(whether they sample or scarf depends on the dish.)

 gadding about the post-quaint little town, nearest the federal reserve known as the great smoky mountains national park, that has been called gatlinburg since they ran off a man not of their political persuasion by promising to name the town after him; i happened upon a fish house nearest the center of town.

this column’s incident shall forever be known henceforth as “the case of the missing mermaid nipples.”

before I tell you all about it, I should mention that much more recently there has been another mermaid scandal, one involving the logo of a well-known coffee chain. seems that a radical fringe religious group took offense at the Starbucks logo, which originally featured a mermaid with two tails. Because of the logo’s original drawing (from a 15^th century woodcut?) with the tails going left and right, it was said that the mermaid was, and I quote, “a naked woman with her legs spread like a prostitute.”

so the logo got changed. now you cannot see her legs (tails) or her nipples. and I am wondering why Starbucks even cared. it was meant to be artistic, you know? Like former Starbucks VP Stanley Hainsworth said, “Are you kidding me? This is a mythological figure.”

the other mermaid scandal I mentioned began a little over one year ago with the commission of a mermaid sculpture, to be no less than twenty feet high, although as i heard it, there was a lot of give and take, back and forth, on both sides, until  an accord was reached between the previously mentioned restaurateur and a local, internationally known wood carver/ sculptor. a lot of folks were able to see the sculpture as it sat outside his shop on highway 321, and i'm sure many stopped to inquire, as it was a magnificent work, and it was finally finished, taking almost a year of the life of the sculptor.

the massive work was installed into its new home, and was the cause of quite a buzz around town, with a lot of folks just going in to see the gigantic mermaid standing upright in all her glory, as it was truly a beautiful creation in wood.

notice that i said was in the last paragraph. that's because not long after being installed someone at said fish house took offense at exposed nipples on a carving of a mythical beast, and took it upon themselves to remove them...with sandpaper.

in the ensuing flap, the restaurateur was notified of the copyright law as it is applied to works of art- that you can do with it as you will if you own it, except you can't destroy it or deface it. so the restaurateur attempted to put things right - by gauging the eyes out and replacing them with marbles! 

that'll show 'em..... then he proceeded to drape it in diaphanous scarves (maybe to hide the atrocities committed) and there it sat in all its mutilated wonder. 

which leaves me to wonder, in an area so populated by artists of every stripe and hue, where is the uproar, the indignation, even the least little outcry? none, that i've talked to have said much more than 'oh well' or have just laughed and shrugged.

my guess is that an artist has to put up with jealousy just as much or maybe more, from his professional peers (maybe wannabe peers) as anyone else who is successful at what they do.

until the next time i meet you at the fence.

jimmy (“red”) henry