soundboard de cheevo

Christmas was bizarre and fun all in one package and will stand out in my memory unlike any other. I had the fortune of spending Christmas Eve night and day with prima amiga Clare in Atlanta. K had family obligations and I worked Christmas Eve night until 8:30 so it was a late start, but once I got to Clare's house the fun began. We listened to my many Christmas compilations (see memorable Christmas songs below for selections) and had a celebratory Christmas toddy followed by some late night Atari 2600 games. Christmas Day began with the three wise beagles getting out of the fence and hightail wagging it down the road. After an expert fence rigging job we secured the beasts, Junebug , Charlie Brown and Minnie Pearl (the first two pictured above right), and began on our Christmas feast that included roasted capon, mashed potatoes and a couple of cheeseballs (and I mean that literally). Even in the massive Norcross, Georgia commercial lexicon we found no grocery stores open so Circl...

Christmas Eve still life -- This was Clare's early present she got to open before Christmas day. Yes, this is a pair of unicorns making love. I accidentally found it on eBay while searching for Lindsay's presents and every time it continues to send me into hysterics. I especially like the fact that unicorns aren't real creatures, but here is proof that they reproduce so maybe they really do exist or maybe this just perpetuates their fantasy status. Either way, this is one of the funniest shirts I have ever seen and I hope it inspires my newly-divorced best friend to explore new pastures where the unicorns roam.

While waiting for Santa to come, Clare prepares some midnight snacks. I have never seen her put so much effort into cutting the cheese, but there's always a first for everything the saying goes. We ended the night with a few games of Space Invaders and then settled in for a long winters nap.

Clare and I roasted a capon on Christmas day. A capon is a neutered rooster for those who don't know. The meat is more tender and the drumsticks are much bigger. We also made homemade mashed taters and green beans and took dinner to her grandmother who ate an entire drumstick in about five minutes. I was very flattered because Mrs. Rust in an excellent cook from the school of the old South and is much like my late Granny Brown in that way and many more. We had a really nice dinner together.

Poor Minnie Pearl. From this picture you would think she didn't get anything for Christmas and that no one ever fed her. Ten minutes after this picture was taken she climbed up on a kitchen chair and polished off half a bowl of cheese dip. It was super spicy so she licked her chops for 10 minutes and had other unpleasant moments in the back yard involving her own back yard, but she had no regrets. She might take the blue ribbon, instead of the red, for the most moochingest beagle I have ever known.

Whip it real good! I am never going to turn down a hit of nitrice oxide -- especially when combined with a Reddi-Whip chaser. We get our kicks how we can. That sums of the past 15 years with Clare.

This little ceramic Christmas tree at Clare's house reminds me of something my Granny Brown would have had in her house and I really like it. I also reminds me of gumdrops.

Clare has a beautiful tree this year. Since she's a pharmacist at one of the mega Targets in Atlanta, she has access to all sorts of wonderful and tasteful Christmas decor. K and I didn't put up a tree this year so this a beloved sight when I pulled up in her driveway at midnight on Christmas Eve.

tree detail 1

tree detail 2 -- Christmas cock

Jamie Melin had a hilarious post last week about her children placing toy figurines within the nativity scene. I get to my best friends house in Atlanta and look what she has -- a nativity with giant beagles keeping watch by night. I got her these beagles at a great truck stop on the Alabama/Georgia line and I think this might be their finest moment. I refined the scene with candles, but I like how the beagles look like they could care less about the Christ child and are just wondering if the wise men brought them any snacks. That's a beagle for you.

Meanwhile back in Birmingham we had our own presents to open and my four legged beasts were doing their own opportunistic mooching. Who knew dental care could be so much fun? Andi sure loves her dentibones. She can make one of these disappear in less than ten minutes.

Of course Andi got presents and she opened each one herself. She did very well this Christmas with a variety of bones and stuffed plush cheeseburger that she has been carrying around with her for the past couple of days.

Wow! Lindsay liked the unicorn leg warmers I gave her so much that she busted into Jane Fonda mode as soon as she opened them. I always love how the dorky joke gifts wind up being some of the best. I certainly don't think my sister will mind that I share the fact that she was obsessed with unicorns when she was about 6 or 7. I also gave her a unicorn shirt (a la Napoleon Dynamite) with a unicorn Christmas ornament tied to the package.

Lindsay hit the the motherload with fiesta ware from our Aunt Joan. She got the works and it was a much needed and appreciated gift.

Lindsay got an aluminum dutch oven from me and look, she is roasting her first bird. I love when people like their gifts.

Of course Freddie Lee was represented in the gift giving. This cat couch is from Mom and Dad and he obviously immediately took to it. Of course this was not his only gift, but probably the highlight. I love the way Fred looks like doesn't he necessarily appreciates the kitty couch -- he looks like he deserves it and what ever other vittles and fake vermin are coming his way. This cow print mini couch was a gift from the excellent KUFM radio station in Missoula, Mt.-- one of the best public radio stations in existance. I guess the public radio stations out there really know their audience -- whacky pet lovers with a good sense of humor. This is the same station that plays Bob Dylan and Neil Young on a regular basis -- real local radio. What a dream! Mom's gift came with a card with this quote: "No animals should be allowed up on the living room furniture unless they can hold up their end of the conversation." -- Fran Lebovitz

Poor sick Dad was able to catch a small glance of a couple of bowl games in his black cowboy boots -- a first as far as I know. I started calling him Dubyah and asked if he was getting a ranch in Crawford, Texas. He didn't really laugh so he must be feeling pretty under the weather.

Yes, cowboy boots ... and it's not a joke. Living out West is starting to rub off on Dad.

Christmas lights illuminate the home of Ginger and Rick Worm near Traverse City, Mich. Thursday Dec. 22, 2005. Rick spent more than 13 hours putting up the lights on the old school portion and privacy fence of his home. The school was originality the Dunn Schoolhouse built in 1899 and used till around 1953 as a school. (AP Photo/Traverse City Record-Eagle, Douglas Tesner)

4. Run D.M.C. -- "Christmas in Hollis" This song was on the compilation "A Very Special Christmas" first released in 1989. The two highlights are the album cover by the late and wonderful Keith Harring and this rap classic. There are many other major artists (Madonna, Sting, The Pretenders) doing traditional covers, but the real gem on this is the only rap track on the album. Run D.M.C. take the usually tired "Jingle Bells" and break it down with their signature sound that includes funky James Brown style horns and the sign of the times scratching by the late great Jam Master Jay. Like Beck's "Little Drum Machine Boy", Run D.M.C. take a traditional Christmas song and add their own funky twist with some hilariously personal lyrics about their own Christmas experience growing up in Queens. Sample lyric: It's Christmas time in Hollis Queens Mom's cooking chicken and collard greens Rice and stuffing, macaroni and cheese And Santa put gift...

I have been mentally sifting through the massive amounts of popular Christmas cheese in the past couple of weeks and have a found a few golden nuggets that need to be mentioned. When you dig deep past the piles of Kenny G and John Tesh Christmas albums, and past all the crap you hear in department stores, you can find some Christmas moments that stand out in a good way -- not too sentimental and with class and sometimes humor that make them timeless. I have divided these into music and television divisions and will start with the first six songs. - - - 10. Elvis -- "Blue Christmas" I have always liked modern Christmas songs that are about Christmas and not tiring renditions of past Christmas carols or other tired holiday songs. At this point in the season, I feel like if I hear "White Christmas" or "Jingle Bell Rock" again I am going to commit an act of violence toward a red poinsettia. Elvis captures a mood here. Everyone has had one of these Christmases ...

I am delighted that I was able to get a photo of the Ben Fondren pout. He is getting really good at it. He really sticks that bottom lip out before he starts to cry, but here is a more pensive pout. He's churning on the big issues -- the war, medicaid, and what might be coming to a diaper near him.

Ben's world has been a pretty peaceful place since he found his hands. They are a non-stop source of entertainment and pacification. Sometimes he looks like he flashing us baby gang signs. I decided his rap name is B-Chan since his middle name is Chandler -- very Yin Yang twins huh?

"Listen tall folks, I have no motor control yet so will someone please send me to my dressing room for a wardrobe change. I can't wear this spittle for the rest of the day you know. I have my pride."

.... someone you used to babysit has their own blog. This is Rivers Langley -- the former baby of Pinedale Drive in Auburn where I grew up. Of course I am not surprised that he has a blog, and a very good one at that, but it does make a person feel old. Rivers was born on Bastille Day (July 14) in 1986 and we neighbor folk watched him turn into a brilliant entrepreneur at the ripe ole age of 5 when he set up a miniature Jurassic Park in his back yard and charged admission. There was also a story I heard about Rivers, at age 4 or younger, scaling his next door neighbors fence while they were having an backyard party and saying, "My name is Rivers and I would like you to have the opportunity to get to know me." Check out his blog here http://www.phoenixrivers.blogspot.com/ . He goes on some nice rants about Larry the Cable guy and Scott Stapp from Creed. His parents definitely raised this boy right. A ramdon tie in to my discovery of Rivers' blog involves Richard Pryor. Bef...

A couple of times a year I seem to wind up with these hellacious, but much appreciated, freelance jobs that go way into in the early morning. These jobs pay well, but 12 hours of working at the computer can be kind of lonely with no comfortable chatter that I have always come to rely on in all the newsrooms I've loved before. A suitable, but not complete, substitute I have discovered involves listening to reruns of the brilliant NPR show "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross and turning out the pants in one of my chester drawers and turning it into a kitter bed. Last Wednesday night I had to do with two drawers as Freddie, the gray boy, and Miles, the orange boy, were literally fighting for the same drawer. Mom gave Karen and I these fleece blankets with the pine cones on them and the cats love them as much as we do. When I look to my left and see two cats peacefully resting I don't feel alone and after all, I am working for them, right? (This set up is reminds me of what Pet...

Hasn't the 'Happy Holidays' versus 'Merry Christmas' debate had its fifteen minutes already? Here is another example of a knee jerk conservative Christian reaction that has been blown up by the media into a so-called national crisis. How quickly we forget. Wasn't it just a year ago that the George Bush won the election on his so-called Christian values? Last time I checked our country is made of a vast majority of Christians. In Alabama, you can drive through many small towns that have only one grocery store and one barber shop, but I promise you there will be at least eight churches. My tiny college town of Montevallo, Ala. Immediately comes to mind. With a population under 10,000, there are seven churches within a two block radius and I know there are more than that in the official city limits. In Birmingham, the largest city in the state, there are two Jewish temples and I know there are some Muslim places of worship, but I have no idea where they are. I imag...

I remember this day back in 1980. I was in second grade and had come home from a Christmas school party where I had to wear a skirt -- ugh! (amazing how those unpleasant moments really stand out). I came home from school, eager to change in to my play clothes and Mom told me John Lennon had been killed. I didn't understand the impact of that moment until years later, but I do remember Mom saying that John Lennon had made music that was very important to her and that was all I needed to know that John Lennon was important to me too. My Beatles love fully blossomed in high school, with the early Beatles albums, "The White Album", "Sgt. Peppers" and "Magical Mystery Tour" that I had disccovered as a child. In college I discovered "Abbey Road" and that has become my favorite. Our college friend Danny Gamble used to have Beatles night once a year at his house where he would play their albums -- on original vinyl since Danny was around when those ...

Susan Jeter Ellis died today at around 4:00 a.m. Her younger daughter, Courtney, was there at the hospital with her. Her last days were spent around family and friends who loved her. As by instinct Courtney said Anderson, the baby, leaned down from his dad's arms and kissed Susan on the forehead last night as they were saying good night -- like in some way he knew it was good bye. Susan leaves two daughters, a grandson, two sisters and a brother, nieces, nephews and so many friends from our hometown of Auburn, Ala. We all loved Susan for the same reasons. She was kind, smart and strong. Her professional as a counselor was perfectly chosen because she had this way of making a person open up and tell her what was really going on past all the bullshit. My mother shared a story with me that one day she was at work with Susan (they both worked for Auburn City Schools). This was after I left home for college and Mom said she was telling Susan how hard it was to adjust to a partially em...

Anderson with his Mimi -- Easter 2005, Chapel Hill, N.C,

Photo-0077.jpg Originally uploaded by echeevo72 . Who knew a hotel room could be so much fun? Well I know, but from a 18-month-old perspective there are all kinds of fun things to get into. I briefly introduced Anderson to the joy of bouncing on the bed and made him a little fort under the desk in their room. Babies sure do have a wonderful way of keeping the mood light and the focus on the present.

Last night Lindsay and I recreated Thanksgiving and I have to say we kicked major ass. I should have thought to take a picture of the first turkey I roasted, but I assure you all that it was as beautiful as any turkey that appears in Southern Living and I didn't even need a food stylist to make it look cover shot worthy. My friends, Kim Ellis and Courtney Ellis Ritter, from my hometown of Auburn are still in Birmingham dealing with a very grave and painful situation with their mother, Susan. They didn't get a real Thankgiving last week so Lindsay and I channelled our inner Granny Brown and created quite a southern feast that instantaneously became a party of 10 that included our old family friends, The Branches, and Chris and Lilla Smith, who go way back with both Ellis sisters and with me. Although the reason they are in town for such an extended time is sad, last night was really a happy occasion. Last night I felt like Courtney really knew how much she and her family are lov...

Most excellent friends and newlyweds Roy and Liane Burns were here Saturday while visiting Roy's family in Mobile and Peter and I showed them the new Vulcan park. We got some nice shots of Vulcan at night and some nice panoramic shots of the city. For the best of Saturday's photos, click here http://vulcandecheevo.blogspot.com/ . To those of you not familiar with the iron man, Vulcan Park is home to the world's largest cast iron statue and features spectacular panoramic views of Birmingham. The history of the statue is deeply tied to Birmingham's roots and its growth. Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and forge, was originally built in 1904 and has stood as a symbol of Birmingham for over 100 years. After a four-year renovation, Vulcan Park reopened to the public in 2004 and welcomed over 100,000 visitors its first year. (information taken from the Vulcan Park Foundation web site) http://www.vulcanpark.org/

For the first time in my digital camera experience I have done the equivelent of exposing my film by accidentally deleting a my Thanksgiving photos. Clare has hers that she will be sharing with me later this week. I spent the day in Atlanta with Clare's family, the Vances, that I am practically related to now after our 15 years of friendship. Clare and I cooked collards, her Grandma Rust made the best whipped potatoes and we all went into a food coma around 8 that evening. I think the highlight of the day was hooking up the Atari 2600 to Clare's massive stereo television. It was the ultimate Atari experience and left us all wanting more. I will always have deep love for the primitive video systems no matter how high tech the modern ones become. Clare and I bought one at a yard sale in college that I became so addicted to that Clare had to intervene and got rid of it when I started playing Kangaroo instead of going to class. (Thanks Clarence!) Atari games take me back to a goo...

On this day 60 years ago, Elizabeth Anne Wheeler was born. The rest of the world knows her as Libby (or Libbo as Clare and I nicknamed her back in college), but we know her as Mom or Lou Mama as Dad nicknamed her some time ago. Mom has her special photo blog coming later in the week with pictures from childhood of course some big collar polyester shots from the seventies. Even though the family four is not together today, we are still all focused on Mom --our queen and the hub of our wheel. We would not be the tight knit unit we are without her love as our foundation. She has inspired me to cook, to draw, to love art, music and National Public Radio and through her example has allowed me to create a loving home of my own. I think the most important lessons Mom has taught me is that you should never hold grudges with your family and to always remember the importance of a big bear hug. She is such a blessing to us. I love you Mom and hope you have a wonderful birthday.

This is 17-month-old Anderson Ellis Ritter chilling in his stroller at the UAB waiting room. He looks he is shooting me a bird with a captains wafer. His mom is one of my best friends from growing up in Auburn, Courtney Ellis Ritter. I was supposed to go see the Ritters in Chapel Hill today, but it turns out Courtney, her sister, aunt and cousins are here in Birmingham because Courtney's mother, Susan, is in the hospital at UAB. It's definitely not the happiest of occasions for a reunion as Susan is in between consciousness and no one knows what her outcome will be. However, Courtney and I have really enjoyed getting to see each other again and have some occasional dork out moments with her sister Kim just like we did 18 years back at their house on Cahaba Drive. We all went to the same church and Courtney says her first memory of me was when I was introduced to our age group's Sunday school class so that would probably take us back to 1980 or '81. Kim and Courtney alwa...

Courtney, far right and me dorking out with Kelley Pirnie and Kathryn Elam at LTW (Leadership Training Weekend) at Alabama's episcopal church camp in Winter of 1989.

Andy and Anne Washington, of Chelmsford, Mass., hold their new son, Matthew, and react after hearing the judge finalize their adoption as a part of National Adoption Month in the Brooke Courthouse in Boston, Friday, Nov. 18, 2005. More than 150 children in foster care will be adopted thought Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Eric Rowley) I think I have mentioned ad nauseam how much bad news comes down through the wire in a daily newspaper. Today's offerings include more suicide bombings in Iraq, the ongoing White House war on criticism and continued congressional budget cuts. After my first six months in daily news I learned, like everyone else in the newsroom. to let it all roll off my back or to at least try to. The expression goes that death and taxes are they only things a person can count on, but bad news might as well be another. This being the case, I always search hard through the daily photo server for bits of good news and think this might be the best. I have never heard of Nation...

Anderson's expression say it all and Miles backs it up. It's not so much the blues I have as just this inner need for solitude for the past week. I don't know what it's all about, but I think the time and weather change have something to do with it as well as the mother of dear friend who is very ill and in intensive care. This woman has been a friend of our family for years and it is hard to think of the smart and strong person I knew growing up in Auburn weak and vulnerable in a hospital bed. It just doesn't make sense -- not that these kinds of sad life events ever do. - - K says I get like this every fall when daylight dimenishes. I didn't know that, but I'm not going to argue it. For some reason staying inside and submerging myself in my favorite HBO dramas like "Six Feet Under" and "The Sopranos" seems to scratch the itch. This is why I haven't been posted a whole lot lately . . . a lot to process right now. Some of it is good,...

Like I said last month in the the "Napoleon Dynamite" review, I seem to always be the last one on earth to see the hip new movies, but I do eventually get around to seeing them. "Sideways" is a gem. It combines humor and humility in a beautiful way and illustrates the chemistry behind two people that have been best friends for most of their lives like Miles, played by Paul Giamatti, and Jack, played by Thomas Haden Church. Miles is the wounded bird after divorce and professional rejection and and has salt poured in both wounds during the extended bachelor party California countryside road trip he takes with Jack, who seems to have never doubted himself a day in his life. The polar opposite personality types are very true to many long friendships and in the end, they might still drive each other crazy, but they are still friends. I don't want to give away any more of the movie to those who haven't seen it. It is funny and solid all the way through and has ...

I had a happy moment today when I found a CD of family photos that had been missing for over a year. My cousin Stephanie has become the Brown family curator and she has found some real gems like this one. The curly-headed baby is my father and the man holding him is his big brother John Tollie Brown with his wife Sarah Reeves Brown. Tollie probably in his mid-twenties when this photo was taken. Uncle Tollie and Aunt Sarah had their own family soon after this photo was taken starting with their first son, Jim, and four sons followed him. My sister and I have never seen many baby pictures of our dad so seeing this for the first time really brought a smile to my face. Like baby Ben, Jerry Elijah Brown got lots of attention as a baby and, come to think of it, he still gets lots of attention.

My aunts Christine, Lucille, Eloise, Georgia, Chinky (Marie) and Alice. In front with the curly head is little Napoleon also known as my father. Missing Brown children are uncles Elmore, Tollie, Roy, Henry and Bobby and aunts Pauline and Dot. The older sisters and brothers were married with their own families. My Dad became an uncle at age 1 when his sister Pauline had her first child.

I am sure this photo was taken sometime in the early 1940s. Doris Kathryn Brown Downey (Dot) was my grandparents second daughter and my dad always called her the commander of Granny Brown's army. She called the shots and she still does as the queen of her own family. Dad says of all the daughters, she is the most like my grandmother. I love the Brown trait of dark brown curly hair, blue eyes and fair skin. Aunt Dot was and will always be very beautiful to me.