Dave Foulk Internet Flyer

Way down in south Georgia there's a place called Toombs County.  It's not at the end of the earth, but I think you can see it from there.  They grow a lot of onions in Toombs County. The genetic type is no different than onions you can grow anywhere.  The difference is the rich, Georgia soil and the perfect combination of minerals, rainfall,and climate. It all comes together to produce the sweetest onions on the planet, the Vidalia onion.

Vidalias have more per pound sugar content than Coca-Cola. I know that because the Toombs County folks say so, and they did the test. In a few weeks, the first small onions will come into the market.  Then, in a few days, The Georgia Farmers Market will take on an oniony aroma as tons and tons of Vidalias will be shipped to Atlanta for distribution all over the place.

They're not much cheaper at the Farmers Market, but they are really fresh from the field. I used to buy fifty pound bags and then divvy up the contents for distribution to more unfortunate folks in the northern climes who had to buy them at premium price for only a short period of time each year.

There's nothing like a charcoal grilled hamburger with a slice of Grainger County, Tennessee tomato and a slice of Toombs County, Georgia onion.  It's one of those simple things in life that you only miss when you can't get it anymore. 

Chop up a Vidalia and sprinkle it into some "soup beans"- pinto beans for those who don't know better- add a slice of cornbread with some real cow butter and a big glass of southern "sweet tea" and you're set to go.

It's a felony in Georgia to sell some old "hot" onion labeled as a Vidalia.  Some "onionleggers" as they were dubbed were prosecuted. They were mixing in regular onions with Vidalias. You know, a couple of good 'uns in the top of the basket and the rest were duds from Texas, or Mexico, even from out of The United States- from Florida. Now,  there's a little label that's supposed to be on each onion.

They have a Vidalia festival in (where else) Vidalia, Georgia where they even make Vidalia onion ice cream.  I'm not sure I would go that far, but it's the only kind of onion I can stand to eat all by itself.  See, this is not a garnish, this is the real-deal honest-to-pete gen-u-ine son of the south onion, as sweet as Miss Scarlet's voice on a hot summer night in at-LAYAN-tuh.

Hungry yet?

Here's my favorite Vidalia recipe:

Core a medium Vidalia that has been peeled and washed.  Do not core it all the way through, just about two thirds of the way.  In the hole, place a beef bullion cube, and fill the rest of the hole with butter.  Take the onion, wrap it up in aluminum foil like a Hershey Kiss, and place it on the grill for about 20-25 minutes, depending on the heat.  You will know it's done when you can stick a meat fork into the side of the foil and there is no resistance. You can slather pieces of that roasted Vidalia over a steak, on a burger, or as a side item to nearly anything. 

I can taste them already.

The nurses were gathering the teenager's personal possessions.  They knew the parents were on the way to the hospital.  Mom and dad had been told their son was in a bad accident and he had been badly injured.  What they didn't know was that most of their sixteen year old son's head had been smashed away in a car crash.  When they got to the hospital they were told the truth: their son was dead, and no, it would be best if they did not see his body right now.

I was there.  I rode in the ambulance that recovred his body and took it to the hospital.  I smelled that horrid musky smell from the blood that ran from his body into the floor of the ambulance and dripped out the door.  We ran with lights and siren because of that, not because we needed to be in any particular hurry.

Afterwards, the medics had to mop out the ambulance and make it ready for another call.  New sheets, Lysol smell, bad memories.

That scene will be played out several times this spring as young people enter "prom season"- the euphemism that really means the weather is warm, the alcohol is available, and the cars are fast and waiting to be challenged to see how fast they can go around a particular curve on some road.  The trees, telephone poles, and unfortunately, innocent drivers are also out there waiting.

After every young person's death there's reaction from friends.  There are roadside memorials, and even small groups standing in prayer.  Lots of emotion from young people who are already feeling the pangs of growing up and the lure of access to excess.

But after those memorials, the teddy bears on the side of the road, the styrofoam Crosses and ribbons, death lives on.  It hurts the parents so deeply they never recover.  I know parents of a friend of mine who died when he was eighteen.  They once told me that they often woke up at night- thinking they heard their son's car in the driveway. 

No amount of ribbons can replace a little girl who was smashed by a car load of drunken fools out for a good time.  They were going a hundred miles an hour and hit her car head on.  The child and her father died.  There are no words and no justice to offer enough solace to that woman.

Of course teenagers are saddened at the loss of a friend in a car accident.  But they have not lived long enough to realize that life is finite. It ends, and never continues on this earth.  You die, and you leave an empty space in the heart of a family. Death lives on.

After the roadside memorials have faded and the survivors have gone on with their lives- death lives on in the countless thoughts of "what might have been" in the life of the person who died.  Bread winners in families die, leave widows, and children who, I have been told, sometimes ask repeatedly where the mother or father has gone.  Try explaining that to a three year old.

As grown-ups we have a choice.  We can look the other way and pretend that those accidents always happen to someone else who "had it coming the way they were acting", or we can face facts.

Kids can get alcohol.  Some of you even provide the booze, or at least the opportunity to get it in your house. 

Some of you know your children are driving cars that have far too much power and potential performance for the young inexperienced driver at the wheel.  We don't give new pilots high performance planes to fly because they can get killed.  But some folks, without hesitation buy performance cars knowing full-well they can get even an experienced driver killed, not to mention the kid with the keys.

High schoolers grow up, move away and forget the roadside memorials and the temporary grief they felt at the death of a friend.

But for the family members of that young person- death lives on.  

Think.

Please.

I have seen enough.

You never know how you'll react to the important things.

This weekend, my oldest became engaged to be married to a very nice young man. He's the kind of straight-up, morally straight and loving man that you hope your daughter would find, and fall in love.

So, what do I do? One friend asked me if I would cry at the wedding.

There's no reason to cry over the next step of her life's journey.  This is a joyous time, and a time to celebrate what I believe is the successful raising of a child. This is simply the course of nature, the way God intended for us to live, prosper, and create more of us.

There should be no tears, because all of the years of growing, the hardships, the fun times, and the learning were for a purpose.  My first born was the test-bed for all of my parenting skills.  I had to learn on her, and without one brother or sister between my wife and I, it really was a grand experiment with Bethany.

We learned the limits of control, and how strict we should be.  Her spiritual growth and teaching from her mother and I was a journey into our own souls to teach what is really important.

Disclipline was strict, more so than for her brother and sister who followed her. Again, poor Bethany was our test product for raising children.  I hope we did no permanent damage in those "go to your room" sessions.

There were some scary times, like the time her life nearly ended from a blood clot.  Before that, there were countless bumps and bruises along the way, as if she were trying to break at least one of every bone on her body; so much so that we were afraid we were going to see a DFACS investigator in our house.  After all, how many children are pushed out of a tree house by a Labrador Retriever?

Bumps, bruises, lessons, happiness, family time.

Cry? 

Well..maybe a little..alone. 

But it'll be tears of joy, and a celebration of the continuing of life.

I heard something on ABC's nightly newscast that nearly made me drive off the road.  The network is doing a two-part piece on the very real epidemic of child abuse in The United States.

In the third or fourth sentence of the report, the script said that drug abuse, domestic trouble, AND POVERTY were reasons for 2,900 dead children in America. 

Now wait just a minute...

Poverty?  If poverty is really one of the causes of child abuse, my father, and thousands upon thousands of other children who grew up in the depression should have experienced rampant child abuse.

Keep poverty out of the equation.  Being poor does not make you decapitate your child, drown your child, or leave your child in a closet.  There are dozens of agencies that can make sure you have something to feed your child, clothes for them, and even medical care.

Delete poverty.  Add stupidity, callous attitudes that even wild animals do not show to their young, meth-rotten brains that are so paranoid they cannot function, unwillingness to ask for help because of pride or fear, and just plain mean people.  Sick people. 

People who need to be locked up.  And kept locked away.  Or executed.

Poverty my eye.  I have seen countless families who have been strengthened by adversity, their personality annealed by the trials. 

I know of someone who only owned the clothes on His back, and He loved children, and had some very strong warnings for those who would hurt them.

I have been fortunate enough to have covered at least one event involving every president since Richard Nixon.  Some of the people I work with were not even alive when Nixon was president.  Their mom and dad were probably still in elementary school when I was hauling around a bulky tape recorder on the field at Neyland Stadium.

Richard Nixon came to Knoxville during the week the bombing started in Cambodia.  His staff apparently thought that an apppearance at a Billy Graham Crusade in the southeastern U-S would be a safe venue for him to deliver a speech.  Wrong.  There were protesters.  Most of them were outside the stadium, but as I remember around twenty or so managed to get into the crusade and to some extent disrupt the president's speech.

Things were so different then. We could walk to within a few feet of the president, standing nearly beside his Secret Service detail.  Things change.  Attempts on the president's life caused the biggest change in security until September 11th. But it was still an interesting if not grueling day when the cheif executive came to town.  You could still enjoy parts of it and the spectacle was always something to talk about. 

But the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington made covering the president one tremendous hassle. I covered the opening of the Jimmy Carter Library in Atlanta on its dedication day.  All of the former presidents and the president himself were there.  Security was understandibly intense.  But that even pales in comparison with what is done in preparation for the president today.

It's a shame but necessary that we take precautions against the unthinkable. It's one of those subtle things that we didn't even imagine in the first few days of the WTC and Pentagon attacks.  Lots of access to people and places disappeared in the smoke and pain of those attacks.

The biggest hassle is time.  You have to be in place for the presidential event for no shorter than an hour and more likely two or longer.  That makes for an especially long day if you have flat feet or a bad back.  I feel sorry for the TV folks who have to hang on to a lot of gear. At least my kit is compact.

You are sniffed at least once by a dog, and passed through metal detectors and wand examined, and all kinds of checks.  Don't even think about getting close if you don't have identification.

Of course there are snipers present, and all kinds of other security measures that you can see, but probably should not talk about, lest you get a visit from some agents who are wondering what your motive is for talking so freely about their efforts.

The pack of jackals known as The Washington Press Corps travels with the president, gets the first row seats and all the interviews.  The White House knows that what he says to those people will likely make it on national broadcasts or in the big newspapers.

There is one notable exception to the White House media:  Peter Maier, a former WSB Radio newsman is  one of the few class acts to follow the president regularly. Most of the other people are not much more than press release readers and sound bite seekers. 

Pack journalism. Bah!

The extensive changes to the presidential security procedures, added to the arm's length distance the local people are kept from the president makes for a lot of effort for not very much in substantive reporting.

In my opinion, a local reporter would do much better concentrating on the local people who are there for the president, including the politicos who show up, and those who do not.  My former news director Lee Hall and I came up with a "no public official" day that we would delcare from time-to-time at WSB. For that entire day, we could not put the voice of any public official on-the-air. Instead, we would have to interview "regular" people related to the story.

Maybe(with the exception of the president's speech)we should have a "no public official" day when the president is in town. That would be a heck of a lot easier to do, waste less time waiting around, and probably turn out meatier stories.

I'll be around on the day the president comes to town, mainly to offer advice and keep things rolling along on-the-air.  But I am glad that I'm not the one who will have to stand and wait, and wait, and wait.  Rain, cold, heat, no toilet...I've been there, done that..and wish the young-uns all the best in their effort.

The "Independent" Newspaper in London says scientists are using infrared technology to read ancient manuscripts by some of the greats of classical literature.  Experts will reportedly unlock some of the secrets of the ancient world.

Oxford says it will be able to see writings by Sophocles, Euripides and Hesiod.  Most interesting to me is the claim that it will also be able to see some Christian Gospels that have been hidden for two thousand years. 

The papyrus treasure trove was found in an ancient rubbish heap Thousands of previously illegible manuscripts containing work by some of the greats of classical literature are being read for the first time using technology which experts believe will unlock the secrets of the ancient world.

Among treasures already discovered by a team from Oxford University are previously unseen writings by classical giants including Sophocles, Euripides and Hesiod. Invisible under ordinary light, the faded ink comes clearly into view when placed under infra-red light, using techniques developed from satellite imaging.

The Oxford documents form part of the great papyrus hoard salvaged from an ancient dump in the Graeco-Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus.  They've had the writings for more than a century but the ink was so faded, it could not be read.   Now, some new technology developed from space science will reveal the words. 

All the violence of a street gang plus the anti-American ideals of Al Quaeda.  It could happen.

Mara Salvatruchas, or MS-13 is the name of a Salvadoran Gang.  It's also called MS-13.  Watch for MS-13 to appear more frequently in the news in the coming weeks and months.

I've done some research on MS-13 in the past few days. MS-13 started in Salvador, and Mara Salvatruchas is derived from the name of a street in El Salvador.  The gang apparently started as self defense for attacks against Salvadorans in gang territory within some of the larger cities in the southwestern U-S and California.

It's evolved into a powerful orginization that is blamed for some particularly violent crimes. 

One of the latest is in Houston, Texas where a 19 month old baby was shot twice in the head when a man opened fire on a car load of family members coming home from a trip to a snow cone stand.  It apparently started over some kind of tailgating incident where the father pulled over to let another car pass. 

Instead of passing, the Nissan  pulled in front of the family car, blocked it, then a man from the Nissan opened fire. The child was instantly killed.  Nobody else was wounded. The shooter dropped a cell phone which led to the arrest.

There have been other especially violent crimes related to MS-13 in several other American cities. Apparently these people make the Crips, Bloods, and other gangs pale in comparison with other attacks.

But the most dangerous thing about MS-13 is the report that some of its members are talking with Al Quaeda.  You can check the reports for yourself by doing a Google Search on the name of the Gang.  It's scary.

This is a copy of a piece I wrote in a newsgroup for The Poynter Institute For Media Studies:

I might have a different idea about obtaining an interview from an emotional person. I've talked to some very emotional people while working in another capacity with our volunteer fire department here in Seymour.

It's extremely tough sometimes to even get a complete thought from a person who has experienced some kind of trauma. Names, telephone numbers, basic information can be wiped out by the grief or pain.

And please keep in mind that in rural areas fire/EMS/rescue people are often volunteers- members of the community and possibly have strong emotions about the story, too.

Time and distance can clarify those thoughts.

One technique that I have found both humane and productive is to approach the person you want to interview with the right body language.

Many times, I'll leave my equipment in the car, or secured somewhere else, then I'll approach the person.

Be human and express your condolences or whatever seems appropriate, then ask if the person feels up to an interview.

If the answer is no. I walk away. I would rather face an angry assignment editor who could not judge the situation from a desk than press someone and cause even more personal distress.

Most of the time, if your intended interview declines, they will suggest someone else who might be willing to talk.

And listen to the suggestion of a de-briefing for reporters. Whether you think you need it or not...you do. It's easier to talk away the nightmares than spend the night awake re-living what you saw and heard.

Once again this afternoon, I heard Coach Phil Fulmer explain that a football player had made a "bad social decision".  Actually he was talking about a couple of players accused of attacking another person.  The other person's head injuries required four surgical staples to close.  I have heard that "bad social decision" phrase used improperly for the past several months when the coah tries to explain why one of the University of Tennessee football players wound up on the wrong side of the law.

For clarification purposes, I would like to compare and contrast (a phrase some football players would not recognize as something from a classroom  assignment) "bad social decision", and "getting into trouble with the law". There is a difference.  Here goes:

BAD SOCIAL DECISIONS

• Belching at the dinner table in front of your in-laws.
• Picking your nose at a wedding reception.
• Pooting in public then placing your thumb on your forehead then yelling "Safety!"
• Calling "shotgun" when you are leaving the funeral home en-route to the graveyard.
• Wearing a Hells Angels jacket to the bank when you apply for a loan.
• Eating mashed vegetables with your hands.

TROUBLE WITH THE LAW

• Beating your girlfriend/spouse/significant other
• Smacking someone with a baseball bat
• Stealing
• Breaking someone's face following a pick-up basketball game
• Keeping weed in your dorm room
• Fighting in bars
• Fighting with police
• Fighting period
• Threatening to beat someone

Do you see a pattern developing here?

Teachers in elementary school use the phrase "making a bad social decision" to describe children who have not yet learned to behave. When a person gets to college age, it is normally expected that they have left behind their propensity to "make a bad social decision" by reading the actions versus consequences chart on the 5th grade classroom wall.

A bad social decision-even a very loud air trumpet in Sunday School- will not get you in trouble with the law.  So let's  quit ignoring the elephant in the living room and call those "social decisions" what they are.  They are arrests.  In some cases arrests for violent crimes.

Many of us have made bad social decisions.  I even wore a white belt and a leisure suit once.  But so far, none have caused me to land in the back of a patrol car or paddy wagon.

"Bad social decisions"... grow up.

It's easy to understand why some stories might be missed this week, with all of the coverage of the death of Pope John Paul II.   But the death of the pope did not stop Fox News from leaping onto a story that touches..hmmmm...two or three lives in California.  The only thing that managed to break the Fox TV News continuing coverage this afternoon was a police pursuit in Los Angeles.  Two guys in a six-year-old-stolen car trumps coverage of a Papal death. 

There's a new engineering report issued about the collapse of the World Trade Center.  And I doubt it will get a lot of mention this week.  The report says if fireproofing material inside the WTC had been better, the towers might not have collapsed on September 11th.

The National Institute of Standards And Technology has done a detailed examination of technical factors in the attacks.  The impact of the planes apparently knocked much of the insulation off the support beams and allowed the fire to compromise the strength of the steel supports.  

I know there will be lots of conspiracy theorists who disagree with the assessment, but I have seen steel act in that manner during other structure fires.  One fire chief has written in a national publication that steel supported buildings are quite dangerous in a fire, and many times, fire crews should stay out unless there's danger to lives.

This new report suggests that builders look for new ways to insulate steel beams from fire.  Smaller structures could benefit from the new technology.

But nobody ever builds a structure with the though of a loaded airliner smacking into it's side.  That requires another kind of safety insulation.  Insulation from maniacs hell-bent on killing innocent people.  I would wager the steel experts will come up with their solution long before there's a comprehensive plan for that -other- kind of protection.

-foulk