I Did It For The Beard

A few weeks ago I was scanning one of those publisher's catalogs that gift shops and museums get. You know the kind, one peddling the wares of this company or that. As I was checking out the various entries, I came across one book in particular that caught my eye: "Bad Ass Civil War Beards" by Anna Hider and Julia Hider.

I stopped.

I laughed.

You see, I run a historic house in Macon, Georgia that happens to be an homage to life during the Confederacy. The home was built in 1853 and belonged to a plantation owner and probate judge, Judge Asa Holt. The home is a planter's townhouse and absolutely the quintessential antebellum home.

One of the goals I have set for myself is to really increase their  bottom line. I noticed the home/non profit did not have a true signature fundraiser. Then it hit me - why not do something that will celebrate beards. They are all the rage these days with younger, hipster type guys. Not to mention, most of the volunteers of the house are Civil War reenactors and a majority of the men have burly beards.


Okay.. now that I had the idea of celebrating the beard - but what else? It hit me - A Gentlemen's night. But what else do guys enjoy down here? Well.. hello! Bourbon... and BACON.

Boom - Now I have a fantastic fundraiser called Beards, Bourbon, and Bacon: A Gentlemen's night at the Cannonball House.

Let me tell you - it is coming together so nicely! There is a fantastic barbershop in town called, "The Gentry."

photo found on the Gentry's website

The gentleman you see in the picture is going to lead a discussion on the proper growth of a beard, how to maintain and care for your beard, and what face shapes work best with different styles.

Then... I figured, if you are going to celebrate the beard - we should have a BEARD contest. Softest/longest/bushiest/most unique stash, etc.

Plus - we will have a local historian and author, Wayne Dobson, share the history of the styles of beards. Apparently the 1850s - 1860s were considered the "Golden Age" of beards. 

As far as bacon goes, the house is super lucky to have the United Daughters of the Confederacy involved with the home. The ladies of the UDC plan to create a large variety of bacon inspired dishes!

Finally, how do we do the bourbon? Oh boy - this is a good one! Ryan Smith is a mixologist at Dovetail restaurant in Macon. Ryan is known for his extensive knowledge about bourbons/whiskey.

Photo credit: From Ryan's Facebook - Jessica Whitley

Ryan plans to share about four different bourbon options: high grade to mid grade. He is also working on making some bacon-infused bourbon in a barrel that he plans to sell.

We will have the tasting back in the old kitchen that is basically lit with soft lighting and candles. It will be incredibly authentic.

To top it all off - CIGAR GROTTO in the beautiful garden - complete with reenactors singing songs.

The event is going to be Saturday, April 11 from 7 - 9pm. Tickets will be $20 a person.

I am sooo excited and hope that we are able to secure some good sponsors and have a great turnout!

Any of my friends or readers that have ever considered visiting a southern town - this may be the perfect trip for you. No beard required and yes, ladies are welcome!

The War of Northern Aggression - Revisited

Historic Home, Old Clinton

"If we do not end war - war will end us. Everybody says that, millions of people believe it, and nobody does anything." ~H.G. Wells, Things to Come (the "film story"), Part III, adapted from his 1933 novel The Shape of Things to Come, spoken by the character John Cabal (Thanks Bill!)


If you did not get the memo, the War never ended down here. The Civil War, that is- or as many southerners like to call it - The War of Northern Aggression.

If you know me personally, you know that I used to roll my eyes at pride in the Confederate South. However - the truth is, it's a part of our history. A piece, many would prefer to sweep under the rug. You see, it is a very sensitive issue down here - but it is what it is. Half of my ancestors lived in the Southern United States. Which means my Great-Great-Great as well as Great-Great Grandparents would have experienced the Civil War from the "Rebel" perspective.

As to whether or not my family ever owned a plantation or slaves is not really known.I don't know if anyone fought in the war. To be perfectly honest, I never looked it up. I do know many were farmers in Valdosta, Georgia. I do know some might of had share croppers, but I cannot tell you that for certain.

In the South, one of the favorite past times is for people of a certain area to gather together and re-enact certain Civil War battles, on the actual land it took place. These people actually "take on" the persona of one soldier, perhaps their ancestor, and do what they think may have happened. If you ever saw the movie, Sweet Home Alabama, there was a funny scene that showed how serious reenactors are about preserving the past.






I decided to take the egyptian to the Old Clinton War Days here in Gray, Georgia. If he was going to move to the "Deep South," he needed to experience the "culture" of it all. See, when we lived in  Birmingham, we were in what is called - "Post Civil War" country. Birmingham was a "newer city." I grew up in a very historic, southern area - a place General Sherman marched right through and attempted to destroy. Yes, people are still bitter down here, because their family's family lived in the same home for generations. Their grandparent's grandparents passed stories down, as well as photos, journals, uniforms, and most importantly -the land.


Here are the pictures from yesterday.  Here is what "Historical Societies" down here seek to preserve, in memory:

My dad was selling his calligraphy there

I'm eating fried Gator Tail - true story!

Egyptian Revolution

In case you do not follow the news (which, honestly - when I ask people if they have heard about this, they say.. no.) - Egypt is embarking on it's own little Revolution.

They are taking their country back, and trying to overthrow their dictator, Mubarek, that has been in power for 30 years. 

At first, this news made me a little uneasy. People will die, innocent victims may loose their homes, you know.. basic "war" stuff. Because folks, that what this is - a

civil war. Now, you may be thinking - so what. Yeah.. but my family is there. My in-laws, and many people who have become good friends with me.

I am excited that FINALLY the country came together to take a stand against the government. (If only now the WOMEN would come together and take a stand against the men.. lol)

I am going to cut and paste a story about yesterday's protests - and catch you guys up. The most amazing thing - it all started with Facebook. Seriously:
(From Yahoo News)

Police fought with thousands of Egyptians who defied a government ban on Wednesday to protest against President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year-old rule, firing rubber bullets and tear gas and dragging away demonstrators.


In central Cairo, demonstrators burned tires and hurled stones at police. In Suez, protesters torched a government building as protests intensified in other parts of the country.



Two people died in Cairo as protests unfolded but security officials contradicted each other on the circumstances. One told reporters a protester and a policeman were killed in clashes. But another official later said they died in a traffic accident.


The scenes, rare in a tightly run nation with a fragmented opposition movement, follow the overthrow two weeks ago of another long-serving Arab strongman, Tunisian leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, in a popular revolt.

Emboldened by the Tunisian uprising and frustrated by corruption, poverty and repression, protesters in Egypt have demanded that the 82-year-old Mubarak step down.



"The people want the regime to fall," they chanted. On Tuesday, the first day of rallies known as the "Day of Wrath" among activists, three protesters and a policeman were killed.



Security forces have arrested about 500 demonstrators over the two days, an Interior Ministry source said. Witnesses said officers, some in civilian clothes, hauled away people and bundled them into unmarked vans. They beat some with batons.

The coordinated protests were unlike anything witnessed in Egypt -- one of the United States' closest Middle East allies -- since Mubarak, a former air force commander, came to power in 1981 after President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by Islamists.

Trade Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid canceled a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos. He gave no reason.


Police fired shots into the air near the central Cairo court complex, witnesses said. In another area, they drove riot trucks into a crowd of about 3,000 people to force them to disperse.



One anonymous protester in Cairo told Reuters: "The main tactic now is we turn up suddenly and quickly without a warning or an announcement. That way we gain ground."



Prominent reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei, who lives in Vienna, has decided to return to Egypt on Thursday, his brother said. Baradei, formerly head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog authority, is a vocal advocate of political change. But the exact purpose of his trip was not clear.



TWITTER AND PROTESTS

Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have been a key means of communications for the protesters. Egyptians complained Facebook and Twitter were subsequently blocked, but many accessed them via proxies. The government denied any role.



Showing their determination to continue, a new Facebook group was created calling for a weekend protest on Friday. It secured 18,000 supporters within hours. A Facebook spokesman in London said it had not seen any major changes in traffic from Egypt. Twitter confirmed its site was blocked on Tuesday.



The United States said Egypt, the most populous Arab state, was still a "close and important ally." But U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also urged the government to allow peaceful protests and not to block the social networking sites.



"We believe strongly that the Egyptian government has an important opportunity at this moment in time to implement political, economic and social reforms to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people," she said.



Analysts said the United States probably wants to avoid adding to political uncertainty by abandoning Mubarak. Egypt's peaceful if chilly relationship with Israel is, for Washington, a bulwark of stability in the unsettled region.



Elections are due to be held in September but few had doubted that Mubarak would remain in control or bring in a successor in the shape of his 47-year-old son Gamal.


"Mubarak never experienced this level of public anger and such a rejection of his legitimacy in 30 years of power," said analyst Issandr El Amrani. "This looks quite bad for him."



Father and son both deny that Gamal is being groomed for the job but the Egyptian street does not believe them.
 "Gamal, tell your father that Egyptians hate you," protesters yelled in Cairo on Wednesday.

POLITICAL DEMANDS

Hundreds of demonstrators had gathered early on Wednesday outside the morgue in Suez, at the southeastern end of the canal which links the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. They demanded the release of the body of a protester killed there on Tuesday.



"The government has killed my son," the Suez protesters chanted outside the morgue. "Oh Habib, tell your master, your hands are soiled with our blood," they said, referring to Interior Minister Habib al-Adli.


Hundreds also gathered outside Cairo's journalists' union. Police beat some with batons when they tried to break a cordon and protesters on buildings threw stones at police below.

Demands posted on Facebook included the resignation of Mubarak and Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif, the dissolution of parliament and formation of a national unity government.


The prime minister said the government was committed to allowing freedom of expression by legitimate means and said police in Tuesday's demonstrations had acted with restraint.



Egypt's population of 80 million is growing by 2 percent a year. About 60 percent of the population -- and 90 percent of the unemployed -- are under 30 years old. About 40 percent live on less than $2 a day, and a third are illiterate.



Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, a former Egyptian foreign minister, said reform was needed to address Arab citizens' demands for better lives.



"The Arab citizen is angry and we feel broken as citizens. Reform is the name of the game, and reform has to happen now all over the Arab world," Moussa told Reuters in Davos.



Investors fretted over the instability. Egypt's stock market, shut on Tuesday for a holiday, fell 6 percent on Wednesday, the Egyptian pound hit a six-year low against the U.S. dollar and the cost of insuring Egyptian debt against default rose.

(Additional reporting by Dina Zayed, Marwa Awad, Sarah Mikhail, Tom Pfeiffer and Patrick Werr; Writing by Angus MacSwan, Edmund Blair and Maria Golovnina; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)