Newspaper Page Text
®he3)Bmfial
* THURSDAY,
JULY 22, 2004
Charlotte Perkins
Charlotte’s Web
q3erkins@evansnewspapers.com
Literary Quiz:
The following lines are
from a poem written in
1897. Who is the poet and
what was the occasion for
which it was written?
The tumult and the shout
ing dies;
The Captains and the
Kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient
sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite
heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be
with us yet,
Lest we forget - lest we for
get!
Last week's cognoscenti:
The works that were not
written by Georgians were
“The Optimist’s Daughter”
by Eudora Welty of
Mississippi; “The Grapes of
Wrath” by John Steinbeck
of California; “Look
Homeward Angel” by
Thomas Wolfe of North
Carolina, and “Uncle Tom’s
Cabin” by Harriet Beecher
Stowe of Connecticut.
Getting it right were Laurie
Jones, Anita Hanselman,
Terry Everett, Jim Worrall,
Bill Harrison and Beckie
Burnham.
These were the
Georgians: “The Color
Purple,” Alice Walker of
Eatonton; “Wise Blood,”
Flannery O’Connor of
Milledgeville; “The Heart is
a Lonely Hunter,” , Carson
McCullers of Columbus;
“No Time for Sergeants,”
Mac Hyman of Cordele;
“The Marshes of Glynn,”
Sidney Lanier of Macon;
“Gone With the Wind,”
Margaret Mitchell of
Atlanta.
Dost oOK!
Here’s an important mes
sage for the regulars at
Creekside Catfish. Dot
Andrews is doing well after
her knee replacement but
will be out a few more
weeks for rehabilitation.
Her family appreciates all
the calls and wants every
body to know that she’s
doing well. Cards can be
sent to Dot at 12840 Ga. 96,
Fort Valley, GA 31030.
Aspartame's OK. ReaNyl
Here we go again. From
time to time, hoaxes surface
on the Internet and we all
start getting tales of sorrow
and outrage, giveaways
from restaurants and chain
stores, nationwide hunts for
lost children who aren’t in
fact lost, urgent requests to
bombard the FCC with
protest messages for things
they are not in fact doing,
and, of course, Dire
Warnings.
I recently got a forwarded
Dire Warning about aspar
tame’s causing all kinds of
terrible health problems. In
case you got it too, don’t
give up on your Diet Coke.
Go to Google and type in
hoax + aspartame, and
you’ll learn from several
good debunking sources
that this is a hoax that’s
been going around for four
or five years already.
And, folks, please don’t
forward stuff like this if you
haven’t checked it out.
There are dozens of sites
dedicated to researching
and exposing e-mail hoaxes.
See WEB, page 9A
Entertainment
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The Warner Robins Little Theatre is currently presenting “Jar the Floor," a comedy with serious overtones that features five women. The play
is directed by Fred Hardin, who is cautioning playgoers that that the play contains “adult” language. Remaining playtimes are July 22-24, 28-
31 at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees on July 18 and 25 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $lO for adults, and $6 students. Reservation lines are open from
10 a.m. to 5 pm. Please call 478-929-4579 to make reservations. From left, seated: cast members Marilyn D. Mack, Kelli Smalls, Debra Wilson,
Amber Wimsatt, standing: Fred Hardin, director; Dennis Shema,stage manager; Pat Phillips; cast member Megan Dunagan.
Yard stars: A guide to TV's bumper crop of garden programs
By Dan Vierria
Sacramento Bee
Embracing gardening’s
popularity, television is pro
ducing vastly improved pro
grams compared with those
that came before.
Home & Garden
Television raised the bean
pole, and PBS and syndica
tors have met the challenge
and improved content to
reflect modern gardening,
design and landscaping
trends and techniques.
Common themes are small
er gardens, organic prac
tices, water features, cook
ing with home-grown pro
duce, do-it-yourself land
scaping and combining the
outdoor world with indoors.
Here is our take on the
current crop of gardening
shows.
Ratings
4 stars: Garden gold, dig
in!
3 stars: Good yield of
ideas
2 stars: Needs amending
1 star: Dead on the vine
Landscapers’ Challenge
4 stars
Channel: HGTV
Theme: Needy homeowners
seek professional help for land
scaping yards. Three designers
make presentations and pitch
ideas. One is selected.
Comments: Formula format,
but excellent idea program as
each episode highlights three
different approaches to the
same property. Trying to predict
which designer will be chosen is
fairly easy _ it’s the one who
actually incorporates the client’s
wishes into the design. (Funny
how that works.) At times,
How to make the most of your summer
As you are reading this, I
will be laying out on the
sand in Ormond Beach, Fla,
getting a massive sunburn
and enjoying life.
My family goes to
Ormond every year, and it
is one of the summer tradi
tions that I really look for
ward to every year.
With that in mind, this
week’s installment of the
“Top Tens of Summer” is
the Top Ten Things to Do
During the Summer. Here
they are, counting down
from ten to one:
10. Nothing. OK, this
might sound stupid, but
think about how many
times this summer you
have sat around and done
absolutely zilch. It feels
WRLT presents “Jar the Floor”
homeowners decide the budget
is unrealistic, and cuts are
made. Project cost is
announced. Realism gets high
marks. Finished products are
inspiring.
A Gardener’s Diary
3 stars
Channel: HGTV
Theme: Gardeners give horti
culturist Erica Glasener tours of
their gardens.
Comments: Casually paced
show with high gardening con
tent. Glasener, in her trademark
dress and straw hat, asks ques
tions, sniffs blooms and identi
fies plants by botanical and
common names. There’s a
story behind each garden: Mr.
Dirt maintains his late mother’s
densely planted roadside gar
den near the railroad tracks in
hot, dusty Edward, Miss. A
retired opera singer turns her
creative mind to gardening in
Santa Fe, N.M. Each episode
closes with a recap of the three
or four most interesting plants.
Victory Garden
3 stars
Channel: PBS
Theme: Episodes are seg
mented into short takes on gar
den design, general gardening,
plants and cooking.
Comments: Updated version
of an old classic is much more
palatable for modem garden
ers, although it still has an East
Coast slant. Attention is given to
small-space gardening and
design. Several segments this
season taped in Europe look at
European garden design, which
may not be of interest to all
weekend gardeners. However,
host Michael Weishan makes
every effort to help gardeners
incorporate classic design ele
ments into their own gardens.
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Nick Campbell
In the nick of time
nickscampbell@hotmail.com
great.
9. Going to amusement
parks. Six Flags, Wild
Adventures, Whitewater -
there are so many great
PAUL JAMES
Rebecca’s Garden
3 stars
Channel: Syndicated
Theme: Rebecca Kolls, a
contender for Martha Stewart’s
vacated throne, hosts general
gardening segments.
Comments: Newer episodes
go beyond gardening with seg
ments on cooking with garden
produce, decorating with plants
and crafts. Kolls, a master gar
dener, is personable and believ
able. Guest professionals deliv
er tips on design and decorat
ing. Kolls seems most comfort
able in the garden and ends
every episode with her trade
mark, “Get those hands dirty!”
Landscape Solutions
1 star
Channel: HGTV
Theme: Single theme each
week as problems are solved.
Comments: More suited for
landscape professionals. The
show is dry and the landscapes
too often have a cookie-cutter,
commercial appearance. In one
episode, the main problem was
erosion and a massive front
yard on a steep slope.
places to spend a summer
day within reasonable driv
ing distance from good old
Middle Georgia.
8. Playing “pick-up” bas
ketball. Summer is without
a doubt one of the best
times to just go out on the
court and have a little fun.
7. Swimming. After work
ing up a sweat by doing a
number of physical activi
ties, what better way to cool
off than by jumping in a
nice cold pool for an hour?
6. Going to concerts.
Summer time is the best
time to hear the best bands
and singers live and in
action.
5. Sleeping late. Well, this
might not apply to every
body, but I am definitely
P. Allen Smith's Garden
Home
3 stars
Channel: PBS
Theme: Smith, a landscape
designer, emphasizes connect
ing outdoor and indoor through
design. He uses flowers and
plants in home decor _ wreaths,
cut flowers, floral arrange
ments, plus cooking and using
herbs in everyday chores.
Comments: Successfully
illustrates sound home-garden
design principles by using clas
sic gardens here and abroad as
examples. One recent episode
on urban gardening focused on
planting boxes in the middle of
Chicago’s Michigan Avenue and
the garden atop City Hall. Smith
is a personable and knowl
edgable host.
Landscape Smart
2 stars
Channel: HGTV
Theme: Do-it-yourself-with-a
little-help show focuses on one
project each week.
Comments: Utilitarian
approach that holds your hand
through each project. A profes
sional tutors the homeowner in
building such things as a deco
rative water feature. Cost-cut
ting strategies are addressed
and the total expense is report
ed. Useful, mainstream pro
gram is low on energy. If you’re
not interested in the project du
jour, you’re apt to channel surf.
Outer Spaces
3 stars
Channel: HGTV
Theme: Yard makeovers for
lucky homeowners. It’s an
updated version of “Surprise
Gardener” with the same host _
Susie Coelho.
Comments: Ambushed by the
“Outer Spaces” team and
taking advantage of my last
“free” summer before col
lege starts. I love the feeling
of hearing an alarm go off
and knowing that I’m not
the one that has to be out of
bed.
4. Lounging by the pool.
This one gets a higher
placement than swimming
because swimming can
sometimes cause you to
exert physical energy, while
sitting around sipping
smoothies by a pool is one
of the most relaxing things
you can do.
3. Eating fresh summer
foods. One of the greatest
things of summer is the
abundance of fresh foods.
Starting in June, it seems
8A
SUSIE COELHO
informed that a relative or friend
was responsible for setting up
the impending makeover, the
cameras capture shocked faces
and surprised looks. These
yards are in desperate need of
professional help. A landscape
designer lays out the changes
and oversees fountains, water
falls, plantings and other heavy
work. Coelho adds decorative
touches like setting outdoor
tables and trouble-shooting.
Innocuous fun. Some of the
makeovers are pretty tacky, but
the homeowners seem happy.
Ground Breakers
2 stars
Channel: HGTV
Theme: Major, expensive
landscaping projects.
Comments: Earth-moving
Bobcats and rock-lifting cranes
excavate and shift the land
scape from mundane to magnif
icent. Mountains are literally
moved in some episodes.
Dream gardens are carved from
clay and stone with little
expense spared. Projects often
take many months. Host Joe
Washington chats with home
owners and designers while the
See YARD, page 9A
like nearly every fruit and
vegetable goes into season,
which makes for some won
derfully delicious summer
meals.
2. Fishing. There aren’t
many better ways to pass
the time than getting out in
a boat and throwing out
your line for hours on end.
And the number one
thing to do during the sum
mer is...
1. Going to the beach. I
wish there were beaches
within two hours from here,
but unfortunately you have
to make a road trip to go.
However, once you get
there, it’s pure paradise. No
worries, no problems, just a
whole lot of fun.