One of my favorite people joined me at the international office and cocktail bar here in Oxford, Mississippi late yesterday -- Colonel George Reynolds, U.S. Army retired. Not exactly retired as Col. Reynolds spends much of his year still over in "the Stan" as he calls it as an advisor for the Department of Defense. See pic above showing The Colonel's outstanding reading taste while working in Kabul. Last night over some Elijah Craig and Cuban Cohibas, The Colonel presented me with a Enfield rifle --
check out specs of similar weapon -- once of the British Army that he'd bought from a village elder in the Kandahar province. The chieftain told him about inlay added to the weapon as "something taken away from the British and made our own." We were a strange site walking around the Oxford square last night in the rain with a vintage weapon and smoking cigars. But this being the Deep South, there were no questions asked. *For those keen readers of the QC books, you know The Colonel always has a cameo in the books as he was the one who introduced me to the U.S. Army Ranger who became the basis for QC. The weapon is now displayed proudly next the U.S. flag, the Colonel sent to me several years ago from "the Stan."
-- Ace
For any readers who might suspect some of my stories in the Quinn Colson novels can't be true, please pick up a copy of John Hailman's latest. John is a a former Federal prosecutor -- as a recent story in the
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal discusses. But what the story doesn't mention is that John is one of this country's foremost wine experts! For more than twenty years, John was the wine critic for the
Washington Post, all the while sending bad buys to prison. I can't recommend
From Midnight to Guntown enough for those who really want to dig into the world of the deep South, the Dixie Mafia, and good ole boys politics and crime. John is one of the good guys and a terrific storyteller. Check out the full story below.
-- Ace
Daily Journal
OXFORD – John Hailman doesn’t fit the stereotype of a prosecutor. He’s friendly, outgoing – even jovial.
The enjoyment he took in his decades as an assistant U.S. attorney, though, reflects a man who relished both the interesting humans and their dramas that came his way and the chance sometimes to help deliver justice.
Hailman’s newest book, “From Midnight to Guntown: A Prosecutor in the Land of Faulkner and Elvis,” was the nexus for his visit Tuesday at the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics.
“How is it that you have fun with such a serious job?” asked Charles Overby, the center’s chairman.
“My daughter at age 15 wasn’t too happy with me,” Hailman recalled with a chuckle. “She once introduced me, ‘This is my father. He sends people to prison for a living.’
“I like all these strange characters,” he added. “I liked helping the victims, and I don’t mind saying I liked punishing the guilty. I never got too tied up in winning and losing.”
Hailman’s choice of career was not certain early on. After being branded as “too countrified,” he spent two years in Paris. He became an aide to U.S. Sen. John Stennis and, when the senator was shot by a robber in Washington, D.C., got an early taste of criminal justice as Stennis’ liaison with the police and FBI.
During his prosecutorial career, he has studied and taught law all over the world, including the University of Mississippi, where he is now an Overby Fellow.
Several stories Hailman highlighted Tuesday dealt with colorful characters. Many bank robbers often appeared to have prepared for their tasks with nothing more than downing a few beers. At the opposite extreme was Patrick Michael Mitchell, who robbed some 300 banks before being caught in Southaven. During one robbery he wore a Richard Nixon mask and declared, “I am not a crook,” Hailman recalled.
Political corruption is usually prosecuted as federal crime because it is difficult to get an impartial jury against a local official, Hailman said.
“Politicians usually have some charm,” he said, but the 37-county federal jury pool dilutes their influence.Stephanie Rebman 9/17/13 start optional trim
Asked about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision against certain aspects of the Voting Rights Act, Hailman spoke as a man practiced in weighing evidence.
“It’s tricky; we can’t be discriminated against forever,” he said. “I’m in favor of clean elections, obviously, but the idea of having ID at the polls isn’t going to cure anything.”Stephanie Rebman 9/17/13 end optional trim
Regarding politics, the author of several books on law, wine and literature hews a centrist line.
“I’m a raging moderate,” he said. “I like compromising.”
errol.castens@journalinc.com
I really enjoyed this interview with the amazing Claudia Cardinale. As many of you know, I'm a lifelong fan. A picture of her in The Professionals adorns my office wall.
I love her quote: "It's like a man," she says. "When he's going after you, if you say yes immediately, after a little time he goes away. If you say no, he desires you for a long time."
Claudia Cardinale: 'I don't want to stop'
Sixties screen siren Claudia Cardinale talks to Steve Rose about entrancing Fellini, spurning Brando – and why appearing in 135 films still isn't enough
Email
Claudia Cardinale in Once Upon a Time in the West. Photograph: Getty
There's nothing
Claudia Cardinale hates more than staying still, but for the past two months she's had to do exactly that. She broke her foot on holiday in Tunisia and has since been holed up in her Paris flat. "It was stupid," she says, in her distinctive Mediterranean rasp. "I was playing volleyball. There was water on the edge of swimming pool, and I slipped. I like to be active, so when I have to sit for two months without going out, it's terrible. I had many places to go and I had to refuse: Venice, Kiev, Osaka. Now it's OK. Yesterday I went out for the first time, but the weather is ugly."
READ THE ENTIRE PIECE.
NPR's
Whatd'ya Know is headed south for a live broadcast from Oxford, Mississippi next week. I'll be a special guest along with my pal singer-songwriter
Shannon McNally and more. So tune to hear Michael Feldman and the gang adjust to Southern life. I'll be sure to bring him some pork rinds, hot sauce, and a Coke.
Ace
Test your knowledge on a bevy of topics that straddle the line of insignificant and important. Host and quiz master Michael Feldman opens the show with All the News That Isn't, a brief monologue that showcases his signature political and social satire. He and his crew then move on to offbeat interviews, quick-witted banter and a hilarious "Whad'Ya Know?" quiz every hour. And who knows what will happen when Feldman and company take the show on the road. It's non-stop, upbeat radio you'll look forward to every week. Produced by Wisconsin Public Radio.
About Michael Feldman
Michael Feldman is an American original — a "20-year overnight sensation" as he puts it. Most of what Feldman has to say he expresses in a laconic monologue or short comic asides. The youngest of four boys (two are physicians, and one is an attorney), Feldman credits his family with fine-tuning his sense of the world and his ability to express it briefly. He says his dad "always gave me the kind of insightful fatherly advice that took him years of experience and wisdom to learn, but often only a few seconds to tell me."
Read full bio.
Little-known facts about Michael
His favorite junk food is pork rinds, and his favorite shower song is "World Without Love."
A few shots from my recent trip to Spenser's turf. As you can see, I spent a lot of time in the North End and along the water front. The Greenway is a terrific change from the old overpass. The Big Dig has added a lot to the downtown that only seems to be getting better. Great, fresh food at the Hay Market. -- Ace
