It's News to Mobile...

 

                                                  J.D. Crowe, Gov. St. Presbyterian Church

If you are going to try and have your hand on the pulse of your city, then you listen to the current chatter, which this morning seems to be the wild weather we had last night. As I sit here now the sun is peaking out from behind the left-over clouds, offspring of much darker and vocal, colorful clouds that swept through beginning at 3:30 this morning. No doubt phones across this great city pinged with the instantly detectable horn of the National Weather Service around that time - I know mine did. I checked the radar, which clocks the red cells up to a certain timeframe, and it showed the long, skinny, fast-moving band of clouds passing over us around 4:10 AM...I slept-walked to a lower level bathroom and pondered the situation.  Not to ignore the warning but my body navigated me back to the bed where I  soon heard the winds pass through. Spoiler alert: when the wind chimes start making a lot of noise that means it's very windy. I heard a thump on the roof, likely a small tree branch detached from it's parent, flying through the air and later confirmed to have found its way to the ground. I peeked outside and immediately saw a thin, spiky branch in the front yard. Now fully dressed with coffee brewing I walked outside and there were small branches scattered here and there, with one sizable but man-hand-able one way in the back, where there are lots of pines and oaks. The sun has once again been outplayed by the clouds and has retreated until further notice. Our area is still under a tornado watch until around noon, I think...we may hopefully be good for  now, until this Friday when another large storm threatens a big part of the country, leaving the kind of cold behind that causes you to bring in any potted plants and cover the ones that remain and might freeze next week. I saw one low reading of 21, which hopefully will be upgraded as days pass, to something more reasonable, something I can deal with...neighbors sometimes see me walking with an aviator hat flapping around my ears, when it's only 50 degrees outside. I kindly smile and remind them I don't do cold. I thermal up and retreat like a turtle dug in the ground, warm under the blanket of dead loblolly pine needles...

There is news that someone lost their life before light this morning, on a bicycle near Moffett and Wolf Ridge Road, perhaps trying to cross Moffett Road. It is reported this was not a hit and run and one can only imagine the remorse and mental pain felt by the driver in what was a tragic, unavoidable accident, and any loved ones of the victim.  I always hate to see people on bicycles anywhere except in a park or the beach. These roads are not made for bicycles, and even motorcycles face a much greater risk than do motorists in cars and trucks...especially when it's raining...

Some roads are still closed, some people lost power, and even though there is visible signs of damage caused by the fierce wind, trees and tree limbs, overall we came out much better than the potential that was there for very destructive tornadoes....

Om tap today, a luncheon with political cartoon satirist J.D. Crowe at the helm at the Government Street Presbyterian Church, 300 Government. $12.00, lunch served at noon, J.D. starts at 12:30. Parking is in the Jackson Street lot. No reservation required, just show up...but the number is 251-432-1749...this is part of a speaker series the church offers...

Someone posted that Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is 80 today...wow, how time...but I can imagine his great-grandfather Keith Richards is very proud of him....who can resist a Keith Richards joke? Not me...

Shout out to the young, bearded fellow behind the seafood counter at Fresh Market, who walked me over to the Asian food section where I was gathering the final ingredients to make Tom Yum soup... I had been to the Oriental Food Market on Azalea Road and had just about everything, but I was holding out for fresh galangal instead of the frozen they had at the Oriental market...no one had it fresh so I followed the tip from the recipe and substituted fresh ginger with black pepper to make it simulate galangal...(which I am betting you did not know) I bought fresh Gulf shrimp from Fresh Market, and the soup turned out pretty good. The fresh lemon grass shoots are what really make it, but there are a ton of ingredients from fish sauce to roasted Thai chili pepper...I like, but am not a huge fan of all mushrooms, so I substituted fresh bean sprouts, which is what I ask for when I buy Tom Yum at a restaurant...the nice thing about making it at home is you control the spiciness,  and I like mine in-between, a medium hot...in case you are wondering Tom Yum is a Thai soup invented by a man named Tom, and it's very yum. Trust me, it is...and as a dear friend Sherri Marston is fond of saying...I am leaving the room now....

Be safe!

It's News to Mobile...

 

                                                           CityofMobile.com   2024

In almost every entertainment district in the world, great minds struggle to create something unique but appealing, to fill a void they first have to recognize and then figure out the construction materials needed to build it.

 Mobile's Jim Pennington did just that beginning about eight years ago , and the result is The People's Room of Mobile. 

The building was already there: it's what he made of it, that is the story. Nestled over in the second block of St. Francis Street, downtown, a few blocks from what I found to be off the chart busy as heck Dauphin Street on a recent Saturday night, is a small venue that manages to provide the ultimate performance experience for both the audience and the performer. There is probably no better performer in our area to show first hand how The People's Room of Mobile "works."  than Eric Erdman. First, there's room for about 50 people, and the stage is right there with you - it's like he is in your living room...

You know how you attend some shows and a few guests are not really there to see the performer but rather to socialize, to chat throughout the show? Well, there's bars and restaurants for that now, but at this venue there's no chit-chat during the performance. What? The performer does not have to compete with someone's kind-of vocal replay of their parking experience or how many times they had to send the steak back at a restaurant to get it burnt? Afraid not: it's just the performer on stage, and in this case Eric Erdman, who blended his array of old and new songs with just enough conversation to make this more than just a concert, but rather a visit with him. All he needed was an acoustic guitar to make his Mobile grown lyrics come to life with this sold out crowd. 

I would say he's another Bob Dylan except he didn't get stuck inside of Mobile - he's from here, from the D.I.P. and for those who are not from here that's Dauphin Island Parkway, that long strip of parkway that eventually leads to the beach, but in the city it's where a service station can be a gathering place and the neighborhoods are working-class and real...speaking of D.I.P., if you are one of the few Mobilians who have not heard Eric's DIP song, then you probably also don't know what the Azalea Trail is and never tasted turnip greens next to a scoop of lima beans neither...we've almost all heard of the band Ugli Stick (one of Eric's projects) and you can visit Apple Music to find The D.I.P. Song...

Another song that stood out for me was Overseas in Oklahoma...and the story behind it, ha! Eric updated us on his current projects and having just finished a recording session at Mobile's Dauphin Street Sound we can expect some super-quality engineering and talent coming together in what should certainly be a stellar album release soon. He's been helping out in the Muscle Shoals area, and just got back from Los Angeles where we can only guess music moguls were fighting over him...seriously, if he just stayed a hometown Mobile boy we'd all still be lucky as heck, but my talent radar tells me Eric will continue to go big places, which brings me to hey if you have not caught his for real act yet then maybe you should before you have to compete with everyone else to get a ticket at a much larger venue....His 90-Minute plus-an-encore set was a nice Saturday evening, allowing me to be back home by 10:30 ( I didn't "do" late night Dauphin Street because 1: I was by myself, 2. I did not have a designated driver 3. I didn't take Uber.  One night I'm going to see how it works to take Uber to and from, and maybe get a little dizzy over several beers and my trademark vodka martini with extra bleu cheese olives...)

If I were you (and I know, I'm not but wish I could be)  I'd check out The People's Room of Mobile - up next this Wednesday is An Evening with Pat Byrne...

And, as if meeting Jim and seeing Eric were not enough, I found myself sitting next to Mobile's Ryan Balthrop, another buzz-word songwriter name we happily continue to see all over the local music map...He's gearing up for what promises to be a one of a kind jam session called Eslava Creek Sessions on the weekend of March 23-24, 2024, with an array of performers including Corky Hughes, Grayson Capps, Cary Hudson, Katrina Miller, Rollin in the Hay, and the Krickets...and like the name says the party will be on Eslava Creek in Mobile...

What a Saturday evening...also got stopped by Bike with Mike (call, don't text 251-554-9910) who offered a free ride around downtown - there is no set fee you just give him a reasonable tip. I enjoyed the ride, it brought back old memories of being on a Tuk-Tuk in Bangkok,,, He said around 4:00 PM and after are the best times to call or stop him for a ride. His two seater is covered when it's cold outside...

I began Saturday night by attending the lighting of the Mardi Gras tree in Mardi Gras Park at Government and Royal...there was a brass band and hundreds of people there, proving once again there is absolutely nothing to do in Mobile...I ran into Mobile's one and only Gayrita Wright, reminding me that great minds do think alike...

If you are one of those who can't imagine a bookstore being crowded, then you haven't seen The Haunted Book Shop on Joachim Street on an early Saturday night. Tons of folks inside and there is of course an entire section dedicated to haunted books by Mobile writers...with over 300 years of worldly history there are bound to be a lot of ghosts hiding amongst the Spanish mossed oak streets...admit it, you've had that moment walking down a dimly-lit Mobile Street by yourself, towering oak trees and chirping cicadas, and thought perhaps you were not alone.... 

Are you sitting down with you seatbelt on just in case? Pulitzer Prize winning Mobile political cartoon satirist J.D. Crowe has announced to the world "I am Not Dead."  He got a weird but nagging illness for a while but with witty, often searing pen in hand, he is back.  Don't ask him to sketch you, he just might and you just might not like what you see...Tomorrow , Tuesday January 9th J.D. will be guest speaker at the Government Street Presbyterian Church at noon, $12.00 tickets and includes lunch...call 251-432-1749 for more info (free parking is in the Jackson Street lot...) but when I called they said no reservations required just show up in your hoops skirts and tuxedos...seriously, just wear some clothes (this ain't the Bass Pro Shop...)  The location is 300 Government Street...

Welp folks, that's a wrap for today...if it's any consolation to the rest of the country our weather, like yours, will be turning foul in a day or so with either a whole lot of wind, a whole lot of rain, or one of the other or both. I say protect the fur babies and anythang that might blow around in the yard...and don't drive like this is the Daytona Speedway when the streets are wet...if you haven't seen a car hydroplane I can tell you I have - it spun like a top, around and around and lucky for me it regained composure before passing by me...the look on that driver's face: PRICELESS....

It's News to Mobile...

 

                                                           CityofMobile.com  2024

People who know me know that I am prone to exaggerate at times, overreact, even underreact, like when I first set eyes on the Statue Of Liberty I fainted, but when I saw Taylor Swift in the Tokyo airport and she offered me her autograph I thanked her but said "I don't collect paper..."so imagine my reaction visiting Mobile's Gulf Quest National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico the first time yesterday - for the first time in my life I do not exaggerate: I found it to be a masterpiece of nautical present and past, an interactive super-adventure featuring five stories of absolutely cool and stunning stuff. 

Never mind that I learned a lot about the Mobile Port, cargo and container ships, military and passenger ships, steamboats and tug boats, Gulf of Mexico seafood (loved the Fishing Rodeo film (we have the biggest in the country!)  and history of Oysters) and even more about planet earth and other planets, moons and stars, during a 3-D presentation by Gulf Quest's Stuart...ticket prices vary based on your age and I was able to convince them I am a "senior" (hate that word but love the perks?) and paid $11.00 admission....

Up on the fifth floor "ship deck" where Elaine and Sharon guided me through a ship navigation simulator - I was a tugboat captain and was supposed to park a load of cargo containers on the dock. If they won't tell how I did, I won't either...the simulator has several options for navigating different classes of ships through fair or even foul weather, and these activities are included in the price of the admission ticket... From here you can walk outside to the aft deck and see real ship operations on the Mobile River. I saw the Bob Hope Navy supply ship and the Comfort Mercy ship. Next door at the Cruise Terminal I looked for the ship that is supposed to take me on a world cruise, but I couldn't find it....anybody?

On the bow of the "ship" you are outside with a very nice, close-up view of the city skyline and most of downtown and beyond... (I am an old salt at this point...) I spent a few hours inside and outside Gulf Quest, enjoying the many simulators and interactive kiosks that bring you inside various operations conducted by and on ships, especially on the Gulf of Mexico...

There is also a new exhibit in the name of Alabama born E.O. Wilson, an ecologist and entomologist of international acclaim...without giving away everything let's just say in this exhibit room on 3A of the ship you can feed candy to ants....did I feel like a kid in a candy store? I did, but rest assured there is lots to enjoy and learn for adults as well. I didn't catch every single exhibit but in two hours got to most....you could spend all day here...the museum is open Wednesday-Saturday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, children under 5 get in free....if you are driving I-10 East just get off at exit 26A and this takes you directly to the museum, bypassing downtown traffic. The exit signs even tell you Gulf Quest and Cruise terminal - the cruise terminal is right next door...

Having worked up an appetite, I went downtown in search of lunch. A neighbor had asked me if I had been to Rooster's and I had not. He didn't say any more, perhaps thinking I must not know everything there is to know about downtown Mobile, so I stopped in around 2:30....what first impressed me was most of the tables were occupied. I will share one of my culinary dining secrets if you promise to keep it just between us, but if a restaurant is still busy after the official lunch hour, there's a very good chance the food and service are excellent...I began with one of their house margarita's, meaning they make their own mix (confirmed with the waitress.) She asked if I wanted salt or sugar on the glass rim and I said yes - sugar on one side, salt on the other because I couldn't decide. It tasted like the real thing and went well with a Guy Fieri recommended Surf and Turf burrito - his recommendation is stamped on the menu. The waitress had to drive a forklift out of the kitchen to deliver the burrito, as it was large enough to feed everyone currently in the restaurant and at least half of the Tabernacle Choir...fortunately it was split in half, so I ate half and took the other half home for dinner. You don't need me to confirm that it was delicious, with Guy's stamp of approval I'm just some guy who agrees...another unusual, cool thing about Rooster's is their in-house literacy program - they bring the check out in a paperback book. This place! Well, it's right on Dauphin Street and besides burritos there are a lot of taco items, a bunch of Latin food entrees including some vegetarian, so if you are a connoisseur of Latin food, Rooster's will be on your restaurant dream list...

USA Today readers voted The Africatown Heritage House as one of America's top 10 new museums, and I can confirm during a recent visit it definitely is...

After some stormy weather last night nature decided to bless us with a gorgeous blue sky if not cool day, just in time for the lighting of the Mardi Gras tree today at 5:30 PM in Mardi Gras Park downtown...and King Cakes are selling like hotcakes (hey, somehow that analogy worked...) 

Everybody including The Mobile Rundown , is talking about a Forbes magazine article that names the Port of Mobile as the second fastest growing port in the U.S. over the past 10 years...I knew all my hard work would finally pay off...I want to thank the Mayor, City Council, Alabama Port Authority and local businesses for all the help - I couldn't have done it without you...

After a successful, roaring in Mardi Gras celebration last night, Braided River Brewing Co. is determined to keep the momentum going and they have The Cordial Brothers performing Dark Side of the Moon Pie live on St Louis Street today at 5:00 PM, giving you enough time to watch them and head over to the lighting of the tree at Government and Royal...

WKRG threw a big retirement part of weathermeister Alan Sealls, who doesn't know that even though he is leaving the station we still expect regular weather updates from him on social media...Alan has at least three published books in bookstores everywhere and it would be very unweatherly of you not to check in to those...also at WKRG News Five morning host Jessica Taloney is taking a sabbatical from hosting to focus on family...I definitely know getting up before the crack of dawn is about as exciting as canned sardines on crackers...

If you didn't already buy at ticket for The People's Room of Mobile's  An Evening with Eric Erdman, (tonight)  then you waited too long and you will now have to meander along Dauphin Street wallowing in self-pity because you realize old habits die hard and the one where you wait too long to buy tickets to hot events still sticks to you like corn on a cob...but there are four - count them - four beer breweries downtown and plenty of clubs, bars, restaurants and even a movie theater on Dauphin showing the new "The Color Purple"...

In Langan Park the Mobile Museum of Art will feature "Behind the Scenes with Kurtis Thomas" on Thursday, January 11th with tours at 5, 6 and 7PM. It's an RSVP event only and free for members or $5.00 for non-members. Email marybeth.lursen@mobilemuseumofart.com for details...

Looking forward to more day trips, exploration of Mobile and beyond...so much to see and do in our own backyard, which really makes the brow wrinkle and eyebrows raise when you hear someone say there's nothing to do in Mobile....huh?...

It's News to Mobile...

 

                                                            CityofMobile.com   2024

I can't help but wonder how much more revenue would be flowing into the Dauphin Street area if a few more establishments were open in the afternoon. My daily forays into the world of lower Dauphin and surrounding environs found several places closed until 5:00 PM.  For example The Royal Scam restaurant opens at 5:00 PM, so no lunch served.  The Haberdasher bar opens at 4:00 on weekdays and 5:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday. Some of the beer breweries do not open until 2:00 PM or after. Oyster City does open at noon on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Braided River Brewing opens at 3:30 PM weekdays, 2:30 on Friday and noon on the weekends. Iron Hand Brewing on the other hand opens at 11:00 AM on Friday and Saturday, 10:00 AM on Sunday (closes at 4:00 PM on Sunday) and closed Tuesday and Wednesday, open 4:00 PM on Wednesday and Thursday.... ..and finally, the fourth brewery downtown - Wingman Brewing, opens at 1:00 PM Monday-Thursday , noon on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It closes at 8:00 PM Monday-Thursday and Sunday, 9:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday....if you are making a special visit to a business downtown it's best to call first and confirm hours...

I can remember many years ago when friends visiting from another country were in town and I took them downtown on an early Sunday evening in hopes of finding an open restaurant. None were to be found. Things have of course drastically changed since Mike Dow created the String of Pearls and the next mayor Samuel Jones added a few beads, but it's the current mayor, Sandy Stimpson who has knocked those pearls out of the park with amazing energy into downtown the likes we have never seen. I'm not saying it's all been without a few hiccups, and even those of us who may have different political views in general still have to give credit where it is due. Long strides have been taken and words and promises have been fulfilled. He's going to make us love downtown Mobile whether we like it or not...

As a native Mobilian I think I have a hand on the pulse of our native social habits...and while there is a robust younger crowd who patronize the pubs, bars  and restaurants downtown after work and into the night, a significant number of Mobilians  - and here is a term that was very popular about 30 years ago - they don't care if you roll up the sidewalk a bit after dark and on Sunday. They are going home and putting on a pot of lima beans... But if they are off work a day or so during the week, or out of school, who is to say they wouldn't ride downtown and have lunch at some of the places that are currently closed except for dinner? A quick look at popular restaurants in New Orleans, for example Brennan's and Antoine's show both open in the morning...I'm not trying to encourage anyone to actually drive to New Orleans...they tried to take Mardi Gras from us and I have never forgiven them...

While recently in Paris (yes, I say that a lot, as if I'm the only Mobilian to ever visit Paris) I found a lot of restaurants open for lunch but then close around 3:00 and open again at 7:00 for dinner. This seems like a profitable, logical schedule...and this is not to say there are not a very fair number of excellent restaurants who are open for lunch downtown, (Grace, Slurp Society and Squid Ink immediately come to mind) so it's not like you are going to go hungry...maybe there is already enough business to support evening hours only for these exclusive businesses...

Speaking of breweries like I was, don't forget Braided River is throwing a huge part starting at 4:30 to 8:00 today...it's all about kicking off Mardi Gras and if you are a true, a real Mobilian then you are already over New Year celebrations and ready for the next party... and while you are downtown you will have a chance to see Poseidon's Kiss at Moe's BBQ,(the one downtown)  to see Lagniappe's co-pub/editor  Rob Holbert strut his stuff as a musician...

For you Eli Howard and The Greater Good fans, the band will slip into Mobile after a show in Oklahoma City, performing on January 18 at Callaghan's...

Is it just me or has Facebook slowed down like an old country mule with it's "up-to-date" algorithms?... I typed "Dauphin Street" and received a post for the Brickyard Dauphin Street from 2015...and several other posts for various businesses were lagging behind...don't tell me it's my cache because I have plenty of money...

Today is the last day for college kids to apply to be a paid intern with the City of Mobile (unrelated to my site. Their web site is cityofmobile.org...) 

I saw a joke on social media that seemed funny at the moment.. from Culinary Anarchy..."Breaking News: Kid Rock fans cheer as he chokes on his beer mistaking it for his new single..."   You know you laughed...

The City of Mobile announces it's 10th annual MLK Day of Service on January 13, 2024. This will be a city-wide community clean-up in all seven council districts, beginning at 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM...Visit the city's web site www.cityofmobile.org for more information....

Speaking of cleaning up, I'm going to put a wash rag to my underarms and rake a brush through my hair real quick and take a walk...for those of you reading from other parts of the world, you may need Google translator to understand that...

The featured photo reminds me of a street in Paris but it's one downtown Mobile taken the other day...

It's News to Mobile...

                                                           CityofMobile.com  2024

It's another beautiful, blue sky day in Mobile, and one wouldn't guess a sizable storm may be in the works for tomorrow evening, which goes to show you should enjoy the good days while you can...which may not be much consolation to workers at Paula Deen's Family Kitchen restaurant in Foley, Alabama, which is said to have very abruptly shut down the other day, leaving employees and customers in somewhat of a shock...One of her restaurants in Panama City Beach, FL closed around this same time last year...it seems to me such closings are uncharacteristically un-southern and unnecessarily damaging to the brand? How much effort does it take to say sorry, we are closing in two weeks. We apologize for the short notice but for personal reasons we must close...and then give the employees a paycheck that will help them until they can get a new job...

Speaking of food, but that is creating a buzz in a positive way, kudos to Kathy Ball, who is a Realtor by day and a culinary sensation by night...I just tried her soon-to-be famous pizza/spaghetti sauce which is taking Mobile by storm...she puts the sauce on baguettes and tops with shaved parmesan and mozzarella and other goodies, and makes enough to freeze for later...I took the liberty of adding a few toppings such as roasted peanuts and a Thai chili pepper...as pictured above....I have a few jars now and will be able to whip up a lunch or snack in a few minutes, leaving me more time to gaze out a window and ponder the meaning of life...

I read today that a Georgia deputy was hit and killed by an Alabama police officer who was chasing a car that may have been stolen...a sad event and gives one pause and the question are such chases worth it? Someone stole a car. How involved do we want to get others along the roads and highways, to catch such a person? I say not at all - end chases involving theft. It's not worth the risk to innocent lives...

Oyster City Mobile is having a Love & Adventure Art Bazaar this Saturday, January 6th from 12-6 PM and it's free and will feature a number of local vendors, face painting for the kids and music by Symone French and Jesse Taylor...this state of the art brewery is located at 600 Government Street, parking is in the back of the brewery so turn onto the street next to the brewery....

After a recent shooting on Dauphin Street, that appears to have been the result of a feud between two individuals, great minds in the city are asking what can be done to stop this sort of violence, especially when it occurs in populated, popular venues where innocent people can become victims... the subject of street gangs arises and my two cents is help the younger kids who have not yet been absorbed into the gangs, because there's not much one can do to help the ones already committed to street gangs...reach out to these younger kids at school, and give them enough self-confidence so they do not feel the need to be part of an organized group who fight with other organized groups...as for the established gangs it seems like the city could outlaw being in a gang and then arrest the known gang members and sentence them to life in prison...that doesn't sound too hard to do, does it?...

It seems like everyone is talking about the Shen Yun show coming to the Civic Center on January 23...I caught a preview video of the act and it looks pretty pheromonal - a big musical and dance extravaganza with 5,000 years of Chinese history behind it... 

The Mobile Rundown has posted on social media a photo taken by someone on Dauphin Street on Wednesday, a herculean effort by a group pushing an 18-wheeler sized wheel of vegan cheese up a hill they planted on the side of the street. It looks like one of those you had to be there moments...

Don't forget the city is lighting the Mardi Gras tree at Mardi Gras Park this Saturday, January 6th from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. The Juke Box Brass Band will be there to put everyone in the mood for the festivities...

Mobile Mask has released their "Reveler's Guide to Mardi Gras" 2024, available in stores throughout the city, $4.00 per copy...if you expect to be an expert on Mardi Gras this year you'd better hurry and get a copy before they sell out...

It's News to Mobile...

                                                    CITYOFMOBILE.COM  2024

 Just to confirm that people with big egos and who write "travel" columns can make amateur mistakes to. I went to Gulf Quest yesterday, a Tuesday and discovered they are not open on Tuesdays. But because I won't allow myself to badmouth myself for more than a few seconds, I smiled, took a picture of the train driving under the Mobile Convention Center, looked wistfully at the Cruise Terminal next door and imagined I was about to embark on the three and a half year cruise some liner recently announced, after another cruise line cancelled a three year cruise before it got started. Let that sink in for a minute. Go ahead, let the thoughts wander. You are living on a cruse ship traveling around the world for three and a half years. I am willing to try it if anyone, such as the cruise ship company, is willing to sponsor me while I write gushing reviews about the pristine, untouched by man beaches of Tahiti. Somehow a beach that we haven't ravaged yet has a lot more appeal than one we have ruined by walking in the sand...I will cover the London, Paris , Rome beat for those hungry armchair travelers, and then tempt you with tales from Tangier and the must do ride upon the ancient Nile, hob-knobbing with the ghosts of Cleopatra, bonding with the treasures of Tutankhamun...or, I will ride over to the Old St. Francis building, now called the Trustmark/RSA and ride up to the 34th floor and visit the restaurant Dauphins...

Everyone knows Dauphins is first about the view, and today it was under a stunning blue sky I found the waterfront bustling with the action of ships and tugboats,  the brackish river stretching in the distance...I imagined tall European style statues lined in front of the convention center, where in my mind I painted some of the white columns a tea green to nicely contrast with the teal green roof...across the river, to the right of Austal I planted winter grass on the empty plot of land used as a commercial boat and ship launch area...it's my gift to the city to spruce up the other side of the river for our view-viewing experience...

In Dauphins I opted for the popular gulf shrimp lunch which is fried shrimp, fried potatoes and coleslaw. With so many picky eaters on this planet, and a fair share of them right here at home, the challenges of a chef must be multi-faceted.  You have the anti-mayonnaise crowd and those who gag at the mention of mustard. So, sometimes the best road to travel is to provide the basic slaw and allow the customer to customize. Here I added some mayo and made it pour like a Mobile thunderstorm with black pepper on my slaw. The shrimp and fries were delicious as well, and I imagine the evening dinner experience has several more layers of excitability, which I will have to try some time. On the other hand, at Rochelle's on Springhill the coleslaw is what it is whether you like it or not, and if you don't crave their perfectly chilled coleslaw then you and me can't be friends. And while I'm at it if you don't like shrimp what are you doing here in Mobile? There's a place called Nebraska that is so landlocked that once you get there you will never see a body of water again. Ever. 

I had parked my car for the two-hour limit right in front of the A&M Peanut shop (circa 1947) so why not before heading back west stop and pick up a few things? It was worth the 20 minute wait to get a quarter pound of divinity candy, throwing me back to the Christmas days when grandma used to make it, and a bag of filberts, which most of us know as hazelnuts. They roast them on the spot. I ordered a bag of the roasted peanuts - addictive, and a bag of buttery bad but good for you popcorn made on site. $17.50 later I was out the door on the way home, about a twenty minute ride if I take the freeway...

As I gazed up Dauphin Street I sensed a lot more character than in previous years. The street had grown up and made me think of Bourbon Street in New Orleans, but a cleaner, more family-friendly version as it is often billed. No you can't, except on rare, designated special occasions such as Mardi Gras, stroll along the street with a big ole hurricane in a pretty plastic cup.  You probably won't see a pole dancer swinging in and out of a window on Dauphin Street, but for enough money I will buy a pair of new leggings and give it a try...nobody knows it but I've got shapely legs...

This Friday, January 5, 2024 The Braided River Brewing Company is having a free concert to kick off the Mardi Gras season, releasing their widely anticipated Boom Boom Mardi Gras Ale...The party starts at 5:00 PM  where you'll find the Blow House Brass Band entertaining you, food trucks, local vendors and more locally grown beer than you can throw a moon pie at.... you'll find them at 420 St. Louis street or on what I call Mobile Brewery Row....

The City of Semmes, our not so timid cousin to the west, reminds residents debris pick-up is this week. You should put yard debris out today and they pick up on Thursday and Friday...don't be that person who puts it on the curb Thursday and they've already been through your neighborhood...

It's a cool rain-drizzly day in the Mobile area, a special request of those trees and plants who stood thirsty for the past several days. It's a nice day to light up the fireplace and read a good book, such as Seven Days in Paris by Preston Brady III, or a zany humorous short novel set in the deep south and called The Color White - also by Preston Brady III, or if you are younger and with a really edgy sense of humor you could try the knee-slapping fiction novelette Pancake Butt, again by the famous Mobile writer Preston Brady III and all available on Amazon Kindle and bookstores across the galaxies...I don't usually wear t-shirts with logos or imprinted slogans, but I do sometimes wear one that says "Shameless Promotion is Healthy..."

And finally, I could not resist...a post by John Coats on FB screenshots a post by the Flat Earth Society. It reads: "The Flat Earth Society has members all around the globe..."  

If that don't make you laugh then you got zero hillbilly in your blood...

It's News to Mobile...

 

                                              Springhill Avenue  CITYOFMOBILE.COM 2023

We - I --speaking in the third person because sometimes I just have to step back and look at myself and say whoa boy, you on fire today! - may be one of the most snobbish football fans in the world , ( and perhaps have a slightly inflated ego that comes from being born in the Me generation) and I pick games to watch much like a billionaire picks his yearly yacht, except I am not a billionaire, and the last time I checked all the boat docks in Mobile, there was no yacht with the name on it I would use if I had such a toy: Katie Mae, after my dear departed mother, a name that for me resonates with deep south charm....

Somehow I tricked ESPN into letting me watch the Rose Bowl yesterday, and to say it was a nail-biter would be like saying somebody was underplaying. I gained a newfound respect for football watching this game, because I realized just how calculated the plays must be, and that every single move a player makes - every one - is set in stone and cannot be undone. I know I have never seen so may faux passes by any quarterback, as I saw in this game. It got to the point I knew when the pass would be firstly faked, and then the QB would make that gallant effort to sail the ball across the field to the finish line where his pre-determined guy was waiting near the sidelines, fiercely guarded by an opposing, also pre-determined player. I learned that a lot of players got sacked, and it had nothing to do with what can sometimes happen after a hot date...

We only saw one such feat accomplished in this game, and even it - passed by the Michigan QB, was not more than 50 yards, if that, as I recall, but could be wrong. I saw that concentration is extremely key in this game and I will not become the broken record here and name a few mistakes that could have cost Alabama the game - a thousand other writers - real sports writers, not a 3 dot columnist who is easily impressed by fake passes - have already done so. It seemed like a good and fair football game, especially late in the 4th quarter when it "looked like"  Alabama would win. I'm not sure if it was an optical illusion caused by the tilted angle of my TV screen, but it seemed like a good number of the Michigan players were extra in the hefty department, causing me to conclude maybe we should be feeding our offensive linemen - and for those new to football they were not offensive in the colloquial sense of the word -more lima beans and cornbread, and extra fried chicken on their plates...anyway, congratulations to both teams for making it to the Rose Bowl, that in itself is a major accomplishment...I do think college players should receive a paycheck...don't get me started...

PetLove.org is having a Pet Vaccination Clinic on January 6, February 3, March 2, and April 6, 2024 from 10:00 AM to Noon. Rabies shots will be $12.00 and pet nail trims (cash only) $15.00. You can get a microchip for $10.00 - not you, unless you need one, but rather your pet(s.) They offer free DAPP shots and free annual Cat FCP shots.  Of course dogs should be on leashes and cats in carriers, unless your cat thinks it's a dog, then it can be on a leash as well. The location will be Little Flower School parking lot at 2153 Government Blvd., near where Government turns into Highway 90....

In case you didn't notice, holidays in Mobile, Alabama meld into each other, sort of like a snake and a mongoose, a crow and an owl. We have been on one long holiday beginning with Thanksgiving, followed by Christmas, then New Year and now Mardi Gras season, which lasts over a month...if you grow tired of hearing moon pie, beads, floats, balls, plastic cups, tux, gown, queen, king, Merry Widows, Joe Cain, or even the Cowbellion de Rakin Society...then you do not have true Mobile blood running through your veins and maybe you should move to New Orleans instead of visiting it all the time when there is more than enough to see and do here. Go on, move. We'll take up a collection if that will speed things up...

I love it when some people say there is nothing to do in Mobile because that means the places I want to visit will be less crowded, and the ones who are bored will be at home watching Season 500, episode 223 of the latest Succession or Righteous Gemstones knock-off. (I am guilty of watching both of these, which in Mobile we call the pot calling the kettle black...) I finally got around to watching the movie The Whale the other night. It's not for everyone, but let's just say if you've got even one sensitive bone in your body there might be a salty tear or two that runs down your cherub cheek...

Can't wait for my next adventure in or around Mobile in coming days....I am frequently taken for Gomer Pyle so I will stay in character and say it will be a surprise, surprise, surprise...a visit to the Senior Bowl in on tap for Saturday, February 2, 2024. Reese's is sponsoring this year and the event will be at the USA- Hancock Whitney Stadium...they even have a Tailgater Concierge who will help you customize your tailgating experience...for folks who live west of Satsuma that's a fancy way of saying tailgater coordinator...

I'm still waiting to hear from the Hangout Festival folks on my request for a penthouse overlooking the Hangout Stage with my own private jacuzzi and a plastic swimming pool full of Stella Artois and crab claws....I'm still not too good to swig on a can of Schlitz, especially when I'm trying to come off as a cool, Alabama redneck whose doublewide is nicer than your 3 bed, two and a half bath clapboard - and what am I supposed to do with a half a bathroom? Huh?