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Real Deal Meal
The Complete Lunchbox
The Life and Works of Deacon Lunchbox
A Cornucopia of Southern Culture
Robert Sean Roarty. Editor • Drury Lane Book Makers • $19.95 softcover
Any amount of words that I could wnte would not do justice to a man who is sorely
missed. That man, the one and only rabidly poetic bullhorn of true Georgia red clay, the
Deacon Lunchbox. He’s dead. Gone. The flame of life snuffed out late one night on a dark
stretch of lonely Georgia asphalt by a drunk dnver. Deacon Lunchbox, Robert Clayton and
Robert Hayes, the latter two of the Jody Gnnd, all gone because of one man’s over-indul
gence and stupidity. That man could not have drunk enough in a million lifeomes to fill the
void left by their untimely loss.
Eventually the wounds will heal, but they will always be sore. The Lunchbox’s life was
one that celebrated what it meant to live, breathe, eat, drink, shit and spit Southern style.
He commanded your attention like a roanng chain saw as hp stood there encased in an
oversized bra, banging on that dud bomb and spilling his guts out in a way that only the
Deacon could control. His poetry, full of subtle humor and biting, sometimes blunt reality,
spoke to the Southern backwoods lifestyle with a truthful voice that bn died with anarchy
and rebellion, yet
held so much soul and
feeling. Beer and piss,
kids. That's what the
Deacon loved and
that’s what the Dea
con preached
Much like a roar
ing redneck grizzly,
the Deacon was able
to relate his life in so
many different ways,
but as always, with a
whiskey-flowing style
that was complex and
simply engaging. He
may have been slighdy warped, but that “it came out of left field" quality only added to his
overwhelming vision and “left of center" appeal.
The Complete Lunchbox (The Ufe and Works of Deacon Lunchbox, A Cornucopia of South
ern Culture) published by Drewry Lane Book Makers and edited by Robert Sean Roarty
gives you that and much more You can taste the sweat. With the help of the Deacon’s
brother Jim Ruttenber and many others, this project can finally bask in the sultry, humid
The galleys oF
Local wordS
1 •The new Stilpont is out. and it's a beaut The UGA student
B literary magazine marks its 25th anniversary with this issue.
wNch is chock fuK of student poetry, fiction and orl in a hand
some. perma-bound glossy format To the right is a sample
•ITs my story, but I guess I’m not sticking to It. Wine is not
served at Writers Bloc readings presented in conjunction with
The Old Block Dog Bookstore at the Lumpkin Cafe Where
was I when we had the wine in the little plastic cups out of
the big glass jugs 7 Communion 7 Maybe it was just the in
toxication of hearing Starkey Flythe read from his book of
stories. Lent The Sbw Fast Anyway. The Writers Bloc meets
again June 2 at 8 p.m and features Tommy Hays, author of
Sam’s Crossing (PMc)
• A new lynyrd Skynyrd book. IV Never Forget You, is a rare
one at that — 'only 10.000 copies ever printed Less than
1.500 now available' They're on sale for limited time at S9 95
each 350 of the books are autographed and numbered The
book was written by Gene Odom Hife long friend and per
sonal bodyguard for Ronnie Van Zant and the ohgmol Lynyrd
Skynyrd BancP and indudes many rare photos CoM or write
Mark Anderson, c/o Advanced Sound Creations. 1454 High
way 421. Warrenvdte. SC 29851.800-223-3753
“Taking Out
the Trash,”
by Heidi Kitchen
I would have
fried
your eggs,
paid
for your pizza,
filled
your belly,
until
your last
belch,
but you
sipped
slurped
sucked
through
the bottom
ot the cup
and the door
to the kitchen
is closed.
I am
fucking someone
who takes me
out to dinner
twilight that made the Deacon Lunchbox and the South what they are.
Upon perusing this wonderfully laid-out and organized slice of culture, I could not help
but feel sorrow. This book does so much to bnng those who never knew him, or saw him
perform, up close and personal with this man and his art that I could not help but think that
somehow this really wasn’t fair. 1 think you know what 1 mean. He was life, and that was
what he enjoyed. This book does not trivialize Deacon Lunchbox’s life; instead it plows the
field with a gusto and strength that would have made the Deacon proud. Hell, he might
have written something about it. I highly recommend this book to everyone, and my hat s
off to those who brought it out.
And as you finish reading this, if you took
the time, 1 would like for you to stop for a
moment of silence to remember the man,
Deacon Lunchbox, and remember the hap-,
piness he gave all of us The man and his art
will truly be missed.
I’ll leave you with words by the Deacon.
He wrote: “Where’s the rule book on life/
Where does it say that you’ve got to com
ply ?/Who’s to say where it’s at?/What’s the
combination ?/Were the tumblers set by God/
Or by some geek with a screwdriver?"
Makes a hell of a lot of sense, doesn’t it?
Think...
John Mincemoyer
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