Acworth, GA~

One of the perks of this line of work is the requisite travel taking us practically to the doorstep of
amazing and talented people we know but seldom have the opportunity to see or visit, and one of the perks of driving the U.S. Highway 41 route is that it takes us right through Goodlettsville, TN, the home of one of those particular individuals, Sideshow Bennie.

Fortune favored a meet-up between us all as Bennie was at home and possessed open time when we called to tell him we were a few hours north and hoped to stop through for some fellowship and food. A scant while later we were sharing a most excellent lunch at a local BBQ joint and catching up on all things touring and sideshow related. Since Bennie’s as much of a foodie as we are we made sure to let him know of our plans to visit Abdullah the Butcher’s House of Ribs and Chinese Food a little further down the road in Georgia and promised to deliver a full report.

I look forward to a time when we will all have the opportunity to prepare a good amount of food for one another to enjoy during a longer and more leisurely visit. Perhaps a Big Sideshow Feed is in order sometime during the summer. If it spanned a week it would give acts a chance to come through for a day or two of their choosing and browse the fare that happens to be prepared that day. Say, this just might be a Good Idea …

Bennie is someone who gives me a great deal of hope about the future of sideshow. He is kind, gregarious, genuine and has a wonderfully unfortunate sense of humor to go along with it. His success as a showman has never dulled these attributes and it is a pleasure to be around him. He just makes you feel good for being who you are and reminds you to make the most of it at every opportunity. We need more presences like him and less of the holier-than-thou attitudes and accompanying arrogance that seems to prevail these days. Granted, I understand that among those who do what we do there is and always will be a certain amount of ego involved, but this does not mean petty condescension to other acts is a required component of one’s makeup. I am ashamed to admit I have been guilty of this myself at times, but it has come back around to bite me and I have NEVER forgotten the lessons learned. It is the Sideshow Bennies of the world that I hope will proliferate as time moves along, with the generosity of spirit and complete enthusiasm that are so necessary for the survival of this art form.

Bennie we miss you already. Hoping all is well with you and yours and we look forward to seeing you down the road again very very soon! Thanks for everything!

Bennie’s Food Blog

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