That can go along with old Birmingham memories, such as the site of our first zoo with an elephant named Miss Fancy. All that history came rushing back when the mayor officially re-opened the Avondale Park.
But by the time you have eaten more than your fill and overdosed on football and naps, you will want to get out of the house. If history is any guide, you will be thinking about a movie. And the most historical movie in this part of the world is GWTW. As you will see in the Get Out! section, there is an unprecedented amount of memorabilia from the first merchandised movie right up the road in Gadsden, of all places. That is because George Terrell is there, a history professor at Gadsden State who knows more about the movie’s back story than most people know about their own family dysfunctional history. This is not the first exhibition he has put together of Rhett and Scarlett paraphernalia, but it is the biggest, so far.
Don’t forget there is a little contest brewing. I threw down the challenge last week that anyone who could answer my question could win a free gift certificate to Mudtown. We only have one winner so far, though many have tried. So Cooper Bennett is definitely headed to Mudtown to dine.
All of the rest of you are vying for second place. There are two ways you can get into the drawing for another Mudtown gift certificate, and that is by answering the question I posed last week about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s one-word contribution to the final movie script.
Once you have the answer, you can put yourself in position to score some Jamaican smokehouse press and tomato aioli by weighing in on the debate whether F.Scott Fitzgerald’s contribution was worth it, collecting a paycheck for his famous one-word contribution. I will pick the best explanation.
You see F. Scott labored long over the pages, but in the end only had one lasting inspiration. There is a giant clue in this week’s Weekly. If you read the paper you can hardly miss what word from the film is omitted in Margaret Mitchell’s original transcript. Of course you will also get the answer if you to Gadsden and take a tour with curator George Terrell of the Gone with the Wind exhibit described in Get Out! (since many people will be getting out this weekend to go to the movies, anyway).
On the down side, it is only one word.
On the other hand, it may not be the same movie without it. It comes from the most quoted line. Many researched it. I know it can be done because Bunny found enough information to guess it. She also informed me what is the most quoted movie line in history into the bargain.
There is a clue in the paper about that movie line, too. Oh what the hell, I will throw in another Mudtown gift certificate if you can guess it. But don’t ask Bunny because she is sworn to silence, and unlike the country girl--whose crass disappearance we will commemorate this week, along with her lunch break lies and transgressions--Bunny can be trusted.
Ascertain the answer, find a place for safekeeping, send it to bhamweekly@gmail.com, and let me know what you make of the debate whether F. Scott earned his paycheck. We will publish the best answer(s) along with giving away food to the worthy.
There are many benefits to being a writer for the Weekly. Our writer, comedian Chris Davis (not to be confused with the Auburn defensive back of the same name, or our music writer Chris Davidson--not Chris Davis’ son, at least not that I know of) got some action in response to his printed description of his loss of service. See the letters to the editor to see how solicitous the cable company was to resolve his complaint. Now that is clout the likes of which is unknown outside the most hated man in the SEC. I bet now Chris can even get a definite appointment. Auburn laughed at us when we asked for credentials to do one of our tongue in cheek stories about the game--I am going to get Chris Davis right on it!
Now that the cable is working, we can at least watch the big game on TV. Last week we ran through some of the neurotic details of BCS watching. Not even the most self-deluded publisher could have hoped for an Iowa State victory--much less Baylor, too, though we did dare to pick Southern Cal. But we got the gist of it right, that Bama would most likely go to the NC game without even playing for the SEC championship.
I hope this holiday you can all be thankful for such shortcuts to happiness and success. But, unlike the country girl, just be honest and reliable vis a vis your loved ones. Getting through Thanksgiving unscathed is that simple.
