29 MAY 07: THE ROSZELL GARDEN

Roszell Gadson admits he's ready for a break. He graduated from college in 1993, and has been "going non-stop" in television news ever since. It's too bad no one would give him time off for vacation....

Roszell Gadson's "break" began over the holiday weekend, as co-workers bade him farewell from WXTX "News at Ten." It turned out his final newscast actually was Friday night - but Deborah Singer was off on Friday, so she offered final words on Thursday. If she suggested any places to find work, they apparently haven't panned out yet.

Roszell Gadson says he's ready for some time away from television news -- but he adds he's working with his agent on a couple of new job possibilities. I thought the first one would occur Monday night. But for some reason, he was NOT one of the judges at the Miss Universe pageant.

The farewell event for Roszell Gadson was a Saturday night dinner at the Olive Garden, in Columbus Park Crossing. Gadson brought along a friend named Ilka, who moved to Columbus from Germany in 1985. She seems to have adjusted well - as she drank peach tea with dinner, instead of asking for a big stein of beer.

Ilka makes trips back to Germany about once a year - and she tells me our immigration issues are small compared with what Europe is facing. Germany is coping with newcomers from Albania, as well as Muslim countries. Let's be thankful that so far, the Germans have resisted the urge to take an "old-school" approach - and invade all their neighbors.

Saturday night is the busiest night of the week for almost any restaurant. The farewell party was overlooked by the Olive Garden staff for about 30 minutes, after the first few people arrived. Maybe it was because a couple of Fort Benning groups were in uniform, waiting for dinner -- and even these days in Columbus, soldiers tend to receive a lot more respect than journalists do.

A tag team of Olive Garden servers took good care of Roszell Gadson and his friends, once enough seats were arranged. The surprise star of the table was morning news anchor Cheryl Renee, who was praised by the servers for handling everybody else's "corny jokes." It's a good thing I didn't leave a blog business card for them....

A surprise guest at the farewell dinner was WRBL reporter Tim Reid. It turns out he worked with Roszell Gadson in South Bend, Indiana several years ago -- and he did NOT bring a resume, to hand over to somebody.

We hadn't eaten at Olive Garden in a few years, so we tried something a bit offbeat on the menu -- "Chicken Giardino." It's a big plate of cut-up chicken pieces, bow-tie pasta and a wide range of vegetables. If it hadn't been such a large portion, I might have thought I was seven years old all over again.

The Chicken Giardino is a tasty and filling value at $10.75. Add to that the much-promoted Olive Garden "bottomless bowl of salad" - which was so big, some people in our party thought they had to eat it all at one sitting. Sometimes, it helps to pay attention to commercials....

Roszell Gadson received a big surprise at the end of the dinner - as the Olive Garden servers gathered around to sing to him, and present a chocolate ice cream dessert. It might as well have been his birthday. And since we couldn't understand what the staff sang, maybe they thought it really was.

We wish Roszell Gadson well, after his three years with WXTX News at Ten. He was there from the very opening night. It was a wise move for his station to hire a "Roszell" which people couldn't possibly confuse with the late Rozelle of WRBL....

E-MAIL UPDATE: Since we took Monday off for Memorial Day, we're staging "Hurtsboro Monday" one day late - and for a change, we begin with a message that's NOT from an elected official:

Hi Richard,

I am a regular reader of your blog, and of course, a regular reader of "Hurtsboro Mondays". I just have a comment to two about Constable Schweiger's comments to your blog.

One, why stoop to name calling? As in, calling the Mayor 'the mare'? VERY professional of him.

And the other comment: Constable Schweiger would be taken far more seriously in a lot more circles if he dropped the name calling and could spell correctly. It's very difficult to take someone seriously when they have so many spelling errors of common, everyday word and contractions!

Faithful reader,

Jennifer M.

R.J. Schweiger might HAVE to do the name calling himself -- because constables probably don't earn a big enough salary for "public relations assistants." He can't afford someone like Tony Snow to do it for him.

As for the spelling errors: as you may have noticed, most of the time we post 'em like we get 'em at this blog. We firmly believe you can learn something about people by the way they write. For instance: if half their words are numbers, you know they're addicted to text messaging.

Months ago we declared the Constable a "Hurtsboro correspondent" - but his latest e-mail may prompt a revision of that title:

As recently as last Teusday, I walked into the office of The Executive Editor of a local newspaper. The publication in question is in a transition phase; and I'm sure that my interruption wasn't well taken.

This Editor had written a piece in a prior edition asking for volunteer correspondents to provide "good" news throughout Russell County.From past experience,(I contribute regularly) it is difficult at best to get any submission in print. Perhaps that will improve.

I did indeed try to pass on some information that concerned everyone in Russell County. I was quickly silenced! I must be losing my "poker" face; because the Editor surmised that I was upset. But, after more than three years of struggle to gather something good to write about - it's hard to remain stoic!!

It's ironic that a correspondent from Hurtsboro called just as I was leaving (I heard the phone ring) to offer in her words "Oh, there's plenty of good things going on in Hurtsboro!" This volunteer has written a column for another local weekly for years. I will let the readers of future columns evaluate their substance!

The final three paragraphs of that particular column were the most disturbing to me. First of all - I am not on a witch-hunt. I simply seek out facts, and the facts indicate that there's little to cheer about in Hurtsboro. I have tried to encourage the citizens to get involved - I've given more than one opportunity to criticize me and to take a leadership role. So far, there's been no takers!

I agree with the Editor that it's EVERYONE'S responsibility and obligation to make good news happen.

I look forward to the day that I can write this headline. HURTSBORO - IT'S A NICE PLACE TO LIVE!

Constable R.J. Schweiger

It seems to be the habit of columnists to submit a short bio in italics beneath their published opinions I will take that same liberty.

R.J Schweiger is a Russell County Constable, who lives in Hurtsboro He came to Alabama from Illinois in 1989. He is an alumnus of TUOHK (The University of Hard Knocks) and has been a free-lance writer for almost 50 years. His articles and opinions have been circulated and read around the world. He can be reached at rjschweiger@yahoo.com

We took a liberty and added the italics on our own, since the messages we get from the Constable tend to be in plain text. But please note: he spelled italics correctly. He did NOT capitalize them, as if they're from Italy.

I'm going to guess Constable Schweiger paid a visit to the Phenix Citizen-News. But when an officer of the law walks into any editor's office unannounced, it's bound to leave the editor a little concerned -- especially if that editor has spent any time in Russia, China or Venezuela.

I'm not sure what is this "information that concerned everyone in Russell County." The Constable may have passed it on to the newspaper, but he apparently didn't pass it on to me. Has everyone in Hurtsboro except the mayor decided to put out their trash late again?!

The thing about focusing on "good news" is that it can be quite subjective. I worked at a Kansas City radio station which aired "good news" newscasts three times a day. When Cheryl Teigs made a modeling appearance in town, the single guy in me covered it because it was VERY good news.

It's clear Constable Schweiger has trouble finding good news in Hurtsboro these days. I'm not sure when the city election will occur, but perhaps then he'll find some - if someone runs against the mayor.

Now let's check some other highlights from a long holiday weekend - and we hope it was enjoyable for you:

+ Which area high school had a last-minute graduation fuss - because one of the top ten seniors was told to sit in the second row, not the front row where the top ten students traditionally sit? Was some music awards show consulted, about how to resolve this?

+ Phenix City Councilor Ray Bush announced a petition drive to change the form of government now has 500 names. That's enough to put the issue on the ballot - and we'll see if it's enough to launch an old-fashioned "SaveBubba.com" web site.

+ A Sunday drive downtown found someone driving an old car with crude signs urging me to "write in Bagley for President," so we can "annex Mexico." Suppose he wins and the U.S. does this. Wouldn't we have to go on from there - to Panama and Guatemala? Or is his real goal a nuclear war with Venezuela?

+ The Mattress Factory posted signs indicating it's going out of business. So where is the new "Valley's home of a good night's sleep?" We know it's not the pavement under the Second Avenue Bridge....

+ The Saturday Ledger-Enquirer decided the big story of the day, worthy of a three-column headline with a large page-one picture, was "HOGZILLA II." It probably sold a lot of papers - but I have to ask: was the alternative top story Rosie O'Donnell?

+ Columbus State stayed unbeaten in the Division II World Series by edging Angelo State of Texas 5-4. C.S.U.'s Rodney Rutherford made the difference by hitting a three-run inside-the-park homer, when an Angelo State outfielder crashed into the fence and dropped the ball -- which certainly had to be an Ange-low.

+ The Columbus Catfish sank Savannah 2-1 in 14 innings - and as I walked by Golden Park before sunset after the game, the sprinklers were on inside Golden Park. I guess that's an "activity essential to daily business" exception [8 May]. But a lack of grass on the infield doesn't stop the softball players....

+ Instant Message to everyone in Atlanta: If you would please repent of your sins, we might get some rain around here. I heard a church pastor say that over the weekend - which in a way made me feel good, because it let me off the hook.

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