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HARRIS'BUCKWOOD
Community Editor
Bom to be
super-sized
E
There are a lot
of things you
can say
about me, but
being skinny is
not one of them.
I was born
chunky and never
looked back.
Momma used to take me down to
what was then known as Gallant-
Belk. to buy a new supply of husky
jeans.
Often she would find a pair on
sale that fit in the waist, but were
way too long. She would cut them
off and use the excess to make a
tablecloth or a nice pup tent.
We didn’t have a McDonald’s
when I was growing up. We just had
a bunch of neighbor ladies who liked
to cook.
By the time I made the rounds on
a given afternoon, I would have con
sumed two or three slices of home
made cake (with ice cream if I was
lucky), a couple of those little bottles
of Coca-Cola, and maybe a serving
of fresh out-of-the-oven peach cob
bler. I've never thought of suing any
of them because I'm chunky. I did
think of suing their estates for cus
tody of their cookbooks.
My momma also helped con
tribute to the problem. I would come
in from an afternoon of paying visits
to the neighbors. After pedaling up
the driveway, momma would offer to
make me a sandwich. About an hour
or two later we would have supper.
I'd leave a few green beans or some
mashed potatoes on my plate and
momma would say, “Now. honey,
you eat all of that. There are children
in India who are going to bed hungry'
tonight.”
I wasn't quite sure how being the
president of our household chapter of
the “Clean Your Plate” club was
going to help a hungry Indian, but I
did my part.
Rep. Dußose Porter, who repre
sents the good people of Dublin. Ga„
in the Legislature, has persuaded his
colleagues to pass a bill that would
prevent people from suing a restau
rant because their food was fattening.
Now. I eventually did find my
way to McDonald’s, Burger King,
and several others. It wasn't the
clown or the king's fault that I got
fat. it was Big Boy. Not the one that
used to be outside of Shoney's, but
the one that stares back at me in the
mirror.
I just couldn’t imagine somebody
suing a restaurant because they got
fat.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the
jury, look at my client. He had to
squeeze into that chair just to sit
before you today," my fine lawyer
would say. “It all began with a dou
ble-decker, all beef, char-broiled,
cheese coated burger, with no pickle,
provided by the defendants."
Now that I won’t be able to sue
them, the burger boys are taking, mat
ters in their own hands.
McDonald’s announced this week
that they would no longer be serving
the “Super Size" items.
How am 1 going to survive with
out that bushel-basket sized container
of fries and the 64-ounce big drink?
The more important question, is
how are they going to reprogram all
those people who work in the drive
thru window.
You can’t ask for a napkin or a
straw without them asking. “Would
you like to Super Size that?” The guy
in the mirror sometimes looks at my
girth and wants to ask me that ques
tion. Unfortunately, I’m already
there.
Postscript: I have seen or have
been told that several of you have
now displayed my writing within the
confines of your restroom, following
last week’s column. I know of at
least two restaurants, a law firm, and
a dry cleaners that have done so. I
don’t know if I should offer a
tongue-in-cheek thank you or my
sincere apology to your customers.
Also, next week I plan to share
some of your memories of Old
Atlanta (the town not the road).
Please keep them coming.
Harris Blackwood's column
appears Sundays in the Forsyth
County News. Send comments to
UfestylesGPforsythnews. com.
F orsyth Life
Turning dinner into a dream
New firm
prepares
monthly fare
for family
By Adlen W. Robinson
For the Forsyth County News
Ask any mother what time of day
she feels the most stressed out, and
she will undoubtedly answer “dinner
time.” As a working mother of three,
Cumming resident Sue Mitchell cer
tainly agrees.
“Most mothers, whether they
work outside the home or not, will
tell you the dinner hour is crazy,” said
Mitchell.
Formally a mortgage officer,
Mitchell said evenings for her family
were chaotic at best. “You get home
from work, you are tired every
body has homework or activities
and then everybody wants to know
what is for dinner,” she said.
About a year ago, Mitchell was
doing what any typical working
mother of three might be doing when
she has a little spare time: she was in
the dentist office waiting room with
her 5-year-old. As she waited, she
found herself thumbing through
February 2003's issue of "Working
Mother" Magazine. She flipped
through the pages until she came to
the magazine's cover story that pro
filed two mothers who had started a
business that seemed right up
Mitchell's alley.
The innovative Seattle moms had
come up with away to take the hassle
out of the dinner hour, and in addition
to provide healthy, delicious, home
cooked meals guaranteed to please
the entire family.
The concept behind Dream
Dinners, like so many other innova
tive ideas, was bom out of necessity.
How exactly does Dream Dinners
work? First, customers can log onto
the Web site, www.dreamdinners.com
Have guitar,
will travel
Chris Cauley
launches
career with
U.S. tour
By Harris Blackwood
Community Editor
At 12. Chris Cauley got his first
guitar.
At 20, he has just finished a tour
of concert appearances which took
him from California hack home to
Cumming.
Cauley isn't exactly packing out
large arenas...not yet. His brand of
acoustic pop-rock has taken him to
small clubs to coffee houses and
bookstores across the country. He
has signed a contract with Red Drum
Records, a small independent Jabel
based in Augusta. The label paired
him with fellow artist Scott Little for
a tour that began in Los Angeles and
went across the country over a three
week period.
For Cauley, it all began on a
Christmas morning.
“I had been asking for a guitar,"
said Cauley "My folks thought I
would pick it up for a week and then
put it back down. They got me a
cheap electric guitar."
Over the next few years his tal
ents would progress. The young
musician discovered the acoustic
sound and now plays a Taylor
acoustic guitar that he says will be
Forsy th County News—Sunday, March 7,2004
SB
I St i
V * *** '"B
V e
Photo/Audra Perry
Jan Leblanc prepares a Dream Dinners meal. The Cumming franchise, which is the first in the East,
offers a monthly selection of meals for the entire family.
or go by the shop for an updated list
of menu choices. Each month there is
a completely different list of choices.
Acoustic guitar artist Chris
Cauley, right, has recently com
pleted a tour that took him from
Los Angeles to Cumming.
Within weeks, he will begin
recording his first complete CD.
His first recording, a five-song
collection was entitled, “Wishing
Well."
Photos/Submitted
the one he will have forever.
“Somewhere in that first year, I
fell in love with the acoustic side of
things,” said Cauley. “I got an
acoustic guitar the next Christmas
and I’ve never put it down."
While his early inspiration was
the acoustic sounds of James Taylor,
he now enjoys the music of John
Mayer and Dave Matthews.
For now, Chris has put his educa
tion on hold to pursue his dream. He
Customers choose 12 meals, and then
register for a convenient time to go
into the shop and put together their
■BQ.
comes from a family where educa
tion is the family business. His dad,
Jerry, is the athletic director at
Forsyth Central High School. His
mom, Janet, is a substitute teacher at
the school.
His dad admires the son’s ambi
tion but, being an educator, is cau
tious about the future.
“We’re very proud of him, he’s
very talented," said Jerry Cauley.
“Not all of us have an opportunity to
meals. Though it may seem strange
See DINNER, Page 8B
chase our dream. His decision not tty
continue in school was a concern, but
if this doesn't work out there is time,
to go back and take care of that."
The singer's father admits that
having a 20-year-old son touring'
across the country can make his par-'
ents worry. "We're glad when he
calls home and we try to go and see
him when he is performing nearby." »•
See CAULEY, Page 2B
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