Wed 20 Feb 2008
I work on the website for a fund raiser called Jerrys Baddle (bike + paddle = Baddle) a race to honor a friend that died from ALS in 2006. I’ve really been focused on that for the last few days, but I finally have it up and running. Theres a little fine tuning still to do, but everything seems to be working so I’m really happy. This was my most challenging project yet – configuring a shopping cart and not knowing the first thing about how to do it or the php language it’s written in…
Last year I was very proud of being one of two guys over 40 to participate as a GreenMan – both paddle and bike legs of the baddle. This year I don’t think I’ll be able to do either. I had borrowed a friends bike and I don’t think I’ll be able to get it again, and with getting ready for the motorcycle trip I haven’t been in my boat since November. The Green isn’t something I’d want to do off the couch. I’m not writing it off, I’m just coming to terms with the fact that I might just officiate on this one.
I did get a ride in this past Saturday. Shannon and I went out toward Brevard and took forest service roads past the fish hatchery (newly paved) and out toward hwy 215. We stopped at Bear Lake, which was dry:
And then it was getting late so we decided to hit the hard road into Canton. I was leading and coming around a corner I saw two whole hogs butchered and halved, hanging from a tree limb by the the side of the road. We HAD to stop to check this out. I wanted to get some pictures and the polite thing to do was to ask permission. The house was classic Appalachian Holler with broken down machinery, cast off tires and cut fire wood littering the yard. A big black dog on a chain was barking wildly at me but the chain was just short enough to allow a person the get by and knock on the door . So I did.
Gene was sitting on a cot in a clean work room with bluegrass on the radio and a Bud lite in his hand. There was wood stove burning and it look quite cozy. He was genuinely glad to see us and jumped up offering us beers. We declined but he did take us out to see the hogs:
and he invited us in to see his pictures. He didn’t have an album – he had them all stuck to the wall like wall paper. Shots of family and people around tables – and 100 year old black and white shots of his dad and grandfather using mules to pull logs out of the forest out back. All this accompanied by constant Southern commentary that was only occasionally intelligible. I was in… wait for it………. hog heaven! Then we saw the pictures of his still – a sophisticated stainless steel apparatus that was really impressive.
We stepped into a guest room and there below all the photos stuck to the wall, lined up and tucked in bed like little children, were the mason jars. Apple brandy and white lightening, $10 a quart. I had saddle bags ans Shannon had a $20.
The hogs were for sausage he was making Sunday. $2 a pound and hes selling it hard. “yall come be here t’mara. what chew you want? 10 pound spicy an a 10 pound mild?” I was going to go over to the Chatooga Sunday and so had planned to stop by and get a few pounds, but with the bad weather I didn’t make it. I would really like to make Genes a regular stop on that route and I think he’d appreciate the company.