the geneva walmart

So, the Wal-Mart in Geneva, AL, turns 30 today, this the last day of August.

Here you see Birmingham, Troy, Samson,
and Geneva. The pink dots are bigger than
the actual towns themselves.

Let me set the geography for the many of you that have no clue where I'm talking about. I'm from a little town called Samson, population 2100, with 2 red lights and a caution light, and 40ish members of the graduation class of 1993.  Our family moved to 201 N. Johnson Street in 1984, then across the side street to 211 North Johnson Street in 1985, and finally, 208 N. Johnson Street in 1986... yes, we moved one house over, across a street, then moved across N. Johnson to another house, and that would be the home I lived in until I moved off to college in the fall of 1993.

Samson has two main roads - the aforementioned N. Johnson, which runs north to south, and Hwy 52, which runs east to west, and essentially is the "downtown" part of Samson, Alabama.  So if you left my house, took a left once you hit town at Hwy 52, and then drove 8 miles... past the Subway/Dollar General (is that still there?) and the old peanut mill, past the log cabin house, past the pipe plant thing, past the McInnis' veterinarian office, past the caution light, past the cutoff road to go to Joey Stephens' old house and where Forrest & Charlotte Wright live (and Sandy and Cristie too), and yes, past the Sunny Meadows Cemetery (rest in peace, Jennifer W-B) you'll come to the Geneva County seat, a small city called Geneva, Alabama.

And if you did all of these things on August 31st, 1987, you'd see the brand spankin' new Walmart. To my 12 year old self, this was amazing.  I had only heard tale of such discount stores, but to have a Walmart here?  Eight miles from my house??  I mean... that was even cooler than the McDonald's in Geneva (which would be about 9 miles from my house), or the movie theaters in Enterprise (around 20 miles from my house), or even the brand new Wiregrass Commons Mall in Dothan (I lived 45 miles from a mall... those were the days).

This Walmart was amazing!  It had records and tapes, and clothes, and cool things and other cool things and it was HUGE.  I mean, not as big as that new Walmart Supercenter that opened in Enterprise in what, 1989?  But still.  A Walmart was 8 miles from me.  So awesome.

And I frequented that Walmart.  Frequently.

As a matter of fact, I can tell you with certainty that in the time it opened until I moved to Troy in 1993, I purchased the following:

The majesty of the Walmart in Geneva. To 12 year old me, it was a castle.
To 42 year old me, its a quaint reminder of childhood. 

• Debbie Gibson's "Out of the Blue" album on vinyl, and considering it just turned 30 itself, this might be the first thing I ever purchased from a Walmart.  
• The soundtrack to the movie "Cocktail", also on vinyl
• A Valentine's gift for my high school girlfriend Cindy H, which I believe was pajamas
• A birthday gift for my friend Stephanie Phillips, who said after her birthday that I didn't even get her a card. She was kidding, but I bought her a shirt.  Nowadays, a "shirt from Walmart" doesn't sound as nice as "a shirt from Target" or "a shirt from Macys", but to me, it was an awesome gift. It was white with pink stripes. It had shoulder pads. Yes, looking back, it was probably not very fashionable, and to Stephanie's credit, she wore it at least once.  But I bought it with my own money, so it's the thought that counts, right? Right.
• Tons of paper and notebooks for the stories I wrote in junior high and high school, and I wrote a ton. By hand. I wore mechanical pencils slap out (of which I also bought at Walmart)
• Starship's "Knee Deep in the Hoopla" and The Jets' self titled album, both on cassette. I loved The Jets
• A pair of silk boxer shorts, just because I wanted to find out what silk boxers felt like. They ride. Bad.
• My first tennis racket. I was inspired by Jennifer Capriati and Wimbledon back in the day, and I played tennis regularly for the next 15 to 20 years. 
• Amy Grant's "That's What Love is For" on cassette single. I still have it.  Love that song.
• Cathy King's baby shower gift, which was a carseat.  She was a classmate of mine, and to be fair, High School Girlfriend Cindy H and I bought it together.
• Angie Jay's homecoming gift, because she was my date in October 1992. Until Bradley Miller screwed that up.  Don't remember the gift, but I never gave it.  There's a high school story for you. 
• A ficus tree for Ms Peterson, my civics teacher, because her kindness saved my Troy scholarship. I left after my last final as a high school student, sped down to the Geneva Walmart, bought it and sped back, putting it in her classroom before her planning period was over.   

This Walmart holds a ton of memories for me, and I'm glad it's still open. And I'm actually glad it's not 24 hours -- its hours are something like 7a to 9p or maybe even 10p on the weekends.  And whereas the Walmart (formerly a "Supercenter", but now just called "Walmart") that is about 4 minutes from my home through traffic is a behemoth of a building, the Geneva Walmart is less than 150 paces from one side to the other.  I know because I've counted it.  150 paces would get you out of the grocery department and maybe past the self service checkout at the Walmart on Hwy 280, close to me.

And when I have a few extra minutes as I'm coming through Samson (with my old house being sold, there isn't a lot of "coming to" Samson now), I'll drive down Hwy 52, stop at Sunny Meadows and see my friend Jennifer for a minute, then stop in the Geneva Walmart. Sometimes just to walk around, though that doesn't take long. Sometimes to remember where I used to purchase records, then cassettes, then the Plexiglas case that had CD long boxes -- CD players were too fancy for my blood in 1992, I tell you.

So, happy 30th birthday, Geneva Walmart. May you be around another 30, and I'll see you soon, I'm sure.

(Many thanks to my friend Amy Warr for retweeting the WTVY-TV link that alerted me to this great holiday -- you can read their story here, though mine is better)

Idol Live with Lennon & McCartney (with results)

Late shift at The Happiest Place in the Mall, meaning I just sat down to watch the show.  Its right at 7p, so for the first time this year, I get to do a running diary of tonight's episode!

THIS IS


AMERICAN IDOL!!!

7:02p... Here comes our judges... America's Favorite Lesbian Ellen DeGeneres, Randy the Dawg, Kara the New Hotness and Simon the Cowell.  And Ryan the Seacrest comes out as our host... Lacey Brown sighting in the audience!

Nine remain, on the quest to be the last Idol standing... tonight's theme is "The Lennon/McCartney Songbook". 

Beatles.  Overrated.  There.  I said it.  Get over it.

7:04p... Paul McCartney gives words of encouragement by video.  Seriously?  He couldn't show up?  Usher, dropping a new album, came last week.  I'll bet Usher sells more than Paul does right now. 

And getting the lead off tonight... Aaron Kelly.

7:09p... This is tough. I'm so used to zipping through these commericals quickly, via the DVR remote control...  not tonight.  Huggies, drugfree.org, Taco Bell... I'm actually getting advertisements shown in my brain.

7:10p... We're back.   Aaron is going to sing "The Long and Winding Road".  I wrote a story once called "The Long and Winding Road", back when I was in high school.  It was about this country hick guy who is visiting his snobbish, cheerleadery cousin.  She has no use for him, and she's rather embarassed to have him around, and certainly mortified when her mom demands she take him to a party.  A party thrown by the "popular" kids in the school.

Anyway, there's a hay ride, and somehow they get stranded together when the hayride stops, and they fail to get back on.  The rest of the story (Randy only sort of liked the song) is the two of them walking back, and her defenses falling a little as she discovers maybe he's not (Ellen though the song was long and winding) as stupid and hillbilly as she thought he was.

(Kara the New Hotness thought it was so-so).  The title of the story comes in when he professes a love for the Beatles and Paul McCartney, which of course shocks her, who think's he's all about Dolly Parton and old country.  He sings the verse and chorus of "Long and Winding Road" to her... it ends when (Simon thought the song--Aaron Kelly's, not Hillbilly Cousin's) they reach the group again after a few hours of walking, and her whole mindset has changed.  It was one of my favorite stories I'd written back in those days.   Just thought I'd share.

Katie Stevens is up next.

7:21p... Seacrest tells America that its prom season, and Katie has been asked five times.  Creeeeeepy.   I went to two proms while I was in high school... both my junior and senior proms, both with Cindy Howell.  She and I dated off and on for like, 2 years--what's weird is that we kinda dated right up until prom my junior year, broke up, but she went with me anyway.  Then somehow, we got back together later that year, during my Senior year... then, we dated up until my Senior Prom, broke up, she went anyway (this was after a failed attempt to take Amy Farris instead), she had a miserable time, I had a great time...

I went to two more while in college, with my friends Brandy and Cheryl, to their proms in Samson and Coffee Springs, respectively.   Just sayin'.

Katie is singing "Let It Be".  I'm bored.  I mean, she's doing pretty good, but it was still kinda boring.

Randy the Dawg said it was her best performance.  Ellen DeG says, "Amazing".  Kara the Hotness says she made the song her own, and was great.  Simon the Cowell says she got it right tonight, after being in the Bottom Three two weeks in a row.

7:31p... More commercials I can't zip through...
 
7:33p... The Lovely Steph Leann is at her parents house right now, will maybe join us later.  I only mention this because the preview for Glee just came on, and if she saw that, she just squealed like a little girl.

7:34p... Andy Garcia is next.   He's singing "Can't Buy Me Love", the title of one fantastickly bad, yet terribly awesome... dare I say "Craptastic"?... movie.  You know, from like, 1987, starring a very, very young Patrick Dempsey?  It was like, his fifth theatrical movie, but the first with him in a starring role.  The movie starred him... and nobody else.  Well, that's not true, but very few people out there will recognize the names Ami Dolenz and Courtney Gains, but it did have Seth Green as the little brother. 

Randy the Dawg said it was good and solid.  Ellen DeG says, "First of all, you can buy love... and it was a perfect song choice."  Kara the New Hotness wanted to love it... but didn't.  She said it wasn't new from him, and wants more.  Why do I find her so attractive?   Simon the Cowell says it was like a wedding band when the guitarist, not the lead singer, singing the song. 

7:40p... A commercial for H&R Block, featuring some guy who finally took his tax returns there, and they found him like, all kinds of refunds and things.  If I took my tax returns, they wouldn't find jack.  Except for more stuff I owe, I'm sure.

7:46p... Big Mike used to be in his family's group, called "The Lynche Mob".  His last name?  "Lynche".  Clever.

7:46p... He's singing "Eleanor Rigby", which along with "Penny Lane", constitute my favorite 2 Beatles songs, by far and away.  I'll be honest with ya... I'm digging this soul version of the song. 

I'm not sure what "Penny Lane" or "Eleanor Rigby" even mean... I do know that Penny Lane is a great name for a great part in a great movie, that being "Almost Famous", a movie in The Dave20--one of my Top 20 Favorite Films of All Time, that is.  Played by Kate Hudson, it was like the first, and last, time she appeared talented onscreen. 

Randy the Dawg said that the song could be a joint on the album.  Ellen DeG thought it was a huge risk, but she loved it.  Kara the New Hotness said it was fire, and amazing.  Simon the Cowell said he didn't love it as much as the others did, because this was the kind of song you'd see and hear in musicals.  I completely disagress... I thought it was great, and my favorite of the whole night thusfar.

7:52p... C'Bosox is up next

7:57p... A preview teaser for "The Good Guys" starring Colin Firth Member Bradley Whitford... though how much longer he gets to keep his membership will be up to The Lovely Steph Leann.  The show looks fantastic.

8p... Crystal Bowersox is performing "Come Together", including a guy performing the diggerydoo.  That's not a made up word, Coffee Drinkers... that's an Australian type instrument. 

This isn't one of my favorite Beatle songs, and by extension, this isn't one of my favorite performances of the night... but she's doing a great job with it.  And it looks like she might have even gotten her vampire teeth fixed... she was dangerously close to looking like Scott McIntyre the Deaf Vampire Guy. 

Randy the Dawg said the diggerydoo was kind of distracting, but loved C'Bosox.  Ellen DeG looks for a new way to tell her how great she is.  Kara the New Hotness says it was one of her favorite MamaSox performances.  She compares her to Bonnie Raitt, and I can totally see that.  Simon the Grumpy Cowell says it was a song that he could hear on the radio.   I liked Big Mike better, but it was good.

8:06p... Off to break, and Tim-May! is next

8:11p... Seacrest lets us know that Young David Archuleta and Rhianna will both perform tomorrow night, and now, Tim Urban will be singing "All My Lovin'". 

8:13p... You know, I hate to say this... but I really like Tim tonight.  Seriously.  Well, let's be real here, I'd take Didi, Michelle My Belle, Janell, Alex Lambert or even Angela Martin over Tim Urban, but still...

Randy the Dawg likes the Beatles do that Tim Urban is sporting, and thought the song was good.  Ellen DeG said the song choice was perfect, and one of his best.  Kara the New Hotness likes the fact Tim took their feedback to heart, and likes the song.  Simon the Cowell says he thought the song was really good. 

8:19p... CJ is next.

8:19p... The trailer for "Grown Ups "... it looks ridiculous.  And awesome.  And there's a Bob Seger song that is playing in the background that I can't find--well, that's not true.  The truth is that iTunes doesn't have Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band songs, which is a travesty.  I bought a $7 Bob Seger compilation CD the other day, but didn't have the song I wanted either.  Still, it rocked.  Driving down I-459, with "Hollywood Nights" jamming while the windows were down, enjoying a 71 degree day.  Dig it, man, dig it.

8:24p... Casey James is going to sing, and somewhere, somehow, Cindy Jo is weeping drooling.  He's singing "Jealous Guy", one I'm just not that familiar with.

8:26p... If they allowed cigerette lighters in the Kodak Theater, I'm guessing they would be raised high.  Wait, what am I saying?  This isn't 1987... okay, if they allowed it, I'm guessing the audience would be waving their cell phones high. 

8:27p... A little slow, but really good.  Randy the Dawg was impressed by the song selection, and that CJ played the acoustic instead of the electric.  Ellen DeG was feelin' him, dawg.  Feelin' him.  Kara the New Hotness liked the vunerability.  Simon the Cowell calls him "Goldilocks" and then tells him it was the best performance of the night.  I agree...

8:30p... Okay, so this show is scheduled to end at 9pm  Its 8:30.  That's thirty minutes.  You know how many people there are left?  Two.  So, they've got thirty minutes to showcase two people.  Talk about time to kill...

8:31p... Siobhan Magnus comes up next...

8:37p... If you asked me to guess which song Siobhan Magnus would sing, I would guess "Across the Universe" or "I Am the Walrus"... something, anything, drug induced.  I was right on the former. 

8:37p... She tried the soft ballad last week, and it backfired, getting her some harsh criticism--the first for her--and almost putting her in tears.  Tonight, she's going the ballad route again, and sitting atop a stool, hair curly and cool, dress flowing, she looks amazing.  And sounds amazing.

8:38p... I would probably be more into it if I liked the song.   Randy the Dawg says no one screams "artist" more than Siobhan, and though the song was little sleepy, he liked the tender softness of the song.  Ellen DeG tells her to honor who she is.  Kara the New Hotness says from a singing aspect, she did okay, but thought the song was retrained and polite.  Simon the Cowell says last week was a disaster, but this week she came back stronger.  None of the judges outright said they liked or didn't like the song, it was all about how different and great of an artist she is.  When they say "Song wasn't as good, but I love you", its not a great thing.

8:43p... I could never prove this, but I wouldn't be shocked if the producers came to the judges after last week and said, "Hey, even if you don't like her song, you got to ease up on Siobhan.  No harshness for her.  We lose her, we got Bowersox and that's it.  Don't you get Magnus voted off.  Curse it all!"

8:45p... Lee Dewyze gets the pimp slot, and is up next.

8:49p... The show comes back from commercial, and shows Siobhan coming to the green room, about to cry.  Producers yelling, "Cut away!  Don't let them see her cry!  She did awesome!  We have to make sure people know she did awesome!"  So they cut away quickly.

8:50p... Lee DeWyze on guitar, singing "Hey Jude".  I figured someone would take this song on.  His video clip showed his bro-mance with Andy Garcia, and C'Bosox comments, "They should get married and have little Danny Gokey babies."  Ha!

8:51p... Can't help but like this guy, and can't help but think that Kris Allen is reborn with this guy... wasn't noticed much to begin with, had a breakthrough moment, and is building moment.  And the bagpipe guy who just came down the stairs didn't hurt either.

8:53p... Randy the Dawg says it was a hot one for Lee.  Ellen DeG tries to be funny concerning the bagpipes.  Kara the New Hotness says it was good and bad, but she really likes him.  Simon the Cowell laughs about the fact that this night contained both a diggerydoo and a bagpipe player... and he didn't like the bagpipes at all.  Admittedly, it was kinda weird.  I dug it, though. 

8:56p... So here's how the show breaks down for the night... Casey James... Big Mike... Lee DeWyze... Crystal Bowersox... Tim Urban... Siobhan Magnus... Katie Stevens... Aaron Kelly... Andy Garcia

Tomorrow night!  Results late, cause I'm at The Happiest Place!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

And now, we're back... time for some results.  This will be quick, as usual, as we'll fast-forward through much of it, like the group song, the Ford commercial and the filler.  The Lovely Steph Leann has the remote, so we may end up watching David Archuleta perform, or especially Rhianna.  She loves her some Rhianna.  (I'm just kidding--she couldn't pick Rhianna out of a lineup, nor could she tell you a single Rhianna song... she knows "Rhiannon", though)

Seacrest tells us that the producers has let us know there are "shocking results" tonight.  MZ texted me earlier, asking "Do you want to know who gets kicked off?  The judges might use their save tonight!", which of course tells me that its not Katie Stevens or Tim Urban in the bottom two.  Darn you, MZ, darn you.

So, you know I dig me some Kara DioGuardi, but her outfit?  Yeesh. 

Fast forward through the group song

Fast forward through commercials

Fast forward through the Ford commercial

Let's get this thing started!  Siobhan stands first.  I personally think her front runner status is in real danger... almost like Andrew Garcia's front runner status way early in the year has slipped to her, and now her's is slipping to Lee DeWyze.  Seacrest gets Siobhan Magnus to the center of the stage.   (The Lovely Steph Leann groans, saying, "Oh, the group thing...")

Crystal Bowersox stands up.  Seacrest directs her to stand by Siobhan at the center of the stage.

Katie Stevens stands up.  After the vote... she is led to join the other two in the middle.

Siobhan, Crystal and Katie stand nervously in the middle of the stage.  Seacrest tells C'Bosox to sit down, as she's safe.  And after a fake out (Seacrest:  I can tell you, Siobhan and Katie, one of you is safe... and the other is safe too...) they both take a seat.

Fast forward through commercials

Fast forward through Jason Derulo, whoever he is.  I had to look on the iTunes store to not only see how is name is spelled, but also what song he's got out... its called, "In My Head".  Never heard of it.  We're so old.

Fast forward through commercials

The Lovely Steph Leann goes nuts on the remote, fast forwarding way too fast, right into David Archuleta.  She rewinds, stopping on a Glee preview.

David Archuleta performs the song that gave him his breakthrough in Season 7, that being "Imagine".  The Lovely Steph Leann doesn't fast forward.

Young Archie leaves the stage, waving, probably thinking "better you than me, suckas".

Seacrest tells us there will be two groups of three... nothing but guys left, so a dude is going home tonight.  Lee DeWyze stands up.  Seacrest sends him to the far side, stage right, of the stage.

I'm guessing all the guys are hoping they aren't in the group with Andy Garcia. 

Big Mike stands up.  He moves to the near side of the stage, stage left, closest to the couch.  Casey James stands up.   He heads over to Lee DeWyze's small group.  Aaron Kelly stands up.  He is directed to stand by Big Mike.  So that leaves Tim Urban and Andy Garcia...

Tim Urban stands up.   Seacrest sends him to Lee DeWyze and Casey James.  This leaves Andrew Garcia, who will head to Aaron Kelly and Big Mike... I just announced my prediction--Big Mike or Aaron Kelly goes home.

As we figured, Tim Urban, Casey James and Lee DeWyze are safe.  This leaves Big Mike, Andy Garcia and Aaron Kelly... Seacrest sends one of them back to safety... and that person is... Aaron Kelly.

So, if there are "shocking" results, that means Big Mike goes home.  Cause Andy Garcia going home would not be a shocker.   Both go sit in the Silver Stools of Shame.

Fast forward through commercials

Fast forward through Rhianna (though if she sang "I Hope You Dance", The Lovely Steph Leann would watch it, cause she loves that song)

Fast forward through more commercials

So now, who gets the boot?  That would be................... Big Mike Lynche.  Andrew Garcia stays on the show. 

And the judges... wow... the judges use the save.   The JUDGES USE THE SAVE... BIG MIKE IS COMING BACK...

A Love Story in Three Acts: Act 1

Exposition

"Cindy"
Cindy was my high school girlfriend... I lived in Samson (pop. 2071), she lived in the nearby town of Coffee Springs (pop. 251--no, I'm not kidding), and is a year older than I. Most people think my graduating class of 45 was tiny--see the recent "We Want the Funk(hauser)" column--but her graduating class was 17. We both worked together at The Wright Place restaurant, a family owned establishment that I started at when I was 15. Flash forward a year & a half later, I'm 17, I meet this girl named Cindy over Christmas and my crush is on.

Now, I'd had crushes before on Stephanie Phillips (at who's wedding I actually saw Leann Corby, my first date from Troy State in some weird twist of... fate... am I actually rhyming?), Leslie Whigham (who I see weekly now at Starbucks... who knew?), a crazy crush on Julie Wise (the infamous Samson High School "Dave/Rona/Ryan/Julie/Jody/Leigh love triangle-angle-angle of 1992"... ask me, and I'll explain it...) but my crush on Cindy was different? Why? Well, sadly enough, she actually said yes when I asked her out.

So we went to see Wayne's World--yes, the first one--on February 15th, 1992. I wore jeans and a green turtleneck that looking back on, I would smack myself for doing. I remember it. Turns out, she had a boyfriend named Todd Wheeler. Cindy and I went out again later, several more times, all the while she seemed to still be hanging out with big, ugly Todd. Let me just tell you--this guy was a total loser. Seriously... he was hairy, he looked like a monkey, his truck was High Tech Redneck all the way. So, she chose him in the long (short?) run, even after I took her to my junior prom, she took Todd to hers, and so on.

Then we got back together. Then we broke up. Then she went to college, and we still we still dated. Then we broke up. She went on to Troy State in the fall, and I went to see her on a rainy Saturday. She was too busy to come down and see me, so I decided to tour the campus myself. I loved it. Loved the grounds, loved the area, loved the stadium, loved the journalism school, loved it all... so I applied, and got in. (Of course, being God, who's to say that God didn't use my relationship with Cindy to bring me to Troy, where I would be led to Jesus in 1995, much like He worked through another girl to lead me to Birmingham)...

Anyway, I thought we were done. Christmas Day, 1992, we went out again, this time to go bowling. And this time, there was no Todd Wheeler... she liked me. I got my first kiss and we were dating for real. Things were going alright for a while, then one day she came through Samson on a Saturday morning with some of her college friends, including this really tall, hairy guy who also looked like a monkey. She apologized later for that, so we went out again. Then we didn't. Then we did. I invited her to my senior prom, she said yes.

During my off again periods with Cindy, I ended up going out with a few other girls here and there (some of which are dates I would love to have back), and had asked out Angie Jay (who said yes initially, until Bradley Miller spread it all over school that we were dating, so she retracted--there were about 300 from 6th grade to 12th grade, so when I say "all over school", I literally mean "all over school"), and heck, even got up the nerve to ask out Julie Wise (who said no) but I always kept going back to Cindy. I even took back my prom invite, asking Amy Farris instead.

Amy said yes at first, then a day later, she said "I know you really want to take that Cindy girl, so go with her". So I took Cindy to prom... I had a blast. She was a stick in the mud, so I left her at the table and had a good time on my own. Then, a few days after that, I found out the previous January, a week or so after we had our first kiss, she had gone out with some other guy--the same tall, hairy guy that was with her in the group going to the beach... she even kissed him. So, as far as I was concerned, we were done.

At least, until I got to Troy State the following September, and we went out again, though this time I almost didn't care. Not knowing anyone, I became friends with Cindy's friends, and she took offense to this--she treated me like crap, really. So, we're done now. I'm over it, if only because Troy is a brand new world and there are tons of fish in the sea--heck, this is the freakin' Pacific.

I had dinner with Ginny Kochan from Wisconsin, which was awesome... well, it ended up later as a disaster, (begatting The Ginny Kochan First Law of Dating), but at first, I was excited. I went that weekend to work at the restaurant, and mentioned to someone "Hey, I had dinner with this awesome chick named Ginny..." Well, upon hearing it, Cindy got mad. She felt as if I was going out with other people to get even with her, which didn't help her anger when I actually laughed at her for saying it. "You're kidding me, right?" I laughed. "You actually think I care enough about you at this point to date someone to just get even with you?" Yeah, that didn't help either.

Moved on from Ginny to go out with Labett White (her name was Mary Beth, but her little brother could only spit out "Labett") that winter, something that lasted all of two weeks. I actually had a crush on Adrienne Benton, who was a close friend to both me and Labett, but that wasn't going to happen... anyway, in the spring of 1994, I met Chris Fulaytar (you may know him as Wookiee, but that nickname came after)... and though I didn't date him, nor did I have a crush on him, this was a key point.

He was dating Anna Ayers, commonly known now as "The Wench", while I was dating Katherine Gates, commonly known now as "The Absolutely Freakin' Psycho Katherine Gates" (those are two stories that are for another day), and both The Wench and Katherine lived in Hamil Hall with a party-going Mormon named Erin and a country bumpkin named Alyson.

Up in Hamil Hall one day, with both of us visiting our chicks-at-the-time, Chris and I were sharing dating stories one day, and I found out he knew Cindy Howell, as they were both involved in ROTC on campus. Heck, he even dated her. Then I found out he dated her in January of 1992. Then I found out he had come with Cindy and friends to the beach, and had stopped in at The Wright Place for breakfast. So yes, he was the guy who Cindy had made out with, in the midst of going out with me... and Chris and I both laughed heartily about it. We even became roommates the next year... and for three years after that. And a decade later, he served as the best man in my wedding, and I in his.

Cindy and I didn't speak for 18 months. Know that Troy's campus was not all that big, so we saw each other quite frrequently... we would pass by in the halls of McCalla or Wallace, look at each other and just keep going. Until one day... I finally called her. When I mentioned I was roommates and best friends with Chris Fulaytar, she got really quiet, which I enjoyed thoroughly... but anyway, we made up. (No, not like that). I was a sophomore, she was a junior, we both had grown up a little bit, so we didn't go out again.

I gotta say, though, we were high schoolers, and young college kids... its like a world away at this point. I say that because to her credit, when we finally reconnected, she was a different person. She apologized profusely for everything over and over, I apologized for everything, and we became really good friends. The next year, I went to see her in Biloxi, Mississippi where she was stationed (she was in the Air Force for a few years) and visited my first casino (won $15 on the nickel machines... and honestly, the last time I ever gambled, aside from a lottery ticket every now and again).

At this point, Cindy was just fantastic to be around. And still is. Did I love her? I told her I did. However, I don't know if I can count that, because I was 17 at the time. Did I know what love was? I don't think so. That's not saying that people who are 17 or 18 can't know what love is all about... I just know I didn't.

Throughout the next few years in college, I went through a series of relationships, dating a few Julies, a Melanie, a Heather, a couple of Jennifers, having a big crush on a Kathy (who liked Jarred, for some reason... what is it with girls who like guys who are jerks? Is this a national thing, or just southern? Do nice guys do something to turn girls this way? We should do a study.) which turned into a "Some Kind of Wonderful" story when I ended up liking Lisa Murphy instead and, oh yes, this chick named Chrissy--which is important because those of you who are spent time on WalkAbout should thank God this girl existed.

And all of this leads up to Amy.

Act 2, Scene 1: A Chance Meeting