24 OCT 08: SOME GIVE AND TAKE

There's North Lumpkin Road. There's South Lumpkin Road. There's Lumpkin Boulevard. And coming soon to the top floors of the Columbus Government Center - yes, you probably guessed it. We'll have Lumpkin Court.

But seriously: the attorney for Frank Lumpkin III spoke out Thursday about the shooting of a man at a Benning Road gas station. Lumpkin is charged with shooting the man while making a "citizen's arrest" over a stolen SUV. At least one detail appears certain -- Lumpkin IS a citizen. In that part of town, some of the workers are open to question.

Attorney Frank Martin explained what led up to Tuesday night's shooting outside the Super C on Benning Road. He says Frank Lumpkin III's Mercury Navigator was stolen Sunday, reportedly with the family dog inside. Lumpkin somehow tracked down the SUV - but what about the dog? Did it somehow find a way home, and point toward the car?

Frank Martin says Frank Lumpkin III called police three times between Sunday and Tuesday about his missing car. But when Lumpkin saw it Tuesday night, he decided to take action -- as if Super C turned him into a Super Citizen.

Frank Martin claims the driver of the stolen Navigator had a gun in his lap. He says when the driver tried to back up the SUV to escape, the weapon somehow fired. This is why cup holders were invented - so you can keep two hands on the steering wheel, and not have to reach for something falling to the floor.

But the mother of wounded teenager Rodney Matthews explains things differently. She says Matthews put up his hands and denied doing anything wrong, only to be shot by Frank Lumpkin III. Apparently that teen did NOT steal the Navigator - but he may have thought a young friend received one of the last subprime car loans from Gateway Lincoln-Mercury.

Frank Martin suggested to WRBL the driver of the stolen car tried to injure Frank Lumpkin III, and at least possessed a firearm while committing a crime. All Lumpkin may have had was a cell phone for dialing 911. It's only a matter of time until someone adds a stun gun button, to the one for taking pictures.

Frank Martin denies Frank Lumpkin III is a "vigilante." He contends his client was simply blocking his Navigator with his truck in a parking lot, until officers showed up. Hopefully Lumpkin has learned a lesson from this - that some car thieves act like NASCAR drivers, and don't appreciate such things.

Frank Martin suggests what happened with Frank Lumpkin III is simply a sign of an "overworked, understaffed" Columbus Police Department. Someone told me Thursday the force already has hired 12 of the 100 new openings created by the upcoming one-cent sales tax. It's too bad they're not being trained already in making citizen's arrests....

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: Where do we stand on this issue? We plan to answer that in a separate entry on Saturday.)

We returned to the poker table Thursday night, after a few weeks away. Read how we did at our other blog, "On the Flop!"

E-MAIL UPDATE: A big stack of messages was waiting in our InBox Thursday. Let's start with the breaking news, about a contest promoted here....

Hi Everyone!



First of all, I want to thank you guys so much for sticking with us these last four weeks. We NEVER imagined we would get this many people - the support of thousands, rallying for us, rooting for us, voting for us, and sharing our story with friends and family. But we did and how amazing it all has been. Craig and I are so grateful for all the time and energy all of you have invested in supporting us. We have been blessed in so many ways by all of you.

Now to the news you've all been waiting for....we did not win the Charleston Wedding Giveaway. The contest people said we were "neck in neck" with the reality TV star couple, but in the end, they beat us.



Even though we didn't win, Craig and I still feel very thankful for this experience because we got to see how many people out there love us, support us, and believe in us.



Craig and I are now working on our PLAN B wedding. We will keep you posted!



Thank you again, so much, all of you, for your precious time, unwavering support, and sincere loyalty to us!



Deborah & Craig

So former Columbus news anchor Deborah Singer fell short of the all-expenses-paid marriage in South Carolina. As for Plan B, I have a suggestion for this couple in northwest Arkansas. My mom and dad were married at the courthouse in Rogers in 1947.

Now our next topic, which is short and to the point:

WHY THE H**K IS GAS THIRTY CENTS MORE PER GALLON IN COLUMBUS THAN IT IS 45 MILES NORTH OF HERE.

Someone must be paying attention to complaints like this -- because in my neighborhood, the price of regular unleaded dropped 15 cents Thursday. It's now at $2.59 a gallon. So perhaps it takes two days for the news about lower crude oil prices to get down Interstate 185.

I did notice a gas price of $2.53 Wednesday afternoon along Interstate 85, in the Meriwether County area. But should you really envy the people who live there? They probably have to travel a lot farther to find a restaurant with a good drive-through lane.

The more I read complaints about "my gas is higher than their gas," the more I wonder something. Would these grumblers like to see a single fixed price for gasoline - perhaps everywhere in Georgia, or even nationwide? Then everyone would be happy. Well, unless the board is appointed by Congress to six-year terms and takes "fact-finding" trips to Kuwait.

Here's another quick item, apparently inspired by our vacation "Know Your Blogger" series:

When you were at CNN in 1984 did you know Gene O'Riley?

Sorry, I don't know that name. I never even met "Mean Gene" Okerlund when Turner Broadcasting presented pro wrestling matches. But I had the thrill one Thursday night of lining up at the TBS commissary in midtown Atlanta behind wrestling manager Jimmy Hart. I didn't dare make a comment about his loud suit.

Let's take one more message before we close....

Hey Richard..Glad you are back home..Now I can read the real news..Hope your trip was peaceful and enlightening...Who are you pulling for in the World Series?..I hope Tampa wins just to show all those higher paid teams that money does not always make you a winner..(just ask Bill Heard)...Welcome Home..

I pondered this series during the road trip, and concluded Tampa Bay is the proper team for Columbus fans to support. The Rays have former Shaw pitcher Edwin Jackson. They have former Auburn University star Gabe Gross in the outfield. And have you atheists noticed how much better Tampa Bay has played since they dropped the "Devil" from the nickname?

Tampa Bay also has relief pitcher David Price, who was on the roster of the 2007 South Atlantic League champion Columbus Catfish. Weren't the Rays brilliant in preparing Price for this season, by not letting him play any games for Columbus last year?

Lest we forget: the Columbus Catfish were a farm team of Tampa Bay the last two seasons. So are the Montgomery Biscuits - and the Montgomery Advertiser seems to be emphasizing that connection during the World Series. By comparison, I'm not sure half the residents of Columbus realize the Catfish have moved yet.

Tampa Bay tied the World Series Thursday night, by felling the Phillies 4-2. The Rays split two games at their home stadium, Tropicana Field. Fox's Joe Buck kept calling it "The Trop." But since it's a domed stadium, shouldn't it be The Can?

We'll hold one more e-mail for another day, and quickly check a Thursday when sports seemed to dominate our attention:

+ The Georgia state high school softball finals opened at South Commons. We thank all the teams for doing something the Leadoff Classic failed to do in early March - bring much-needed rain.

(I walked by one field during afternoon exercise time, and saw players from Lowndes County try to knock a softball around like a volleyball. I'm not sure if they were doing this simply for fun, or if the defense is constantly bunched together toward center field.)

+ Auburn's football team was embarrassed at West Virginia 34-17, and dropped to 4-4 on the season. Somewhere in Alabama, Tony Franklin put his 4-2 record as offensive coordinator back on his resume.

(Did you see Coach Tommy Tuberville get angry and yell at quarterback Kodie Burns after a play in the third quarter? I'm not good at reading lips, but Tuberville may have uttered the words no Southeastern Conference player wants to hear - Music City Bowl.)

+ Former Alabama quarterback Ken Stabler was found NOT guilty of drunk driving near Mobile. A defense witness claimed several football-related operations could have made Stabler shaky while standing up. Well, yeah - but so could the thought of a police officer putting you in jail, and calling your wife to bail you out.

(So what do you think - was Ken Stabler the "snake" in this case, or his attorney?)

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