Beech Tree News Network

While eating pizza and drink RC, my favorite, one Sunday night, I wondered about the origins of the cola.  RC Cola was originally launched in 1905 by pharmacist Claude A. Hatcher of Columbus, Georgia.  Customers first knew of the cola as Chero Cola.  In 1934, Chero Cola was reformulated and rereleased as Royal Crown (RC), a brand admired even more today for going against the grain (see what I did there?) of other American colas.

On February 22, 1959, Daytona International Speedway hosted the inaugural Daytona 500.  A field of 59 cars took the green flag for the race, with the prize that day being $67,760.  A crowd of 41,000 were in attendance to see Lee Petty take the checkered flag, and witness the beginning of another chapter in the history of Daytona. Fifty-three years later, the Daytona 500 is known as, among other nicknames, the Superbowl of NASCAR.  It truly is the race everyone wants to win.

Sunday night February 12 the Grammy’s were held.  Aside from the awards themselves, the show always produces some memorable, sometimes awkward, moments.  Of course, this year’s event would begin with mention of the passing 24 hours earlier of Whitney Houston.  There were tributes sprinkled throughout the night from artists such as Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson (Hudson sang “I Will Always Love You”).

Don Cornelius was born September 27, 1936.  He started in the insurance business before going into broadcasting in 1966.  He worked as a substitute disc jockey on t.v.’s Black View of the News before pitching the idea of what would become Soul Train.  Inspired by American Bandstand, Soul Train spent 30 years on-air.

Soul Train premiered August 17, 1970.  It aired Saturday mornings, attracting a lot of children and teenagers off from school.  Early supporter businessman George Johnson helped make Soul Train big.  It was syndicated in 1971.

Drew Brees is the superstar quarterback for Superbowl XLIV.  However, he is much more.  I recently read his book, Coming Back Stronger, on my Kindle Fire I received for Christmas.  While reading the book, which I couldn’t put down, I realized Drew Brees is much more than a superstar quarterback.

Several days ago, a journalist friend of mine posted a link to Facebook of something I found quite humorous, yet mostly true.  The name of the article was Five Things You Should Know Before Dating a Journalist.  The article was written by Tom Chambers. For the ladies out there who have been eyeing that good looking guy in the beechtree sweatshirt at the corner of this column, consider these five points.