Wilson Post Blogs

IT’S A WEIGHTY ISSUE

By Angel Kane

Wilson Living Magazine

By the time, you read this article, I will have been eating meat and only meat for a solid week!

So, about six months ago, I woke up with the worst back pain. And like any sane person, I refused to go the doctor. So month after month, I have just wallowed in my pain.

Finally, those around me couldn’t take my complaining anymore, demanding I see a doctor.

As I explained my symptoms to the nurse, she required I get on the scale.

And herein lies the problem with doctors.

No matter what the symptom…be it a raging cold, fiery rash or bulging disc…for some reason, only known to these so called medical professionals, they insist on knowing my weight.

And honestly, if they would just ask me, I’d tell them.

I weigh 110 pounds. The same amount I have weighed since high school. See, I don’t mind saying it out loud.

But Nurse Hatchet didn’t buy it, insisting I get on that scale to prove it.

So, Becky called me after I was done with the X-ray.

“Did the doctor find anything?”

“He is supposed to call me tomorrow but I’m sure that X-ray is going to show I’m secretly pregnant with a 12 pound baby, because if it doesn’t, I am going to blow up his stupid scale!”

Unfortunately, the X-ray was fine and it turns out the only bundle of joy I’ve had lately, consists of my late night hot chocolates made with whole milk and my deliciously warm peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies.

As a result of my regrettable run in, with that clearly malfunctioning scale, I convinced Becky to start dieting with me. But this time we are doing it right! We joined an actual diet center.

You know, the ones where you hand people hard earned money so they can tell you all the things you can not eat and then they ….weigh you.

Because that’s not insane.  

Resolutions Schmesolutions! 

By Becky Andrews

It’s that time of year again. Relatives are heading home, we say goodbye to the tree and that stupid elf till next year, returns are made and my jeans feel about three sizes too small and I’ve not even put them in the dryer. Regret from my over consumption of cheese balls, peanut butter balls, chips, dip, wine, cookies fill my head every time I see a new ‘NOT APPROVED’ photo floating around on Facebook. I have to diet and lose the weight that crept on between October 31^st and January 1^st. I knew it was time for an intervention when I bit the inside of my cheek while noshing on a handful of fried peanuts (Seriously!). Extra weight was now on my already full cheeks!

So I decided to get a head start on the weight loss wagon and made the plunge on December 27^th. Then by noon of that first day of a sugar detox, I caved and ate a piece of candy out of the office stash. In order to forego the guilt, I thought it’s better to ease in. Who starts a diet a few days before New Year’s? What was I trying to prove? Yes, I want to lose weight but it’s not like I’m training for the Olympics.

The smartest thing to do was look at the calendar, pick a date and stick to it. While January is the perfect month to start, January 1^st is out for obvious reasons. January 2nd falls on a Wednesday and everyone knows, Monday is THE day to start a diet. The following Monday is out because we have a dinner to go to that night and it would be rude to say no to the host’s offerings. In fact the only Monday in January I can start my new plan is the 7^th and the following Monday is the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. That means the kids are out of school so that would only give me one good week to eat right so why bother?  I could start on the last Monday of January but that weekend brings Groundhog Day and the Super Bowl so that’s out. If I start the first Monday of February, that gives me eight good days before Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day so that’s out.

The way it stands now I have two weeks at the end of February and the first week in March to lose the weight I gained from the holidays. After that there’s International Women’s Day, Daylight Savings Time, World Kidney Day, Spring Break for the kids, Saint Patrick’s Day, Good Friday, Easter… the list goes on and on. But I’m going to do it! I’ve got 21 days (18 if you count the days we have a kids birthday party) to lose this stubborn weight.  I have no doubt I can do this and as long as no one asks how the diet is going the first 3 days nobody gets hurt.

By PATRICK HALL
Special to The Wilson Post

The 85th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, and while I spent quite some time mulling over the most deserving films, I am settling on the fact that “Lincoln” will be the winner in the big categories, despite the fact that I don’t see it as the best of the nominees.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on a book by Doris Kearns Goodwin, “Lincoln” received rave reviews, most notably for the otherworldly performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as President Abraham Lincoln.

The film was truly outstanding and a wonderful look into one of our greatest Presidents, as well as the political fight over the death of slavery. It is nominated for a whopping 12 awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Costume Design, Best Directing, Film Editing, Original Score, Production Design, Sound Mixing and Best Adapted Screenplay.

All things considered, I’m guessing “Lincoln” wins four awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Day-Lewis and Best Director for Spielberg and Best Supporting Actress for Sally Field, as Mary Todd Lincoln.

To me, “Lincoln” was mind-blowingly good upon first seeing it. Day-Lewis’s performance as the embattled and depressed, but resolute President was transcendent. With subtly of movements and facial expressions alongside moments of power and charisma, in "Lincoln", Day-Lewis continued to make his case as one of the best actors to ever step in front of a camera.

This time of the year is pretty exciting to us bird lovers as there is always the possibility that some rare species will show up at our bird feeders. Several offerings of different seeds keep my little lunch counter overflowing. Goldfinch, Housefinch, three different species of Woodpeckers, along with the more common birds share my backyard habitat. There were more than 25 Morning Doves looking like miniature vacuum cleaners moving back and forth sucking up every morsel of seed from off the ground. My other ground scratchers were Song Sparrows and a pair of Carolina Wrens. I take a biscuit, cut it in half and lay it on the window sill where the Wrens wear it out. I can be in the kitchen and all of a sudden "whap-whap-whap" draws my attention to one or both of them pounding on the hard, dried-out biscuit.

Bird feeding has become a lucrative business for many seed companies. Millions of dollars in sales mark this as much more than a simple hobby. There is one thing you should take care to check: dates. I have a bag of Nyher seed that the Goldfinch will not touch, and most of you know how expensive some of the seed has become. I put it aside and purchased a new bag which the Goldfinch absolutely love. I tried to trick them and put the other seed back in the feeders. There must be a certain smell to it because they turned their noses, or beaks, up and refused to partake of it. I guess that I will scatter it on the ground for my doves, as they'll eat most anything if it doesn't move too quick.

I am so ready for this cold weather to move on and warm up a bit.  While watching out the kitchen window, there was a streak of blue out in the backyard. My Bluebirds have returned and have been checking out their old haunts. Before you start your spring cleaning on your birdhouses, please protect yourselves from breathing in old dried bird droppings. Remember what it did to my health back in 2011. At the least, put on some kind of protection to prevent ingesting some kind of spores or other nasty bacteria. When I was in a coma for two weeks, it affected me with pneumonia, and other nerve damage, plus, I had to learn how to walk again.

Back to our Bluebirds, make sure that the house is constructed properly for what you are hoping to have as tenants. There are a lot of do-it-yourselfers out there, just rearing to use a saw and some nails and a hammer and show off their building skills just to make the perfect home for some nasty starlings. My first birdhouse, to me, was a masterpiece a home for four different birds all rolled into one. As luck would have it, really good luck in my boat, there were a pair of House Wrens that promptly moved in, the first nesting record in Wilson County for this species according to the late William Senter. Have you ever seen a preacher dance? He did a jig right in my own backyard.

This is a mixed up month. You never know what to do. One day the crappies are hitting and the next you could freeze your tukus off. You may hear a turkey gobble or get cold hands catching a walleye or sauger. It is a great month for striper…if you have any desire to catch one and one some days; it is just dandy for floating a stream.

It was 2002 and MTSU was looking for a basketball coach to replace Randy Wiel.

Then Athletics Director Boots Donnelly had moved from the football field to run the department.

By PATRICK HALL
Special to The Wilson Post 

Best Picture nominee “Silver Linings Playbook” is a genuine and emotional look into the lives of two individuals, mostly described as “crazy,” but the truth is, the film succeeds in pulling back the curtain on all our lives and the truth that we all have flaws and depend on those around us to love, forgive and accept our particular brand of “crazy.”

Pat (Bradley Cooper) is bipolar, and in a psychiatric hospital thanks to him nearly beating a man to death when he found his wife having an affair. But really, what’s the big deal? After all, his father, Pat, Sr. (Robert De Niro) is banned from Philadelphia Eagles football games for fighting too many people in the stands.

But at home, Pat struggles to accept his condition and overcome it, with the help of his family and an unlikely companion, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). She’s not without her own emotional baggage. Tiffany’s husband, a police officer, was killed, and she was fired from her job for sleeping with “everyone in the office.”

Pat has no filter when speaking. Tiffany is angry, lonely and struggling to cope with her life. Together, Cooper and Lawrence are fascinating and mix together in a beautiful play of emotional tension, hilarious outbursts and heartbreaking struggles.

A good thing happened Jan. 24. Caving to pressure from hunters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts, the huge, long-running Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show (ESOS) folded their tent and cancelled their show in Harrisburg, PA.

So what? What does that have to do with someone here in Cedar City? A lot. As I have said before, I am not concerned about banning assault weapons because the whole thing is not about guns. It is about control, it is about taking away of rights-yours and mine. Guns just happen to be the vehicle to which it is tied. The outdoor/hunting/sporting industry let it be known, that would not happen. They were willing to take the financial impact of taking a stand and saying, “Hell no! Not on our watch.” They did so in a way that works far better than 1,000,000 words in print and lip service. They did so by hitting the pocket book.

See, here is what happened and how it shook down. The ESOS has been running for a long time. It runs for 10 days, scheduled to open Feb. 2. However, the giant exhibition halls stayed dark. Back on  Jan. 17, they decided to ban assault rifles and large magazines from display at the show, some of the items Sen. Feinstein has on her laundry list legislation. A company named Reed, from Great Britain manages this show and some others. I guess they did not think anyone would mind or maybe even notice.

Then, the cagada hit the oscillator. One after another by the dozens, then hundreds, huge companies such as Cabela’s, Ruger, Ford Trucks, John Deere, Dicks Sporting Goods, Jack Daniels, Mossberg, Savage Arms, Winchester and other outfits large and small refused to come…just pulled out. Said, “Nope, if you are going to refuse us our second amendment rights, we just won’t show. The last list I saw numbered over 300 exhibitors that had backed out.

Then the seminar speakers, the big names from television almost to a lot did the same. Even Uncle Ted said no to a speaking engagement. Think about the economic impact that made on that show. By Jan. 23, hundreds of exhibitors and speakers had pulled out. It is comparable to all of the Super Bowl commercials cancelling and then, most of the players refusing to show up. Those folks stood up for all of our second amendment rights and put their money on the line to do so.

This show for some is the biggest of the year. To withdraw is a huge hit to their income. For many of the exhibitors, missing this show would hit their annual bank account by as much as one-half. They did not miss a beat. Even companies with no ties or interest in guns pulled out. For some outfitters, it was the only show they worked all year. They might book 90% of their clients there and there was a waiting list for booth space.

Not now.

I worked the show for many years. For me, it was a big payday. I have not gone in some time. Had I been booked, I would have joined the boycott immediately even though it had nothing to do with the archery industry and basically, nothing to do with me. That would have meant a loss to me of $6,500 and expenses. I had to grin as I saw one archery company after another, large and small, join the boycott and say, “No, not on our watch.”

Then came the wash of demands by ticket buyers for refunds and entire busloads cancelled their trips. You see, ESOS draws as many as 500,000 attendees a year. They just let it be known, they were not going to come to a show that was being boycotted so heavily. Let that number rattle around in your head for a few minutes.

A half million spenders. The last figure I saw came from someone with the government in Harrisburg. They claimed it would amount to nearly $80-million direct and in trickle down money. That is serious money. But not to Reed. They are a huge business and ESOS is small potatoes to them.

Therefore, Reed canceled the show. They said they would refund all money spent on tickets in advance and probably the exhibitor fees. However, I am not sure that will get them out of trouble with the American outdoor industry and Americans in general.

Reed also produces the mega-giant, Shooting-Hunting Outdoor Trade Show-SHOT Show. Although Harrisburg is a relatively small show for Reed, the SHOT Show in Las Vegas is not. The National Shooting Sports Foundation owns it. Think of it as the Detroit Auto Show except for shooting, hunting and outdoor equipment. It is gagalopicle big. As you might guess, they were not too pleased with Reed’s decision to ban “black” guns. To lose that show would be a hit in the old Euros for Reed. NSSF said they were taking a wait and see approach.

Now, I do not know how much national media attention this will garner. Probably, outside of outdoor writers and outdoor programming, it will get very little. It is too far on the wrong side of mainstream media. It did make national television news on Jan. 24. One sentence was about it and that was incorrect. In addition, the mayor of Harrisburg made one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever heard. She blamed the NRA. Likely, it will get her unelected in the next election.

However, this one event may provide our government officials with a scary look at just what Americans will do when their second amendment rights are tampered with by anybody. Oddly, it came on the same day Sen. Feinstein offered her ridiculous proposed gun control bill.

In addition to the millions of tax dollars, it cost the state of PA and the city of Harrisburg, the HRI folks in and around that city took a huge hit. Hotels that sold out for 10-12 days were empty. Eating joints and the folks who supply them had plenty of room. We are talking about a tremendous amount of revenue that just did not happen. It went away because as an industry, we said no. We will take the financial hit for what we believe in and so you will you. That is exactly how citizens make a difference. They attack the pocket book. No amount of marching and rhetoric will have the impact of dollars lost.

I don’t know but I suspect the ESOS is for sale. I cannot imagine Reed trying to smooth things out. They insulted too many of the wrong people. However, a show that size will come back. I believe under new management, good old U.S. of A. management. In addition, it will once again be one of the major shows for the outdoor industry.

And…they will have guns on display…lots of guns.

Contact JOHN L. SLOAN at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Brandt Snedeker is spending this week in Maui. No, not playing golf. The PGA Tour star is taking a well-deserved family vacation.

Life is good. For Snedeker, it’s great. He is one of the hottest golfers in the game right now.

It's been a while since I have been able to write an article on Our Feathered Friends, so I am hoping you have missed me as much as I have missed you. Most of my problems have consisted of pain in my left hand, where typing has been at a premium for me. Several of you have either called me or my Mother to ask whats going on, why did he stop writing? I will try to keep you all informed of my medical problems that conflict with my being able to sit down at my computer and type an article.

I received an e-mail from my good friend Betsy Sellars Foutch about her sighting of a flock of large white birds with black wingtips. The first thing that comes to mind is the Whooping Crane, (Grus Americana), which is our tallest North American bird and also on the federal endangered species list. Hunting and loss of habatit was the reason for their decline. Bach in 1941 the population had dropped down to twentyone in the wild, and only two that was in captivity. With carefull conservation efforts, these Cranes have made a slight comeback, which by the year, 2011, the numbers have improved to 437 in the wild with 165 in captivity. They are not out of the woods yet.

It may not have been the most flawless Super Bowl, but it was top tier in my book when it came to excitement and action, both on and off the football field.

Off the field, kudos to whoever made it happen for the Sandy Hook Elementary School students to sing just prior to kickoff. To see those young kids, full of life and innocence, makes you wonder how on earth anyone could ever shoot and kill some of their classmates.

The turkey crawl
It is what a spring afternoon should be; warm with a slight breeze and the warm air redolent with honeysuckle and other sweet-smelling blooms. The true turkey hunters have not arrived. Bo and I are taking a busman’s holiday and going for a turkey crawl in the Alabama pinewoods. When we were younger, we use to do that now and then. We don’t do it all now.

By PATRICK HALL
Special to The Wilson Post 

Captivating and beautiful, while also at times, littered with grit and destruction, “Beasts of the Southern Wild” is a fantastic film tribute to those who chose to stay the course and not leave their homes during Hurricane Katrina, and the performance by its lead actress is downright amazing.

“Beasts” is a film not many around here had the chance to see, and thankfully, it is available to rent now, but it is one of nine films up for Best Picture at the 85th Academy Awards on Feb. 24. Directed by Ben Zeitlin, the film follows little bayou resident “Hushpuppy,” played brilliantly, and captivatingly by Quvenzhané Wallis, as she struggles with her father’s declining health and the apparent destruction of the physical world around her.

The first thing that will jump out at you is the setting. Taking place in a tiny bayou community, “the Bathtub”, at the very southernmost edge of Louisiana’s coastline, the community is simple and its residents are content with their lives and find joy in life.

Hushpuppy lives in a run-down mobile home on stilts, connected to her father’s home by a rope and bell, which he rings when he’s prepared supper. Her father, Wink (Dwight Henry) lives in a shack, almost like a tree house, and together they traverse the bayou in a boat that is an old truck bed on oil barrels with a motor attached.

On a regular basis, someone will ask me what I think about gun control. Most are amazed at my answer. You see, I do not care. It is not about gun control. It is about control. Period. Guns are just the current vehicle. To make legislation more palatable, the focus is on “assault weapons”, the ones the gangstas hold sideway and spray bullets everywhere.

Call it karma. Call it right place, right time.

Could former Tennessee and recently inducted Hall of Fame football coach Phillip Fulmer return to the coaching stage?

It is a superb October afternoon. The temperature is in the lower 80’s with a light breeze from the south. Earlier, I caught a basket full of bass in the 1-2 pound range. Now, a turtle rests on the log in the small dove pond behind me. I guess he is sunning. I am sitting in my favorite shooting house overlooking the hay field. I watch the beautiful, silver/grey, white bellied squirrel out in the field. I have lost count of the number of does I have shot from this house overlooking a finger of the hayfield. They come here in bunches. Often the bucks follow.

It has been very quiet recently at Baptist Sports Park.

I guess that means Titans Coach Mike Munchak has completed his staff for next season. Warning: You won’t be able to tell the assistant coaches without a program.

Britt is no choirboy

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting sick and tired of these NFL players breaking the law.

I like a little variety in my outdoor activities. My deer season is over. I finished up in Alabama last Sunday and I’ll tell you all about that next week. So I am done. I probably won’t start fishing for a week or so. However, the crappie and trout are both good right now and I hear tell the sauger are red hot.