time travel

Mother dropped by this morning and we ended up doing a little genealogy at Ancestry.com.  The web service is an excellent tool for digging up information.  There's a lot of genealogy information out there online these days.  There's a lot of distant cousins out there connecting and sharing family history info.

It's too easy to get lost for hours with genealogy...especially while at Ancestry. com.  Having census records, military muster, ship manifests etc so readily available makes going back in time easier than it ever has been.  Not everything is factual and true when comparing to other people's records, but at least one can compare notes.  I am just a time travel novice and this site has helped me go further than I ever thought I could.

Mother and I are going to try to get together more often and research. Though we've come a long way, I still have problems to solve, questions to answer and ancestors I've yet to meet.

tips for ozoning

I haven't been to the drive-in in ages.  My girls have been wanting to go.  I no longer have my van or a jam box.  I used to go a lot with my pal Jose' but life has gotten busy for all of us.  Ten years ago it used  to cost $5.00  for a carload.  It then it doubled to $10.00 and now admission is $15.00.  The prices have gone up, but still the drive-in is a good value.  Just think of it, $15.00 for everyone in your car...and as many as you can cram in your trunk.  That's a good price compared to what you have to pay to walk into cinema - double features at that!

When I go to the drive-in, I don't like sitting in the car.  It's all about front row tailgating with family and friends.  To do this you need to have a good jam box.  I've found that they don't make jam boxes like they used to.  I'm keeping my eye out for an old jam box that has good speakers.  I've found that a lot of MP3 players have an FM app.  These are good if you've got enough to go around.  I've used my studio headset and have enjoyed quality sound at the drive-in.  Still, it's better to have a good ghetto-blaster so that all in the immediate vicinity can be edified as well.

Folding chairs are a must when tailgating.  We often take a fold out table to keep the jambox off the ground and to keep food.  Having blankets on hand can be very handy, because any night during any season can get a little cool.

Most drive-in owners don't like outside food brought in, but I find that most drive-ins serve mediocre film inside.  We usually bring in a cooler with drinks and loads of snacks.  We often dine in at the drive-in.  Sand Mountain Drive-In in Boaz, AL serves up a pretty good hamburger. One thing to keep in mind if you're planning on buying food there.  Be prepared for a long line of hungry drive-in patrons in the food line.  If dining-in, arrive early so you won't have to stand in line during the first half of the first feature.  Yes, it can get that bad.
My wife doesn't like cigars, so I rarely smoke a cigar.  I've found that cigar smoke deters mosquitoes and their desire to suck my blood on those warm Summer nights.  If you don't smoke cigars (or with your wife who doesn't like cigar smoke) bring along some OFF! repellent.  We often take an insect repellant candle and that usually does the trick. 
Yes, I'm thinking about going to the drive-in real soon!

Mann up!

This weekend I found a DVD four movie pack of Jimmy Stewart Westerns for $5.00.  The movies include Night Passage, The Rare Breed, Bend in The River and The Far Country.  Bend in The River and The Far Country are movies produced by Anthony Mann.  Out of the eight movies Stewart made with Mann, five were Westerns.  The other Westerns The Naked Spur, Winchester '73, and The Man From Laramie. 

As John Ford is to John Wayne - Anthony Mann is to James Stewart.  It was Mann that first made Stewart a cowboy in Winchester '73 (Another movie that I picked up for $5.00 at Wal-Mart).  Though James Stewart was already a  big star prior to Mann, it was Mann that directed Jimmy westward after WWII.  Anthony Mann was an up and coming director and Stewart picked Mann to direct '73.  Mann gave us a disillusioned - more violent Stewart character.  Even so - Stewart was still a likable fellow - even at his meanest.

Here's a piece of trivia for you.  Jimmy wore the same cowboy hat and rode the same horse (Pie) in all of his Westerns.  I've been keeping a lookout for Jimmy Stewart movies that were directed by both Anthony Mann and John Ford.  I'm also looking at completing my John Wayne collection directed by John Ford and Howard Hawks.  I've been on a Wayne and Stewart kick as of late.  If you see anything let me know.

Ahhhh Massage

ABBY Award: Small Market Commercial
“Aahhh Massage” WGAD-AM

My old friend Brian Freeman (AKA: Kramer Ontheradio) left a text message on my phone this weekend with the message that my Ahhh Massage spot won an ABBY AWARD for Small Market Commercial.  Small market indeed.  It was a big sounding message for a small market.  I wrote the script and did the Brit voice-work for the ad.  Brian produced the spot and it ran throughout the holiday season on WGAD-AM.  Brian and I produced several spots together, but this is the one that WGAD submitted to the Alabama Broadcasters Association.

I was tickled to hear that the commercial won because I knew it was going to be a strong one while working on the concept.  It really came together.  After all these years of working on campaigns for other businesses as Finlayson Concept & Design - I am having a blast creating marketing concepts for my own massage practice.  I have always enjoyed doing voices.  It's especially fun doing them for broadcast - and even better when doing them to promote my own practice. What's great, when I'm writing, is that I have only myself to answer to...well...uh....there's Gina of course.

the pacifist

 he did not believe in it

was like saying

he did not believe in cancer

or gangrene

he did not believe in it

but never the less

something must be done

by someone skilled

to handle blood

to cut through

to cut out

what is real

and painfully so

there was a war in heaven

and are wars on earth

and a war in my very being

i can not afford to say

i do not believe

because

the devil

won’t go away

so fathers lose their sons

as they always have

on beaches

jungles

or at sea

as God once did

send His only son

to war

to die

away

and alone

so he says he does not believe in war

even though his freedom is earned

by another mans spilt blood

for as long as man’s will is free

and these wills

outside of God's

they will collide

and at that moment

maybe

he will begin to see

it is better to believe

and do what must be done

David B. Finlayson

7/31/98

on the back forty

I stopped by Back Forty Bear Company this afternoon.  I didn't have time to enjoy the free BBQ they were about to serve.  I did have the time to sample their Truck Stop Honey.  It's very smooth and very good.  I had a bottle of Naked Pig about a year ago that Tommy offered me from his fridge.  It was good, but I think I enjoy the Truck Stop more.  I have yet to try their other crafted brews, Kudzu & Freckle Belly, but plan on doing so in the very near future.

I'm glad these guys have brought their business into town.  I've run into Jason Wilson a few times around town and he recently gave me a quick tour of the place a few weeks back.  I wish those guys much success.  They serve up an excellent product.

crazy wild weekend

Last week I was asked to help WGAD/WJBY compete in the Downtown Gadsden Chili Cook-off.  I don't have a recipe, but I can make a mean chili.  Not having a recipe meant having to guess at how much I needed to feed 100 people.  I ended up getting 30 pounds of beef.  We (Jay Holland, Donna Patterson & Myself) didn't hand out little tasting cups.  We handed out bowls of chili!  We made so much that we had to purchase a boat oar to stir it.  We didn't run out like a lot of the other folks, we never reached the bottom.  We didn't win, but it was some fine chili.

I got home Saturday in time for Jon Guthrey to come over to my house to work on worship set for Sunday morning.  It was the first time I ever played with Jon and I had been looking forward to Saturday night so I could get to know him and jam some.  Good times!

Sunday I rolled out of bed and got down to the Gadsden Vineyard by 9:00.  The worship band consisted of Jon Guthrey (lead guitar), LeNola Bagley (bass), Liz Wood (Hammond), and Tim Rolfe (drums).  Richard Moon manned the board.  We had a blast - having a nice wall of sound going.  I love it when God shows up.

Mr. Finlayson

This photo came from an old box of keepsakes from my South Carolina relatives.  This is Mr. Burruss Finlayson who died back in June 4, 1950.  He's my grandfather.  I've heard how Mr. Finlayson like smoking cigars, but this is the first photo I recall ever seeing him smoking one.  Though I never met him, I like this fellow.

This image was taken in front of his home in Cheraw, South Carolina on Market Street.  The Burruss Finlayson place was located directly across the U.S. Post Office on Hwy 1 in old Cheraw.

my grandmother

This is my grandmother Jennie Wait Foster Finlayson.  I found this image among old photos from Columbia.  It wasn't in very good condition so I did some minor restoration in Photo Shop this morning.

Born 3 November 1880 in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  Died 24 October 1969.  Jennie Wait Foster was born into a large family but the children were scattered when her parents James Turner and Rebecca Wofford Foster died.  She and a brother Louie Eugene Foster were raised by her relatives, Rev. Washington Lafayette Wait and Mrs. Jane Wofford Wait who also lived in Spartanburg, SC.

Jennie Wait Finlayson is the grand-niece of Dr. Benjamin Wofford who founded Wofford College.  Jennie was a 1901 graduate of Columbia College.  She married Burruss Finlayson and they started their family in Cheraw, SC.  Burruss ran a dry goods store and Jennie taught music and piano from her home.  She is buried next to Burruss at the Finlayson section of the Old Saint David Episcopal Church in Cheraw South Carolina.

I have only faint recollections of her.  I remember her gentleness and her soft sweet smile.

all gone now

A crew of Finlaysons from Gadsden drove to South Carolina Thursday upon the news of Jennie Llew Guyton's death.  She was the last of my dad's siblings to go home.  Dad left us twenty-one years ago.  He's the one on crutches.  Each of Burruss and Jennie's children were so very unique.  We miss them all.

Mother, Brooky and Cindy and I drove up in one car.  Irene and Carrie in another car.  We arrived Thursday night at Jennie's house in Rock Hill, SC and met up with other family members.

We all caravaned to Cheraw, SC for Jennie Llew's funeral at the old Saint David's Church.  There we laid to rest the last Burruss and Jennie's children.  I know that we were all thinking to ourselves that it was the end of an era.  Before the trip I had been a little melancholy.  I hadn't felt that way when Pat and Murdoch had previously passed on.  I told Gina that I knew it was because Jennie Llew was the last one - they were all gone.

The Finlayson kin spent the rest of the day after the funeral roaming around the cemetary, the old church, the old town, as well as the vacant lot where the Burruss Finlayson home once stood.  The trip wasn't a sad one in the least.

I knew that Jennie Llew was experiencing a grand eternal reunion with her family.  Her husband 'Guytie' had died 50 years ago.  I know that she is one joyful being - reunited with loved-ones.  So my trip to Carolina washed away any sad mood that had briefly shadowed my spirits.  We all had a wonderful day time last week - not a tear - not a frown.  We all enjoyed our time with each other and celebrated some wonderful kinfolk who have gone on.

It might be the last time we all meet in Cheraw, some of my siblings may never go back there.  I know I will.  I'll go back with my immediate family and retrace with them the steps of my grandparents and their children.