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Where are the 'characters'?
Columnist bemoans today's bland society.
Date published: 2/27/2007
IFEAR THE WORLD my children are growing up in is becoming a homogeneous, bland Every Town. These days people attempt to hide their individuality by fitting in with everyone else. They live in the same type of house in an endless subdivision with the same kind of minivan or SUV and the same flat, unidentifiable accent. I'm not being critical; I think some of those things are a certain measure of the American Dream. I just mourn the colorful individuals who used to be celebrated in both public and private life. When I was growing up in Knoxville, Tenn., there were plenty of larger-than-life characters who took pride in their unique personalities. My mother owned a little country store that had its own cast of colorful regulars. As an adult, I realized most people did not have the same richly populated childhood I did. My husband always laughs at my stories and says I should write a book, but I wonder why he thinks my stories are unusual. As time goes by and my East Tennessee accent fades, I've started to realize how different my experience was from that of my children. Cas Walker was a Knoxville politician and grocery store tycoon who ruled the city with an iron hand for 30 years. He had his own newspaper called "The Watchdog" and his own television show called "Cas Walker's Farm and Home Hour," which sometimes featured a young and gorgeous Dolly Parton. Walker never hesitated to use his TV show to voice his opposition to whatever riled him up. No one ever seemed to question his outrageous remarks. He once got into a fistfight with a fellow City Council member during a council meeting, and the resulting photograph made it into Life magazine. Bonnie Lou and Buster were a country music couple with their own local TV show sponsored by Jim Walter Homes. They had delightfully thick mountain accents that no agent had tried to eradicate. They wore square-dancing outfits and sang all their sponsors' commercials live. "Waffle House, Waffle House, meet me at the Waffle House. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, too, there's something there for you "
Read more stories about Stafford Date published: 2/27/2007
Memories are special
(posted by
SueBee
, Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)
Being a fan of Cas Walker and having the same unique accent, I treasure the memories of my youth. Our town had those unusual characters, too, and I frequently tell my grandkids about them. Thx for the story--and Bonnie Lou and Buster's picture.
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