Georgia Gazette

. I'm Bruce Dorton and this is Georgia Gazette coming up on today's program. The Navy has prepared me well in terms of dealing with the pressure. Meet the new commander of the Navy's Blue Angels Flight Demonstration team, 48-year-old Donate Cochrane as a native of Palom, Georgia. Dr. Joel Gregory once passed her of what has arguably this country's largest Protestant

church first baptized Dallas walked away from it all and wrote a book about his experience. He'll talk about that turbulent time in his life. In the hated Kudzu Vine find love as a jelly, a Warner Robbins entrepreneur think so we'll meet her and taste her wares. And humorous Gerald Bryant will be with us with his own top ten list what to do with those leftovers. Those plus our regular weekly features on Georgia Gazette but first the news from National Public Radio. Good afternoon and welcome to Georgia Gazette, I'm Bruce Dorton. On today's edition, 40-year-old Navy Commander Donate Cochrane of Palom, Georgia talks

about his experience as a pilot and now the leader of the Blue Angels. Dr. Joel Gregory talks about the years he spent looking through a glass ceiling at first Baptist Church Dallas, Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, begins Sunday at sundown. Rabbi Jordan Parra of Augusta looks at this joyous holiday plus our regular features, movie sports and the arts calendar. Georgia Gazette is a radio magazine and joy it and pass it on. You're listening to Georgia Gazette, I'm Bruce Dorton. With me on the phone now from Pensacola, Florida, Commander Donate Cochrane, the first and only black pilot to fly with the Blue Angels in their 48-year history and now has become commander of the famed aerial demonstration team and Commander Cochrane is from Palom, Georgia. Commander Cochrane, thank you very much for taking time and being with us on Georgia Gazette. Okay, thank you very much.

I'm very, very pleased to be a part of your show. How long have you actually been flying with the Blue Angels? Okay, I was fortunate enough to fly with the team for three years from 86 through 88 and of course I've been recently selected to come back to be the commanding officer of the team and so to say this time I really haven't started flying yet so that will start on the 28th of November. Now as the commander of the unit, you fly the lead plane, is that correct? That is correct, if you look at the deformation we have numbers one through six and I will be flying in the number one aircraft. That must be quite a thrill being the lead, actually just being a part of the unit I know is quite a thrill of being in the lead aircraft, there's a lot of responsibility. Absolutely, it is an incredible amount of responsibility but I can tell you also it's a very, very rewarding experience and the way I look at it is such a rewarding position, it's not

a job, it is a position because there are so many unique aspects of the team that separate the Blue Angels from any other organization and a chance to inspire and motivate young people is I think one area that's great and opportunity to fly a very special unique airplane with a very special group of avatars and support crews, I think is another unique aspect of it and I think probably the number one aspect is probably meeting a lot of unique people and that's what make it really special. Do you feel any added pressure being the first African American not only to be in the unit but to be commander of the unit now? Well I look at it a different way, I don't think, let me rephrase that question, I don't think the matter of whether I'm going to feel additional pressure, no matter how I'm going to deal with pressure, whether it's perceived pressure or self-imposed pressure, whatever

it is I feel confident that the Navy has prepared me well in terms of dealing with the pressure and the reason why I say that is I had an opportunity to command two fighter squadrons and one of them was a fighter squadron that was deployed at sea. I think that from my perspective you learn a lot of the, learn how to deal with a lot of the pressures associated with doing anything by operating and commanding squadron in the carrier environment, that's really special and I think a real proving environment to learn a lot of good skills. As a former member of the military and knowing the Blue Angels as I do although I was in the air forces I've told you but as a former member of the military I feel very safe in saying that I know that you were put in that position because of what you can do not

because of who you are or what you are. I would tend to agree with that, I mean it's real easy for me as the flight leader and just like the guy to say that but based on the experience that I've had based on, on actually seeing the competition I know that there are a lot of guys out there that are personally capable of doing this job and I know also that timing is a big factor in a number of factors played into my selection and I just like to say that I feel completely confident in my ability to do the job and completely aware that there are other individuals that are just capable of doing it and I'm just fortunate enough to be the guy to pick. I'm talking to Commander Donnie Cochrane, the new commander of the Blue Angels, Commander Cochrane is the first and only African American to fly with the Blue Angels and he is now

as I mentioned commander of the unit. Now you're from Palom, Georgia, tell us a little about Palom. Palom is in between Camilla, Georgia and Thomas, I've lived there up until about 18, 19 years old and then I went to Savannah State College. But Palom is a typical small town in rural Georgia, I think is a fairly progressive city in terms of just the outlook and the people and I was fortunate enough to have I think a real good fundamental education there in Palom and that's the foundation was laid right there in that small town that has allowed me to sort of go and become who I am. You might say. How large your family do you have? I have a fairly large family there are 12 brothers and sisters and of course my mom

and dad are still living and anytime I have a chance to talk about my success I certainly have to include my parents in there because the family values that they instilled in me as a young person are the same values that I've had a chance to sort of exercise being a part of an organization like the Blue Angels. In other words there wasn't a big change from going from a family environment to where I am today because they were sort of the same. When I talk about dedication, hard work, honesty, respect for yourself those are the type qualities that my parents really emphasized to us at a young age. In addition they recognize that education was one of the keys and allowing their keys to do pretty much what they wanted to do so in a chance I get to talk about my success I have to include them because they were a vital.

At what point in your life did you feel that you wanted to become a pilot and how did you do it? Well I believe it started for me and just thinking back over it and I've had a chance to think about it a lot. I would say when I was about 12 or 13 years old was when I was inspired and I've told this story a number of times but I'll share it again with you and that is I was out working in a field because I grew up on a farm there and told them and I saw airplanes flying over and that inspired me to take a real close look at hey I wonder what it's like flying an airplane. That was the initial thought and of course when I had a chance to go on to let's say junior high school or high school for that matter I was actually in the 10th grade what did I want to do and I remember telling it and instructor that I wanted to fly an airplane. The first thing this teacher told me was hey have you look at your math grades and I

thought about it and I said well if you got to be good at math then maybe I got to get down on the books here and make sure that I have what it takes to pursue this. Of course when I went to college they had an AVRO TC program and that's where I saw an opportunity to pursue becoming an avator and I think that after one part of your question what was the other one. Well I was asked in how did you actually manage to go about becoming a pilot. Did you go through OCS? No I went through the AVRO TC program at Savannah State College there and I can tell you that for me that was an ideal way to go through because it gave you the opportunity to become just a normal college student then and also get some indication of whether you really want it, the military or not and of course this was in 1972 I think the final days of the Vietnam War so I saw it as a way of competing, completing my school by getting a scholarship

to help the financial situation out. Now the Blue Angels main mission is recruitment, what is your role in the recruitment process? I think that there was a survey done and I'm not sure it was recently but I heard it when I was on the team before and about 60 to 70% of a lot of the recruits before the Navy will actually say that they actually saw a Blue Angel performance and through one way another they were inspired to join the Navy by observing a Blue Angel performance so I would say that the Blue Angels are a critical part of the Navy's recruiting and public relation efforts and as far as how much of an impact I think that there haven't been a recent survey done but I can tell you that it's probably a very significant number

of recruits have been inspired to join the military whether it's Navy or other branches because of what we do as part of the Blue Angels. How would you respond to criticism of people who would say well maybe we don't need the Blue Angels there just in recent years been a number of accidents maybe we really don't need them? Well my response is this way and that is the Blue Angels are more than just a recruiting tool. I think we show the American taxpayer what their money is paying for. When you take a look at the team work, the dedication, the professionalism these are qualities that I think reinforce hardcore values in America by whenever you see a Blue Angel performance, it's about being inspired, it's about being motivated about your country because you see what can be done whenever you get dedicated individuals motivated for

a common go and I think that's what I would say to an individual that says maybe we don't need them. And they are truly the top guns correct? Absolutely. We have an opportunity to represent some really fine men and women that are on our ships, our submarines, our aircraft carriers and I can tell you it is a mission that we certainly don't take lightly. We certainly have a lot of fun doing it because we have a chance to do to interface with the public which is really, really special. I've been talking to Commander Donny Cochrane, the first and only African American to fly with the Blue Angels, Commander Cochrane is now Commander of that famed aerial demonstration team having just been named Commander and Commander Cochrane is from Palombe, Georgia. Commander Cochrane, I want to thank you very much for taking time off on what I know is a very busy day and a busy schedule to be with us on Georgia Gazette and we wish you well and we'll look forward to seeing you and hearing about you in the future.

Okay, thank you very much for having me on board. Thank you again. All right. Goodbye now. You listening to Georgia Gazette today is Friday, November 25th. On this date in 1920, radio station WTAW of College Station, Texas, broadcast the first play-by-play description of a football game. It was a match up between the University of Texas and Texas A&M. The body of President John F. Kennedy was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on this date in 1963. On this date in 1969, Beetle John Lennon returned from his, returned his MBE medal to Queen Elizabeth. He was post-testing Britain's support for U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The other three beetles kept their medals. Today in 1986, the Iran Contra affair erupted as President Reagan and Attorney General Edwin Mies revealed that profits from secret arms sales to Iran had been diverted to Nicaragua rebels.

Among the celebrity celebrating birthdays today, baseball, Hall of Fame, a Joe Devagio turns 80. Actor Ricardo Maltobon is 74. John F. Kennedy, Jr. is 34. And Miami Dolphins quarterback Bernie Kosar turns 31 today. Well college football reigns this weekend and who better to run it all down than Georgia Gazette sports guy Mike Savage. Thank you, Bruce, and good afternoon. Here's what's happening in Georgia sports for the weekend of November 26th, 1994. One of the greatest college football rivalries takes place today as Georgia Tech meets Georgia at Sanford Stadium in Athens. There is pressure on both coaches to win in the 86th meeting between these two schools. Georgia athletic director Vince Dooley has insisted that the status of coach Ray Goff will not be decided until the end of the season. Georgia Tech interim coach George O'Leary told the sports page that this game has special significance for everyone involved. Well, I think this is a game that the players get themselves ready to play and just being

from the state of Georgia or being at Georgia Tech or Georgia. I think it's a great game. It's a great game for the state, the alumni, the fans. And I think a win would carry a lot off into our season, but more so in the senior season on a really outstanding note. And senior who will make a direct impact in the game is Georgia quarterback Eric Zeyer. This is his last regular season appearance for the dogs. Zeyer is third best passing quarterback in NCAA history behind Brigham Young's Thai Dettmer and San Diego State's Todd Santos. A Georgia victory would give the dogs a good shot at a bowl appearance. Kickoff for the tech Georgia game is at 4 this afternoon. Valdosta State has an opportunity to advance in the NCAA Division 2 playoffs Saturday, as they take on number one ranked North Alabama for the second time in three weeks. The last meeting between the two schools resulted in a 38-21 North Alabama victory. Valdosta State head coach Hal mummy doesn't think Revenge is a factor in this important game.

Oh, I don't know. I think for some of it might serve as a little bit of incentive, some of it didn't play as well. Probably want to go back up here and play better. I think that's more of an individual thing, but I collectively as a team, we just know this is the, you know, the elite eight. We'd like to be in the final four and there's no tomorrow. We got to, we got to do it this week. Kickoff for the Valdosta State North Alabama matchup is at 1 p.m. Saturday. Moving to pro football, the Atlanta Falcons host the Philadelphia Eagles at the Georgia Dome on Sunday. Coach June Jones doesn't know why star defensive player Kevin Ross left Wednesday morning's team meeting. Some good news for the Falcons. They will have the services of wide receiver Andre Ryzen. He made all the team meetings on time this week. And now it's time for who's hot and who's not? Who's hot? The Houston Astros Jeff Bagwell and his bank account, which is 27.5 million dollars richer. And who's not? The coach of the team that loses the tech Georgia game. That's it for the Thanksgiving edition of the sports page.

Mike Savage for the Georgia Gazette. Dr. Joel Gregory seemed to have it all. He was hired to succeed Pastor W.A. Quizwell on his retirement from the pulpit at first Baptist Church Dallas. When Dr. Gregory realized that time was not months, but years away, he quit. He and Sid Hoskasin talk about his experiences and the book he's written about them. Both me today is Dr. Joel Gregory, author of the book, Too Great Attemptation, The Seductive Power of America's Super Church. Thank you, Dr. Gregory, for being here. Well, it's a delight to be here, Sid. I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. First, let's clear up what is the super church, which is the church that you refer to? Well, the super church that is the backdrop of my book and the personal memoir is the first Baptist Church of Dallas that claims 29,000 members, owns five square blocks of downtown Dallas.

As an annual operating budget in nearly $10 million, I served his pastor there for 21 months before suddenly resigning. I know from the Baptists that I've spoken with, your name is rather well-known, but there are a lot of non-baptists and non-texans who weren't able to follow this story. So can you give us an idea of what happened to you that caused you to write this book? Yes, indeed. For a number of years, it was projected that Dr. W. A. Krizwell, who is the senior pastor and now 84 years of age, would find a successor at the church which he has served for 50 years. So in 1988, the church selected a 22-member pastor-search committee. They listened to 70 men in 16 states, seeking a successor to Dr. Krizwell in what is arguably the most powerful Protestant church in America.

After 27 months, they selected me to be presented to the church as pastor. He would assume the title, Senior Pastor, was a very clear understanding that after a few months, the transition would be done. He would leave, and I would be the pastor, soul, and only leader of the congregation. What happened to me, though, is a story of my own ambition combined with their deception that led to a tragedy in the life of the church. And that is, I came under his explicit understanding that it would be, quote, a few months and he'd be off the scene. But the longer I stayed, the more he wanted to stay. He simply could not turn loose of the situation. It became a thing of intrigue, inviting power plays, daily dramas of who was really in charge of this institution that had 300 employees, a K-12 Academy, a college, a radio station, and enormous worldwide influence.

And after 21 months, he began to say that he wanted to stay for his 50th anniversary, which meant a four-year-long transition. And I knew that wouldn't work. I was being lame and undermined, and was going to be damned for limping when they had lame me, because you had to succeed, but you couldn't succeed because of his continued presence. So dramatically, unexpectedly, unilaterally, without any pressure on me at all, like quite to the contrary, much of their shock. On Wednesday night, September 30th, 1992, I simply quit, walked away, resigned. Can you go into what it means to be the pastor of First Baptist Dallas? Well, it means to be as much a mayor in a sense as a pastor in terms of that with which you deal. First of all, you have an enormous physical plan. There are five square blocks of downtown Dallas real estate. Until recently, it was the largest ground level square foot landowner in Dallas, downtown, which was an enormous amount of property with huge deferred maintenance and a great

capital indebtedness for the property. You had that property maintenance, and in the unwinding of the years, Dr. Chris will have preferred to buy more property rather than maintain the property that he had. So I had a huge deferred maintenance problem, asbestos problem, all kinds of electrical fire-code problems that I inherited, which in and of themselves were enormous, and as a staff of 300. I remember when I went, they gave me an organizational chart that showed 22 levels of staff that had been done by Arthur Anderson accounting, just trying to help them understand themselves. I spent my entire time there trying to find out who all was on the payroll, and even had to cut the payroll some in order to make the budget, and that's another thing. The finances of the church enormously complicated finances. They had run a million dollar defts at the year before I was there, and I found on top of all of that that they had cooked the books to make it look like every year they were getting a larger amount of money. And I had to come clean about that to tell the congregation the truth. Then there was the college belonging to the church, a 300 student, 20 faculty member

college with its own nine million dollar new campus, that the church had bought and really had no good way to pay for, and I was expected to lead them into a campaign to pay for that college, and at the same time, the president of the college, the well-known Southern Baptist Fundamentalist, Dr. Page Patterson, was being fired by the quizwals. Every day at first bed, this was like a soap opera, in terms of what was going to happen next, just in terms of running the place, preaching was just an entrance level requirement. What are you doing these days? Still preaching? You had a very successful church in Fort Worth, I guess they didn't ask you that. No, they'd already called another man, that's the thing about it, when I was gone, they'd already called another pastor in Fort Worth. Yes, I had an 8,000 member church in Fort Worth. Well, I'm at a time when Baptist don't know what to do with me, I don't know quite what to do with Baptist. I've become, subsequently, a door to door salesman of memorial property, Mosulim, cemetery property, and pre-arranged unals, and until the time I became involved in the publicity

of this book, that's what I've been doing, acting as a memorial estate counselor. Is God still calling to you to do His work? I know that's what preachers always say. Are you ignoring that call, or are you waiting? I think I'm waiting, I think there's a time to be quiet, there's even biblical precedent, and this is not to compare myself, but whether an Old Testament figure like Elijah, or New Testament figure such as the Apostle Paul, they were long extended times of silence in their ministry. And I'm waiting to see out of this book exactly what happens that might lead to a future kind of ministry that may be different in shape, it may be writing, it may be as a different kind of voice than I did have in large churches and conferences. I do have confidence that that will unfold in the future.

Your book is written in such a measured cadence, you're very self-controlled. I would imagine, though, part of you is very angry that this happened, because you were a meteor in this other Baptist convention, you were on your way up, you probably would have had a pick of churches, had not first Baptist Dallas tapped you on the shoulder. Doesn't that make you angry that all this just was lost to you? I'm sure that there's a degree of anger, how anger works itself out is different in the human psyche from person to person, repressed or surpressed anger can become depression. And you know, there were days in the immediate aftermath of this when I certainly suffered from that and said, oh my God, what has happened to me? I hope and feel that I've worked through that in my personal life and trying to recycle that in a sense into this book as a sort of catharsis. Some people have characterized it as a kiss and tell book.

Back to the matter is, as I said in the introduction to the book, there's a whole lot of things I didn't tell that I might have told, and if people think that this book is rough, they should have read what I might have written. I tried to make the book humorous, the account of a personal drama of how you can go from being pastor, the largest Protestant church in the nation to being a door to door salesman in a few months' time, and at the same time have some word of warning and of redemption. Some people have said that the book was bitter. Some reviewers have said that there was a strange absence of bitterness or of recrimination in it. I have had to try to detach myself from the situation. It's one of those things that if you tried to take it all in, it might overwhelm one. I spent my life in the sense preparing to get there. Working on a B.A.M. div, a PhD, earning the credentials, and pastoring my way through a series of village and country and small churches in order to arrive there.

So when you do that, yes, I don't know if I, it's soaked in on me yet, even two years after the fact, the full dimension of what happened to me in the circumstance. It all ended one Wednesday night in September. One Wednesday night, one to every one's surprise. I read a 289 word of statement and walked out. But I think the book, Too Great Attemptation, was aptly titled by the publisher. I have to take my share of responsibility in what happened to me as a factor of human ambition even in the life of a clergyman to become the pastor of what many would say, as the most powerful Protestant church in the country, if not in the world. My ambition blinded me when the prophetic mantle fell only, it somewhat fell over my own eyes, and I've paid an enormous price for it. I hope redemptively out of that, you always hope something redemptive or recreative can happen out of a circumstance like that, and I hope there can be some warnings to other

congregations that they not repeat that same kind of trauma. Well, we appreciate your time, Dr. Gregory, and taking time out in your travels around the country right now to come and talk with us about your book, The Great Attemptation. Thank you. Appreciate that. Very much. Thank you. I was Dr. Joel Gregory talking with Sid Hoskasin about his new book, Too Great Attemptation, The Seductive Power of America's Super Church. A storyteller, Carmen Dede, who came to Georgia from Cuba when she was a young girl shares memories of one of her family's first thanksgiving in the new land. I'm Carmen Dede, and this story is called The Way to a Man's Heart. She was thanksgiving in Decatur, Georgia in 1964, and my mother, who had been in this country for less than a year after fleeing Communist Cuba, was now cooking her first turkey, an exotic American bird. Our entire family, in exile, had gathered in our small attic apartment on Feld Avenue for the feast.

A few of our southern neighbors had even stopped by. Some of them bringing food, sweet potato casseroles, green beans. When my mother appeared at the kitchen door, a stricken look on her face. The turkey still smoking in the pan burnt to cinders. Frank Leslie, our landlord, was the first to break the ice. Grining at my father, he smiled and said, Guess the way to your heart ain't through your stomach, ey, Carlos. No, answered my father. With an unwavering gaze, he looked at my mother, never lovelier, a moist strand of hair next to her cheek, her slender shoulders sagging a little from the weight of the scorched bird. No, but then if there has lived with me through a revolution, the loss of our homeland, in life in an attic apartment, indicator Georgia married to a steelworker.

What do you think, Frank? Who would marry such a woman for her cooking? Carmen E. Lee lives in Tucker, Georgia. She recently published a new children's book, The Library Dragon. Still to come on Georgia Gazette Film Critic, Eleanor Ringel, reviews several new movies, including Interview with the Vampire. Humorous Gerald Bryant takes a tongue-in-cheek look at those thanksgiving leftovers and what to do with them. Kudzu, don't kill it, eat it, and we'll meet the Warner Robbins entrepreneur who is marketing Kudzu Blossom Jelly. Those stories plus Hanukkah and the arts calendar, stay with us. The oldest name of Georgia Gazette, and with me on the phone now, Movie Critic, Eleanor Ringel. Eleanor, once again, thank you for being with us. Thanks. Good to be here.

What new movies do we talk about this week? Well, you know, we're really in the middle of the holiday crunch now because it's Thanksgiving, so we've got to get going. Arnold Schwarzenegger is back at the movies in a film called Junior, and this time the Terminator is an incubator, he becomes the first man ever to get pregnant. Of course, we're going to not count the 1978 flop rabbit test in which Billy Crystal did the same thing. At any rate, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a doctor who specializes in fertility, and he and his partner played by Dave DeVito, who developed this drug on the FDA, let them test it so they decide to test it on the Arnold, and the idea is that they're supposed to stop the termite at the experiment after, you know, 12 weeks to see how it goes, but Arnold decides he wants his baby. And that's what happens. It's actually one of the most, you know, oddly pro-choice movies I've ever seen because they really, it's up to Arnold decide whether or not he wants to have his child, and he goes for it. So it's really, it's funny. I think of people that like the Mrs. Doubtfire movie from last Christmas will flock to this one as well.

No kidding. Okay. And next? Next is a kids movie, an animated film that is not the Lion King, and not even from Disney. It's called a Page Master, and it's been a couple years in preparation. It's a combination of both live action and animation. Coconut plays a very timid kid. He doesn't even like to eat tuna fish sandwiches because he's afraid of the mercury level in the tuna. And he takes cover in a library during a bad thunderstorm, and it's turned into a tune. And with the help of three talking tones, one is called Adventure, played by Patrick Stewart, or voiced by Patrick Stewart. One is called Fantasy, voiced by Ruby Goldberg, and one is horror voiced by Frank Welkin. He learns to find the courage within himself by hopping in and out of different literary adventures like Moby Dick, or Treasure Island, or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Oh, hence, hence, Page Master. Yeah. It's a lot of fun. It's very imaginatively done, definite, you know, family film. I just saw my first television ad on that just a few days ago as a matter of fact. So maybe they haven't really publicized it. Well, you know, listen to us.

That's what we're here for. Me and you, it tells us to get out there and see the ones that maybe don't bowl us all over with the advertising budgets. Okay, I have to ask you now, you were gone a couple of weeks ago, and interview with a vampire came out, and I've not heard what your opinion of the movie was. Yeah, I had to play catch-up on interview with a vampire who was busy watching these French films. When I came back and saw it, I think it's okay. I'm not bold over by it. It's not a bad film, but here's the difference, I think, and when you're reading the book, even if you didn't like the book, you just couldn't put it down. It was just so compelling. And while you're watching the film, while you're not put off by it, you feel like you can leave it at any point. You kind of, you get it after a while. And I think Tom Cruise is Miss Cass, but gives it a really good try, but it's nice. You know, costumes are nice. It just isn't like in my top can or something. I wouldn't try and keep somebody from going to see it, but, you know, it's okay. Okay. All right, watch out on video. Well, another really good family choice for, especially for everything, is giving holidays.

And we call that entertainment part three. And for those of us who are old enough to remember the MGM musicals in their heyday, the completion of clips from all those musicals is already been at that entertainment part one and part two. That's why this is part three. It never made it to Atlanta theaters, which I think is a real shame. I think it could have done some business here. What about a restaurant part of the state? Was it like in Savannah or Macon or Albany? I don't think it opened anywhere. Not as far as I know. And if you're worried about checking that, just leave it out and just say it's a real good family film with lots of clips from the all singing and all dancing heyday of MGM movies. Okay. Out on video. Entertainment part three. That's entertainment part three. That's entertainment part three. You liked you and you're the new Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. Yeah. You liked the page master. Right. And you were indifferent about the interview with the Vamo. Right. Right. All right. I don't know. Okay. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.

Are you wondering what to do with all those Thanksgiving leftovers? Well, humorous Gerald Bryant takes a very tongue-in-cheek look at what to do. The day after Thanksgiving, when we're most thankful for oversized sweatpants, a day when sands about stock sores, and a day when the girth of that garfield balloon in the Macy's parade doesn't seem all that big, and ah, yes, the leftovers. There's that bag of who knows what that came from inside the turkey. And there's Aunt Heady Bell's mystery casserole. We've sent to the GBI lab for analysis. How do you use those leftovers? Here are my top 10 suggestions. Number 10. Make them into Christmas tree ornaments guaranteed to drive your dog nuts. Number 9. Send them to defeated members of Congress, who must now subsist only on their princely federal pensions. Number 8. Democrats can make their leftovers into Newt Gingrich Voodoo dolls. Number 7. Old mashed potatoes make great spackling compound. Number 6. Shape them into a full-size lifetime companion, and maybe I've been spending too much time alone.

Number 5. Panel your family room with giblets. Number 4. Send them to judge Lance Eto as potential alternate jurors in the OJ Simpson trial. Number 3. Now that the blueberry referendum has been defeated, how about a cranberry referendum? Number 2. Sign them up as Atlanta Falcon defensive lineman. And my number 1 suggestion for using those Thanksgiving leftovers? Make two years and run them for Congress. I'm Gerald Bryan for Peach State Public Radio. Honey, is this dressing or spam patties in that green tupperware? Well I guess now on Georgia Gazette is Diane Hoots of Warner Robbins, you may have heard us. We did a story on Diane a couple of days ago mentioning the fact that 20 Georgia companies, which offer products ranging anywhere from NASCAR prints to Kutsu baskets, are going to be featured on the QVC shopping channel during a special show in February, 150 businesses displayed their

wares in Perry last week. And Diane was one of the 20 that was selected. Diane, welcome to Georgia Gazette. Thank you. You make Kutsu products. Now, being new to Georgia, I don't know a lot and I've just heard what some of the folks have been saying about it and they said, Kutsu jelly, it's impossible, but yet you do it and that's what's going to be featured, correct? That's correct. They think it's impossible because they don't realize it has a flower and the flower is a fragrant tasty part of the plant that exists. What made you decide to even try to make a jelly out of this? I read an article in the newspaper. It was a workshop from a museum in North Carolina. They said, you know, workshop makes Kutsu jelly and thought, well, shoot, I can do that too and I made some at home and it was delicious. And I've done Kutsu things for nine years. I made baskets. We ate the leaves. The root starch has been known for many, many years. The Japanese have used that and I used that in my workshops.

But I didn't know about the jelly until last year and then I made it and everybody told me it was delicious. And they wanted to buy it and for about a month, I listened to them and finally I said, well, if you want to buy it, then I'll figure out some way to make it and you can buy it. Okay. How did you do that? A lot of research and you've got to get a business license. You've got to find someone that will make your product for you. You can't do it at home unless you have a separate kitchen approved, inspected, and all. So you find an independent person who makes his own product and also makes independent labels for other people and that's what I did. I picked the flowers and he does the canning process. Okay. There's a special sauce you mentioned to me that is involved in this. Is there anything you can tell us about that? The sauce you created? The syrup? The syrup, I mean, yes. Yes. Well, when I was experimenting at home with the recipe, I accidentally made several batches of syrup when the jelly didn't gel and it was very, very good. And I asked him, I said, can you use the same liquid that we used for the jelly and make us some syrup, as I think people would really enjoy it.

And he has a formula, uses measurements called bricks of sugar and he starts at one brick and ends up at another brick and he made a syrup and it's been really popular. No kidding. And you're one of the few people in the world who make katsu. A lot of people make it at home or in a little museum shop or something, little small, small groups of people, but no one that I know of has ever commercially produced it in a massive amount like I have, they have made it, but no one has made the syrup. And you say the people at QVC were obviously very impressed with what you had to provide? They liked the whole package, the really nice basket with the katsu syrup and the jelly along with the katsu story, because they know that katsu is one of the most hated plants in the world and everybody in the south knows what katsu is. And they thought it was just a unique package to sell. On that note, now Jimmy Argro is one of my reporters here with us and Kim Tiernan is here. And when I mentioned it to Jimmy, his nose kind of turned up a little, but I have talked

him into coming out with us and doing a little taste test. Jimmy, would you mind coming in here? Jimmy is engineering our interview right now, but he knew that this was going to happen and I'm going to ask him to be very open and honest. And Jimmy, while I'm talking with Diane, why don't you round up, Kim, and bring her in. And we will do a live on-ear on Georgia Gazette test taste of Diane Hoots' Kuzu Blossom Jelly. Ingredients, Kuzu Flower Extract Sugar, Fruit Pectin Lemon Juice from Concentrate. Okay. Kim, take a little spoon and Jimmy, please by all means. And let's see what we have to say. Kim is now taking a little sip of the jelly and she's shaking her head up and down. They're actually smiling. It's very good. Very good. Very good from Jimmy Argro. Don't use that spoon again. How about that?

May I have the pleasure? I'd like to try this because, like she said, thousands of people have changed from ugly face to a really happy face after tasting the jelly. I could picture that on biscuits or on toast, perhaps on pancakes. What type of fruit does it taste like to you? I get a lot of different apricot. Apricot? Yeah. That's what I would say. Some people say apple. I've heard kiwi. I've even heard cactus jelly, guava, several different. Yes. That's very nice. That's very nice. Sometimes grape. Well, there you have it. And with the syrup that you have there, what do you have? The syrup is a little milder so they need to taste that too. And would the syrup be something you might put on a pancake or, again, on a biscuit or something? Pancakes biscuits. One man bought a case of it to use in oriental marinating cooking. I'm talking with Diane Hoots, who has crazy kudzu products of one of Robbins. And she is one of 20 Georgia entrepreneurs who have been selected to appear on the QVC shopping channel as part of a special program featuring all 50 states.

And she brought in some of our kudzu jelly and kudzu syrup to be tasted. And Jimmy Argroves, who turned his nose up, is now smiling from side to side. And Kim Tiernan was shaking her head and smiling. And I must admit to it tasted very nice. Diane, thank you very much for coming and being with us on Georgia Gazette. We wish you well. The show will be February 11th on the QVC. That's right. We'll be watching for you and for your product. And again, we'll wish you all the best in the future. And we'll come back and talk to you again sometime just to see how things have gone. I appreciate it. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Hanukkah begins Sunday at noon, the word Hanukkah means dedication. We asked Rabbi Jordan Par of Augusta to tell us about the origins of the Jewish Festival of Light. Hanukkah is a holiday that celebrates freedom.

It's our liberation from the rule of the Syrian Greeks in about the year 132 before the common era. At that time, the Greeks had forbidden Jewish worship in and around Jerusalem, even going so far as to construct an altar to the emperor and sacrifice a pig at the temple in Jerusalem. The holiday marks the revolt of the people known as the Macabees, the Macabees recaptured Jerusalem and rededicated the temple. And the reason for the holiday lasting eight days is because one of the surviving brothers

Simon Macabee proclaimed himself both king and high priest and he declared an eight-day festival to celebrate his reign and that those eight days would be celebrated throughout history. Later, a legend arose about the eight nights of Hanukkah and with the story of the oil. It was said that the Jews only found one jar of proper oil in the sanctuary to light the eternal flame. This oil was to last for one night but the miracle was that it burned for eight nights, giving them enough time to go and prepare more oil. Customs around Hanukkah have developed it's a fun holiday in the United States, weeks change presents, and we also cook potato pancakes which are known as latkes and they're fried in oil and the common theme of the Hanukkah foods is that they are fried in oil.

The most important of the games is the dreidel game. Dreidel is from a German word to spin, it's a spinning top and it has four sides and on each side is a Hebrew letter, the nun, the gimmel, the hay and the shinn, the nun which corresponds to the English N stands for nace or a miracle and if your top lands on the nun you get nothing, everyone puts a coin in it or piece of chocolate or a penny into the pot and you get nothing mixed. If your dreidel lands on gimmel that's for the Hebrew word gaddol which means great or the German word gants that means you take everything.

If your dreidel lands on the hay that is the Hebrew word hyah or halb in German which is half and you get half of the pot and if it falls on the shinn, the shinn that is shaman Hebrew or stow and yiddish which means you have to match the kitty and you lose your coins. Hanukkah is also one of the holidays that is supposed to be celebrated in the home while we get together during the Sabbath of Hanukkah for a big festival dinner here at the temple and lighting of the menorah, most of the celebration goes on in individual homes where families will gather together around sundown to light the menorah and to place it in the window,

exchange presents, sing songs, make latkes and it's a time when we invite our friends over Jewish and non-Jewish to experience the holidays, it's a lot of fun to celebrate and it is definitely a home-based holiday. Robin Macy from member station WACG in Augusta helped in the production of this story. Good afternoon, I'm Kim Tiernan with this week's arts calendar for Georgia Gazette. The holiday season is underway for many of Georgia's performing arts organizations. The Augusta College concert band kicks off the 1994 empty stocking fund with its annual Gala holiday concert Sunday at 330 at the first Baptist Church of Augusta.

The Columbus College Wind Ensemble will present a concert Thursday night at 8 in the fine arts auditorium of Columbus College which will feature the first symphony by Mäh, a composition based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Karl Orphs, Carmine of Urana. The Terra Coral Guild presents the many moods of Christmas, Thursday night at 815 at Spivey Hall. The concert of classic Christmas carols arranged for mixed chorus by Robert Shaw and Robert Russell Bennett. The Augusta Chamber Singers will celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season with a dinner concert at the St. Mark Church in Augusta Thursday evening beginning at 630. The second Thursday concert series in Athens presents Christmas celebration at UGA's fine arts auditorium Thursday night at 8. The Gordon College chorus and Chamber Singers present Christmas in song Thursday night at 730 in Barnesville.

The concert features a sacred concerto by Ruchsehuda and corals from Box Christmas Oratorio. On stage in Georgia Pinocchio is presented live tonight by the Georgia Mountains Theatre at the Ritz Theatre in Brunswick as part of the annual holiday lights family show. Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice's musical Joseph and the amazing Technicolor Dream Code opens tonight at the Springer Opera House in Columbus. The show runs through December 17th. The Nutcracker begins next weekend and many locations in Georgia will bring you the details on the next arts calendar feature of the Georgia Gazette. If you have any questions concerning these listings, call us at 1-800-654-3038. For Georgia Gazette, I'm Kim Tiernan. And that's Georgia Gazette for this week. Coming up next week, we'll meet Del Lewis, the new president of National Public Radio. He'll be here to talk about NPR's mission for the future. Those candy canes you buy every holiday season probably come from right here in Georgia.

Bob's candies is based in Albany and we'll go there to find out how candy canes are made. Susanna Kapaluda will report on life in Russia. Technology and Pete State Public Radio Marketing Director Margarita Nutter are traveling to Moscow and Siberia as part of a journalistic exchange program spearheaded by the Friendship Force. Those stories plus our regular features, movies, sports and the arts all next week on Georgia Gazette. I'm Bruce Dorton. I do hope you enjoyed today's program. Have yourself a nice day and a nice week. Georgia Gazette is a production of Pete State Public Radio News. The executive producer is Bruce Dorton. The series producer is Sid Hoskinson. The contributing editors are Susanna Kapaluda. James R. Groves, Mike Savage, Brian Smith, Winston King and Kim Tiernan. Additional support provided by the staff of WUGA Athens and listeners like you. If you have questions or comments about this program, write to Georgia Gazette, 1540

Stewart Avenue, Southwest, Atlanta, Georgia, 30310. For a cassette copy of today's program, call 1-800-659-TAKE. The program number is the same as the date the program air. You can also reach us online to get our internet address, just call 1-800-654-3038.