tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-138059152011-11-23T11:45:14.918-06:00An online supplement to "The Strange Tales of Eli McMorn and Claiborne's Nights" as well as a home for Lee Peacock's other writings, including his poems, his newspaper columns and his short stories.Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.comBlogger1521100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1170048101982537812007-01-28T23:21:00.000-06:002007-01-28T23:21:41.986-06:00

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over." - Hunter S. Thompson When it comes to hot food, the 1999 Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans will always stand out in my memory.On the spur of the moment, two friends and I decided to drive from Monroeville, Ala. to New Orleans after work on a Friday night.

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1170048059730975082007-01-28T23:20:00.000-06:002007-01-28T23:20:59.743-06:00

I admit it. I enjoy listening to the radio – sports talk radio to be exact. While I think it’s nice and those who have it make me green with envy, I’m much too cheap to spring for anything fancy like XM or Sirius satellite radio. That’s why, if you’d been able to peer into my office on Monday night, you would have seen me hunched over my Sony radio, slowly moving the tuner along the AM dial,

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1169158766487966082007-01-18T16:18:00.000-06:002007-01-18T16:19:26.490-06:00

"Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death" by Deborah Blum is the most interesting book that I’ve read in a long time. In this 370-page book, published by Penguin Press earlier this year, Blum details the effort by James and a number of other turn-of-the-century scientists who tried to find proof of life after death. James (1842-1910) was one of the

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1169158698569423662007-01-18T16:17:00.000-06:002007-01-18T16:18:18.590-06:00

How ‘bout them Saints?I hate to jinx them, but I’ve never been more excited about the Saints that I am this week. Growing up in Southwest Alabama, it was natural for me to be a Saints fan. Before the Tennessee Titans came along, it was either the Saints or the Atlanta Falcons. Why be a Saints fan? Maybe it was the desire to pull for the underdog week after week and year after year? Maybe it was

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1168901023913540782007-01-15T16:43:00.000-06:002007-01-15T16:43:43.916-06:00

Within the pages of this week’s edition of The Wayne County News, readers will find a story that’s a little out of the ordinary, a story about Melissa Bowen, a woman who loved her pet dog, Rocke, so much that she decided to have him freeze-dried. While having a pet freeze-dried is uncommon, I can totally sympathize with Mrs. Bowen. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a "dog person." When I

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1168900979670199372007-01-15T16:42:00.000-06:002007-01-15T16:42:59.686-06:00

I’m no Auburn fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I watched AU’s 17-14 Cotton Bowl win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers with more than a little interest. I was especially interested in the game because it was the final game for Auburn wide receiver Courtney Taylor. Although I’m just 30 years old, watching Taylor play his final game really made me feel old.Even though he probably doesn’t

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1167943669666580762007-01-04T14:47:00.000-06:002007-01-04T14:47:49.670-06:00

It’s the first Thursday of the month, so let’s take a trip down memory lane and review all of interesting things that took place in Wayne County 75 years ago, way back in January 1932.From the Jan. 14, 1932 edition of The News:Readers learned that during the Jan. 4, 1932 meeting of Wayne County’s board of supervisors, the board elected John L. Sullivan, who represented District One, as their

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1167943619055056362007-01-04T14:45:00.000-06:002007-01-04T14:46:59.073-06:00

Their very presence is a total mystery and leave nothing but questions. Who do they belong to? What are they doing here? When will their rightful owner come forward? Where did they even come from and why are they even here to begin with? Before I go into the meat of this column, let me give you a little back story. Rewind with me back to a night a few months ago when I found myself digging around

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1157640538750406252006-09-07T09:48:00.000-05:002006-09-07T09:48:58.753-05:00

It’s the first Thursday of the month, so you know what that means. It’s time to take a trip down memory lane and review all of interesting things that took place in Monroe County 100 years ago, way back in September 1906. From the Sept. 6, 1906 edition of The Journal:Monroe Journal Editor, Q. Salter, wrote that "Mr. A.F. Howington, one of Excel’s enterprising merchants, was in to see us Monday.

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1157640477222006542006-09-07T09:46:00.000-05:002006-09-07T09:47:57.226-05:00

Last week's slate of football games for our local teams proved to be more than a little interesting, especially J.U. Blacksher's win over McKenzie, Frisco City’s win over Excel and Monroe County High School’s win over J.F. Shields.Blacksher’s 18-14 win over McKenzie on Friday night was Blacksher’s 23rd win over the Tigers since the end of World War II, leaving the Bulldogs with a 23-21 edge in

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1157640387874870112006-09-07T09:45:00.000-05:002006-09-07T09:46:27.876-05:00

The year is over half way over, so this week I figured that I’d give you, the reading audience, a run-down of my 10 favorite books from the first half of 2006. 1. "The Last Coach: A Life of Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant" by Allen Barra: I think you will be hard-pressed to find a more detailed biography of former University of Alabama football coach, Paul "Bear" Bryant. This rich, full-scale 600-page

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1157640324608757182006-09-07T09:44:00.000-05:002006-09-07T09:45:24.613-05:00

The first full week of the high school football season is upon us, and local fans will get the chance to watch two great in-county rivalry games this week. Excel will travel to Frisco City for their annual meeting with the Whippets tonight (Thursday), and J.F. Shields will travel to Monroeville to face Monroe County High School tomorrow (Friday) night. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1157640236387674842006-09-07T09:43:00.000-05:002006-09-07T09:43:56.390-05:00

"Blackbeard: America’s Most Notorious Pirate" by Angus Konstam is one of the coolest books that I’ve read this year. Published in June, this 336-page book details the pirate career of Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard the Pirate. Blackbeard was the most feared pirate of his day, a rouge who terrorized the Caribbean and the islands of the Spanish Main. One of the most colorful cutthroats from

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1157640172372309722006-09-07T09:41:00.000-05:002006-09-07T09:42:52.386-05:00

Do you think you've got what it takes to match wits with arguably the best football minds in Monroe County? Have you always wanted to go head to head with local college football fans and put your pigskin knowledge to the test over an entire season? If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, then I encourage you to sign up for ESPN.com's College Pick 'Em Contest. A group of my friends

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1155822309358687682006-08-17T08:44:00.000-05:002006-08-17T08:45:09.360-05:00

Gordon Gerick’s book, "The Bungling Angel," is one of the most interesting books that I’ve read this year. Published in May, the 200-page book is about Mary Hatfield, a recently widowed and retired IRS agent, who moves to Shell Cove to be close to her sister Martha Robinson. Ki, an angel on her first assignment from the big man upstairs, is sent to Earth to guide Mary’s spirit into the afterlife.

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1155822246092975762006-08-17T08:42:00.000-05:002006-08-17T08:44:06.146-05:00

Sometimes you just hit a wall. This is especially true when you’re doing research. In almost all cases, when you hit a wall, it’s OK to ask for a little help. That’s the purpose of this sports column. Your friendly neighborhood sportswriter, Lee Peacock, needs a helping hand from his reading audience. Before we get into the meat of this thing, let me give you a little background. About three

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1155147374205114822006-08-09T13:13:00.000-05:002006-08-09T13:16:14.223-05:00

I’ll admit it. Up until a week ago, I really didn’t know much about the War of 1812, the Battle of New Orleans or about how these events effected the course of American History. That all changed when I got the chance to read Winston Groom’s new book, "Patriotic Fire: Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans." Many of you will remember Groom as the author of "Forrest Gump," a

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1155147222826383962006-08-09T13:09:00.000-05:002006-08-09T13:17:02.060-05:00

The upcoming 2006 football season, set to start in a matter of weeks, looks to be a landmark season for more than a few reasons. What follows is a school-by-school breakdown of some of the historic moments that our local coaches and teams will (or could) pass this season.Frisco City: Frisco City head coach Troy Quinn needs just five wins this season to become the school’s winningest modern era (

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1154710395545934812006-08-04T11:52:00.000-05:002006-08-04T11:53:15.550-05:00

It’s the first Thursday of the month, so you know what that means. It’s time to take a trip down memory lane and review all of interesting things that took place in Monroe County 100 years ago, way back in August 1906. From the August 2, 1906 edition of The Journal:Monroe Journal Editor, Q. Salter, wrote that "Mr. John I. Watson, our efficient city [Monroeville] superintendent of streets and

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1154710297281438842006-08-04T11:50:00.000-05:002006-08-04T11:51:37.296-05:00

Only 22 days remain until high school football kicks off in Monroe County. Local fans will get their first taste of football action on Aug. 25, when Monroe Academy squares off against Wilcox Academy in Monroeville. The county’s five public schools will begin play the following week. A glance at the schedules of our six local teams offers more than a few interesting matchups this season. Here are

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1153932992464629922006-07-26T11:55:00.000-05:002006-07-26T11:56:32.466-05:00

It’s official. From this day forward, I am a fan of Joe Hilley. Hilley, an attorney turned author, lives in Fairhope and has drawn on his legal experiences and many years in Mobile to write "Electric Beach," the best mystery novels that I’ve read in a long time. "Electric Beach," published in May by RiverOak Publishing, is a very slick mystery novel and was a lot of fun to read. The novel centers

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1153932928845152462006-07-26T11:54:00.000-05:002006-07-26T11:55:28.846-05:00

We’re one week closer to the official start of the 2006 high school football season, just 10 days from the start of practice and 35 days from the first football game. With that in mind, let's get into the football mood with a little local high school football trivia. This week, the questions all come from the late 1990s. See if you can answer the following questions about high school football in

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1153932871207002012006-07-26T11:53:00.000-05:002006-07-26T11:54:31.210-05:00

"Rick & Bubba’s Expert Guide to God, Country, Family and Anything Else We Can Think Of" by Rick Burgess and Bill "Bubba" Bussey with Martha Bolton is the funniest book that I’ve read this year. Published in February by W Publishing Group, the 224-page book details the adventures of Rick and Bubba, two morning radio hosts who have built a cult following with their unique brand of Southern humor

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1153932810659361792006-07-26T11:52:00.000-05:002006-07-26T11:53:30.673-05:00

We’re one week closer to the official start of the 2006 high school football season, just 17 days from the start of practice and 42 days from the first football game. With that in mind, let's get into the football mood with a little local high school football trivia. This week, the questions all come from the early 1990s. See if you can answer the following questions about high school football in

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1152728679131984872006-07-12T13:23:00.000-05:002006-07-12T13:24:39.133-05:00

Everyone thinks that they know the story of the Pilgrims, their trip to America on the Mayflower and the First Thanksgiving. From elementary school on, we’ve learned the story about how the buckle-shoed Pilgrims fled religious persecution in England to land at Plymouth Rock, befriended the natives and sat down in the end for a big meal of turkey, dressing and cranberry sauce. It’s too bad that

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1152728594126609182006-07-12T13:22:00.000-05:002006-07-12T13:23:14.126-05:00

We’re one week closer to the official start of the 2006 high school football season, just 24 days from the start of practice and 49 days from the first football game. With that in mind, let's get into the football mood with a little local high school football trivia. This week, the questions all come from the late 1980s. See if you can answer the following questions about high school football in

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1152728524071888562006-07-12T13:21:00.000-05:002006-07-12T13:22:04.073-05:00

It’s the first Thursday of the month, so you know what that means. It’s time to take a trip down memory lane and review all of interesting things that took place in Monroe County 100 years ago, way back in July 1906. From the July 5, 1906 edition of The Journal:Monroe Journal editor, Q. Salter, wrote that "lightning struck the kitchen chimney of Mr. J.C. Manning’s place four miles southwest of

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1152728443871973252006-07-12T13:19:00.000-05:002006-07-12T13:20:43.883-05:00

We’re one week closer to the official start of the 2006 high school football season, just 31 days from the start of practice and 56 days from the first football game. With that in mind, let's get into the football mood with a little local high school football trivia. This week, the questions all come from the early 1980s. See if you can answer the following questions about high school football in

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1151525699786786262006-06-28T15:12:00.000-05:002006-06-28T15:14:59.790-05:00

"Crime Beat: A Decade of Covering Cops and Killers" by Michael Connelly is one of the most entertaining books that I’ve read in a long time. The 384-page book, published by Little, Brown and Co. in May, is a collection of almost two dozen newspaper stories written by Connelly in the late 80s and early 90s. During that time, Connelly, who is best known as the author of the best-selling series of

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1151525537150849012006-06-28T15:10:00.000-05:002006-06-28T15:12:17.170-05:00

We’re one week closer to the official start of the 2006 high school football season, just 38 days from the start of practice and 63 days from the first football game. With that in mind, let's get into the football mood with a little local high school football trivia. This week, the questions all come from the late 1970s. See if you can answer the following questions about high school football in

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1151071136541756832006-06-23T08:58:00.000-05:002006-06-23T08:58:56.543-05:00

"A Death in Belmont" by Sebastian Junger is one of the most unusual books I’ve ever read. I suppose the best label for the nonfiction book (WW.Norton & Co., 266 pages) is "true crime," but the book also comes close the categories of biography, history and social science. In places, it reads like a news story, in others like a memoir and in others like a novel. It reminded me of Truman Capote’s "

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1151071083343695192006-06-23T08:56:00.000-05:002006-06-23T08:58:03.383-05:00

We’re one week closer to the official start of the 2006 high school football season and just 45 days from the start of football practice. With that in mind, let's get into the football mood with a little local high school football trivia. This week, the questions all come from the early 1970s. See if you can answer the following questions about high school football in Monroe County from 1970 to

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1150148536239419372006-06-12T16:41:00.000-05:002006-06-12T16:42:16.240-05:00

If you’re the type of person who reads a book and can’t help rooting for the bad guy then you’ll love "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer" by James L. Swanson."Manhunt" (William Morrow, 448 pages) begins in one of the wildest months in American history – April 1865. That month marked the fall of Richmond, the collapse and surrender of the Confederacy, the assassination of President

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1150148485143327172006-06-12T16:40:00.000-05:002006-06-12T16:41:25.146-05:00

Yes, it's only mid-June, but in just 52 days our local teams will take to the practice fields to prepare for another season under the stadium lights. With that in mind, let's get into the football mood with a little local high school football trivia. This week, the questions all come from the 1960s. See if you can answer the following questions about high school football in Monroe County from

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1150148429715062282006-06-12T16:39:00.000-05:002006-06-12T16:40:29.716-05:00

I finished reading "Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq" a few days ago and found it to be one of the best nonfiction books that I’ve read this year. "Cobra II" (Pantheon, 603 pages) hit bookstores in March and gives the inside story of what went on behind the scenes in the days leading up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The book follows with a look at the invasion

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1150148367587258612006-06-12T16:38:00.000-05:002006-06-12T16:39:27.600-05:00

Charles from Monroeville e-mailed me a very interesting sports question this week: Hey Lee, I heard last week that the high school football season in Alabama this year will begin on Aug. 31. Is it just me or does the season seem to start earlier and earlier each year? If I remember right, years ago the football season didn’t get going until after Labor Day. Do you have any information about this?

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1149104222184034762006-05-31T14:36:00.000-05:002006-05-31T14:37:02.186-05:00

It’s the first Thursday of the month, so you know what that means. It’s time to take a trip down memory lane and review all of interesting things that took place in Monroe County 100 years ago, way back in June 1906. From the June 7, 1906 edition of The Journal:The big news in that week’s paper involved an accident at Rikard’s Mill in north Monroe County. In news from the Chestnut community,

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1149104121702568372006-05-31T14:34:00.000-05:002006-05-31T14:35:21.716-05:00

"Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports" by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams is the wildest sports book that I’ve ever read. "Game of Shadows" (Penguin, 352) hit bookstores in late March and has generated more than its fair share of controversy. The book is the result of a two-year investigation by the authors into the Bay Area Laboratory

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1148489355759635152006-05-24T11:47:00.000-05:002006-05-24T11:49:15.763-05:00

Aside from Harper Lee’s "To Kill a Mockingbird" and Pete Earley’s "Circumstantial Evidence," "Mockingbird" by Charles Shields will thrill Monroeville readers like no other book before. "Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee" (326 pages, Henry Holt Co.) is scheduled for public release on Monday, and I suspect that it is going to sell well in Monroeville. The book will be the first-ever (and

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1148489258348288462006-05-24T11:43:00.000-05:002006-05-24T11:47:38.366-05:00

Last week, while researching a question e-mailed to me by a high school football fan in Excel, I stumbled onto an interesting bit of trivia.Only once in the past 40 years, going all the way back to the 1966 football season, has every football team in the county posted a winning record in the same season. That happened in 1977, a year in which all six of the high school football teams in the

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1147893149221000592006-05-17T14:11:00.000-05:002006-05-17T14:12:29.223-05:00

I’m guilty. I admit it. I read "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. "The Da Vinci Code" (489 pages, Doubleday) is a mystery novel that has been on the best-seller lists since its release in 2003. It has also sparked a ton of controversy, especially among people who never read the book. The book details the attempts of Robert Langdon, Professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard University, to solve

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1147893100422018572006-05-17T14:10:00.000-05:002006-05-17T14:11:40.436-05:00

An excellent high school football question came my way from the gallery this week, this time courtesy of a prep football fan in Excel. Allen in Excel e-mailed me saying, "a few months ago, you wrote that the best football in our county was played in the early seventies. Can you narrow that down any? I guess that I’m asking you to name the exact year in which the best football was played." Well,

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1147290592069124502006-05-10T14:49:00.000-05:002006-05-10T14:49:52.070-05:00

"Shadows and Dust: The Journal of the Confederate Experience in Northwest Florida and Southwest Alabama" by Kevin McKinley is one of the most interesting Civil War books that I’ve read in a long, long time. McKinley, a native of Escambia County, is a columnist with The Tri-City Ledger newspaper in Flomaton and has a score of relatives in Monroe County. McKinley is also a law student with a deep

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1147290543241095442006-05-10T14:47:00.001-05:002006-05-10T14:49:03.243-05:00

These days are rare times for pro baseball fans out there thanks to slugger Barry Bonds. Love him or hate him, Bonds has provided us with a lot to talk about as he prepares to pass Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list. In fact, the closer Bonds gets to passing Ruth, the weirder the headlines get. For those of you who didn’t catch them, here are a sampling of the controversial sports stories

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1147290468315684792006-05-10T14:47:00.000-05:002006-05-10T14:47:48.320-05:00

It’s the first Thursday of the month, so you know what that means. It’s time to take a trip down memory lane and review all of interesting things that took place in Monroe County 100 years ago, way back in May 1906. From the May 3, 1906 edition of The Journal:Journal Editor Q. Salter wrote that a grand jury in Clarke County recently returned 61 indictments, more than half of which were for

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1147290407028876762006-05-10T14:45:00.001-05:002006-05-10T14:46:47.030-05:00

I live for a good research question, especially when it involves high school sports. I received one such question last week, via e-mail, sent in by David from Monroeville. David wrote "Last week, you wrote about all the teams in the state who have won state baseball titles. Of course, these schools are from all over the state. I’d be interested to get your opinion on which part of the state

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1147290342210868392006-05-10T14:45:00.000-05:002006-05-10T14:45:42.213-05:00

"Mayor On Mission" by Lambert Mims is one of the most inspirational books that I’ve ever read. Mims, a native of Monroe County and a graduate of J.U. Blacksher High School at Uriah, is best known for his 20 years as the Mayor of Mobile. Mims is also a past president of the Alabama Baptist Association and is only the second layman ever to be elected to that position. In his 256-page autobiography,

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1147290285176472012006-05-10T14:43:00.000-05:002006-05-10T14:44:45.196-05:00

Those of you who have read my sports column for any length of time know that I live for a good research question, especially when it involves high school sports. I received one such question last week, via e-mail, sent in by David from Monroeville. David wrote "About a month ago, you wrote a story about all the different high schools in the state who have won state championships in football. I’d

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1145396040103311982006-04-18T16:32:00.000-05:002006-04-18T16:34:00.106-05:00

"After a long career of responsible and, at times, courageous reporting, Al Benn brings his probity to his vivid memoirs. He gives journalism a good name."- Harper Lee"Reporter: Covering Civil Rights... And Wrongs In Dixie" by Alvin Benn is by far the best book that I’ve read this year. Benn, a longtime reporter in Alabama, wrote this 388-page book as a memoir for his children and grandchildren,

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1145395927833207562006-04-18T16:31:00.000-05:002006-04-18T16:32:07.836-05:00

Another good sports question came my way this week, this time from a professional baseball fan who lives in Monroeville. Larry from Monroeville writes: I watch baseball from time to time, mostly the Atlanta Braves, and I’ve always wondered about what actually constitutes a fielding error. Sometimes you’ll see a player, usually an infielder, who’ll make a fielding mistake, but he won’t be charged

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1145395852107001512006-04-18T16:30:00.000-05:002006-04-18T16:30:52.126-05:00

Fat drops of crystal rain dripped off the brim of Hill’s hat. Despite the rain, he knew that his hiding place, deep in the shadows of a narrow alley across the street from The Herald Building, was nearly perfect. No pedestrians were taking their chances at this time of night in this part of town. Even fewer cars had passed. Regardless, anyone looking in from the street or from any of the nearby

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1144709942902795012006-04-10T17:58:00.000-05:002006-04-10T17:59:02.916-05:00

Every once in a great while, a member of the reading audience will send me an interesting, sports-related question. This week, I’ll attempt to answer a sports question that stems from my column last week about former Monroe County High School coach, Ronnie Dees.Alvin from Monroeville writes: I read your article last week about Ronnie Dees and saw at the end where you said if he’s elected to the

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1144342488814120802006-04-06T11:53:00.000-05:002006-04-06T11:54:48.833-05:00

Don’t look at me weird when I say that I’ve never owned a cell phone. I can see how a cell phone would come in handy at times, but I you couldn’t even give me one of the things. This is especially true now that I’ve read "Cell," Stephen King’s latest horror novel. The 384-page book, published in January by Scribner, begins with Clayton Riddell, a struggling young comic book artist, who has

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1144184576170443332006-04-04T15:53:00.000-05:002006-04-04T16:02:56.203-05:00

It should come as no surprise to hear that an effort is underway to have former Monroe County High School coach, Ronnie Dees, named to the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Hall of Fame. Looking over the highlights of his long and distinguished career, you’ll see that it’s been a long time coming. (For the sake of space, I’m only going to touch on his career as a head coach, but believe

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1143758375528904792006-03-30T16:39:00.000-06:002006-03-30T16:39:35.550-06:00

It’s the first Thursday of the month, so you know what that means. It’s time to take a trip down memory lane and review all of interesting things that took place in Monroe County 100 years ago, way back in April 1906. From the April 6, 1906 edition of The Journal:Journal Editor Q. Salter wrote, "It is learned from visitors to the court that the town marshal of McWilliams captured a considerable

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1143565827272602882006-03-28T11:09:00.000-06:002006-03-28T11:10:27.273-06:00

President George Bush’s approval ratings are at record lows, and the mainstream media and his political enemies are in an uproar over the War in Iraq. Make no mistake, I am in no way George Bush’s biggest fan, but the one story that is being completely ignored by the mainstream media is that the national economy is booming. For those of you who haven’t noticed, by every measure, the United States

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1143565741419245982006-03-28T11:07:00.000-06:002006-03-28T11:09:01.440-06:00

I know it might sound a little weird, but I confess that I’ve got some pretty strange reading habits. For example, before the start of each major sports season (football, baseball and basketball), I read a book about the sport to put me in the mood for the season to come. With this year’s pro baseball season just around the corner, I decided to read "Ball Four" by Jim Bouton to put me in a

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1143061268052921832006-03-22T15:00:00.000-06:002006-03-22T15:01:08.093-06:00

If you step outside, face the White House and listen with the right kind of ears, you’ll hear it. It’s the sound that Creedence Clearwater Revival sang about. It’s the sound of two hundred million guns a loadin’. A year from now, when the U.S. has mule-stomped Iran into the sand, remember March 23 as the day that Lee Peacock predicted that the U.S. was going to put Iran out of commission. For

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1142914385008455342006-03-20T22:11:00.000-06:002006-03-20T22:13:05.023-06:00

The first two rounds of the NCAA mens basketball tournament are over, leaving us with a field of just 16 teams, each vying for the 2006 national championship, the Holy Grail for every Division I basketball program in the nation.As of Monday, teams left with a shot at the national title included Duke, LSU, West Virginia, Texas, Memphis, Bradley, Gonzaga, UCLA, Connecticut, Washington, George Mason

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1142448552166257492006-03-15T12:48:00.000-06:002006-03-15T12:50:00.906-06:00

I finished reading Bram Stoker’s classic horror tale, "Dracula," last Thursday, and the book was everything that I expected. Originally published in 1897, "Dracula" is probably the greatest horror novel ever written. It’s the granddaddy of them all, and it’s also regarded as a literary classic. You may have seen every vampire movie ever made, but you don’t know the real Dracula until you’ve read

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1142448327934887582006-03-15T12:44:00.000-06:002006-03-15T12:45:27.956-06:00

I live for a good research question, especially when it involves high school football. I received one such question last week, via e-mail, sent in by David from Monroeville. David wrote "I was looking around the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s (ASHAA) Web site yesterday and saw where, in the football state records, that Hazlewood High School holds the record for most state

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1141853299372504712006-03-08T15:27:00.001-06:002006-03-08T15:28:19.373-06:00

I recently read "Rosemary’s Baby" by Ira Levin, and I recommend it to anyone in the reading audience in the mood for an out-of-the-ordinary horror novel. First published by Random House in 1967, "Rosemary’s Baby" is about a young woman named Rosemary Woodhouse and her new husband, Guy. They maneuver themselves into a swanky apartment in an old New York City building, a building with a bad

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1141853257318366852006-03-08T15:27:00.000-06:002006-03-08T15:27:37.340-06:00

Monroe County High School enjoys the greatest high school baseball tradition in the county, and much of that fine tradition is due to Coach Ronnie Dees and the school’s 1974 baseball team. Coach Ronnie Dees spent 19 years at MCHS, from 1958 to 1968 and from 1971 to 1980. During those years, his teams went 217-51, a winning percentage of .810. His teams also won 13 area championships during that

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1141852696766868482006-03-08T15:17:00.000-06:002006-03-08T15:18:16.770-06:00

It’s the first Thursday of the month, so you know what that means. It’s time to take a trip down memory lane and review all of interesting things that took place in Monroe County 100 years ago, way back in March 1906. From the March 1, 1906 edition of The Journal:Two men, both Democrats, announced their intentions to run for state offices. Oscar O. Bayles, a Monroeville attorney, who served as a

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1141852630789430862006-03-08T15:16:00.000-06:002006-03-08T15:17:10.813-06:00

Shields head basketball coach Jerome Sanders has done it again. He has led the J.F. Shields Panthers back to the state basketball tournament and has put his team in a position to win its third-straight state basketball title. This column is being written on Monday afternoon, so everyone will know the result of Tuesday’s Shields-Section game when this column hits the streets on Wednesday night.

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1140640575054329532006-02-22T14:35:00.000-06:002006-02-22T14:36:15.056-06:00

I recently read "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James, and the century-old book just wasn’t my cup of tea. "Turn of the Screw" was painfully boring, and once I started it, I couldn’t wait to finish it. It was a page-turner for all the wrong reasons. Thank goodness, it was only 87 pages long.Originally published in the volume "The Two Magics" in 1898 after its serialization in "Collier’s Weekly"

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1140640502202279712006-02-22T14:33:00.000-06:002006-02-22T14:35:02.203-06:00

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by Jack the Ripper. The Ripper case, which centers on a string of serial murders that took place in London in 1888, is the greatest unsolved crime mystery of all time, and there have been hundreds of books written about the case. Recently, I read "The Diary of Jack the Ripper: The Chilling Confessions of James Maybrick" by Shirley Harrison, and

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1140640412220132002006-02-22T14:32:00.000-06:002006-02-22T14:33:32.223-06:00

It’s hard to talk about basketball in Monroe County without John Drew’s name popping up. Who’s John Drew, you ask? Just the greatest player to ever grace a basketball court in Monroe County, and arguably the greatest athlete this county has ever produced.For starters, Drew, a native of Vredenburgh, is listed in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s (AHSAA) official record books more than

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1140640353906774002006-02-22T14:31:00.000-06:002006-02-22T14:32:33.940-06:00

My good buddy Carmel Evers of Excel was nice enough to loan me his copy of "The Last Coach: A Life of Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant" by Allen Barra, and I highly recommend it to all football fans in the reading audience.Having read it, I seriously doubt that a more thorough biography of Bryant will ever be written. The 608-page book, published by W.W. Norton in September 2005, takes the reader on a

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1139507807274855672006-02-09T11:56:00.000-06:002006-02-09T11:56:47.290-06:00

Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly; Man got to sit and wonder 'why, why, why?' Tiger got to sleep, bird got to land; Man got to tell himself he understand. --Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle"My Monroe Journal newsroom sidekick, Josh Dewberry, was good enough to loan me a copy of Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘Cat’s Cradle" a few weeks back, and I highly recommend it to anyone in the reading audience who’s in the

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1139262574807319862006-02-06T15:48:00.000-06:002006-02-06T15:53:53.680-06:00

Every once in a great while, a member of the reading audience will e-mail me an interesting sports-related question, and this week, I’ll attempt to answer three questions that were sent to me during the past month. Philip in Frisco City e-mailed me the following question about a week ago: I’m a big Alabama fan. How many players from our county have played football at the University of Alabama?

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1138893141890610102006-02-02T09:11:00.000-06:002006-02-02T09:12:21.910-06:00

It’s the first Thursday of the month, so you know what that means. It’s time to take a trip down memory lane and review all of interesting things that took place in Monroe County 100 years ago, way back in February 1906. In the Feb. 1, 1906 edition of The Journal, the county treasurer, D.D. Mims, published his semi-annual report on the county’s receipts and disbursements. The county finished the

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1138819487237166632006-02-01T12:44:00.000-06:002006-02-01T12:44:48.873-06:00

In its Jan. 26 edition, The Journal published its annual All-County Football Team. The Journal usually names a Coach of the Year and an Honorable Mention Coach of the Year. This year, for whatever reason, The Journal named J.U. Blacksher head coach Greg Shehan as Coach of the Year, but did not name any honorable mention coaches. I think it’s a shame that The Journal didn’t name any honorable

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1138601427195615482006-01-30T00:09:00.000-06:002006-01-30T00:10:27.213-06:00

So this is what blackmail feels like, Eli thought as he reached the top of the stairs and stepped out into the second-floor hallway of Oswalt Hall, the timeworn building that housed Black Creek State’s history department.During a long conversation with Rembert the night before, the mental patient told Eli to visit his former graduate assistant, Dr. Selena Crane. At first, Eli debated whether to

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1138222775658985252006-01-25T14:59:00.000-06:002006-01-25T14:59:35.673-06:00

William Gibson’s "Neuromancer" was my first experience with the subgenre of science fiction known as cyberpunk, and the book is worth reading if you get the chance. "Neuromancer" is the novel that started the cyberpunk literary movement, which swept the world of science fiction in the mid to late 1980s. With "Neuromancer," Gibson introduced the world to cyberpunk, and science fiction has never

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1138221700599311902006-01-25T14:37:00.000-06:002006-01-25T14:41:40.600-06:00

Records are made to be broken (or so the saying goes), but when it comes to high school football in Monroe County, I believe that there are a handful of records that will never been broken. Consecutive regular season wins: Excel won an amazing 43 straight regular seasons games between Oct. 22, 1971 and Nov. 6, 1975. That’s right, Excel didn’t lose a regular season game for four years. This is

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1138221448091321602006-01-25T14:33:00.000-06:002006-01-25T14:37:28.093-06:00

"A stunning achievement, a book that is not merely a book, but rather a monument to all the young men who were in the Ia Drang in those fateful November days – paper and words with the permanence of marble. I read it and thought of ‘The Red Badge of Courage,’ the highest compliment I can think of." - David Halberstam, American journalist and authorI really enjoyed reading "We Were Soldiers Once…

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1138221208602811472006-01-25T14:29:00.000-06:002006-01-25T14:33:28.640-06:00

Well, it’s come down to this, the last installment in my quest to answer one of the county’s most controversial sports questions: During what time was the best high school football played in Monroe County? Before I get down to the nuts and bolts of this thing, here’s a little background information for those of you who have missed my sports column over the past two months. About a year ago, I

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1137188398116620542006-01-13T15:37:00.000-06:002006-01-13T15:39:58.116-06:00

Every once in a great while an item of special interest will come across my old desk at The Journal and a couple of weeks ago, one such item found its way into my hands.Typically, these items include letters from readers, but more often than not, they consist of free books. (The last free book that I received was a copy of Roy Moore’s "So Help Me God.")A couple of weeks ago, I received a great

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1137188201847008092006-01-13T15:35:00.000-06:002006-01-13T15:36:41.873-06:00

Welcome to Part Eight of an ongoing series of columns that will answer once and for all the following question: During what time was the best high school football played in Monroe County? For those of you who haven’t read my column the past seven weeks, you missed comparisons of our local high school teams from 1966 to 2000. (These comparisons are based on eight factors: overall records, number

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1136409291793360142006-01-04T15:14:00.000-06:002006-01-04T15:14:51.796-06:00

It’s the first Thursday of the month, so you know what that means: It’s time to take a trip down memory lane and review all of interesting things that took place in Monroe County 100 years ago, way back in January 1906. In the Jan. 18, 1906 edition of The Journal, it was reported that a head-on collision between two trains took place on the Southern Alabama division of the Louisville & Nashville

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1136409232297024642006-01-04T15:13:00.000-06:002006-01-04T15:13:52.313-06:00

Welcome to Part Seven of an ongoing series of columns that will answer once and for all the following question: During what time was the best high school football played in Monroe County? For those of you who didn’t catch my column the past six weeks, you missed comparisons of our local high school teams from 1966 to 1995. (These comparisons are based on eight factors: overall records, number of

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1135720916549181592005-12-27T16:00:00.000-06:002005-12-27T16:02:48.386-06:00

"The books that help you most are those which make you think the most. The hardest way of learning is that of easy reading; but a great book that comes from a great thinker is a ship of thought, deep freighted with truth and beauty." (Theodore Parker, American minister, 1810-1860)I’ve had the chance to read more than a few good books during the past year, and this week, I thought that I’d give

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1135720828401281452005-12-27T15:59:00.000-06:002005-12-27T16:00:28.423-06:00

Welcome to Part Six of an ongoing series of columns that will answer once and for all the following question: During what time was the best high school football played in Monroe County? For those of you who didn’t catch my column the past five weeks, you missed comparisons of our local high school teams from 1966 to 1990. (These comparisons are based on eight factors: overall records, number of

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1135193640536880152005-12-21T13:33:00.000-06:002005-12-21T13:34:00.540-06:00

Few times in my life have I been as disgusted as I was on Monday morning when I saw protesters in Beatrice at the funeral for a U.S. Army soldier who was killed in Iraq. At the funeral of 41-year-old Army Staff Sgt. Phillip Travis on Monday morning, protesters from Baldwin county, who believe that God is using soldiers’ deaths to punish the United States for its permissive culture, stood at the

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1135193572383445782005-12-21T13:31:00.000-06:002005-12-21T13:32:52.400-06:00

Welcome to Part Five of an on-going series of columns that will answer once and for all the following question: During what time was the best high school football in Monroe County played?For those of you who didn’t catch my column the past four weeks, you missed comparisons of the performances of our local high school teams from 1966 to 1985. (These comparisons are based on eight factors: overall

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1134598546175659972005-12-14T16:15:00.000-06:002005-12-14T16:15:46.176-06:00

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzennegger scored a lot of points in my book on Monday when he displayed a Mr. Universe-size backbone by refusing to block the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams. Williams, the founder of the murderous Crips street gang, died by lethal injection at San Quentin Prison early Tuesday morning for murdering four people during two robberies in 1979.As Williams approached

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1134598494777129882005-12-14T16:14:00.000-06:002005-12-14T16:14:54.780-06:00

Welcome to Part Four of an on-going series of columns that will answer once and for all the following question: During what time was the best high school football in Monroe County played?For those of you who didn’t catch my column the past three weeks, you missed comparisons of the performances of our local high school teams from 1966 to 1980. (These comparisons are based on eight factors:

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1134598217555420882005-12-14T16:09:00.000-06:002005-12-14T16:10:17.556-06:00

I really enjoyed reading Mary Shelley’s "Frankenstein," and I recommend it to anyone out there in the reading audience with a taste for a classic horror tale. I’ve owned a copy of this book for years, but had never gotten around to reading it. When I saw it listed at No. 32 on the Horror Writers Association’s Recommended Reading List, I figured that it was time to pull the book off my dusty

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1134598163534527512005-12-14T16:08:00.000-06:002005-12-14T16:09:23.536-06:00

Welcome to Part Three of an on-going series of columns that will answer once and for all the following question: During what time was the best high school football in Monroe County played?For those of you who didn’t catch my column the past two weeks, you missed comparisons of the performances of our local high school teams from 1966 to 1975. (My comparisons are based on eight factors: overall

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1134598108971920572005-12-14T16:07:00.000-06:002005-12-14T16:08:28.973-06:00

As I've been doing on the first Thursday of the month for the past several months, I'm using my column this week to give readers a run-down on all the interesting things that were going on in Monroe County one hundred years ago. This week let's take a look at what was happening here in Monroe County during December 1905.The Christmas spirit was in full-effect during December 1905, prompting The

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1134598050412990222005-12-14T16:06:00.000-06:002005-12-14T16:07:30.416-06:00

Welcome to Part 2 of an on-going series of columns that will answer once and for all the following question: During what time was the best high school football in Monroe County played?For those of you who didn’t catch my column last week, I kicked off the series with a recap of the performances of our local high school teams from 1966 to 1970. These comparisons are based on eight factors: overall

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1134597983691578542005-12-14T16:05:00.000-06:002005-12-14T16:06:23.693-06:00

Today is Thanksgiving, a time when Americans all over the country gather together with their families to celebrate all of the things that they have to be thankful for. Turkey and dressing aside, I know that I have more than a little to be thankful for this year. I’m thankful for a clean bill of health, for the ability to see and hear, the ability to walk and run. Too many of us take these things

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1134597937732772402005-12-14T16:04:00.000-06:002005-12-14T16:05:37.736-06:00

One year ago this week, I began writing a six-part series to determine which local high school had the greatest football tradition. That series of columns resulted in more than a few e-mails from readers and raised a lot of interesting questions about the county’s rich football history. One of the most interesting questions that I received came from Burt Brown of Neshoba, Miss. Brown, who has

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1134597888556090352005-12-14T16:03:00.000-06:002005-12-14T16:04:48.556-06:00

I really enjoyed reading John Grisham's book, "The Last Juror," and I recommend it to anyone out there with a taste for a page-turning thriller. Before I get into the meat of this thing, I have to admit that before reading "The Last Juror," I had never read anything by John Grisham. Like everyone else on the face of the planet, I knew that he was an extremely popular writer. I'd just never gotten

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1134597809034835612005-12-14T16:01:00.000-06:002005-12-14T16:03:29.050-06:00

Now that the dust from the 2005 high school football season in Monroe County has settled, let’s take a look at how our local teams stacked up against each other. Best offense: Troy Quinn’s Frisco City Whippets set the standard for offensive performance this season compared to the other five teams in Monroe County. Frisco City scored 385 total points in 12 games to lead our area teams in point

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1131660077478034512005-11-10T15:49:00.000-06:002005-11-10T16:01:17.500-06:00

I really enjoyed reading Steven Sora's book, "The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar: Solving the Oak Island Mystery," and I recommend it to anyone out there with a taste for the strange and mysterious. I was a second-grader at Frisco City Elementary School when I first heard of the Oak Island Mystery, courtesy of a book about buried treasure in the school's library. Since then, I've been

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1131659334661434392005-11-10T15:47:00.000-06:002005-11-10T15:48:54.663-06:00

And then there was one. Frisco City kept its state playoff campaign alive Friday night, shutting out the 8-2 Ariton Purple Cats 20-0 in the opening round of the 1A playoffs in Frisco City. Monroe County's other two playoff teams - Excel and J.U. Blacksher - were eliminated from competition, leaving Frisco City as the only team in the county still in contention for a shot at a state title.Frisco

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1131659264792832672005-11-10T15:46:00.000-06:002005-11-10T15:47:44.816-06:00

As I've been doing on the first Thursday of the month for the past several months, I'm using my column to give readers a run-down on all the interesting things that were going on in Monroe County one hundred years ago. This week let's take a look at what was happening here in Monroe County during November 1905.* In the Nov. 2, 1905 edition of The Journal, under the headline "Criminal Cases Tried,

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13805915.post-1130964734068612252005-11-02T14:49:00.000-06:002005-11-02T14:52:14.070-06:00

The 2005 regular season has come and gone, and the final week of the season featured more than a few notable games. Frisco City beat Bayside Academy 22-21 Friday night in Daphne and broke two longstanding school records in the process. Prior to this season, Frisco's best defensive team took the field in 1985, a year in which the Whippets gave up just 100 points in 12 games, an average of 8.3

Lee Peacockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13172043286220056355noreply@blogger.com0