June 1, 1999 — Two lessons learned during my training session at the Gold Rush Boxing Club: Always wrap your hands, and never expect to win a talking match with young Thomas Heaton. The Gold Rush Club has the feel of a boxing gym. It is located in the heart …
Read moreMay 25, 1999 — The following scene took place at convenience stores across America last week. A family slowly approaches two men hurriedly refueling their 1987 Volvo 780. The car seems normal enough, save for the countless decals that adorn its body — cunningly disguised as a race car, someone …
Read moreMay 18, 1999 — At first inspection, Jodie Briggs seems like the typical 16-year-old girl at Johnson High. She’s eagerly awaiting the end of her sophomore year in high school. She suffers from a mild addiction to shopping. And she has a slight crush on that dreamy Ben Affleck guy. …
Read moreMay 11, 1999 — At first, all you notice are the sounds. It is a random refrain. Simultaneously heavy balls strike lanes, roll down alleys, pummel pins — and occasionally scrape along gutters. Over. And over. After a while, you no longer notice the sounds at the Gainesville Bowling Center. …
Read moreMay 4, 1999 — Not until you’ve set the hook, won the battle and held the fish in your hands can you fully appreciate the thrill that is trout fishing on the tailwaters of the Chattahoochee. But images of hooks not quite set, of battles lost and of fish that …
Read moreApril 27, 1999 — It sounded easy enough. Paddle kayak over to little yellow ball. Pick up ball. Throw ball in goal. Yes, it sounded easy enough. But there was one small catch — for me, at least. “Usually, polo requires that you know how to paddle already,” smiled my …
Read moreApril 13, 1999 — “Did he sign a release?” yelled Freda Elliot as I began to mount her son’s riding lawn mower this past Sunday. Yes. I signed a release. Everybody at the lawn mower racing track on Funny Farm Road in Cleveland must sign a release. “I don’t mean …
Read moreApril 6, 1999 — So what exactly is yoga? Let’s first begin by identifying some things that yoga is not. Yoga is not a little green man. Yoga is not a dairy product. Yoga is not a religion. And, yoga is not a bunch of hippies sitting around, chanting and …
Read moreMarch 30, 1999 — “Dan, did you ever think last summer that in March you’d be in a truck riding down a road in Georgia listening to one fanatic preacher and one fanatic turkey hunter talk to you at five o’ clock in the morning?” asked Tim Strickland, the particularly …
Read moreMarch 23, 1999 — Sara Ballantyne and Chris Haggerty looked tired. Even world-class athletes aren’t immune to Sunday-morning interviews, I assumed. “I’m sorry,” I offered. “I’m sorry for dragging you guys out of bed.” “Oh, I’m awake,” said Ballantyne. “I’ve already climbed Stone Mountain this morning.” I should have known …
Read moreMarch 16, 1999 — George Forrester doesn’t eat much. I met the FLW Tour angler at the Little River boat ramp while the sun was still rising, and neither of us had anything in our stomachs. But Forrester isn’t going to let a little thing like breakfast get in the …
Read moreMarch 9, 1999 — I was never much good at roller skating. So when my fourth grade friends and I headed to our local rink, I was not among those rolling on rented skates, singing to the beat of Eddie Grant’s “Electric Avenue.” I was safely on the other side …
Read moreMarch 3, 1999 — As I approached the stable, Boomer stared ahead vacantly. Perhaps the big black lab was dreaming of supper, slumber, or soup bones — anything to take his attention away from Casey, the four-month-old Jack Russell terrier that was incessantly jumping up and nipping at his ears. …
Read moreFebruary 23, 1999 — Most ice in Georgia is found floating in glasses of sweet tea. Most ice. “When you go back to Gainesville and it’s close to 70 degrees and you tell somebody that you’ve been ice climbing, they’re going to look at you like you’re some kind of …
Read moreFebruary 16, 1999 — As Carl Kirkpatrick’s truck negotiated the roller-coaster drive to the top of Toccoa’s Currahee Mountain, I observed a dozen or so vultures hovering above the summit that lay ahead. “The buzzards circle the mountain looking for dead climbers,” said a straight-faced Carl, as he drove me …
Read moreFebruary 9, 1999 — Sam Banks eyes his prey quietly in the forest. He is trying to determine how far away his unassuming target is. Thirty-three yards? Thirty-five? Being precise is important. Sam sets the sight on his elaborate compound bow. He then studies his game through binoculars, trying to …
Read moreFebruary 2, 1999 — Three shots from Jason Brown’s 12-guage shotgun barked through the morning haze. The blasts, from somewhere in the thick briers surrounding me, were startling — and for a moment halted the caterwauling of the hunting beagles tracking the targeted rabbit’s scent. “Do you think he got …
Read moreJanuary 26, 1999 — “You’re not going to throw up, are you Dan?” asked Lake Lanier Rowing Club executive director Sara Nevin — only half jokingly — after I completed 2,000 meters on an indoor ergometer rowing machine, affectionately called an “erg” by those familiar with indoor sculling parlance. On …
Read moreJanuary 19, 1999 — It was 3:30 last Monday morning when Cindy Cook decided she was going to ride a bull. And when Cindy Cook decides she is going to do something, Cindy Cook does it. “I was just headstrong on doing it,” said the 34-year-old Cook, who, at a …
Read moreJanuary 12, 1999 — I was watching a sea gull when it happened. I was hypnotized by the bird. It would dive to the water’s surface, bounce back into the air, and hover. Then it would do it again. Up. And down. Fishing for striped bass is a waiting game. …
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