King of the Wild FrontierFess Parker, known to millions of kids as “Davy Crockett”, has left this frontier, but his legend will be long remembered. Disney originally aired his show in December 1954, and Parker as Crockett in his coonskin cap quickly became an icon of American spirit. Tucked in the closets of many a baby boomer are Davy lunch boxes, toy Old Betsy rifles, buckskin shirts and those trademark fur caps. I’ve occasionally seen them at garage sales and quickly scooped them up. Their value has gone up. When I opened my restaurant, The Alamo, I wore a complete Davy Crockett outfit. In tribute to Fess Parker’s passing, today I’m wearing my coonskin cap and playing “The Ballad of Davy Crockett.” 
In the spirit of the 
Are you wearing green today? When I was a kid, anyone who showed up for school on St. Patrick’s Day without at least one bit of green got an (affectionate, but hard) pinch! Everyone’s a little bit Irish today, so what’s the origin of that famous Irish emerald color? St. Patrick, a Catholic priest, was one of the first missionaries to go to Ireland in an attempt to convert the people there. At first the color of his order was blue, but eventually Patrick had a brainstorm that changed everything. Patrick had the bright idea of using the ubiquitous three-leafed Shamrock to explain the holy trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost to the Irish people. The plants, and their brilliant green color, came to be a symbol of St. Patrick, and eventually of Ireland itself. And now you know! Put on some green, and hope for the luck of the Irish!
This week celebrates National Potato Chip Day. One of the most popular snack foods in the United States, the potato chip began as a chef’s joke. They were invented by George Crum, a chef from 
One of Manhattan’s top Obstetricians recently had a kidney stone. He, like me, is southern and conversation turned to his stone and stints, IV morphine drips, and pain. I suggested he make the stone into a piece of jewelry, but he said “the pebble” wasn’t very pretty. Oh, the pain. Trying to be sympathetic, I asked how one gets a kidney stone, and he quickly turned to me and said, “Oh, you’re gonna get one. You’re definitely going to get one. Whether its genetics or something in the water supply, many men from the south get them. It’s not called the ‘Stone Belt’ for nothing.” Ouch. Something to look forward to. Enjoy your dinner!
SPRING CLEANING
