WEDNESDAY’S LIST . . . of beans ’n greens ’n other things:

A MAN and his music . . .

“It’s a little Jimmy Buffett meets Charlie Daniels.”

The name on that line belongs to Todd Sparks and if you were at Anniston High in the late 1970s, that will ring a bell.

Todd was Class of ’78, left here in ’85 with his guitar to chase a dream. Home is now Panama City, Fla., where he owns a talent agency and has just started a record label, Shrimp Boat Records.

He has also just released his first CD, The Gulf of Mexico. He sent me a copy. Buffett-meets-Daniels plays very well.

There was a bit of a lull in his singing career. The birth of a son in 1993 pulled Todd out of the night clubs and off the road. Now, near 20 years later and at age 51, he’s again chasing the dream.

His band is called The Shrimpboat Cowboys and, in an interview with PanamaCity.com, there is this:

“It’s very exciting. I’ve got some great people playing with me, and we’re going to have a big time.”

You can check Todd out on toddsparks.com and he’s just been offered a show on WRPBiTV.com. That’s a web station and his first show is May 15.

His mom, Betty Sparks, still lives in Anniston.

Thought some of you old Bulldogs would like to know all of that.

*** A PRAYER: “Lord, keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth.” – Anonymous *** BIRTHDAYS: Apr. 22 – Kaitlin Watson; Apr. 23 – Nolen Sims; Apr. 24 – Eddie Vice and J. C. Pope; Apr. 25 – Joan Cordle and Eva Jane Cole; Apr. 27 – Amye Golden and Bryan “Bubba” Key; Apr. 28 – Michael Erwin.

*** RED BUD, Ill., is a small town in southwest Illinois (pop. 3,698), but it hit the big time recently with news that two residents, Merle and Patricia Butler, had claimed a third of a recent (and record) Mega Million jackpot.

TV cameras in town stuck a mike in front of an aging citizen wearing a baseball cap and in need of a shave. The question was “How does it feel?”

The old man didn’t skip a beat with:

“Most excitement we’ve had around here since we got a new Avon lady.”

I’m still laughing.

*** I’M STILL smiling at a sign I read inside the Grape Vine Restaurant in Woodland a few days back:

“A small town is like a big family.”

Also, the Grape Vine (right in the heart of “downtown”) is where my Woodland buddies now meet each morning for breakfast.

The move to the Grape Vine (great sawmill gravy) came when the Citgo service station out on the edge of town closed.

*** TOP TEEN: Say hello to Amber Marie Usrey, a senior at Alexandria High School where her 98.143 GPA has her ranked first in a class of 110. That will put Miss Usrey at the valedictorian podium at graduation later this spring.

Amber is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta (math honor society) the Principal’s Club, the Christian Club, Bearfacts, and is on the math team.

She heads for Jacksonville State in the fall.

“Amber is the type of student who makes our jobs as teachers easy,” says her English teacher, Jennifer Muncher. “She works hard and does everything asked of her in both academics and extra-curricular activities. She does it with a positive and cheerful attitude.”

Proud parents are John and Lorna Usrey.

A round of applause is in order.

George Smith can be reached at 256-239-5286 or e-mail: gsmith731@gmail.com.