Rick Couch/Staff Writer

Hello Demopolis! For those of you who do not know me I am Rick Couch your new friendly neighborhood reporter.

For the past two weeks I have been trying to get to know all of you and decided to use this opportunity to let you know a little about me.

First, I am a diehard Alabama fan. Along with that, I have never seen an Alabama football game that has been refereed fairly. Yes, I am that kind of Alabama fan. I still have nightmares where I wake up cursing the referees from the LSU game for all they are worth. I still believe that all 12 National Championships are legitimate no matter how old they are, or what polls they came from.

Secondly, I love to spend time in the outdoors even if things don’t always go my way. I have spent plenty of time in a tree stand when it was just the birds and me and still can’t think of anywhere I would rather be. Never once have I heard those birds complain and that is a lot more relaxing than most people think. Aside from occasional battles with fire ants or mosquitoes (who I have dubbed as my arch enemies) I can’t recall too many bad experiences.

My third most important characteristic is my love of small towns in Alabama. There aren’t many other places in the United States where you will find coon dog memorials, coon dog cemeteries, boll weevil monuments and Grits Festivals. There is something about small town Alabama and the people that make it up that make this job that much more special.

On that same note I love the food that comes along with small town Alabama. While I somehow continue to keep the build of a stick figure I dedicate most of my free time to fried chicken, cornbread and black-eyed peas. Many people from other regions in America would cringe at such a diet saying it was a heart attack waiting to happen. I strongly disagree. The last time I checked, both Andy Taylor and Barney Fife, who lived almost exclusively off Aunt Bea’s chicken and various other hillbilly culinary delights, were still alive and doing well. Most groundbreaking dieticians from the same era have long since passed.

As you can see I am a pretty simple person and anyone that knows me will tell you I am very easily entertained. But then again, I would rather be easily amused than bored to tears 90 percent of the time.