Monkeys Eyebrow...

You are probably wondering where in the world this post came from, so here goes. I was reading several of the Kentucky blogs I follow. They mentioned an article by Pat Forde talking about Coach call-in shows and a reference he made to UK. You can read the article here. Here is what he said about UK.

Not surprisingly, given the over-the-top ardor of its fans, Kentucky has a history of sanity-challenging call-in shows. Tubby Smith (8) probably deserves some kind of humanitarian award for 10 years of enduring them. Tubby isn't a gifted orator -- he starts and stops and hems and haws and will employ the confusing thematic jump-switch in mid-sentence -- but he was a true diplomat during his days in the Bluegrass.

A lot of the calls to Tubby went like this:

"Coach Smith? This is Orville from Monkey's Eyebrow (9)*. I just want to know what it's going to take for us to play more up-tempo, like we used to, and when you're going to put Josh Carrier in the starting lineup. He's a Kentucky boy and I think he deserves a shot."

Translation: When are you going to resign?

Tubby's response: "Well, Orville, you certainly bring up some good points. We'll have to take a look at that."

Translation: You have absolutely no clue. Fifty-five minutes until we're off the air.

*Monkey's Eyebrow is a real town in Kentucky.

Of course, I had to respond..

stuartyancy (1/28/2011 at 6:54 AM)Mr. Forde, I seriously doubt you've ever been to Monkey's Eyebrow. I live in the same county - Ballard so here is some info for you.

I can't vouch for Orville, but I can tell you a little more about Monkey's Eyebrow (since I live in the same county - Ballard).

It's just a wide spot in the road. It's not an incorporated city, it doesn't even have a post office. It's claim to fame it is the location of the TV tower for the local NBC affliate WPSD-TV. I'll tell you I'm a bit skeptical that you heard an actual caller say "he's from Monkey's Eyebrow".

We love the Wildcats in Ballard County just like the rest of the state. We've always especially pulled for Kentucky kids who play for UK. Often, they turn down scholarships at other schools where they could start to just be a member of the UK team. As Adolph Rupp once said "When a baby is born in Kentucky, the parent's first wish is for him to be President like the Kentucky born Abraham Lincoln. The second is that he can play for the University of Kentucky Wildcats".


So, I decided I'd go to Monkeys Eyebrow. I haven't been there in years and years. When I mentioned my plan, Jonathan enthuiastically agreed to go with me. I knew the WPSD TV tower(our local NBC affiliate) was there, so I traced out directions to that.

We went through Bandana to get there. About 20 years ago, I had a "Twilight Zone" moment in Bandana. The congregation I was a member of then (Heath church of Christ) was part of a nationwide evangelistic effort called "One Nation Under God". For four straight weekends, we knocked doors in Western McCracken County and Ballard County. The last place we had to canvass was Bandana. Larry Davis, Keith Anderson and I set out to do that on a Sunday afternoon. We finished and headed out of town (or so we thought). After driving a few miles, we saw a green sign saying we were approaching another small town. Imagine my surprise when it said "Bandana"!. We left again and followed another road. We drove a while (making several turns) and were overjoyed to see another green sign. It said "Bandana". We tried following the sun and moss on the trees and every other sign we could think of and ended up back in Bandana again. Finally I said "Let's go against every logic we can think of and go that way". After several turns, I saw another green sign that said "Ingleside". We were relieved. I made sure I brought a GPS on this trip, just to be safe.

We got to the TV tower with little trouble. You could see it from miles away. We pulled up to its gate and all it had was a block letter sign saying "WPSD" with a phone number and FCC license number. I expected a bigger sign with at least a colorful station logo and "News Channel 6". If it weren't for the tower, the whole place looked non-descript. We drove down Monkeys Eyebrow road. We drove along the outskirts of the Ballard Wildlife Management Area seeing numerous ducks. I'd hoped to see something anyhing with "Monkeys Eyebrow" on it. My understand is the state gave up years ago putting up signs only to have them stolen every time. Finally, I remembered a web site about the area I'd seen. It had a sign in it with the name on it. I called Donna who gave me the address. It's the picture you saw above.

I loaded up the GPS and plotted our course home. Jonathan said "Oh, I know a much better way back to Kevil". I started having Bandana flashbacks. But true to his word, he got us right back. I should have taken him on that trip 20 years ago. He was only one and a half though.

Why is it called Monkeys Eyebrow? I've found several explanations. They range from the brush on hills around the area looking like a "monkey's eyebrow" to the fact that on a county map, the area looks like the eyebrow of a monkey to "this place is only fit for a bunch of monkeys".

Mr Forde, my guess is a Northeastern guy like yourself can't possibly understand the charm and tradition of places like Monkeys Eyebrow, Woodville, Boaz, Freemont, Hardmoney and my namesake Hendron. But we Kentuckians love those places and cherish them in our minds and hearts just like we do our Kentucky Wildcat basketball.

If you want more info about Monkey's Eyebrow, check out this excellent website

Franklin..

A few days ago, I had to go to Franklin Tennessee to do some work with a consultant. I had not visited that part of Nashville suburbia. I've been to downtown, the airport area, and Lebanon Road church of Christ multiple times. I've visited Brentwood (home of Dave Ramsey) and Hendersonville (home of my little sister Melissa and her family). But never Franklin..

The trip started out with my getting a rental car at Hertz. The lady at the counter talked me into taking a Prius. I'd never driven a hybrid or a car like that. The car had push button start and I had a lot of trouble getting the exact sequence down of starting the car. The back class had a large horizontal divider making it hard to see out the back. When I picked up Skip Hancock to head to Franklin, I found out the car beeped the whole time it backed up. I was sorely tempted just to take the car back and ask for another one, but I didn't. Our trip went fine. We ran into traffic at the I-24/I-65 split, but besides that, we had no trouble.

Our work went well. We had a nice leisurely lunch at Steak-n-Shake. I polished off a Double Chocolate milk shake. After our day's work was over, we went to check into our hotel. All of the hotels at our exit were a step below where I generally stay. I am a Drury/Hilton/Mariott guy. These hotels were of the Comfort Inn/Days Inn/Ramada/La Quinta variety. We could have stayed at Cool Springs (a few miles away) but the rooms were 80-100 more. So, I opted for the La Quinta. The room was fine (for 55.00) but it just wasn't what I was used to. It wasn't quite as large and the bathroom wasn't quite as big. There was no workout room. The morning breakfast wasn't as good as even a Fairfield or Hampton. I guess I've gotten a bit spoiled :-) Everybody was nice there. I struck up a conversation with the desk clerk upon seeing him wearing a New York Giants jacket. I talked about my son who liked the Giants and we rehashed the stunning Eagles loss again. The wireless internet worked fine. I did get startled about 6:45am with the loud emptying of a dumpster. All-in-all though it was certainly fine for one night.

That night we at the Franklin Chop House. I have this standing policy (which used to drive my former colleague Craig Vincek crazy) of not wanting to eat anywhere that I could eat at Paducah (prompting my choice that night). They brought out an excellent basket of biscuits and the ribeye dinner was great. My sides of broccoli and baked potato were plentiful. We got out in time to get to the hotel to watch the UK-Alabama game. I shouldn't have bothered. UK got muscled around and got down 20 in the second half. They made a great rally to get the lead to 1, but made several mistakes at the end and lost.

The rest of the work the day as well. We stopped at the Cool Springs exit because I had to go to Krispy Kreme. Alas, the hot light was not on but I got excellent doughnuts nonetheless plus some to take home. We stopped in Clarksville and I devoured a rack of ribs at Chili's. I got home in plenty of time to go to Wednesday night Bible Study as well.

All-in-all it was a decent overnight trip for my first visit to Franklin. We'll be doing more work with this consultant in the future, so it looks like I'll be back..

Sweet Home Alabama...

Jonathan and I set out Friday to go to Kentucky's FIFTH straight bowl game. We've been to the previous four and plan to try and keep going to all the rest as long as we can.

I'd hoped that UK wouldn't go to a bowl game in Tennessee this year. We got our wish but not in the way we hoped. The BBVA Compass Bowl is the bowl game for the last eligible team in the SEC. Once Kentucky lost to Tennessee, they fell all the way to this bowl in Birmingham Alabama. I bought us tickets right after they announced where Kentucky would play.

We left for Birmingham on Friday. The ride down to Birmingham was uneventful. It's pretty much a straight shot on I-65 from Nashville. We stayed at the Hilton Perimeter Hotel. It was a very nice hotel. The desk staff was very friendly and acommodating. We did find out the Pitt band was staying there. They were very nice and well behaved. We checked in and then went to grab a steak dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse (which was excellent). We spent the evening just relaxing at the hotel.

We got up the next morning to a cool, sunny windy day. I went to McDonalds to get breakfast. I was asked "Do you want to try our new oatmeal?". I almost laughed out loud then ordered a few sausage biscuits. We ate and got ready to go to the game.

One of the big reasons we stayed at this hotel was it had a shuttle to Legion Field. I'd heard bad things about the parking there and that the field was in a bad area of town. The shuttle bus was very nice even having TVs tuned to ESPN on it. Our drive went fine. As we approached the stadium, I could see that the neighborhood was really bad looking. I was glad we'd rode on the shuttle bus. The bus brought us right up to the field.

The game is at Legion Field. This field has been there since the 1920's. It was the location of the Iron Bowl (the annual Auburn-Alabama game) for many years. They finally left when the stadium did not keep up with the quality of their home stadiums. The stadium certainly looks its age. I especially noticed this as I walked around. I noticed it more as the game progressed. The sound system was inaudible most of the time. We couldn't tell what penalties were called or what was going on. One of the two video boards went out as well. The seats were almost all bleachers except for a few suites. The seating was cramped as well. But as a guy next to me said, until UK starts winning more games, this is what they'll (and we'll get).

Pitt had been through a lot. Their head coach resigned (he was really forced out). They hired a new coach only to fire him a week or so later after he arrested on a domestic violence charge. Their defensive coordinator agreed to coach even though he'd accepted another job too. UK's quarterback Mike Hartline was out for the game because he'd been arrested at the end of the season. Pitt was a slight favorite.

Kentucky quelled the first Pitt drive with an interception. UK drove to the 35 but QB Morgan Newton fumbled. The game went back and forth with UK kicking a field goal to go up by 3. Uk drove down the field and could not convert a 4th and literally one inch. Pitt took a 6-3 lead. Uk had to punt with about a minute left in the half. UK's punter took forever and ended up getting his punt blocked. Pitt recovered at the 10 and soon scored a touchdown. It was 13-3 at the half. Uk started the 2nd half with the ball and stalled near midfield. Incredibly they tried a fake punt and failed miserably. Pitt drove 25 years for a TD to go up 20-3 and the game was pretty much over.

Needless to say there were a lot of upset UK fans. We couldn't understand why they didn't use the All American Randal Cobb more or run Derrick Locke more. They never went to the other backup HQ - Ryan Mossakowski. I'll save the rest for my UK futures blog entry later. We stayed til the bitter end (a 27-10 loss for the worst bowl loss in UK history). We took the shuttle bus back to the hotel and got our car and headed home.

We hoped that the UK basketball team would make it up for us. Jonathan and I listened to the game on the way home. Uk fell behind by 11 at the half. They rallied to tie the game and even take a slight lead, but ultimately lost by 7. We then listened to Seattle pull off the upset over New Orleans and the first half of the Jets Colts game.

The game didn't turn out like we'd hoped, but we had our usual good time just hanging out together as usual. We'll keep going to the games every year. Although, I am not so sure we'll get the chance next year. I'll talk about that later...

I remember when..

Many years ago when I was young, I remember looking forward to New Years Day with great anticipation. I would go to bed right after midnight to be ready. Why you ask? It would the best football day of the year. There would be games from mid-morning til almost midnight. I would even take a half day of vacation the next day so I could stay up late and watch the games

All the big games were that day. The big ones then were the Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl. You had direct tie-ins with conferences. The Rose Bowl had the Big 10 and Pac-10 champs. The Cotton Bowl had the old SWC champ, the Sugar Bowl the SEC and, and the Orange Bowl had the Big 8 champ. There were other games duing the day too. So, if one game got boring, you could flip to another one. And this was before the ESPN/Sport Channel hey-dey, so it was all on national TV channels.

I saw some great battles between Notre Dame and Alabama. I remember Pitt having this running back named Tony Dorsett who you could tell was going to be really good. I remember a Georgia QB with the great name of "Buck Belue" who led Georgia to a win over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. I remember going to bed early when I lived in Louisville (and didn't have vacation so I had to get up early and go to work) and missing the end of the Miami Nebraska game that ended up 31-30 Miami. I remember Miami's QB was a freshman named Bernie Kosar. I read the next day how Tom Osborne went for 2 to try and win the game at the end (there was no OT then) and missed. I would always dream of the day UK might be in one of these games

The National Champ was chosen the next day based on the outcomes of these games. You had two polls, the AP and the UPI. There were multiple years that you had co-champions when one poll picked one team and one poll picked another. So, the Fiesta bowl came along to bust all the fun up.

The Fiesta Bowl was created (if I remember right) for teams not from one of the power conferences to be able to play in a bowl game (this was before the days of 30-something bowl games). In 1987 though, they pulled out what everybody thought was a great event. The two top ranked teams were independents (Miami and Penn State). They were both invited to the game. They moved the game to January the 2nd. I remember the game was dull. Penn State won 14-10 I think and Vinny Testaverde threw a whole bunch of interceptions. But, this set the wheels in motion for this whole BCS Championship game thing we have today. Now, all the big bowl games are played out for a week with the championship game being a week into the new year).

I hardly watch any of these games now. I might watch some of the Championship game to see if the SEC can keep their stranglehold on the National Championship. I'll still dream of UK being in one of those big games though. I know some people say the BCS ruined things, but I think that happened a long time before that.

Dinner and a movie

Last week, several of my work lunch friends invited me to go with them for lunch out and to see the newly released "Tron Legacy" this Friday. I decided to go since I could always use an afternoon off of work :-).

We first went to lunch at Jasmine Thai and Sushi. This restaurant is located at Jordan's Crossing very near the Cinemark theaters. I've had take out food from there once but never eaten there. It's very nice and new inside. I have no taste for sushi at all, so I went with one of the most basic of meals - Sesame Chicken. Several of the guys with me ordered sushi. One complaint they had was the menus no longer offered pictures of the various items. I could understand why they might want to confirm what they were ordering.

I started off with some very good Japanese vegetable soup. It was vegetable soup in a clear broth with large chunks of chicken. The Sesame Chicken was good along with a generous portion of fried rice. Our waitress was very attentive and keep up refills of Diet Dr. Pepper. She mentioned desserts. The fried won ton stuffed with cheesecake and chocolate sauce with banana sauce for dipping sounded good, so I got it. I wasn't really impressed. I later confirmed there should have been powdered sugar and chocolate sauce on it (there wasn't). The consistency of the cheesecake was a bit too runny as well. I much prefer a Triple Chocolate Meltdown or Chocolate Wave. We then headed to the Cinemark.

I have not been to the Cinemark since I saw "The Dark Knight". I have nothing personally against the theater. With the advent of Netflix, it's just easier to either have the movie I want delivered to me for viewing or to use the "Watch Now" feature. We went to the 3D version which was more expensive. They gave us special glasses to watch the movie. I was expecting the one red one blue lens type I was familiar with, but they looked like ordinary sunglass type glasses to me.

The previews started and told us at one point to put on our glasses. The 3D effects were honestly better than I expected. Then, it was time for "Tron Legacy" to start. I'd seen the original Tron movie at the old Arcade theater in the summer of 1982. Being a computer guy, I enjoyed the first one, so I wondered if I would like this one. I did enjoy it. I won't try to spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but it involves the original Flynn character and his son. It did seem almost a bit rushed at the end as the movie winds down to its climax. There was also use of actual Unix commands in several scenes that I recognized.

I had a really good time. I met Jonathan at the newly opened "Dick's Sporting Goods" to look at some fitness equipment we were considering buying. I went by Wal-Mart to pick up a few things and headed home. I was pleasantly surprised to find Josh had already gotten home from Lexington for Christmas break. All in all, it was a very enjoyable day.

St Jude run...

Running in the St Jude Marathon (and half Marathon) has become a regular event for Jonathan and I. He's run the marathon twice and I've run the half marathon once. We registered early this year to be ready to run again. We both trained over the past few months to get ready. I barely missed getting in under two hours (2:00:01) and was looking forward to trying to beat that time this year.

We left out Friday afternoon. The drive went fine. Donna dropped us off at the Convention Center to get our race packets. That went well also. We checked into our hotels. Jonathan stays at the Doubletree right next to the finish of the race (on Union next to Autozone Park). It minimizes the walk after the race is over. Donna and I stay at the Residence Inn on Monroe a few blocks over. We all went to bed early to be ready.

When I woke up and checked the weather, I was shocked. The forecast all week was for low 40's (a perfect running temperature in my mind). Imagine my surprise to find the temperature at 60 with 85% humidity. There was also a 10-15 mph wind blowing as well. We got down to the start and lined up to go. I made it through the first 6 miles on pace to break 2:00. Then, I just lost it. I couldn't keep up the pace. I was hydrating at every stop, but I could not keep enough liquid in me given the weather. I made it to the end OK, but my time was much slower - 2:09:34. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Donna encouraged me though so I felt a bit better. I found out Donna met up with Amber Tatum (Jim and Donna Faughn's daughter). Jonathan got to run with her husband Jeremiah over the first 13 miles. I went and rested for a bit and we waited for Jonathan. He came in at the same time as last year - 3:51. Given the conditions, I thought he did quite well.

We went back to his room to watch the rest of the UK - North Carolina game. We came close to getting tossed from the hotel I'm sure with our complaints about the NC biased officiating. UK came close but lost by two. I went back to the Residence Inn and spent the afternoon resting and watching football. Later that afternoon, I got take-out from Dyer's on Beale Street. They have excellent burgers and Donna even enjoyed her chicken tender sandwich and fries. I confirmed Jonathan was OK when I delivered his food. Later that evening, Donna and I foraged out to get some dessert. We grabbed some candy and snack cakes at the Family Dollar near our hotel. While walking to the Doubletree, we found store that sold cake. On the way back, Donna got a piece of coconut cake. I went to bed early.

We got up that morning to temperatures in the 30's! We checked out and went to worship at the Getwell church of Christ (which we always enjoy), then headed for home. We ate at Zaxbys in Blytheville (Again, I wish we had one of these at home) and made it home fine. Jonathan was in good spirits since he found the Giants pounding the Redskins.

Was I disappointed? Yes, I was. Anytime you work hard to hit a goal and miss, you feel a bit disappointed, don't you? I've already resolved to run another half in the spring in Nashville. If that goes OK, I may try something new in December. I'll leave you to figure that one out...

A Fall Trip (Part 4)

We got up on Wednesday and went to the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center. There was not a huge crowd (given that most kids were not out of school). We traded in our vouchers for what they called "One Plus" passes. These are in effect two day passes. They allow you into the "Governor's Mansion".

One we had our passes, we walked across the bridge to Colonial Williamsburg. They have markers on the bridge telling your of the changes that occur as you "go back in time". For example, "You've never seen TV" or "You've never been more than 20 miles from home". My favorate was "You've never paid income tax and you won't get Social Security". I'd make that trade in a heartbeat. The first thing you pass is a working plantation and then an area where you can get an orientation to the settlement. Then, you reach the actual area.

It's spaced out very nicely and covers well over a hundred acres. You first reach the Governor's mansion where the Governor of Virginia lived at the time (Lord Dunsmore). You can tour the mansion (we didn't). You can walk the garden and go into the back courtyard where famous men speak. The first day, we heard Patrick Henry. I found it very interesting as he spoke for almost 45 minutes about the current situation (pre Revolutionary War). Donna lost interest a few minutes into the speech.

Afterwards, we started walking around. You can actually walk the streets freely without a pass. The buildings that require a pass (and that you can enter) have a British flag in front of them. We went into the courthouse and observed several trials. We walked into a few shops as well. We finally headed to the edge of the settlement to look for somewhere to eat. The University of William and Mary is right next to it. There was supposedly a Chick-Fil-A there, but we could never find it. I could tell Donna was kinda bored, so we left (you could come and go) and went to a Wendy's to eat.

I took Donna back to our resort and headed back to CW. I first went to see the "gaol". It was very interesting to see. The jailer and his family actually lived there. The cells had "indoor plumbing". It was used until 1910. Afterwards, I headed to the Capitol Building - the location of the House of Burgesses. Then, I walked around to the Wigmaker and Shoemaker's shops.

I then waited in line to go in the Coffeehouse. It was very interesting. We first sat in the parlor where men would talk and play cards, dice or checkers. We went into the common serving area where on the men working there told us of rumors going around. The lady doing the tour would occasionally lean conspiratorially up to one of us with a rumor about something going on. We finally went down to the basement where we were given a free sample of coffee or "chocolate".

Once I got it, it was nearly 3:00pm. At this time, they put on a performance starting with the reading of the newly received "Declaration of Independence" at the Capitol Building. Then, a young man gathered us around to give news of the Colonials victory at Saratoga. We then went to a stage behind the coffeehouse, where a captured British officer was brought forth to be condemned for his actions in attacking and scalping Colonials. There was more to come, however a strong rain began to fall. So, I left.

We had been invited when we were at the Williamsburg church of Christ on Sunday night to eat with them before Wednesday night Bible Study. We went and had an excellent meal with them. We also enjoyed the Bible Study.

On Thursday, I really wanted to hear George Washington speak. So we went back to CW to hear it. He spoke in the time frame of right after the Boston Tea Party. He was urging Colonials not to buy British goods. He played his character well. Several people asking questions called him General and he corrected them and said he was a Colonel. Others used the word "boycott". He said that he was not familiar with that term and perhaps the person meant "embargo". The term "boycott" did not come about until the 1880's. He kept stressing how we were to be "loyal" subjects to the crown.

After this, there was a reenactment of the Scioto Indians who were guests of the Governor. At this point, they were very worried because the Governor had left because he was worried about his safety with the possibility of the Colonials revolting. When it was over, we saw some more of the artisans. Watching the brick maker was especially interesting. We left and went back to the resort.

After lunch, I went out on my own to see Jamestown. It is a national park as well in the "Colonial Triangle". It was kinda neat to see it. My admission was included in the Yorktown pass I'd bought a couple of days before. However, the one thing it lacked was the park rangers to "bring it alive". I grabbed us something to eat on the way back and we ate and packed to leave the next day.

What was my overall opinion? If you are a history buff, you'll love Colonial Williamsburg. If you're not, it's mildly interesting but not something you'd spend two days at (like I did). Historic Jamestowne (yes with an e) again is interesting if you are a history buff but not that great if you're not.