Last Chance Weekend

Just 6 shopping days until Christmas, and we're down to the final weekend. The Saturday before Christmas is usually the busiest spending day of the year. You may have shopped on Black Friday, but by now, you're statistically ready to spend.

Day 4 voting on the listener poll kept Carrie Underwood fans busy. “Just A Dream” now leads the voting for favorite song of 2008. Blake Shelton falls back to second, and Bucky Covington and Darius Rucker are still in the finals. Who’s going to get the 5th slot? Alan, George, Heidi and Jessica are in a tie. Keep voting all weekend, and Group 2 will be posted next week.

News From Around The Country
The Book Lady is set to be broadcast in 2009. It’s a short film about Dolly Parton and her Imagination Library, which gives away free books in the U-S, Canada and the United Kingdom. Dolly originally started the program in her home area of Sevier County, Tennessee because much of her family couldn’t read or write. Keith Urban, Miley Cyrus and other celebrities are interviewed in the film. Dolly laughs at the title of the project saying, “I never dreamed in a million years that I would be called the book lady!”

When the Governor calls, Eric Church sings. A North Carolina native, Eric has been invited to sing “Carolina,” a song on his new album, at the North Carolina Inaugural Ball for Governor-elect Beverly Perdue in Raleigh, on January 9th. “This is a very personal song for me, so when I heard that someone in the Governor-elect’s organization heard the song ‘Carolina’ and decided that it needed to be part of the celebration – well, it means a lot,” Eric said and joked, “I’m also hoping it means that I can drive a little faster through the state.”

Eric’s encounter with a former North Carolina governor was a bit more alarming. “When I was in high school, I was part of a program where I was a page for then-Governor Hunt for a week – I ran errands, delivered mail, basically just did whatever they needed you to do. On the last day, all the student pages get their photo taken with the Governor in his office, so they rounded us up, stuck us in the room and left us there – unsupervised. Which was not a good idea.” Continues Eric, “I decided it would be funny to sit in the Governor’s chair and put my feet up on his desk – which I did. What I didn’t know was that had I tripped a silent alarm – suddenly, the office was swarming with security. When they finally realized it was just some dumb 16-year old acting stupid, things quieted down. But when Governor Hunt finally entered the room for our photo, the first thing he asked was, ‘Okay – which kid was sitting in my chair?!?’” laughed Church.

Christmas With The Stars
It’s a dilemma faced by most wives. What do you get your husband? He’s got everything in you, right? Well Reba McEntire is not immune to the trials of shopping for the husband, admitting that Narvel Blackstock is the most challenging person on her list. So last year, the couple decided not to get each other anything. Instead they gave to charity as a gift to each other. In the past, Reba says that she purchased Christmas presents throughout the year, simply putting them away until the holiday arrived. She had to give up that practice. Reba admits that she could never remember where she put the gifts!