The 100 Coolest Things of 2009... 50 to 41

First of all, thank you to everyone who has been visiting here either daily or at least every few days... I know for those of you who could care less about Idol--and let's face it, there hasn't been a lot to care about this season--its rather boring when all you see is idle Idol chatter when you come here looking for Happy Times stories, maybe a movie review, or even a mention or two of He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected's last week or so...  so, thank you.

Secondly... why aren't you a fan on Facebook, eh?  If you are reading this on Facebook, you need to go to Clouds to see any video that might be on the site, then search "Clouds in My Coffee" on Facebook and become a fan.  Its the right thing, nay, the cool thing to do. 

Third, we still aren't done with 2009 yet!  In case you missed it (and since I haven't done one of these in a month, you might have!), here's where we've been thusfar:

The 100th to 91st Coolest Things of 2009
The 90th to 81st Coolest Things of 2009
The 80th to 71st Coolest Things of 2009
The 70th to 61st Coolest Things of 2009
The 60th to 51st Coolest Things of 2009

And here we go with the next ten...

The 50th Coolest Thing of 2009... "Right Round" by Flo Rida
Yes, yes, I know the song is a few years old, and yes, I'd heard it before... but I'd never really taken to it until this year.  This year?  It's kinda catchy.  Silly, a little corny, somewhat stupid, partly annoying and all from a guy who's name is taken from a state with a space in between (I'm guessing "Ken Tucky" and "Oak LaHoma" were on the list.  What about Gior Juh?  Ha!  I got at least 46 more of these), but its use of the term "Benja-min Frank-ah-lins" alone makes me laugh.  Its a good work out song.  Not that I work out, but if I did...

The 49th Coolest Thing of 2009... "Mother Lover"
Well, this is a family show.  I keep it Rated PG, every now and again delving into a PG-13 territory, but for the most part, I keep it clean.  So, for this spot, I won't bother linking to it, I won't put up pictures, I won't do anything but give a nod to K-Dub and then say four words:

1) Mother
2) Lover
3) Timberlake
4) Hysterical

The 48th Coolest Thing of 2009... "The Rise and Fall of the WCW"

When I found out this video was coming out, I almost peed myself.  I was so friggin' excited, as I remember vividly the fabled "Monday Night Wars"--that being the battle between WWE on USA Network and World Championship Wrestling on Turner owned TBS.  I was a huge, huge WCW an, having watched it since 1986 or 87 as a kid, when it was called NWA (National Wrestling Alliance", a few years before WCW).

Anyway, I've always been fascinated by the downfall of the WCW in the late 90s, not just as a wrestling fan, but just from a business prospective.  You know how when someone gets straight zeroes in college (knew a guy) and you say, "Man, he had to work to fail that badly..."?  Well the guys running the WCW seriously had to work to fail this miserably.  This was chronicled in my pick for the 18th Coolest Thing of 2006, the book called "The Death of the WCW", and the DVD here is along the same lines.

Its a 3 Disc collection, with two discs devoted to classic WCW matches including stuff like Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A. from 1985, the classic Flair vs Steamboat Chi-Town Rumble match from 1989, one of Sting's first matches, that being against Big Van Vader from 1992's Great American Bash, the unintentionally funny Bash at the Beach from 1998 with Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone against Hollywood Hogan and Dennis Rodman, a huge War Games match in 1996 with Sting, Lex Luger, Flair, Arn Anderson, Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and nWo fake Sting.  Yeah, exactly.

Oh, and its got a match from 1998's Halloween Havoc between Diamond Dallas Page and one of my favorite wrestlers ever, Goldberg.  Goldberg absolutely ruled.  Page lost the match after getting hit with a spear AND a jackhammer. 


How 'bout that's Michael Buffer ("leeet's get reeeeeeady to ruuuuuuumbuuuuulllll") in the ring, and Tony Schivione on announcing duties.  Awesome.  By the way, I wanted to do that entrance at my wedding, the one where Goldberg comes out to pyro, and the smoke, and I yell, breath out the smoke, throw the punches and slap myself in the head.  The Lovely Steph Leann said no.  Party pooper.

But the real gem on this disc is the documentary that follows the origins of the WCW, from the beginning with Jim Crockett Promotions to the infamous "Black Saturday".  It took off when Hulk Hogan joined, turning heel (bad guy) for the first time in his career, and the fact that one of the chapters on the DVD menu is titled 'Mistakes Begin', followed by "Vince Russo" says it all.  If there is to be any criticism, it would be on the matches themselves... there should have been a little more surrounding each match, perhaps teh lead up to, and the aftermath, not just from bell-ring to pinfall.  And really, did we need to see a match between Lance Storm and Booker T?  To emphasize how badly things were going for the WCW, they took Booker T, a great wrestler and renamed him "GI Bro".  No kidding.

Great DVD. 

The 47th Coolest Thing of 2009... Lunch With...
It was a good year for reunions.  Lunch with Stan McDuffie in the spring of 2009 was great.  We graduated together, and hadn't seen the guy since the Samson High reunion of 2002.  We met at a BBQ joint in Homewood, and just shared life stories, our pain of what had then-recently happened in Samson and more.  It was awesome.

Not to long after that, I met up with Drew Roe, a fraternity brother of mine who also lives here in town.  That's the crazy thing about Birmingham... I share a city with so many people that I would love to see more of, but never do.  Anyway, we had some lunch, caught up, laughed, did some reminiscing, and had a good time.  Promised each other we'd do it again, and hopefully we will.

Met The Official Clouds In My Coffee High School Crush Julie Wise for dinner last April, and that was an absolute hoot.   Met up with Barrow, one of the coolest guys I've ever met, and the perfect name for one of my characters in the book I might eventually write.  Saw The Official Clouds In My Coffee Troy State Crush Tiffany Abbott at a Chick-fila.  Met with both Dayla Ellison and Rebecca Jourdan Samuelson (we'll get to her later) over lunch, two dear, dear friends that I was so excited to see again. 

This Spring's goal?  To have lunch or dinner with Chris McCall.  I'm planning on heading home for a day or two at the end of April, when The Happiest Place in the Mall is finally The Emptiest Place in the Mall, and I'm going to make it a point to find this guy. 

The 46th Coolest Thing of 2009... "The Princess & the Frog"
There's not much more I could add to what I felt about this movie when I wrote about it in December 2009, so here's some thoughts from that post...

Plot in a nutshell, its a Disney twist on the story of The Frog Prince, the story that has a girl kissing a frog who turns into a handsome prince. In this tale, however, Naveen, the handsome prince, has been turned into a frog by the voo-doo man, Dr. Facilier, and when he convinced our heroine Tiana to kiss him, she turns into a frog herself. Hijinx, hilarity and romance ensue as they, along with Ray the Cajun Firefly and Louis the jazz playing crocodile, try to find Mama Odie to help them turn back into humans again.



The animation is stunning. The film is beautifully drawn, and to its credit, its done so much so that there's no way this film could have been a computer animated feature--it would have lost most, if not all, of its charm. Tiana is a heroine who is working hard for her dreams to happen, not waiting around for someday, her prince will come, and that is to be admired. Much has been made about Tiana being the "first black princess", and yes, that's true, but this film definately takes liberties with history--she's best friends with a rich debutante named Charlotte, which alone is an impractical thought in the time period this film is set in. I didn't get caught up in that, though, and you shouldn't either.


One thing to be aware of when watching this film... you are witnessing the birth of a classic. This is a movie that, no matter how successful it will end up--and it will end up successful--that Campbell Isaiah and Lorelei Addison will watch, and their children will watch as well in 2040 on whatever home video format we're up to then. This is a movie that will be released in Blu-Ray and DVD in April of 2010, and will disappear into The Vault in June of 2011 or so, not to be available for 7 to 10 years.


This is the birth of a true Disney Princess, one that we'll be seeing with the likes of Cinderella, Belle, Ariel and Aurora for a long, long time. The last time we saw a true Disney Princess emerge? Mulan. The last time we saw a true Disney classic not-named-Pixar unfold before our eyes? Yep. "The Lion King". That was the last movie heralded and beloved enough to go into The Vault (well, "Fantasia 2000" also is in The Vault, coupled with "Fantasia", but that's kinda another story)... For me, and perhaps I'm the odd case, this is exciting. I'm thrilled that Disney has finally broken through the ceiling they put on themselves with "Dinosaur" and "Brother Bear".

The 45th Coolest Thing of 2009... JT Wins Survivor

Someone sent me a message last year and said, "Hey, so there's a guy from Samson on Survivor.  Do you know him?"  Up until then, the only notoriety Samson had recieved was the terrible massacre from... well, I'm not going to say his name, he doesn't deserve a mention.  So I did some checking up on Survivor, and what do you know, James Thomas was going to be on the show... James, the little brother of Tammy Thomas, who was a friend of mine in high school and who graduated with me, the same Tammy who scolded me for not snatching up this pretty girl named Stephanie, my friend, who I had brought with me to the 10 year reunion. 

And with the country accent, the sly look and the aww-shucks personality, what the heck--JT won the whole shebang.  Seriously.  Like, holy crap, the kid in whatever elementary school grade when I was a senior won a million bucks on Survivor.  I have his picture in my yearbooks! 

Anyway, it was a fantastic season of Survivor, and I'm excited that JT is on the equally as stellar current season, the Heroes vs Villians Survivor.  And if he wins, or comes close to winning, I'm already planning on going to Samson for the Survivor party this year. 

The 44th Coolest Thing of 2009... "Party in the USA"
Oh shut up. 

The 43th Coolest Thing of 2009... "The Blind Side"
Just like "The Proposal", this is a movie that the more I thought about it, the more I liked it.  I thought "The Blind Side" was great when I walked out of the theater, and somewhere down deep, I knew iI was going to like it more and more as time when on.

Here's what I said in December of 2009 when I reviewed it for the first time:

Its full of laughs and heartwarming moments, but its never preachy or manipulative. The movie's intent it never to make you feel like you have to cry, and it doesn't seem like its showing you the "Hallmark" moments just for the awwwww factor... its part of the story. In movies with this "helping each other out" theme, there's always an uncomfortable moment when the kids hate the new person, only to have this togetherness scene that brings them together--"The Blind Side" never has that. SJ and Collins are nothing but loving and supportive of Michael, and it even enhances Michael's rebuilding of his life.

The movie is excellent... its feel good, its warm, its funny, its everything a family movie should be, one that pokes at you to say "awwww" without demanding you tear up or feel sympathy and guilt. After the movie was over, I leaned over to The Lovely Steph Leann, and in my most politically incorrect tone said, "We should go to Ensley and adopt a black child." She frowned at me, then rolled her eyes and got up to leave. She's good at that.

The 42st Coolest Thing of 2009... Walt Disney World with Ty & The McLeods

Talk about a whirlwind trip... I had a few days on my own, as The Lovely Steph Leann was out of town.  I thought, hey, why not go to Disney World?  The Lovely Steph Leann wasn't too keen on my going all alone, so I recruited The Honorable Rev'rn Ty Sharpton and Tommy Mc and Amy McL to come with (that's us, there, after being soaked in the Backlot Tour)

We left midday, got there at something like 1am, checked in, slept for just a little while, spent the full day at Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot, then the next day, walked around Downtown Disney before coming back.  Wow it was fast.  And tons of fun, because Disney is always better with friends.

The 41nd Coolest Thing of 2009... New Shoes
Shoes are those things that you use, but don't realize how good they can be until you find a pair that fits you exactly right.  Thus, this:

During our trip to The Most Magical Place on Earth in June, my feet were getting blistered. The Lovely Steph Leann chalked it up to my Lugz that, while comfortable, were just not made for the walking, standing, running and walking more that we were doing for 14 hours per day, four days in a row--the Skecher tennis shoes weren't doing any better. After watching her to go New Balance and spend over a $110 on a pair of shoes (which, all these years in marriage later is almost still unfathomable), I decided it was finally time to get myself a good pair of sneakers. We discussed it, and, still coming to grips about the fact that I might have to spend that much to fit my wide feet into some comfy shoes, I went to a local shop called The Trak Shak.


The guy there wasn't old... but he knew how to size a foot. I told him what I was looking for--a pair of tennis shoes that could be used for three things--running, walking and if needed, playing tennis, if I ever decided to get my chunky tail up and do something. I told him that my problem was my feet were wide, and it was hard to find a good pair of shoes that I liked. He listened, he asked me to walk around and he told me that he could tell from my walk that I tended to walk inward, probably due to lack of good footwear. Long story short (too late?) I came out with a pair of Nikes that fit... perfectly. What size? 9 1/2. I call them my Trailer Shoes. Why? Cause they are "Double wide".


The whole story can be found here.

Up next... A "Sweet Thing"... Going where no man, save for over a dozen movies and at least three TV shows, have gone before... and later, more Disney... and even more Disney...

Sandra Bullock's Proposal

I read a recent review of “The Proposal”, and it made a great point about romantic comedies… usually, within the first 15 minutes, you can kind of deduce the ending. The appeal of the movie is, is what you’ll go through to get that inevitable happily ever after worth the happy ending you knew was coming? For “The Proposal”, I have to say… well, it kinda was.

You have to know I’m a huge Sandra Bullock fan, always have been, and at one point between 1994 and 1998, I went to the theater to see every movie she released... that includes...

• “Speed”, with Dayla Ellison on Troy State's campus...
• “While You Were Sleeping”, a film I love so much that it ranks as my 52nd favorite film of all time in The Dave100
• “The Net”, an intriguing movie about a terrorist attack via the interweb, a premise that in 1995 seemed silly
• “Two If By Sea”, which I saw on a date in Montgomery, with Rebecca Miller, the same Rebecca Miller of The Divine Do-Over
• “A Time to Kill”, also starring The Goddess
• “In Love and War”, a wretched movie with Chris O'Donnell, one I saw on Troy's campus
• “Speed 2: Cruise Control” , another terrible movie
• “Hope Floats”, making it three terrible movies in a row, this one made more so by the fact that I saw it with someone who thought it was a date (it wasn't) and who made me buy her dinner and her movie. Plus, she had really, really thick eyebrows, which was really disturbing.

That many movies in a row with any actor, I’m not sure I can say that for just about anyone right now. Maybe ever.

Right from the get-go, you know exactly how this movie is going to end, but really, it’s a lot of fun to find your way to the moment when Margaret (Sandra) and Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) finally get together.

Margaret Tate is a mean, mean boss, especially taking for granted her hard working, long time, loyal assistant, Andrew Paxton. The predicament is when she, being Canadian and ignoring her call to renew her visa, is threatened with deportation. Her solution? Marry that hard working, long time, taken for granted assistant, and of course, against his will. (Let’s forget that this movie was called “Green Card” when it was released in 1990 and starred Gerard Depardieu and Andie McDowell… because “The Proposal” is a far better film, it gets a pass)

So they travel to Alaska together, to his hometown to meet his family, and… well, hilarity ensues. The supporting characters add much to the fun, including Ramone, who makes a half-dozen appearances, all hilarious, throughout the film. Betty White is the grandma, and has her own issues which are quite funny, Mr. Incredible Coach and Mary Steenburgen are the parents, doing an ample job and worth mentioning is Malin Akerman, who plays Andrew’s former flame Gertrude (really? Gertrude? They couldn’t come up with a better name for that?) I only mention Gertrude because while really good looking here, she wasn’t anywhere near this cute as Silk Spectre II in “Watchmen”.

There is a notable scene, heralded in the media and with critics, where both main characters are naked, accidentally running into each other, he covered in sweat after hard work, she wet after just getting out of the shower. All naughty bits are covered and unseen, though, and the scene is very funny.



Ryan Reynolds is growing on me. He rose to fame as the title character in “Van Wilder”, and has been seen in films like “Waiting”, “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”, “Adventureland” and most recently, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”. The Lovely Steph Leann dug him in "Definately, Maybe", though I was partial to Isla Fisher myself.

This is a nice comeback of sorts for Sandra Bullock, having been a bright spot, perhaps the only bright spot, in films like “Premonition”, “The Lake House” and “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous”. She’s got another romantic comedy coming up this fall, with Bradley Cooper, called “All About Steve”, and after seeing the trailer for it today… well, I’m looking forward to it.
By the way, Ryan Reynolds is actually from Vancouver, and Sandra Bullock hails from Virginia.

Sidebar... I wrote this review about a day or so after I saw the film, but as I was on blogging hiatus, I chose to sit on it and not post it until later. I think this is what I'm going to do for movie reviews... either write them, then wait a few days to post, or wait a few days to write and post, because after a few days, I have a chance to think about how much I liked (or dis-) the movie. I mention this, because after two weeks of thinking about, I really, really liked this film.

Second Sidebar… as The Lovely Steph Leann and I were walking in, towards Theater 14, we were behind these two older ladies just taking their sweet time… which was fine, really. As they (and we) walked past the big cardboard standee poster of “G-Force”. Old Lady 1 turned to Old Lady 2 and asked, “Have you seen that movie yet?” Old Lady 2 said, “No, not yet. But I saw the previews for that, and that movie just looks so funny!” Old Lady 1 replied, “Oh, I know! I think that’s going to be so good!”

Mind you, this is a movie about a crack team of espionage agents infiltrating a madman trying to take over the world. Oh, and the team is talking guinea pigs. I wanted to reach up and thump the ears of both of those old ladies and say, “It’s cause of people like you that my company has this crap, Beverly Hills Chihuahua and 108 versions of Air Bud on their shelves! Because people like you keep going to see that crap!”

Just sayin’.

The Facebook Connection

So, on Facebook, somehow I've managed to find almost everyone that I ever met. Well, actually, I've met a ton of people, so the 508 people whom I call friend on Facebook probably doesn't come close to the amount of people I've met in real life.

That being said, its like the last few weeks, long lost acquaintances, crushes, bro's, then-BFFs, high school mates and more have found me. Or I have found them. Here's who I've been in contact with--keep in mind, there is one guy and seven girls on this list, of which I only wanted to date one (maybe two, if you count Cristie...), three more were just visions and two more were good friends, but keep in mind I've already posted about finding Bobby Black and my Samson buddy Chris McCall...

Tiffany Abbott. She was my Julie Wise in college. Had a huge crush on her my freshman year. But she had a boyfriend. For whatever reason. Anyway, I was watching Ricki Lake (loved me some Ricki back in the day) and they put a call out for "Do You Have Feelings For Someone Who Is With Someone Else?", so naturally... I called. Left a voicemail about this hot chick named Tiffany. Two weeks later, they totally called back and asked if I wanted to be on the show. She's married to Kirk McCauley now, and has several rugrats.

Blair Andress. He and I talked more over Facebook in the last few weeks than we may have talked in several years at Troy. A fraternity brother of mine, we swapped stories about some of the chicks that you'll read about in this post. He went out with Tiffany once, and his car exploded. Interesting story. He's married to Miranda, has a blog, and has kids of his own. (just checked out his new blog... he's got a freakin' video intro. All I have is music right now. Dang it.)

Dayla Ellison. We were friends for about two years, my freshman and sophomore years... and suddenly, she wasn't there anymore. Well, she went to Auburn. Got married. Had kids. Saw her the other day for the first time in 13 years. She married Ben Baugh, and has three children.

Heather "The Angel" Hanson. I nicknamed her the Angel, because if I remember correctly, there was heavenly singing and glorious light around her head when she talked to me. Maybe I'm just remembering that wrong... I was an impressionable, single 19 year old boy. I mentioned a few days ago that she's also got a blog, which you can find under "Dave's Fave Blogs" on the right, or click here.

What's my favorite Heather story involving journalism, mud, boxers and college, you ask?... so, one day, I'm trying to get to class. I have a journalism class with McKerrell, and YOU DO NOT miss his classes. Simple as that. I'm racing across Troy's beautiful campus, and I'm faced with a dilemma. I can go down to the end of the sidewalk and down the staircase, or I can just go straight down this hill here in front of me. Of course, its been raining all day, but hey, I'm gonna be late.

So, down the hill I go. And after a second, my foot slips, and down I go. Into the mud. Of course, everyone who sees it is laughing, and frankly, I don't care, because I would laugh my head off at someone else. I pop up, and run into the building, and up the three flights of steps. I dash into the bathroom to assess the damage, and realize I'm filthy. I mean, from my ankles to the middle of my back, I'm covered in mud, and my backpack is destroyed. But I re-iterate... you do not miss McK's classes. And I cannot be sitting in the nice, plush chairs like this. So, what can I do? I strip off my shorts and my shirt, leaving me in my white undershirt and purple striped boxers and shoes and socks. Then, I dash off to class.

As I walk in (right on time, natch), McK looks at me. "David Dollar? Are you in your boxer shorts?" I reply, walking by to my workstation, "Yep. I don't miss class for something like mud." I plop my stuff down at my computer, which happens to be directly across from The Angel herself--as in, if there were no computers, we'd be staring at each other. She looks around her computer with a curious glance, "Dave... are you really wearing boxer shorts?" Not looking, staring at my own computer, I nod, "Yep." She stares at me for a moment, "With nothing under them?" and I finally look at her, "Yep. And as long as you don't flirt with me, we'll be just fine here, Heather." She gives me a chuckle and disappears behind her monitor.

True story. I kid you not.

By the way, I had to walk across campus to our BCM to get to my car, so I could go home and change... well, put clothes on. I had almost made it, when Mike Connor yells at me from across the quad, "David Dollar!! Are you walking around in your boxer shorts????" Looking around to see him, and the 88 other people between us, I just yell, "Yep! Quite drafty!" Years later, when Gordon McKerrell retired, he gave his Top Ten Most Memorable Moments of his Troy career. Amidst the jailed students, drunken parties and Chris Hansen moments, I ranked 3rd. The Lovely Steph Leann caught her quite a man.

Spring Tolson. Now, if Tiffany was my achievable crush, and Heather was just An Angel, then Spring Tolson was my upperclassman-out-of-my-league-entirely goddess before I knew who The Goddess was. I was a freshman, and when you are 18 years old, there is something almost mythical, or even Athena like about a senior, especially a Kappa Delta and gorgeous.

As a freshman, I had a habit of carrying BreathSavers. I would actually get them at Sam's, and would have some in my pocket, because I believe that good breath is good to have, and at certain, unexpected moments, its vital. Like, the one day I had finished a good lunch at The Adams Center with my friend Bobby Black, Miranda Bryant and Mandy Stewart and was off to check my mail. As I was leaving, I popped in a BreathSaver... not just a wintergreen, mind you, but because I was feeling quite happy, I tossed in The Rolls Royce of BreathSavers, The Vanilla Mint.

Without a care in the world, I'm strolling through, when, around the corner, I practically run into Spring Tolson. Like, it might have been the only time we actually had contact. She knew my name, cause honestly, everyone knew who I was... not that I was "all that" but I just knew a lot of people.

Once, Big Wookiee and I were strolling across campus to our cars at the BCM, and when we arrived, he looked at me and said, "I don't like walking with you." Bewildered, I asked, "Really? Whats wrong?" He smirks and says, "Cause, dude, it takes forever. You know, like, everyone, and they all stop and talk to you." Where was I?

Oh, there I am, standing toe to toe with SPRING TOLSON. Perhaps she shared heavenly light and angelic choruses with The Angel (I met Spring a year before I met Heather, so who knows). Anyway, the Kappa Delta says hello, and tells me sorry for running into her, which I respond with Hi Spring and that it was my fault. We stood talking for about ten minutes, and honestly, I don't know what we talked about, nor do I even care. I was just happy to be on Spring Tolson's radar. Now she's Spring McKinley, and taught at Oak Mountain for several year--enough to know and have taught several of my kids from Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship).

Rona Mock. We had a very small youth group at Samson's First Assembly, or as I like to call it, The House O'Hypocrisy, Dancin' and Universal Tongue Speakin'. (this is an entirely different post, by the way). In this youth group is Chris McCall, Philip Norwood, Doug McCall and Rona Mock, and sometimes Amy Johnson.

Rona and I were just good friends. She wrote a whole page in my yearbook. I helped spearhead the romance between she and Ryan Hutchison (who up until that time also had a thing for Julie Wise--maybe I hooked them up to rid myself of the competition, though Jody Linton still loomed.. again, and entirely different post). I graduated, went to college, she graduated some years later, went to a different college, she married Ryan, I saw her and Ryan at an Auburn bookstore somewhere circa 2000, and that was that. Then, suddenly, she pops up on MySpace, then on Facebook. Apparently, she and Ryan are living here in Birmingham. Currently, I'm working on plans to meet up.

Cristie Wright. Another close friend from high school. Yet again, an entirely different post. We'll stop there.

Dixon Brock. Got a short list of people that I want to find via Facebook or MySpace, and let me just say that Dixon was near the top. We were tight in my later years in college, and though we found each other to be fairly cute and awesome, we never had the slightest inclination in dating. We just talked and chatted and hung out and I even spent a completely-non-romantic-just-buddies weekend with her at her home at the beach in Mobile... Fairhope... wherever.

And one day I find Dayla Ellison online. And a few days later, I find Dixon Brock. And my heart just warmed, because she's so great. She's married with kids too.

There are many left I'd love to catch up with. Melanie Jackson is one. My freshman groupies Miranda Bryant, Allison Hodnett and Mandy Stewart are others. But now that Dixon Brock has been located, I can mark her off my Top Three, which still includes Troy McConnell and Amy Alexander.

FYI... the only reason pics of Blair, Dayla, Dixon, Cristie, Rona and Heather are not online RIGHT NOW is because my scanner isn't working. When it does, they will be posted. Be afraid. Be very afraid. To some, including myself, the early to mid-90s were not kind to people. Spring Tolson, you're off the hook. No pics. I was too intimidated to take any.

FFYI... while typing this blog, out of the blue, Jon Chancey from FarmHouse contacts me. Facebook is taking over the whole world.