Welcome to a Quotable Century (Week 7)

Plots are where characters get buried when they die.

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Stories are not just stories.

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All stories end the same way. Love and death.

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-- all from "Take Me To The River"

(Quotes from the forthcoming literary novel, Welcome to the Dawning of a New Century, by Tony Simmons.)

Invitation to a Century celebration...

(Warning: Lots of links in this one, so don’t get lost chasing rabbits.)

I’ve been invited to “help bring Old 100 home” to Century by participating in a fund-raising event at the J.H. Jones Historic Park on Jefferson Avenue in the Historic District on Oct. 8, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

(“Old 100” is a 1919 Baldwin 2-6-2 Steam Engine locomotive that once ran the railroads for the Alger-Sullivan lumber lines in Century.)

The flier for the event (sent to me by my dad) declares that Model A Fords will be displayed and that Dixieland jazz, bluegrass and local children’s dance groups will perform. The Model A owners will be dressed in period costumes. “They take pride in showing their magnificent old cars. Hear them crank up and ‘Cadillac.’”

Expect barbecue plates, cold drinks and good clean fun. Bring lawn chairs, “and come live the good life by planning an early fall day in paradise.”

Okay, so the hyperbole is piling on. If you don’t think so, then prepare to roll up the ol’ pants legs with the next bit from the flier:

“Ray Fortner, author and famous storyteller, will be there with his “hot off the press” new novel The Shiny Badge.
“Tony Simmons, assistant managing editor of the Panama City News Herald and Century native, will also be signing his book, Dazed and Raving in the Undercurrents. Come meet two living legends.”

(The bold part is theirs, from the flier, not mine.) The flier continues:

“Visit the Railcar Museum and see the scale model of how sawmill families lived. Visit the Old Post Office and tour the Alger-Sullivan Museum. There you will see a scale model of the Alger-Sullivan Mill at its peak of production, a display of medical instruments, and many more artifacts. You can buy books about the old mill and see photos of how the people lived in Century at the begin-ning of the 20th.”

For more information: call (850) 256-2029, 256-3983, or 256-2661; write the Alger-Sullivan Historical Society, P.O. Box 1002 Century, FL 32535; or visit 7510 Jefferson Ave. in the Historic District.

SOME NOTES: (1) I was there on the day they brought the half-rotted rail car to the land and set it via crane on the rails; lots of renovation work went into making it a museum. I'll scan and post old pictures soon to show you what it looked like way back in 1991 or 92. (2) Century post-Dennis photos are yet to come. Be patient, if you even remembered that I mentioned it last time. (3) There's a new book on the horizon and its name is Century. Welcome it when it dawns.

Welcome to a Quotable Century (Week 6) ...

(...arriving early this week)

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There were still giants in the earth. Today, he was one of them.
-- from "A Clean Sweep"
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He preferred not to check the horse's teeth, preferred just to slide on the Trojan and ride.
-- from "A Clean Sweep"

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(Quotations from chapters/stories in the forthcoming literary novel, Welcome to the Dawning of a New Century, by Tony Simmons. Next post: Pictures of Century post-Dennis and an invitation to visit in October for a book signing and antique car show!)

Century after Dennis...

There are three photos of a Century resident post-Dennis on the Pensacola News-Journal's website. This is the first of the photos. If this link doesn't work, try looking at the Dennis galleries; there's a Century selection. It's not much to see. They didn't try very hard when they went through.

The three pictures are of Century resident Abraham Griggs who "surveys the damage that remains in his backyard from Hurricane Ivan, just one day after Hurricane Dennis hit the Panhandle." But let's be honest. There were other places and persons they could have photographed and stories they could have told.
I'll share some soon...
Peace.

Welcome to a Quotable Century (Week 5)

(Having skipped a week on account of Hurricane Dennis...)

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I wanted to give the boy lead poisoning by lethal, hollow-point injection.
-- from "Number One with a Bullet"

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See? Guns don't kill people -- ideas do.
-- from "Number One with a Bullet"

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I looked at the bag, as I had been left holding it again.
-- from "Number One with a Bullet"

(Quotations from the forthcoming literary novel Welcome to the Dawning of a New Century by Tony Simmons.)

Welcome to Quotable Century (Week 4)

When life hands you potatoes, mash them.
-- from "The Unkindest Cut"

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There's home cooking, and then there's take-out. ... Sometimes, a man just wants a little drive-through.
-- from "The Unkindest Cut"

(Quotations from stories/chapters in the forthcoming literary novel, Welcome to the Dawning of a New Century by Tony Simmons.)