8 FEB 06: LEGENDS OF THE WINTER

What could Coretta Scott King possibly have in common with a professional wrestler named Hillbilly Jim? Well, let's see - both attracted a big crowd in Georgia Tuesday. One went to a crypt, while the other has a colleague called The Undertaker....

But seriously: the thing that put Hillbilly Jim and Coretta Scott King together in my mind Tuesday was a single word - "legend." Both have had that label put on them. But of course, only one has been visited by four current and former U.S. Presidents.

Did you know Hillbilly Jim was a legend? I didn't either, until a big pro wrestling fan told me that Tuesday -- a fan who hoped to see Mr. Jim at the Columbus Civic Center Tuesday night. When someone's legendary, of course, you use the proper and respectful title "Mr. Jim."

"Hillbilly Jim is a 'legend,'" this big fan told me - doing what they call on radio "the quote thing" as he said that. Apparently World Wrestling Entertainment gave him that title. The only other place I know where a hillbilly would be declared a legend is at the Grand Ole Opry.

There was a Hillbilly Jim sighting in Columbus Tuesday, before the big "WWE Smackdown" card. I'm told Mr. Jim stopped to eat at International House of Pancakes -- probably scaring the cooks half to death, but thrilling the servers at the thought of an extra tip.

So what makes Hillbilly Jim a wrestling legend? You tell me. I don't know. My American Heritage Dictionary defines a "legend" among other things as: "A romanticized or popularized myth of modern times." Shouldn't all professional wrestlers qualify for this, if their matches are staged?

In my youth, it was a big wrestling event when Haystack Calhoun came to town. He may have been Hillbilly Jim's mentor - a guy from Arkansas who weighed about 500 pounds, and wore overalls with a horseshoe around his neck as he wrestled. In fact, that necklace could have made him Sean Combs's mentor.

But anyway: countless wrestling fans must have been disappointed Tuesday night, when the 11:00 p.m. newscasts did NOT cover the Columbus visit of the legendary Hillbilly Jim and WWE Smackdown. Why, NBC-38 had the gall to show a Duke-North Carolina basketball game -- something with REAL dramatic rivalry.

Call me a weirdo, but I'm far more likely to call Coretta Scott King a legend than Hillbilly Jim. She fits another definition of the word: "A person who achieves legendary fame." And she had it even before that rather strange makeover show with Oprah Winfrey.

People from Columbus and around the world gathered by the thousands near Atlanta Tuesday, for the Coretta Scott King memorial service. My pastor can criticize "megachurches" all he wants - but at least one of their buildings was big enough to hold most of the crowd.

The memorial service for Coretta Scott King stunned some viewers, by lasting almost six hours. But should we have been surprised by this? Put plenty of politicians and preachers in the same room, and this can happen....

(Friends called it a "home-going service" for Mrs. King - and the way the audience left in a hurry as the six-hour service ended, they were more than ready to do that.)

Meanwhile, we shouldn't overlook another potential legend who lives in this area. Phenix City Police Chief Preston Robinson announced Tuesday he will retire in March. We'll see if he applies for a Columbus city job, and uses Roy Waters as a reference.

(Preston Robinson told reporters he's thinking about buying a Winnebago, and traveling with his wife across America. So maybe he's looking for a higher-paying police job anywhere he can find it....)

Preston Robinson is Phenix City's first African-American police chief, and has spent 35 years with the "P.C.P.D." He's probably served long enough to remember when that abandoned old building at Dillingham and Broad actually had similar buildings around it.

Does Preston Robinson qualify as a Phenix City legend? I heard another term applied to him Tuesday - a "fixture." Some people might take that term as an insult. After all, items in bathrooms are called fixtures....

OVERHEARD OVER HERE: As the Coretta Scott King memorial service reached the three-hour mark Tuesday, a Euro-American man had a question for an African-American woman.

"Aren't black people known for having long funerals?"

"I don't know. I haven't died just yet."

Now for other events from a lively news day:

+ Columbus Council was briefed on the city's budget situation. In the last year revenues have increased about three percent, while expenditures have dropped about three percent. Yet there's still a shortfall?! This city needs a new Kohl's store more than we know -- for the sales tax money.

+ The Opelika-Auburn News reported Auburn residents asked the City Council about rumors City Manager David Watkins is about to be fired. They were told the issue involves his performance, not any misconduct. How many audio blogs a month is he supposed to post?

+ The animal welfare group PAWS Columbus benefitted from a fund-raising "Rent a Bartender" night. Hopefully every bartender available was taken - because the leftovers would be shaken, and feeling not stirred.

+ Enterprise High School stunned Phenix City Central 57-47, knocking the Red Devils out of the boys' basketball playoffs in their first game. So much for that slogan, "Enterprise - we'll pick you up."

+ In big-league ball, there was a big-time upset - as the Atlanta Hawks shocked the league-leading Detroit Pistons 99-98. Do you think anyone in the crowd at Philips Arena declared it a Coretta Scott King miracle?

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