Doe's Eat Place

(Bentonville, AR) Being a connoisseur of fine red meat, my antenna rises when I am traveling and I hear someone recommend a great place to eat a steak.

When a second person and then a third person recommend the same establishment, I sort of make it my business to make my way there.

Doe’s Eat Place is known for their world famous steaks and tamales. I didn’t eat the tamales but two of my co-workers and I ate the biggest steak and best I think I have ever eaten.

And I’ve eaten a few.

I discovered a few interesting details about the history of this famous eating place while there.

Without going into all the details, in the early forties, the business started as an African American “Honky Tonk” in Greenville MS serving only African Americans. They had a small kitchen in the back where they prepared food for the honky tonkers. Big Doe and Mamie who worked in the kitchen developed quite a reputation for serving great tamales. A local Caucasian doctor began stopping by (at the back door) between calls to eat a delicious tamale. One day he asked “Big Doe” to cook him a steak. Big Doe cooked the good doctor a huge steak to go with the normal tamale.

The doctor was more than impressed.

The doctor began bringing his friends to join him for the great food. Being Caucasian, they were required to eat out of sight in the back of the building.

Talk about discrimination.

The business grew. Big Doe now had an African American Honky Tonk in the front and a Caucasian “Eat Place” in the back. He eventually closed down the Honky Tonk and expanded the Eat Place.

And the rest is history.

Big Doe passed away in 1987 but his Eat Place is now a chain of about 14 restaurants in such places as Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Missouri and Louisiana.

For the record, they don’t charge by the steak. They charge by the pound.

It just doesn’t get any better than Does’s Eat Place.

In the video below you will see that Frances took great care of us.

Abbi's Dad

I don’t know what the rest of you good folks will be doing Saturday afternoon at 4PM EST, but I plan to be in my den tuned in to ESPN watching my high definition plasma television.

Some of you reading this in the Oklahoma City area can do better. You can show up at the finest softball facility in the land at the ASA Hall of Fame complex at 3PM your time and watch in person.

And while you are there introduce yourself to one of the members of Team USA , #11 Brian Rainwater.

Team USA will be competing against Team Canada in what has been called the “Border Battle.” Millions will be tuned in to ESPN to see slow pitch softball played at its highest level.

I’m betting on Brian Rainwater and Team USA.

Brian has several things going for him. For starters, he is an authentic Georgia Bulldog and is a former player for the University of Georgia baseball team. That already makes him in an elite club. But since college he has also played an awful lot of softball in a lot of places and in the process has become one of the elite players in the United States.


Brian, by the way, has a drop dead gorgeous wife who I love almost as much as he does. And to top it all off, he and Natalie have a little girl named Abbi, who is the cutest thing this side of the Mississippi.

Actually Brian, Natalie and Abbi are more than just my friends. They are part of our church home group and we hang out almost every Sunday night.

Every time they ride by a ball field, 5 year old Abbi always makes the comment, “Daddy, that’s where you play ball.”

This Saturday she won’t have to go to a ball field to see him play. Abbi’s dad will be playing on national television representing the Red, White and Blue.

And I don’t know who will be more proud, Natalie or Abbi….

Or me.

Freedom is Very Costly

(Piedmont OK) The mayor of this quaint town on the outskirts of Oklahoma City said it well tonight when he told me, “this is a proud day for Piedmont.”

It was also a proud day for me.

We were both proud because the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall arrived here today. To witness the thousand or so Vietnam Veterans arriving on their motorcycles into this flag-decorated town with cheering crowds lining both sides of the road is an experience one won’t easily forget. They were escorting the truck carrying the three-quarter-replica of the Washington DC Vietnam Veterans Memorial that will be on display here throughout the July 4th weekend.


The mayor is proud because 50,000 or so people could visit the wall at the high school football field in his town this weekend and see Piedmont in its best light honoring the heroes of the Vietnam War. I am proud because I am employed by Dignity Memorial who owns the wall and makes it all possible.

The wall which is dedicated to the veterans of the Vietnam War and honors all U.S. servicemen and women has been displayed in over 200 cities. In the last almost 20 years millions of people have experienced the healing power of the memorial.

I spent some time talking to a Viet Nam veteran and his wife who were part of the group who escorted the wall into town tonight.


Gordon Kiselburgh spent three years from 1968 to 1970 in Viet Nam with the 1st Group 5th Special Forces of the US Army. He was a gunner …or maybe better described as a sniper. Thirteen of his comrades’ names are on that wall. He was one of only three people in his group who made it back alive.

Gordon told me he has been to the wall two times. As he begin to weep, he said his legs turned to jelly during both visits. He watched nine of his friends die in Vietnam – some of whom he couldn’t even stop to pick up. He escorted two of his fallen friends back to the United States.

He says he is here for one reason and that is to honor and give proper respect to the people who sacrificed their lives for our country.

Regretfully, proper respect has been a long time coming for our Vietnam Veterans.

Gordon told me when he was returning from Viet Nam in 1970 and when he walked in LAX airport a protester who happened to be a Hare Krishna spit on him as he walked by. Gordon didn’t appreciate the gesture and took one strong swing at him and broke the man’s jaw.

Welcome home.

As I was talking to Gordon another Vietnam veteran by the name of Larry Inman joined in the conversation. Larry explained to me he was at Kent State during the riots in the late sixties. A protesting punk college student urinated on his leg during the riot because he protested the war. Larry did not retaliate because he was under orders from his commanding officer not to budge.


The fact is there are over 58,000 names on the Vietnam Wall representing 58,000 mother’s children who were either killed or are still missing in Vietnam.

They are true American heroes.

And they sacrificed their lives so that you and I can celebrate our freedom this weekend.

I was reminded tonight that freedom is very costly.

Have a safe 4th of July weekend.

Two of the Sixty Seven Hundred

There are approximately 6,700 folks who die every day in the United States. Two of them today are getting plenty attention.

In fact they both got plenty of attention for many years.

And for good reason.


Farrah Fawcett had every warm blooded heterosexual male foaming at the mouth when she first appeared on Charlie’s Angels. I don’t think I ever missed an episode of that show. I hardly remember what the show was about but I remember Farrah Fawcett. Good lord she was gorgeous.

I was married when THE POSTER first came out so I never had it on my wall. Kathy probably wouldn’t have appreciated that. But I remember well my regular trips out to Mrs. Childree’s house on Hwy 128 south of Reynolds to get my pants hemmed. I would make sure to go in Stan’s room (one of her sons) to change my pants. Stan had several huge posters of some of the gorgeous ladies of that age hanging on his wall. And I got more than a few close views of THE poster. I made sure I always went to Stan’s room to change pants.

I think it was in 1971 when I first had live contact with Michael Jackson. We went to the Jackson Five concert at the Macon Coliseum in Macon, Ga. I don’t think I have ever been to a more entertaining concert. The Jackson Five were incredible with their famous songs and synchronized dancing. The lead singer and star of that show was 12 year old Michael.

He of course would get much more famous. I cannot even begin to know how many times I have seen the Thriller video. Nobody and I mean nobody could dance like Michael Jackson. The man invented the moonwalk for goodness sakes.


One thing is for sure. When a Michael Jackson song is played, everyone has the strong urge to get on their feet and dance.

And when a warm blooded male sees THE poster of Farrah Fawcett, he just can’t help but smile.

Charlie’s most famous angel and THE King of Pop were two of the sixty seven hundred today.

May they both rest in peace.

In fact may all sixty seven hundred rest in peace.

Can't Touch This!

Has Table. Will Travel.

While most of you guys were getting such things as ties or socks or underwear for Father’s Day, my wife was much more creative.

She purchased an “in home Amanda Baker” massage for me.

Amanda Baker, in case you are wondering, is a sweetheart. She is a licensed massage therapist sweetheart. She says she enjoys helping people relax and feel better.

Amanda should be really happy because she sure did help me relax and feel better Saturday night.

Amanda graduated Friday night as Salutatorian of her Massage Therapy school. She told me 140 something people graduated with her. I don’t know who the Valedictorian is but if she can massage better than Amanda I need to meet her.

I really appreciate Amanda coming over with her table and setting it up in our living room and spending a whole therapeutic hour with me. And I appreciate my wife making it all happen (even though she did take a few pictures during the operation).

But just for the record I also appreciate the privilege of being a dad.


Like a whole lot.

We started with three boys. Now we have two daughters in law and another to be added In about three months. And there is a grandbaby girl and another little girl on the way.

I wear several hats. Sometimes I wear more than one before a day is done. And I enjoy them all.

But there is no better fitting one I wear than the one with Dad written on it. The Dad hat just feels right.

And it really feels right when I am the recipient of an Amanda Baker massage as a gift for being a dad.

If you are in the middle Georgia area, contact her at abbbrb03@hotmail.com.

Has table. Will travel.

Matt Nagy of Tazewell Georgia

If you are a golf fan, you have already read recently about such places as Buena Vista Ga and Taylor County High School in Butler, GA. and Kennesaw State University outside of Atlanta.

But let's get this right.

Matt Nagy, certainly associated with all three places above, has put Cedar Creek Golf Club in Tazewell GA on the map.

He did it this past Monday in grand fashion by qualifying for the United States Open Golf Championship. To put this incredible accomplishment in perspective, Matt will join 154 of the best golfers in the world at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, NY as play begins this Thursday.

Tiger Woods is the defending champion.

To give you a little better perspective, about 7,000 scratch golfers (USGA handicap of 1.4 or less) competed to qualify for the approximate 63 spaces up for grabs this year. There were 110 local qualifying tournaments throughout the US. The top 3 or 4 players of those 110 tournaments then moved on to join other golfers who had exempted the local qualifying tournaments to compete in about 14 sectional tournaments held throughout the US (and England and Japan).

Matt qualified to play in the sectional as a second alternate after a grueling 7 hole playoff in one of the local qualifying tournaments. Matt was told to show up at the sectional in case one of those who qualified didn't show up. Matt, with no high hopes of even getting to play, showed up at the Sectional in Ball Ground Ga after only 4 hours of sleep. Somebody did not show up and Matt teed off the first hole without even hitting a practice shot.

He shot a one under par 71 in the first round. He said he saw a few things he needed to work on before beginning the afternoon round. So he ate a half of a sandwich and went to the practice tee. Whatever he worked on, worked.

Like really well.

He shot a course record and blistering 63 in the afternoon and ended up at 10 under for the day.

And with it a trip to the US Open.

Matt grew up at Cedar Creek Golf Club in Tazewell, GA, which is somewhat of a suburb of Buena Vista. Cedar Creek is a beautiful little 9 hole course that is owned and operated by the Nagy family. Not only does this incredible family run the pro shop and cut the grass but they are all great golfers.

And they taught the game they love to their kids.

I have a couple of memories of playing Cedar Creek in years gone by.

One memory is the time I spent in the woods looking for my ball on the very tight course. The other is the time I spent watching the little Nagy brothers as little boys with perfect swings hitting the ball straight down the fairway.

"Watch that little boy hit the ball" was a familiar quote on any given day from any foursome at Cedar Creek.

Now the whole golfing world will get to watch.

Matt Nagy of Tazewell GA tees off at 2:42PM Thursday in the U.S. Open, exactly seven groups ahead of Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els.

Grab Your Tissues

10-year-old Hannah Eschrig got the surprise of her life Thursday when her father Master Sergeant Joe Myers walked into her classroom at Randolph Elementary School in San Antonio, TX unannounced. The two hadn't seen each other in a year.

“It was the culmination of 350 days of waiting to be with my daughter and family,” MSgt. Myers says.

“I missed her entire 4th grade year. So my goal was to be back for her last day, so I could say I was there. It was awesome.”

Hannah Eschrig says, “I don't really remember what happened because I was so happy!”

MSgt. Myers plans to take Hannah to a Jonas Bros. concert this summer.

Grab your tissues.

King George

I’ll just go ahead and make it official.

I’m a George Strait fan.

Sounds kinda funny coming from a guy who grew up on such Rock n Roll bands like Herman’s Hermits, the Malibu’s, the Sixpence, the Dave Clark Five and the Beatles.

I remember not too many years ago wondering how anyone could listen to country music. Maybe it’s my age, but I sure don’t wonder that anymore.

I did something last night that is very rare for me. I sat in front of a television and watched a two hour special on television. They were honoring George Strait as Country Music Artist of the Decade. The show consisted of every country star you can think of coming on stage and singing a George Strait song while George and his family looked on.

I would think these stars had no trouble at all coming up with a song to sing. George Strait has accumulated 57 number one hits in his career. His 38 hit albums (multi platinum, platinum and gold) are not too shabby either. Only Elvis and the Beatles had more.

And George ain’t done.

The more I learn about King George, the more I like him. His dad was a high school math teacher in Pearshall ,TX, which is about an hour south of San Antonio. The family would head to the family ranch on the weekends. George’s life has not always been perfect though. George’s mom took his sister and left when George was in the third grade. George and his brother stayed with their dad.

Right after high school, George dropped out of college and eloped with his high school sweetheart. After a stint in the Army, George came back to Southwest Texas State and got a degree in Agriculture. Like most folks that hit it big, he wasn’t thinking big when he started out.


In spite of his now celebrity status, George and Norma’s marriage is still working after 38 years. They had two children. Their son Bubba was on the stage with his dad and mom last night. Their older daughter Jenifer was killed in an automobile accident at the age of 13 in 1985.

Life throws you curves – even if you happen to be George Strait.

But my goodness he is an entertainer. His rich voice and the songs he sings have a way of making you smile.

“If you leave me I won’t miss you and I won’t ever take you back. Girl your memory won’t ever haunt me cause I don’t love you. Now if you’ll buy that - I’ve got some ocean front property in Arizona and from my front porch you can see the sea.”

And….

“I thought you and me were something special; Thought you thought that way too. Now I know that this ol’ boy just ain’t the best you think you’ll ever do. It ain’t cool to be crazy about you. It ain’t suave or debonair to let you know I care, like I do.”

You just gotta love some George Strait.

King George rules.

A Lifetime is Not Too Long

If my life is a book – I’ve been through a lot of chapters. And I hope I have more than a few more to go before I’m done.

When a chapter closes there is always a sense of sadness because of the transition of the moment. Then, as we turn the next page, there is the excitement and anticipation of what the future holds.

The older I get the more I understand the significance of the chapters of our life.

Monday afternoon Kathy and I stopped by Brad and Tessa Hobbs’ house to see their little Caroline and to tell them how much we will miss them as they close another chapter in their life.

And turn the page to another exciting chapter.

As you will see in the video below, most of their stuff is now in boxes. Next weekend they will be moving to Little Rock Arkansas where Brad will begin his residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences as an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist. Dr. Brad graduated from Mercer Medical School a few weeks ago.

They say people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

In this case, for us, I think it is all three.

A lifetime is not too long to live as friends. That is for sure.

Brad & Tessa Hobbs and Caroline from Bruce Goddard on Vimeo.

To Touch a Company

(Houston TX)
Having been self employed all my life, in 1997 I suddenly found myself working for someone else for the first time in my career. Although I continued to run my funeral homes (along with a few others) and was continuing to serve families I had known all my life, I found myself in an unfamiliar and somewhat uncomfortable situation.

You just don’t take a small town country boy and throw him into the waters of a large publically traded company without some struggles for the country boy along the way.

When I look back I had no idea the career opportunity this move would eventually afford me. And I certainly had no idea of the opportunity I would have to become friends with folks from different parts of the country who would change my life.

Not long after I had sold my businesses, I received a call from a man from New York City. I have to tell you in those days New York City seemed like a long way from Reynolds GA. I was in my office one day and found myself not only talking to a man a long way away but also one who talked a little differently than me.

Actually that would be a lot differently.

He was questioning me about a decision I had made about a casket I had ordered. I could not understand how a man from NYC would care about my casket order. To be honest, after running my businesses all my life to that point, I didn’t think I needed assistance from someone in NYC in what casket I needed to order. And after a lengthy conversation, I told him exactly what I thought.

I would find out later John Roefaro had a huge job in our company as head of revenue services for the Eastern United States. I would meet John a few weeks after our phone conversation in Houston at a training school. John was one of the facilitators of my training. I was smart enough to know I needed to introduce myself to him and make amends for our previous conversation.

But before I could do that, John introduced himself to me.

He told me had heard I was a humorist. And then John began to tell me one joke after another. As you might imagine, I had a few of my own as well. And before we knew it, we both were laughing. And I mean really laughing.

And in just a few short minutes, this stranger who had made me feel so uncomfortable a few weeks earlier had made me feel very comfortable.

In the past 12 years, John and I have not only been co-workers but more importantly we have become friends. And for a man who I didn’t think had much to offer me during our first encounter over the telephone, he has taught me much and has been a mentor to me.

I could talk about John’s experience, his presentation skills, his leadership skills, his humor, his integrity and many other traits and attributes I have come to appreciate about him over the years.

But the greatest lesson I have learned is about the distance from Reynolds GA to New York City. It is not nearly as long as I once thought.

By the way, John is celebrating his 40th year with our company this year and yesterday he was honored by the officers of our company for his outstanding career. I can tell you I was glad I was there and was able to witness the presentation.

“Most of us have had the opportunity to touch some folks,” someone said, “but John has an an opportunity to touch a company."

I can tell you I am glad to be a part of the company he keeps... and touches.

My Goodness He Lied to Her

When Randy and Jane Toms were expecting their second child, they were quite sure it would be another boy. Of course, they would have been fine with that. But Randy now admits deep in his heart he longed for a little girl.

On March 29, 1987 his dream came true. And from the moment she was born she had his heart.

He says as she was growing up he always told her she was an ugly child. His reasoning was simple. He didn’t want her to believe some snotty nosed boy when he told her she was pretty.

I think you can see from the pictures posted here, Randy lied to his daughter.

When we moved to Warner Robins a little over six years ago, Randy became our Sunday school teacher. A lieutenant with the Warner Robins Fire Department and an ordained minister, Randy was not your typical Sunday school teacher. As you can surmise from the “ugly” story, Randy has a great sense of humor.

Right up my alley.


Randy also has a drop dead gorgeous wife. I happened to notice that during my first visit to his class. I think it’s wrong for an ordained Sunday school teacher to have a wife that looks that good but this one does.

And drop dead gorgeous mothers tend to produce drop dead gorgeous daughters.

I can tell you this daughter never looked more gorgeous than she did today.

Randy not only gave his daughter away today but he also performed the wedding ceremony. I seriously did not think he would make it through it. In front of God and a throng of witnesses, he had to confess to his daughter he had lied to her all those years about her being ugly. You can watch that confession by clicking here.

And on the video below, you can watch Justin and Callie Beatty’s first dance as a married couple. They will make you smile. And you will also see a proud daddy dancing with his beautiful just married daughter.

My goodness he lied to her.

First Dance - Justin and Callie from Bruce Goddard on Vimeo.

He Actually Laughed Out Loud

Tonight would be a good time to catch you up on some folks I have written about recently. You can click the link on their name to jog your memory of recent articles.

Callie Toms: I was in church this past Sunday and looked across the church building and up into the balcony at the end of the service and saw a sight that made me smile and have a lump in my throat at the same time. Randy Toms and his daughter, Callie, were standing next to each other at the end of the service and were holding hands. This Saturday Randy will walk his beautiful daughter down the aisle to give her hand in marriage. I couldn’t tell from where I was sitting but something tells me he was holding on tight.

Luke and Drew: They will be married in just four short months. In the meantime they continue to get attention with their music and their proposal video. They were interviewed recently by a writer from a Minnesota newspaper. The YouTube video is at 61,700 hits and counting. A version of their video will be featured on TLC this Friday May 15 at 7PM. The nationally televised show is called Wild Weddings which will feature outrageous proposals this week. Be sure to check them out or DVR it so you can watch it later.

Hannah Kasulka: I wrote about her when she appeared on a recent television show and I am as proud of her as anybody I know. Hannah landed a summer intern job in New York City but decided to take another job at Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta instead. She will soon graduate from Georgia Tech. I called this gal that I have known since she was born yesterday to wish her a happy 21st birthday.

Papa’s Precious Princess: Due to the illness of her great grandmother who kept her a few days a week, little Taylor is now in day care. She has been there a couple of weeks now and things are going well. But I have to tell you – although I was in another state, this Papa didn’t sleep a wink the night before her first day. Papa’s don’t even like to think about the prospect of their grandbaby crying and being scared. But Taylor made it and so did I.

Jimmy Childre, Jr. I was speaking near Sandersville, GA a few weeks ago and unbeknownst to Jimmy a little bird told me he would be honored that night as Citizen of the Year for Washington County. I got finished with my speaking engagement and made it to their Chamber banquet just as people were leaving but just in time to speak to his family and congratulate my lifelong friend and give him a bear hug. My friend has accomplished a lot and he makes me very proud. He did not know he was going to win that award and he certainly didn’t expect me to show up. Great stuff.

David and Holly: They were here for Mother's day and Holly is now close to 15 weeks pregnant. She is starting to show a little and her face ia glowing a lot. She will be one gorgeous pregnant lady. David smiles all the time.

This papa is giddy.

Other Tidbits: On April 14, I decided to start exercising again. Since then I have started my day virtually every morning by walking – in the neighborhood at home or wherever I happen to be. A couple of weeks after I began I joined a gym. The trainer almost killed me a few days ago but I am determined to stay with some resemblance of an exercise program.

I may not live longer but I will look much better in the casket.

The resistance training has not helped my golf game though.

I played in a legislative golf tournament the other day with my brother in law, who is a lobbyist. I went to the first tee without having hit a practice shot or even taking a practice swing. In front of some folks I had never met in my life until then, I whiffed the ball on the first tee. This is someone who has played hundreds and hundreds if not thousands rounds of golf. I don’t play golf much anymore and I am liable to hit it in any direction, but whiffing the ball is something I don’t think I’ve ever done. It didn’t help that my playing partner and brother in law laughed.

He actually laughed out loud.

The sapsucker.

Till Death Do Us Part?

A co-worker and I drove through a cemetery today and saw a gentleman trimming shrubbery at his family plot. We stopped to visit with him.

Although there are plenty of maintenance workers in the cemetery, he insists on taking care of his own landscaping on the property he owns. He told me he has been coming to the cemetery every day since his wife died.

He began to cry.

As he was speaking, I looked at the death date on the memorial. I was expecting to see that his wife had died recently.

She died in 1982.

For you that do not have a calculator handy, that would be 27 years ago.

I also discovered the nice gentleman had the same death date on his memorial. “When she died,” he explained, “I died with her.” I believed him.

But I had to find out more.

He married her when he was 23 and she was 20. She worked while he got his college degree. They moved out west and then later moved back to Louisiana. They started a business that turned out to be a very successful one. She was his business partner and office manager.

She died of cancer in the prime of their marriage when she was 48 years old. Because he couldn’t go back to that business without his wife, he sold the thriving business soon after her death and retired at age 53.

He said he visits her grave every day – rain or shine. Sometimes he visits twice a day. That would be more than 10,000 visits in case you are counting.

Most would say his behavior is not healthy and he should have gone on with his life. And I certainly understand that thinking.

But in a time when married couples are leaving each other on a whim for almost any reason or even no reason at all, I couldn’t help but be impressed.

Many years ago this man met the love of his life and told her he loved her. I couldn’t help but wonder if she knew just how much he really did love her.

Fifty five years ago he looked at his bride and said, “Till death do us part.”

I can tell you he wasn't paying one bit of attention to that statement today.

This Journey Goes On Forever

Yesterday afternoon I was driving on US Highway 49 in Mississippi between Mendenhall and Jackson, when I came upon an obviously evangelistically covered wagon trotting down the highway being pulled by four tired looking mules. I pulled off the road and waited for the wagon to catch up.

I had my camera in my hand.

And I had a few questions formulating in my head.

The guy at the reins, who turned out to be Randy Boehmer from Arizona, wasn’t very nice at first. I asked him what he was doing. He sarcastically responded, “What does it look like I’m doing?” I said something along the lines that I travel a good bit and I don’t normally see a covered wagon with four mules with Jesus Saves signs trotting down the highways of America.

He began to warm up to me.

It turns out Randy has been on the road with his four mules and two dogs (Shep and Proverb) for over a year. He started in Indiana on April 1, 2008 and he travels about 4 miles per hour.

His mission is to crisscross the United States in his wagon to tell people about God.

Boehmer was a taxidermist for most of his life. When his parents died in 1991, he and his siblings were cleaning out their parent’s house and his sister made the comment that whatever they didn’t want they could take to the dump.


He then realized all the possession his parents worked for all their lives meant nothing in the end.

He was reminded of a man he had met a year or so earlier who was driving down the road in a covered wagon. Boehmer said to him that day that he bet he didn’t have many worries. “The only worries I have,” the man said, “are to make sure my horses get water every day.”

When Boehmer’s wife died of cancer in 1998, he started reading his Bible. And he was reminded of the lessons he had learned about possessions.

For the record, this man’s worldly possessions are now in the back of his wagon - which includes a wood stove and a solar panel on the top to power lights, his TV, his DVD player and to charge his cell phone.

Before he left on this journey, Boehmer did some preparation work. He worked with a horse shoer for seven months to learn to take care of his mules. (He is pulling a feed and water wagon behind the bigger covered wagon). He also spent a great deal of time with an Amish group who taught him how to take care of himself on the road.

I asked him if he stops in different towns to preach.

“I don’t need to,” he said. “All I need to say is written in very large letters on the sides of my wagon.”

How long does he plan on doing this?

“It’s a journey, not a trip,” he says. “A trip ends. A journey goes on forever.”

And all he has to worry about on his forever journey is to make sure his mule's get water.

Not so bad of a journey when you think about it.

Wine into Water

When I was in college, Dirk Howell and Tony Brown – a couple of college students, entertained at the local bars. “Dirk and Tony” were very talented and were in much in demand performing beach music in the Athens GA music scene.

I just read that Dirk Howell (35 years later) is still performing. If you are in the market for a band for a wedding or a special occasion, although I have never heard this group, I've heard Dirk enough to guarantee that you will not go wrong by booking The Dirk Howell Band.

Tony Brown spent a lot of time at the Lambda Chi Fraternity house during my college years. His younger brother, Danny, was a member of our fraternity. His good friend ,Bruce Burch, was also one my fraternity brothers. I have written about Bruce here before.

Tony move to Nashville in 1982. He was the singing voice of all those Taco Bell (Run for the Border) television ads. He also sang jingles for corporations like Disney, McDonalds and Budweiser.


You probably know Tony by his professional name. T. Graham Brown, the country music star who always had a bottle of Jack Daniels on the stage with him, has produced 13 Albums and 20 singles on Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Three of his songs reached number one. Eight more of them reached the top ten.

His T-Ness has done pretty good for himself.

But his success came with a price.

T. Graham Brown’s 1998 hit song, Wine into Water, which was co-written by my friend Bruce Burch, was inspired by Brown’s personal struggle with alcoholism.

I am quite sure there are many folks reading this who can relate to the words of his song – whether from your own personal struggle with addiction or the struggle of someone close to you.

The waiting lists are getting longer and longer at most addiction rehabilitation facilities these days. And you can ride by any growing church and you will see a sign somewhere on the property advertising that particular church’s addiction recovery program. There are large crowds attending those programs and the crowds keep growing.

More and more good people are discovering, as hard as they may try, they cannot beat this disease by themselves. And like T. Graham Brown did in 1998, they are falling on their knees asking for help.

As T. Graham sings, the abuse of alcohol and drugs takes a person as low as they can go. And they drag a lot of innocent folks down with them.

If you are struggling with addiction, there is hope.

The first step is to admit you have a problem. And maybe the next step is to take T. Graham’s lead and ask God to turn the wine back into water.

Just maybe He is your best chance.

Watch this video.

I Believe in Miracles

We were right across the street from the gates of Augusta National last Wednesday when we noticed two large buses advertising John Daly merchandise. We decided to wait until we came out to stop by and check out the merchandise.

Not to our surprise, when we returned late in the afternoon, Mr. Longshot himself was selling his merchandise. I donated to his cause by purchasing a flag from him. I also got his autograph on the flag and had my picture taken with him.

For you non golfers, John Daly knows what it’s like to be on top. He has won 19 professional golf events, including five PGA events . Two of those five PGA events were majors. His endorsers have included some of the biggest companies in sports.

He drew crowds and increased attendance wherever he played not only because he hit the ball further than everybody else but he never fit the persona of a professional golfer. People related to him.

To say his life has resembled a train wreck off the course would be an understatement.


When Daly was 23 years of age, he says he drank a fifth of Jack Daniels every day. Last fall he was arrested in North Carolina for public intoxication. (See mug shot). He has been in and out of alcohol rehab facilities and has lost between 50-60 million dollars on his gambling problem. Daly has been through four wives, charged with domestic violence and earlier this year his $1.6m home was sold on the courthouse steps.

He has picked up his ball and walked off the course in the middle of a golf tournament and seemingly purposely hit numerous balls in the water at the end of a round that had gone bad.

Late last year he was suspended from the PGA tour for six months.

My question is why in the world would a man with this much God given talent throw it all away? How could a man who was at the top of his sport with more money than he could possibly spend be forced to be standing outside of an event like the Masters peddling golf merchandise to survive?

The truth is it happens every day.

Life is a series of choices. We can choose to walk down the right path or we can choose to walk down the wrong path. There are consequeces when we choose the wrong path.

Sometimes the bad choices we make take us further than we meant to go, keep us longer than we meant to stay and cost us more than we meant to pay.


And it can happen to any of us.

For the record, I am pulling and praying for John Daly. I refuse to kick a man when he is down. He is not drinking now and has lost 40 pounds. His PGA golf suspension ends at the end of May.

Here’s hoping John Daly comes back to the PGA tour a new man.

I'm serious.

It’s Easter Sunday. I believe in miracles.

Scenes from Augusta

I spent the day Wednesday with some old friends at an old golf course. I’m not sure if there is a better place on earth to spend a day with old friends than at Augusta National Golf Club. (L-R me, Jimmy Childre, Jr, Lisa Parker, Howard Catron)



I have had the privilege to attend a lot of Masters over the past 40 something years and I have a ton of mental images of my visits. But I have never recorded any of those images because I have never roamed those hallowed grounds with a camera.

Until yesterday.

In case you don’t know, a camera is not allowed on the course during the actual golf tournament. But since I was attending on a practice day, I took a few pictures. To be exact, I took 157 pictures.

I will share only a few of them with you.

This is the famous scoreboard down the hill from #1 tee. I cannot even remember how many times I’ve walked on this course with others and said, “Meet me at the big scoreboard at 6PM.”



I don’t know who these two guys are but it is easy to see they are very serious about being dressed for the occasion.



This is Jim Furyk’s wife, Tabitha, with their two children. I don’t know which is more fun – watching the golfers or watching the golfer’s wives. These guys have great looking ladies. But more importantly, it was obvious these two kids are just as famous to their dad and he is to the rest of us.



These three guys were playing together during the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday. They are not getting any younger and I don’t know if I will ever have the opportunity to see Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player playing golf together again. I’m having some of these pictures framed. By the way, these three guys, known as golf’s Big Three, have won 159 PGA tour victories and 34 Majors between them. Not too shabby.





On second thought and if you are interested, you can view all 159 of my scenes from Augusta by clicking here. Hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I did taking them.

We Need More Tyler Stovalls

My little article I wrote on Tyler Stovall the other day has resulted in much more information. Tyler’s sister, Katie, saw the blog and helped me out.

Just in case you didn’t read the comments that were added from the original blog, I will sum up some of the things I have learned about the incredible Tyler Stovall with 13 rather simple comments.

1. Tyler’s excels in much more than baseball.

2. Last year he had signed more than 10,000 autographs for young kids. I don’t know how many he is up to now. His jersey number throughout his career has always been #13. He always signs his name and under it writes Phillipians 4:13. That’s 10,000 4:13’s. He never included what that verse said because he wanted the kids to go home and look it up. In his honor, I’ll let you do the same here.

3. He also mentions that he wears #13 because there were 12 guys and “one more” in history that are very important to him. He likes for kids to ask him about the “other person.” In case you don’t know about “the other” person, make sure to go to church on Easter Sunday.

4. His dad also wore that number. As did his uncle, cousin, brother and sister Katie.

5. Tyler is a fierce competitor. Although he was playing two sports his senior year in addition to having to do his school work, he somehow edged out his friend and became Valedictorian of his graduating class.

6. Representatives from all thirty major league baseball teams visited Tyler’s home before he graduated from high school.

7. Against everybody’s advice and their concern that he could have an injury and ruin a great career, Tyler opted to play football his senior year anyway. Why? Because his friends were playing and he didn’t want to let the team down.

8. Tyler didn’t play basketball his senior year because that sport overlapped with baseball season. But he was in the stands and even painted his face in Hoke’s Bluff green to cheer for his team.

9. Tyler loves Auburn University (bless his heart) and signed a letter of intent with them to play baseball. Both Auburn and Tyler knew he would not be playing college baseball. He signed with Auburn simply “to show his love for the school.”

10. Although he had absolutely no control on which professional team would draft him, he always dreamed of playing for the Atlanta Braves.

11. Tyler Stovall was the second person drafted by the Atlanta Braves last year.

12. Brian and Holly Stovall are rightfully very proud of their son. Dad says, “Tyler is the most determined human being I have ever met.” Mom says, “I couldn’t have placed an order for a kid and have him come out any better."

That's 12 comments.

And now...one more.

I ordered a pack of autographed “Tyler Stovall” baseball cards from Ebay today because they will be worth something one day. If he ends up in 1A Rome this year, I plan to show up to watch him pitch. And if not, I’ll still be cheering for him all the way to the top. And he will make it to the top of the game of baseball.

In case you are wondering why I am writing all this about someone I never knew even existed until I passed through his home town last week…..it’s simple.

I believe we need more “Tyler Stovalls” at the top.

Help is Coming!

I was traveling in northeast Alabama last week and did a double take when I saw this sign on the side of the road. Actually the more I thought about what I thought I saw on the sign the more I wondered what I really saw.

I turned around and drove back to read it.

Hokes Bluff High School obviously has an incredible baseball program. You don’t win six straight state championships and not use the word incredible with the accomplishment.

I found out more.

Hokes Bluff is the home of the young man who was elected Mr. Baseball in the state of Alabama in 2008. He was also the second player drafted by the Atlanta Braves in last year’s draft.


I also learned that Tyler Stovall is a 6’2” 200lb southpaw and has a fast ball that has been clocked as high as 96 mph. He also had a monster curve and a tight slider to go with the fast ball. I also heard there was at least one game when he pretty much struck out everybody he faced.

And he can hit as well as he can pitch.

His high school coach, Mike Estes, has been at it for 32 years. It has been said Estes is the greatest high school coach in the history of Alabama high school baseball. He has produced numerous Division 1A signees and has even produced one Major Leaguer. Estes has seen a few baseball players.

Mike Estes says Tyler Stovall is the best he’s ever coached.

It’s amazing the things you can learn if you keep your eyes and ears open when you are driving around rural America.

When Tyler Stovall takes the mound for the Atlanta Braves in the next few years, remember you read about him here first.

The message seems to be rather loud coming from Hokes Bluff , AL to Turner Field in Atlanta.

Help is coming!

Yeah baby.