asfoxseesit
About Me
- Name: foxofbama
Born May 18, 1953; got saved at Truett Memorial BC in Hayesville, NC 1959. On rigged ballot which I did not rig got Most Intellectual class of 71, Gaffney High School. Furman Grad, Sociology major but it was little tougher than Auburn football players had Had three dates with beautiful women the summer of 1978. Did not marry any of em. Never married anybody cause what was available was undesirable and what was desirable was unaffordable. Unlucky in love as they say and even still it is sometimes heartbreaking. Had a Pakistani Jr. Davis Cupper on the Ropes the summer of 84, City Courts, Rome Georgia I've a baby sitter, watched peoples homes while they were away on Vacation. Freelance writer, local consultant, screenwriter, and the best damn substitute teacher of Floyd County Georgia in mid 80's according to an anonymous kid passed me on main street a few years later when I went back to get a sandwich at Schroeders. Had some good moments in Collinsville as well. Ask Casey Mattox at www.clsnet.org if he will be honest about it. I try my best to make it to Bridges BBQ in Shelby NC at least four times a year.
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
Tuesday, July 08, 2025
Seventy two years of July 4,; America for Stephen Fox
Friends I I woke up this morning feeling real patriotic on July 4 thinking about my experience in America. This will be scattershot like all of us greatful whether or not we deserve this great benefit act of kindness of being born and American without Donald Trump trying to deport us. I had a good fortune, my mother‘s father the distinguished looking tall man was born in 1881 and 110 years ago. He ran for school superintendent as a Lincoln Republican in Northeast Alabama. I’m very proud of that that puts him in line with Judge Frank Johnson And great folks like that and I’m starting to feel like I’m worthy as well if I had a different temperament maybe I should’ve run for Congress or governor or something that I thought I was gonna do when I came out of Gaffney high school but things didn’t work out that way. I’m fairly well read course. I’m not a faculty member any great college but I know some among which is Randall Balmer just retired from Dartmouth Doug Cumming of the journalism department of Washington Lee, his father hired Marshall Friday had some exchanges with Bill Moyers 40 years ago when my mother was still living She was proud gotten to know he bring Edward Bridges. He has a Furman grad has a doctor in Chicago I brought him to Collinsville to speak on the BiCentennial of the history of Alabama which he wrote. Sam Hodges is not a history teacher, but he travels., two Rhodes scholar nominees acquainted with Dudley Reynolds from Anniston, Alabama, and the preacher who married the daughter of the Attorney General for South Carolina Baptist,Richard Kremer. . He was at St. John’s for a while. He’s Sharp fellow and here in the last 10 years Ainsley QURROS Furman grad wwho got a masters in our Doctor from Vanderbilt she wrote a book about civil rights movie in America Georgia And she her father has think about a 2000 acre pecan farm down that way and of course I got the university of Virginia who wrote the book on Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Charles Marsh) so I’ve read those books. I’ve read some point. McCarthy read Jew Lepore these truth so I don’t find too many people on the city bus in Clemson other than share the history apartments down that there is more than I do on these matters last night. I went to sleep house thinking about four minute presentation. I may show up at the town hall for our congresswoman between me and you don’t know where asked for a hole ground and I would explain that to her and just see how much she could take before somebody told me to sit down so my grandfather Fox had an eighth grade education, but his brother 20 years younger than him on the show of Ron with Nixon sitting to China in 1970 at the peach in Gaffney, I became pretty well acquainted with Roger Milligan Junior, whose father the town is one of 20 richest men in America. I can’t say we’ve been lifelong friends, but I’ve talked to him recently 10 years ago on the phone and in Collinsville I became not only with the George Wallace’s rude man, red Etheridge, but also With Brett MORGEN who got a six minute standing ovation at the can fin festival three years ago for his documentary on David Bowie boy BOWIE in previously six years or done one on the Rolling Stones so I’m in the right circles. I just don’t see these people every day And I’m not ashamed of it and it’s been an interesting experience what America has done for me, including Mr. Paul, Beam's wife, my advanced math teacher in Gaffney, who came over to the pencil sharpener when I was a senior and she said Stephen, Paul and I think you’re a fine young man we congratulate you on your scholarship to Furman. I just wanna let you know that we know how much Furman cost and we know how much your daddy makes and if it anytime you need some assistance Paul knows a lot of people down there. Don’t hesitate to call so when I told mom she was a she was proud of that and of course this Johnny Dawkins he wrote early script for Denzel, Washington and Montgomery and her son Donnie so yeah America it’s been written and yeah I got baptized. It’s the true memorial Baptist Church in Gaffney and Truett was probably the greatest Baptist the first half of the 20th century and then firm was acquainted with the Kathys who own Chick-fil-A and worth about $40 billion got to know Bob Morrison and the Baptist struggles who is married into the family SYSCO Mr. BAUGH and so and of course new pets I’m at Will the Campbell a legend at Marshall Frady talk to me on the phone a couple times and read this film script, Russ being BEENEN I concocted and was to come to Furman and promised to read it again, but he say on first reading he found it pandemoniously picaresque so pick a new one for me. I’d look it up. That’s just kind of circles. I’ve ended up being so see my blog a few days ago on John store and the rock store and Sherman and the whole kitten caboodle so if I can get my buddy to post this and I’ll come back in a few days and work on the dictated typos, and God bless America.
Thursday, July 03, 2025
Guest post, the Crabapple tree by Todd Heifner tirbute to his brother
My friend Todd Heifner Youngest rother Brad died in late April . Was very impressive memorial service you can google at New Millenium church in Arkansas. Eric Motley grand friend of Brad since Samford in the mid nineties flew down from his post as associate director of the National Art Museum in DC to deliver a eulogy as did Mart Gray magnificent effort.
Last week Todd posted this memory on facebook
What Now For The Damned Crabapple Tree?
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Willful ignorance saturates South Carolina gubernatorial candidates
What ignorant clowns, MAGA clown are entering the SC race for governor.. You Lie Joe's son Alan Wilson, the flake Nancy Mace and now the fundamentalist from North Spartanburg Josh Kimbrell are in.
I'm sure they will be trying to get some transgenders to move in the state to break some darling darlings now with a kill in a volleyball game to increase thier chance. I dont know one transgender volleball player in the state but I.m sure George Singleton will find it if there is one. Nikki Haley was desperately looking for one when as a Clemson trustee she embraced Charlie Kirk and TPUSA couple Novemebers ago at Clemson
Here why don't yall surprise the rest of the nation and take a deep repeated listen to David Graham interview on NPR Fresh Air. Hell do something actually earthshaking and read the book. Have staff do a group read with you of Joe Crespino wonderful Strom Thurmond's America--Nikki had never heard of it nor seen The PBS Blinding of Isaac Woodard-- ; and one more if it doesnt keep you past your bedtime: Jill Lepore great recent history of America, These Truths.
Poem the Call Away and the Kingston Hwy Rock Store and Johns Store
This last week had some exchanges with a kidney Doctor in Arkansas. Shared the Robert Bly poem The Call Away and he got several comments on his facebook. Recently he wrote a piece on his facebook about two gas stations near his home. That sparked in me thoughts on the Rock Store and the Johns Store on the Kingston Hwy about a quarter mile apart, about five miles east of Rome Ga on the east side of Dykes Creek in walking distance of my grandfather's farm he bought in the early fifties and the Baptist church where was strong influence. Retired chief army Chaplain Doug Carver credits my Grandfather's faith and witness as big reason he rose in the ranks.
Ive been in and out of Rome Ga since my first year of life and lived there good bit of the time from the fall of 81 through December of 86. The fall of 81 I got entangled with a former Miss Alabama contestant who made a significant impression on me for a good six months. She lived on the east side of Rome near the neighborhood of the shortlived South Carolina coach , Will Muschamp formerly at Florida. My first cousin Tim wife Shirley also in that neighborhood a niece of the former treasurer of South Carolina . Across the hwy from them was the Ledbetter Mansion, farm and estate . She'd live in Atlanta for a couple years near the Big Chicken and would often take the Kingston HWY where Johns and the Rock Store became part of her traveling memories just a few miles out.
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Furman, Trump resistance and Process
I was present Saturday in Pendleton SC for the anti Trump rallies. I got on camera with the Anderson Observer report and you can see me in the video there. Erin Goss an English Proff at Celemson fan of Cormac McCarthy and Ron Rash was a coordinator for the ralley and she and I had nice conversation. The Oberver said the crowd was about 350 but I think it more more like 750 or more.
I had twosigns. One said Get Timmons family name of Furman Arena and the other asked why are Nikki Haley and the Clemson trustees struck mute in the face of all of Trump's shenanigans.
I hope Furman Paladin newspaper will take a look at some faculty acting like Trump. In January I was threatened with criminal trespass for talking at a faculty meeting Jan 15. It It is a ridiculous overreaction to my reservations about some aspects of the Placing Furman initiative. I am am convinced one powerful facllty faculty member got his panties in a wad. The Man who convenend the meeting told me after He was kind of glad I was there, I identified myself before I spoke. It was turned over to John Milby head of security. Nice guy but thick headed and caught up in a ridiculous process beneath Furman and all its advertised virtue and free speech history.
A former assistant to Samford President Tom Corts wrote President Davis an appeal on my behalf which she dismissed and turned back to Milby who is not a jury of my peers.
This is my 50th homecoming year. I hope to get this to the attention of the student newspaper cause I think they can do some investigation worthy of Marshall Frady early in the upcoming year.
Furman and Trump in concert. I Never imagined.
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Will Aunt Mary's Johnson Ferry defenestrate Collinsville Baptist
Aunt Mary Willis of the Johnson Ferry Baptist church in Marietta Ga is the sister of the widow of John Morgan, recently deceased after forty five years as pastor of the Alabama church where my Mother was baptized in the town my family goes back to the 1840s. I lived there for thirty years up till late January 2020 whereupon I relocated to Upstate SC
That congregation defenestrated me on May 26, 2006 by a vote of 32 20. Now Johnson Ferry and 60 percent of the voting messengers yesterday in Dallas Texas want to drive Collinville Baptist out of the Convention with the Law Amendment. Mary Willis pastor Clay Smith is named as one of ten pastors including the pastor of FBC Cumming Ga out becasue they are soft on women. Prime example in the Collinsville case is the Memorial service for Pastor Morgan of six weeks ago. You can watch it online
Ferry and Cumming are both in Marjorie Taylor Green's congressional district which makes perfect sense in a way. And known historically for the lynching of Leo Frank and the ethnic cleansing and lynchings in Forsyth County in 1915 . Methodist minster's son Patrick Phillips wrote up seven years ago in Blood at the Root. One chapter was titled Thirty karat son of a bitch with spare parts.
I'm not calling Clay Smith the Ferry pastor that, but there are some similarities to his mentality and how he operates. Smith's father was minister of music at FBC Mauldin SC in the nineties whose pastor Strickland wife is the niece of Etheredge, George Wallace highway man in the 80s. Red retired to Collinsville of some means and was quite the character at Basketball games etc. He is now a trustee of Jacksonville State with the famous lead of the group Alabama, Randy Owen.
Randy and I had lunch at the Ft Payne Cracker Barrel about a decade ago but I digress
So google up the New yorker doc Hold the Line, SBC and see the Religion News Service report of today June 12 on the SBC Law Amendment, and sterling unflinching reports at Baptist News Global. Countdown is on for Aunt Mary and Collinsville Baptist.
Stay in touch as more to come
Saturday, June 07, 2025
Kayla Beene and Mason McKinney new hope for Collinsville Baptist church
Ffriends been a while since I’ve posted in this blogcould be a little sketchy as it’s gonna be kind of a random catch all blog of the last couple of months and I’m doing it. Technically a new way I’m hoping a friend or put it in an email and send it back to me that I can copy and just post as a blog so it won’t be bold or print, but maybe it’ll get the job done. Kayla Beene and Mason McKinney early twenties . They are in their early 20s and a new hope for Collinsville Baptist are taking positions of responsibility with the youth and even on the bylaws committee, the two have a bright families and if they will reach out with the challenge of a Becky Kennedy in her robe and stole for the Morgan memorial Service Becakyon staff at Baylore ordained about ten years ago talked about the wider network of everybody that was around during the time of John Morgan that sits a wide reach With Kayla b she has an a great uncle whose daughter it goes to Duke of Divinity school and there’s a lot of things to think about there. I hope the church in this new generation will will open their minds for good people, especially in the matter of Baptist identity and the authentic Baptist witness in America Will go a little wider and then have been discussed the last 30 or 40 years and understand the implication of the fundamentaist takeover
the Baptist convention not to dwell on it, but to know that it happened and that the SBC is no longer what it was and it’s not the congregation that in Collinsville Baptist has a part of that water picture is not the congregation now with their recent flirtations with Calvinism that was envisioned in the 20s 30s and fories. and 40s and my mother‘s era and the era of the Gilbreth and Mary Catherine Reed, who had a wide following because she was here at the home economics department at university of Alabama So those days those days they had pastors like John Jeffers, who went on to be a longtime Pastor first Baptist Church, Auburn and then even in the 70s they had Fred Grissom, who Jackie Myers embraced and Became a professor at Southeastern seminary under the time of my dad‘s great friend Randall lolly is the president and that’s completely different from from what’s going on with the SBC now.
Kayla and Mason Bright people they can watch the documentary. up at baptist news global or a google for SBC Hold The Line . It’s easy to find hold the line SBC about Women in Baptist life and in their role in the church and it’s obvious Becky Kennedy flew in the face of all that and I’m glad she did in her robe but she’s an ordained minister one of the better products of the Morgan era. They embraced Becky and so that whole service was Flew in the face of what the SBC is and at the SBC followed through from the national level down to the state local level they vote Collinsville Baptist out of the association and Southern Baptist life so I mean that’s just the fact there’s no way to look around it so I hope Mason side his let me see where his mother’s his mother‘s sister is the aunt By marriage of the school superintendent for the state of Alabama. Eric Mackie and he understands what’s going on in this Baptist mess. He learned a lot when he was at Jacksonville State, Wayne Flynt spoke last year tohistorical societyk association First Baptist Auburn and his is a disciple Mark Wilson. He’s been head of the Auburn democracy project for 14 years which has had a presence in Collinsville through Jennifer Wilkins he was on the pool pit committee for first Baptist Church Auburn. He knows this is a mess and he knows there’s a better vision For Collinsville Baptist Church than the one that they’re looking at now so there’s ways to do these things and I hope Kayla and a mason look into it and I’m just a phone call away and I got friends who know people that can help if Collinsville Baptist not too stubborn to et a grip in the mist ethnicaoy dierse town in the state. 70 percent of Collinsville school is now minortiy and Jason Barnett and Brad;ey crawford need to talk to their friend Jrdan dufexis and Tommy Tubberville, even rick burgess and get sme carity. Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong aint what they used to be (lot more on that in a couple mnths) used to be so I’m a throw my two cents in later in the year, but I wanted to get this in to get to Kayla and Mason‘s attention and they can do their own thinking they got people they can talk to. They can even talk to Sherlyn Crowe that’s Baptist joint committee in Washington DC who’s a product of the first Baptist Church of Fort Payne got a masters at Vanderbilt so they’re smart there are people that understand this and they’re not very far away and want to put this out there and maybe with the sequel but that’s good for now.