Hell week is here.

After their national championship hopes were dashed after losing to Tuscaloosa County, the Hoover Bucs are in for some three-or-four-a-days and some black-and-blue-a-days.

It’s back to basics on “Two-a-Days” as the guys dig in.
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A public service announcement: Gimme five. Five minutes of your time.

One of my favorite organizations is Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham. The volunteers and staff there work hard to see that each child in the Birmingham area who needs a friend has a friend. But it hardly seems like work when children succeed and thrive, when otherwise they may have been cast aside.

I’ve spent three years serving on the Young Advisory Board. Our meeting today reminded me that we need people like you to lend a hand.

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Anticipation
of crunchy leaves, warm sweaters
makes us fall for fall.

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Falling asleep in
the kitchen is a sure sign
that you’re sleepeating.

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Then
1. Fear of turbans.
2. Fear of white powder.
3. Fear of Osama.
4. Fear of speaking out.
5. Fear of uber-jingoistic country anthems.
6. Fear of yellow cake and aluminum tubes.
7. Fear of knowing too little.
8. Fear of sharing too much.
9. When is it OK to laugh?
10. When is it OK to stop crying?
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The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, killed nearly 3,000 people. Several had ties to Alabama, including:

• Lynn Edwards Angell, 52, a Birmingham native;
  library volunteer, aboard American Airlines flight 11

• Carl Max Hammond Jr., 37, of Geneva;
  physics researcher, aboard United Airlines flight 175

• Nehamon Lyons IV, 30, of Mobile;
  operations specialist second class, U.S. Navy, serving at the Pentagon

• Marsha Dianah Ratchford, 34, of Prichard;
  information systems technician first class, U.S. Navy, serving at the Pentagon

• Dorothy Temple, 50, a Montgomery native;
  New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, at the World Trade Center

• Sgt. Tamara C. Thurman, 25, of Brewton;
  classified employee, U.S. Army, serving at the Pentagon

• Maj. Dwayne Williams, 40, a Jacksonville native;
  U.S. Army, serving at the Pentagon

Thomas Franklin of The Record of Bergen County, N.J., shot the photo of firefighters raising the American flag at Ground Zero on the afternoon of Sept. 11. (The flag has gone missing since then.)

On Sept. 9, 2002, my newspaper, the Birmingham Post-Herald, published a memorial page, which features the names of all those lost in New York, Washington and United Airlines flight 93 outside Shanksville, Pa.

(You can download the 4.3MB version, which prints out at roughly 12 by 18 inches.)

Please take a moment today to remember all of the victims and their loved ones on the fifth anniversary of this dark day in American history.

Five years ago, we
lost friends and compatriots
on 9/11.

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Flirty banter draws
me to her with a sly wink
and a naughty nudge.

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I dreamt I saw you
walking up a hillside in
the snow … counting crows.

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It’s not just a 27-game winning streak on the line. For the Hoover Bucs, hopes and dreams of playing in college are resting on their young shoulders.

This week’s “Two-a-Days” is a battle of the ages … until next week’s battle of the ages.
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More than 100 artists will have works on display across the City Center at Artwalk 2006, taking place tonight and Saturday.

Details and treasure map after the jump.

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Forgiving breeze brings
preview of cooler days and
longer winter nights.

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Dusty plains speed by.
Open countryside offers
zen of wide open.

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One nation under Katrina: Black and White has a remarkable two-part feature on the struggle of Mississippi and Louisiana to recover a year after Hurricane Katrina. Part 1 shows the forgotten places along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where towns such as Pearlington waited up to six weeks just for disaster teams to arrive. Part 2 focuses on New Orleans, where federal dollars are caught in bureaucratic nonsense, musicians have fled from total devastation, and the local alt-weekly has made a surprising comeback.
• One Year Later [Black and White]

An enduring society: A century-old Southside home is getting the HGTV treatment. “If Walls Could Talk …” profiles an arts-and-crafts house that has served as meeting headquarters for the Birmingham chapter of the American Federated Women’s Club for decades. Current owner Bob McKenna has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars renovating the place, and leases it to the ladies for their five-times-weekly meetings. It airs again 5:30 p.m. Friday.
• The Stories They Would Tell [Black and White]

The war at home: An assistant professor of graphic design at Samford University has brought home his views of Iraq. Scott Fisk, who also serves as an Army Reserve combat photographer, has an exhibit, “Iraq: 05-06, A Photographic Journey” at Wright Center at Samford University. Fisk is typically embedded with American and Iraqi units during combat. The free exhibit is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays through Sept. 28.
• At the Galleries [Black and White]

Also:

• Birmingham water supply saved by air drop from God
• Talk radio caller has nothing but praise for offense, defense and coaching staff
• Halloween sales pitch sounding a little desperate this year

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Track leads to same old
stops across town, while riders
hit sites unscheduled.

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