Due to continuing health problems, AC will hibernate for the next 90 days.

It's time I give the computer a rest for a while. Thank you for you emails.

Mike Thomson.

Where to purchase "The Publisher"

THE PUBLISHER

Angioplasty

Okay, I'm back. Let me explain why I was gone. I think my experience might be helpful to someone who finds themselves in a similar situation to me a few weeks ago.

About four weeks ago I had to do some work in my garage. I was very cold and I had to walk up a steep hill to get to my workplace. I noticed a tightness in my chest and some slight pain. I thought it was due to the exertion of going up the hill. It happened again the following day. I still didn't pay very much attention to it. The pain was dull and extended across my chest and across my left shoulder. Two days later, a tragic event took place in my family. Dealing with it, again I felt the pain - only worse. I asked my wife to set me up an appointment with a cardiologist. I visited the cardiologist last Thursday and he arranged for me to have an angiogram on Monday at the INOVA Heart and Vascular Institue in Fairfax, Virginia. I had previously agreed that if the angiogram revealed vascular blockage that the surgeon could go ahead and do a balloon angioplasty procedure and insert a stainless steel stent.

It turned out that I had two blockages and received two stents. I spent Monday night in the hospital and was released yesterday. Here's the deal: If I had discounted my symptoms there's a good chance I wouldn't be writing this blog today...

Until next time... To read more about angioplasty click here.

No posts for a while...

There will be no posts on this blog for at least a week or a few days more than that. Keep sending you emails and correspondence. Everythings fine. I have something going on that will focus my attention 100% for the next few days.

Shocking non-fiction book about Brewton murder

I came across this today on the Brewton Standard message board. It looks like a good read. Here is the excerpt that the publicist is putting everywhere:

Murder Creek: The "Unfortunate Incident" That Befell Annie Jean Barnes
ISBN: 9781579660734
Publisher: River City Publishing

In this intense true story, Joe Formichella examines all aspects of the unsolved crime that inspired Suzanne Hudson's critically acclaimed 2004 novel In a Temple of Trees. When Annie Jean Barnes died one evening in 1966 outside an exclusive hunting camp retreat near small-town Brewton, Alabama, it seemed all the wealthy town fathers were culpable. But at the behest of those who were likely responsible, the crime was swept under the rug and details ignored by investigators. The publication of Hudson's novel, however, brought the ghost of Annie Jean back to life. Joe Formichella, in classic investigative style, reopens the case and questions a multitude of crime experts, law enforcement officers, and citizens alike--including many who, so it was said, would never speak about the "unfortunate incident" of Annie Jean's death. A gripping tale of how the upper class often gets its way through violence and coercion.

It's being distributed everywhere, so you can go to any of your favorite bookstores i.e. Amazon, Barnes and Noble etc. and order it.

Shelby Opposes Landfill

EVERGREEN, AL - Senator Richard Shelby addressed the concerns of Conecuh County citizens about out-of-state garbage coming into Alabama. “It is not a good image of the state to bring in garbage. We have the technology to develop and create energy where the garbage is developed. I would fight to keep a landfill out of my county also.”

When asked about water contamination issues near the existing Timberlands Landfill, Shelby had this to say:

Senator Shelby stated he was not knowledgeable of the mercury con-taminated soil being moved to the landfill in Escambia County, but he would not drink the water if he lived that close to a landfill.

A pro-landfill advocate speaks and U.S. Senator Shelby definitively reponds:

Evergreen resident Mike Fordham introduced himself as a supporter of the proposed landfill, and stated that the landfill was going to be a solid waste treatment facility for green energy. Several people in attendance objected saying this has never been proposed. Mr. Fordham said unlawful garbage dumps are a problem in this county because of the lack of garbage service, and this would be a solution. Senator Shelby answered “I don’t want garbage from New Jersey or any other state coming into Alabama. Conecuh County, and every county, should have a county-wide garbage pick-up service and the commissioners should be the ones to implement, control and support this service.”

Is Crime Being Underreported in East Brewton?

These are state crime statistics from Alabama.com:

Brewton rapes 3; East Brewton rapes 0

Brewton robbery 8; East Brewton 1

Brewton assault 62; East Brewton 3

Brewton burglary 53; East Brewton 10

Brewton larceny 142; East Brewton 43

Brewton motor vehicle theft 8; East Brewton 4

Look at the startling difference between Brewton's larceny(theft) rate and East Brewton's! It would be easy to say that obviously there are more thieves in Brewton than there are in East Brewton, but checking the statistics across the state, Brewton's figures are about par - in fact a little below par when compared to a similar sized city like Jackson which had 237 larcenies for the same period. The burglary and assault rates between Brewton and East Brewton seem a little "out of whack" if you look at them closely. Is it reasonable to believe that Brewton had 59 more "ass whuppings" than East Brewton for the same period?

East Brewton residents tell Alabama Confidential a different story than is revealed in Al.com's crime stats. One writes:

So many people have had their property stolen, whether from a break in or just from someone coming right onto their premises to take it. People are constantly walking the streets at all hours of the night. My neighbor has told me several times that she has spotted people leaving the street and walking right through the middle of her yard

Another comment:

I feel that one of the big problems in this town is that you have a mayor and Chief of Police who cannot remain focused on their jobs. The mayor works in Brewton as a car salesman (yet is always asking the residents here to shop in East Brewton), and the Chief of Police is working weekends as a security guard ... in Montgomery. When the cat's away...

Is it true that there are as many as four fences in East Brewton accepting stolen goods and that some of those stolen goods are winding up in a Birmingham pawn shop owned by the brother of one of the fences? Is it also true that the money being reaped in by the stolen goods is being used for the wholesale purchase of drugs which are resold in Brewton and East Brewton?

One reader goes so far to speculate that some East Brewton police might be participants in the crime wave that is victimizing the citizens of East Brewton. That's a pretty strong charge, but indicative of the frustration residents have when faced with a logjam of unsolved crimes.

There is this final chilling reader comment:

One of my biggest fears is what is next? Right now, they are not afraid to break into homes or garages when no one is home. I feel it is only a matter of time before they break into an occupied home and, God forbid, kill someone.