I love my little hometown of Tifton, here in south Georgia. I was born here, and I have a lot of family here. I've spent all but 10 of my 49 years in the same community, and I enjoy a multitude of friends. I can't leave the house without running into folks I know, which I find comforting.

A few of you have probaly conjured up erroneous scenarios of my location: rednecks, toothless tobacco spitters, and inbred idiots. Hey, don't talk about my relatives! Seriously, there probably are a few of these stereotypes living in the extreme rural areas of the South, but Tifton is different. We have a great college, a research facility, and an expansive rural development center. I read that Tifton actually has the most PhDs per capita of any place in the U.S., and it's also the reading capital of the world!

Sports are huge here, and high school football reigns supreme. It's like a religion. Our stadium would be the envy of many college programs, and on most Fall friday evenings, it's filled to capacity. The whole community gets in on the action, and we have public pep rallies and bonfires to show our support for the team.

We also have a lot of other community events, like parades, Special Olympics, arts and crafts shows, live theater productions, live music in the park, charity walk-a-thons, writing and art competitions, various fundraisers for the local animaml shelter, and health fairs. Tiftonites turn out in droves to support these worthwhile events.

Tifton has plenty of shopping venues, too: a mall, a super Walmart, Kmart, boutiques, gift shops, art shops, shoe stores, music stores, electronics stores, and dress shops. Restaurants include Mexican, Italian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, seafood, steak houses, sandwich shops, pubs, sidewalk cafes, and good ol' country cooking.

I-75 runs right through Tifton, along with other major U.S. highways. I can jump on the interstate and be in Atlanta in 3 hours or the mountains in a little over 4. Corridor Z will have me on the beach in 2 1/2 hours. We're just an hour away from a large amusement park, an aquarium, a huge lake, and a planetarium, too.

The area is famous for its hunting and fishing opportunities. Whitetail deer are plentiful, as are quail, doves, rabbits, raccoons, squirrels, and opossum. The numerous ponds, lakes, and creeks in the area offer largemouth bass, crappie, bluegills, warmouth perch, and a variety of catfish.

The weather here is wonderful. We have few days that get below freezing. Our

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