, especially if the diesel is a VW. I have thought about getting a used Jetta or Passat myself as a commuter, because my Xterra gas mileage is crap, especially with the snow tires (for all the Alabama snow, you know). Roll Tide Roll

So many stories; so many good memories shared Saturday night, and I'm happy to have been there to hear them firsthand. It truly was a celebration befitting the man who affected so many in such a good way. Most there were closer to Lee than I was (he had so many that were 'friends' in the most sincere form of the word), but I know that it was welcomed comfort to see this number of people present to share with one another the unforgettable impressions left by the spirit of such a kind, generous and cheerful soul. They say misery loves company. The honor of being there in the midst of Lee's closest friends from all over, and the fact that his family traveled so far to participate, reminds me that it's not fair to always take that term in the negative connotation which it suggests, but rather in this case it can give comfort. Being sad together is better than being sad alone. Seeing the uneasy and at times forced smiles of so many who feel this same hole in their hearts, coupled with anger at losing him so tragically and early in his life shows that, as bad as it hurts, we are the fortunate ones: Most of the world didn't have Lee to lose. They didn't know him. They will never realize what they missed. When it is dark enough, you can see the stars --Charles Beard Roll Tide Roll

From this picture, she kinda reminds me of Dita von Teese. Roll Tide Roll

Somewhere among the posts either here or elsewhere regarding this weekend, someone mentioned they would be making a long drive from Dallas. I didn't think about it, but I could have picked them up in Birmingham tonight or tomorrow morning - A R/T direct Southwest flight between the two wouldn't have cost them more than the gas to drive to Rockmart. "Sorry," whoever it was, for not thinking about that sooner. Roll Tide Roll

That was sick. That's not what is in Billy's post. He obviously misread your post just now, Amy G. Roll Tide Roll

Now that was funny. Another Boston Butt, and Ellen Todd's delicious homemade Corn & green bean casserole. Roll Tide Roll