BURKARD'S BLOG
I searched on the Internet, and found no one keeping a blog about events in Columbus, Georgia. (Well, other than a 15-year-old high school student, and who knows how much he pays attention to the news?) So being the hip web-savvy guy that I am, I decided to start a blog of my own - chronicling happenings in the town I've called home for some six years, as well as my experiences in it.
But be warned.... I used to have a humor service called LaughLine.com, so my views may be a bit amusing. And the views are my own; no one has paid me to present theirs. Pressured, yes - but paid, no.
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22 JUN 03: SOUTH UNCOMMONS
It was just after 9:00 Saturday night when I went running on the Riverwalk, south of Golden Park. No barricade stopped me from going down the stairs - but when I came up almost a mile later, a big wide barricade stopped my run completely. A jogger I am. A hurdler like Edwin Moses I'm not.
The dirt has returned to the Riverwalk, after the high water of a few days ago. And before you ask - no, I don't mean panhandlers looking for dinner money.
(The way the weather's been going, this year's Independence Day celebration may have to be called "Galoshes on the Hooch.")
I found a couple of folks fishing on the Riverwalk at Golden Park, as my run began. Supposedly higher water improves your chances of catching fish. But on the fast-moving Chattahoochee, I fear it also improves your chances of getting catching your line on a loose tire and getting thrown in.
I left the Riverwalk at the South Commons softball fields - and there was a good crowd of players and cars. If all those folks went to a South Georgia Waves game, the attendance might double.
I picked up the jog for a few blocks around the Civic Center, as a few people were walking out from the Wardogs game. Imagine how surprised I was when I reached the car - and found they left because the Wardogs had a big LEAD for a change.
The Waves were out of town, but there was still a game going on in the twilight outside Golden Park. Two dads were tossing what looked like softballs with their young children. "It's like golf," one dad said. Whereupon he started to throw - and I whistled to distract him, just like the U.S. Open.
.(I did my best to add to the "golf" mood, by praising the toddler's little tosses in a deep whispered British accent.)
All in all, the run went well - helped by a refreshing north breeze for the first evening of summer. Longtime Columbus residents who didn't know better might have thought they'd died, and gone to Minnesota.
The post-run dinner took us to Hickory House Barbecue, at U.S. 80 and 280 in Phenix City. Their large barbecue beef sandwich was SO big that pieces of chopped meat fell out of the bun - and pieces of fat and gristle couldn't get between your teeth.
On the counter at Hickory House Barbecue, I picked up a coupon for a free bowling game (not again!). But strangely, it was good at Peach Bowl - not Bama Lanes, a couple miles down the 280 Bypass. Phenix City must have a bigger north-south gap than I realized.
(Ever stranger: the restaurant had to add a "Y" to the coupon - because the printer spelled it "Hickor House." Well, at least they remembered the O-R.)
Checking other fun facts from the first weekend from summer:
+ A CB&T branch on Tenth Avenue was robbed by a man, who got away on a bicycle. So we can see why he needed the
money - gas prices are simply too high.
(Our CB&T, uh, "checking" found the Tenth Avenue branch now has been robbed five times in the last six years. And people STILL oppose national health insurance?!)
+ "The Rocky Horror Show" appeared on stage at the RiverCenter. Wow, P-FLAG really IS gaining a following in Columbus.
+ During Saturday night's "Real Time" telecast, "Galatians 5:23" supposedly was displayed on the screen - but the words and Pastor Bill Purvis's comments were from Matthew or some other book. How big a donation will it take, to buy Bibles for the control room?
BIG PREDICTION UPDATE: We put the silent clock on our Pastor during the weekend service - and sure enough, he talked for more than four minutes about the new Harry Potter book. He found it especially sad that English-speaking countries are taking the lead in buying Potter books. If only J.K. Rowling lived in France....
For some curious reason, my Pastor read background about the new Harry Potter book from the "Jerusalem Post" newspaper. If anyplace could use a magic spell, Jerusalem could - to calm down Hamas.
My Pastor quoted from the Jerusalem Post, in which some book experts said the Harry Potter series soon will outsell the Bible. My Pastor considers that a sad sign of the times. Trouble is, the Latter-day Saints wrote a Bible sequel -- and he doesn't like the "Book of Mormon," either.