25 FEB 09: Fat Chances

Tuesday night should have shown us all how serious President Obama is about turning the economy around. You simply don't schedule a national address on a night which postpones "American Idol," because your popularity in the polls is bound to plummet....

But President Obama's address to Congress had unusual timing for another reason. He spoke on the night of Mardi Gras. So if the President offered any words of hope for rebuilding New Orleans, most of the city never heard him. And the Louisiana Governor who spoke later didn't pass the speech on to another Republican -- which may prove he's running for President in 2012.

The Columbus area is a four-hour drive from the Gulf Coast, yet that didn't stop a few Mardi Gras celebrations from taking place. One place may have come as a big surprise -- as St. Patrick's School in Phenix City had a party. Were the children too restless this year to hold on until St. Patrick's Day?

WRBL showed the Mardi Gras party at St. Patrick's, which had colorful beads and a small outdoor parade. But then again, maybe I shouldn't have been surprised by this. The New Orleans football team IS called the Saints, after all....

Why is it that some of the most noteworthy Mardi Gras celebrations in the Columbus area are connected to churches? St. Luke United Methodist downtown has held one for years, as its "Wednesday night supper" before Ash Wednesday. At least this year, the church is focusing on the book of Romans - as in the Roman Catholics.

The church celebrations of Mardi Gras seem odd, since the Lenten season begins today - with 40 days of self-denial, self-reflection and repentance for some Christians. But maybe it's all a sneaky plot. Maybe the people who attend these churches are such "goody two-shoes" that they need something to feel guilty about.

Downtown Columbus bars did their best to keep up, by holding a combined Mardi Gras "pub crawl" Tuesday night. But from what I saw on the late-night news, not many people were outside celebrating on Broadway. The bead throwing and wild dancing apparently was confined to the clubs near Fort Benning.

But the RiverCenter is well behind the curve this year -- as its "Mardi Gras Mambo" concert starring the Neville Brothers doesn't happen until Thursday night. The staff might have thought Columbus residents wouldn't know better. But maybe not - as they're now selling upper-level tickets two-for-one.

Given all of this, I hope I didn't commit a big sin Tuesday. I went to International House of Pancakes and joined their "National Pancake Day" celebration benefitting Children's Miracle Network. But it was still "Fat Tuesday," which my church tradition considers unbiblical and practically wrong. You're supposed to save the "fat things" for fall - and I don't mean football season.

Since I grew up in Kansas, I know all about the annual Shrove Tuesday pancake race in the city of Liberal. Why IHOP never has opened a restaurant in that city, I have no idea. Maybe the executives are, you know, too conservative....

But I followed an old church phrase in making Tuesday's decision to get free pancakes at IHOP. A thing by itself isn't necessarily wrong - it's all about how the thing is used. I ate the pancakes I was given, instead of flipping them on my plate while running down Airport Thruway.

As I arrived at the Airport Thruway IHOP, some woman walked to a car wearing a nice crown on her head. I don't think it was Miss Georgia - but I told her if pageant queens can eat at that restaurant, the food must be good.

-> Our other blog starts with poker, then goes in directions you might not expect. See what we mean at "On the Flop!" <--

E-MAIL UPDATE: Speaking of party time, our Monday topic clearly pushed one reader's button....

Richard,

RE: Hollywood Brawl......since you mentioned it, What in the $*!! are your friends at WTVM thinking? Did Ms. Taylor skip Journalism 101? You know, where you present BOTH sides of a story?

A. What kind of "parent" encourages their teen to attend a "pajama party"?

B. Why did the reporter make no effort to get a comment from the Columbus Police Department? Hollywood Connection?

Good Grief! Everybody knows folks drop their kids off unattended and then fail to return so our local police get to babysit every weekend. One may never know the facts watching the Newsleader.

And one more thing Mister! Why should we be "thankful the party wasn't on Victory drive"? I've had some fine parties on Victory Drive, fully clothed thank you very much!

RW

As I understand it, the TV reporter tried to get a comment from police and Hollywood Connection managers - but neither wanted to provide one. And neither party qualifies as the sort of big-time celebrity which gets hounded by TMZ.

The parents who left their teens at Hollywood Connection last weekend apparently felt confident the Back Door club would provide adequate supervision and security. My Mom and Dad used to do that with me, for junior high school "Teen Town" dances years ago. Maybe the difference is that none of them required you to wear pajamas.

I'm glad RW has staged wonderful parties on Victory Drive. But really now - would you want teenagers strolling that road on a Saturday night? There have been times when I've been approached by (ahem) unseemly people there, in the middle of a weekday afternoon [17 Feb 05].

The party slows down only a little, as we review some other items from Tuesday's news....

+ Columbus Council held a second public hearing on changing the "300-foot rule" for serving alcohol in restaurants near parks and churches. Councilor Skip Henderson says police have no problem with the change. It's the convenience factor, really - get drunk at the restaurant, then stagger to church and pray about it.

+ WLTZ's top story on the evening news (for some reason) was the historic Ma Rainey house. Curators say it had about 1,500 visitors last year -- which is amazing, since they didn't have a third annual "grand opening" event to boost the numbers.

+ Outgoing Muscogee County Republican Chair Josh McKoon revealed he's thinking about running for Georgia Secretary of State. I hate to break the news to him, but there's hardly any parkland around those state office buildings in downtown Atlanta.

+ The evening news reported some of Georgia's federal stimulus money could be used to upgrade the Interstate 185 gate to Fort Benning. That's funny - I thought that project had been underway for years. Who paid for all the construction before now? Were SOA Watch protesters fined that much?

+ A trip down Veterans Parkway revealed "Fat Boys Farmers Market" will reopen this weekend, under new management. The fact that it didn't open on "Fat Tuesday" indicates to me the new owners watch their weight a lot better.

+ Loachapoka and Barbour County advanced teams to the Alabama high school basketball final round. The Barbour boys blew away a team from Sand Rock -- which apparently acted more like the former than the latter.

SCHEDULED THURSDAY: A complaint about Phenix City development....

The number of unique visitors to our blog has doubled since 2006! To advertise to them, offer a story tip, make a PayPal donation or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.

BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 1,389 (+ 23, 1.7%)

The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author -- not necessarily those of anyone else in Columbus living or dead, and perhaps not even you.

© 2003-09 Richard Burkard, all rights reserved.