Janis Owens

There are some things even a Cracker couldn’t make up, among them, the fact that the largest meeting and discussing book club on earth sprung from a beauty shop in tiny Jefferson, Texas (just north of Marshall; on the Louisiana/Arkansas line.) The creator of this particular piece of Cracker genius is one Kathy Patrick, a Jefferson beautician, who went to a book club years ago, but wasn’t invited to join. She decided that she’d create a club where anyone could be a member, and the Pulpwood Queens were born. Being Texans, they miss no opportunity to tease their hair and dance (and honey: they can dance) and this weekend they have the biggest dance of all: the Big Hair Ball at the Girlfriends Weekend. I’ll be there with too many writer friends to name – go to Kathy’s site (link to the right, at beautyandthebook.com) and read the BIG SHOUTING NAMES. She has snagged some Big Fish this year, and I expect there are billboards plastered with the news from Waco to Texarkana. I’ll be cooking Thursday night and speaking mid-day on Friday, and around and about the rest of the weekend.

If you happen close to Jefferson, come and find me and I’ll try to squeeze you in the entourage. I think they’re booked solid, but Texans know all about squeezing friends and free-loading relatives in the back door.  

Tags: cracker, Pulpwood Queens