Howdy folks. It looks like I may be the most “country” of the reviewers. My name is Ronnie Walley although I go by AlabamaJack on most of the websites I visit. Chilies, (fill in the blank) have become a way of life for me.

About Me:
I was born in Rocky Creek, Mississippi the morning of 12 August 1949. Mama said “it was Monday morning just as the sun was coming up. My father was a worker…no matter what he had to do to make a living, he would do it. The post-war years made work hard to find so we moved around a lot.

The following is a listing of where we lived.
1949 - Rocky Creek, Ms
1950-1952 - All across southern Louisiana, 20 miles at a time while following a 36” gas pipeline.
1952-1953 – El Paso, Tx – First experience with Texas and 35 years later I found home.
1953 – Pensacola, Fl (later to become a permanent home for parents)
1954 – Lenore City, Tn – Atomic Energy Commission construction work
1955-1958 – Mobile, Al – I went to 6 different schools in the first grade, mom always said we would move when the rent came due…
1958-1967 – Pensacola, Fl – we had several residences and is where mama and daddy settled.
1967 – Searcy, Ar – first try at college…
1969 – Orlando, Fl – Navy Boot Camp
1969 – Great Lakes, Il – Hospital Corps School
1970 – Camp LeJeune , NC, Naval Hospital
1970-1971 – Bethesda, Md – Eye, Ear, Nose, & Throat Technician School at the NNMC
1971-1973 – Charleston, SC – Naval Hospital duty – one of the prettiest places ever
1973 – 1977 – Back to Pensacola – Party Days……Pensacola Junior College (PJC)
1977-1979 – Auburn, Al – Grad. in 1979 with a BS in Wildlife Management (specialty biology degree)
1979-1980 – Gainesville, Fl – Worked in reproductive physiological research on Cattle and Swine
1980-1984 – Marco Island, Fl – Game Warden for the Florida Game & Fresh Water Fish Commission
1985-1988 – Auburn, Alabama – Graduated with BS in Mechanical Engineering in Dec. 1988
30 December 1988-Present - Fort Worth, Texas, I finally found home.

The reason I listed all my residences is to give you folks an idea of where my tastes were developed. I spent a lot of time on the farm with my grandparents once I started school and helped “grandpa” work the soil raising corn, soy beans later, purple hull peas, old timey “speckeldy” butter beans, okra, you get the idea, farming was life itself. From the time I can remember, my grandmother had a bottle of tabasco like peppers/garlic cloves in white vinegar sitting on the kitchen table. I could not get enough of this pepper sauce” on my turnip greens and cornbread nor the pace of life on the farm. My grandfather never got in a hurry to do anything. His attitude was whatever the good maker threw at him was fine because it was for a reason. He was a good shepherd to 100 head of Herford’s and 100 head of hogs. I lived on the farm with my grandparents every summer when I was not in school until I started college. My grandfather taught me many things, but the most important thing he ever taught me was patience.

My parents: the most loving pair of folks you have ever met. In the 59 years they were married, I never heard a cross word between them. My father passed away 3 years ago and I still love him with all my heart and soul. My mother, the sweetest angel on earth, still lives in Pensacola. She was a well respected business woman in Pensacola for 3 decades as VP of a very prestigious bank. She is, what can I say, My Mother.

As you can tell, I ramble a bit, so be patient with me.

I did not get into hot peppers until I moved to Texas and did not get into really hot peppers until about 6 years ago when I started growing my own. My first garden was jalapeno and cayenne peppers, tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers. I still only grow those items but my pepper gardening has increased by the year looking for the exact combination of peppers that will suit my taste. I have increased the size of my pepper crop over the years and this year is no exception – will have 200 pepper plants in 5 gallon containers that cover 4 species and 78 varieties.

Currently I am employed by a rather large Aerospace company and work on the JSF/F-35 Fighter Aircraft Program as a Mechanical Engineer. I also play in a “honky-tonk” band with Bodie Powell and Borderline. I Play mandolin in a country, rock n roll, bluesy kinda way. We play somewhere around 80-100 gigs a year.

I met my wife over the internet and the first time I saw her face, it was love at first sight.
I asked her, Sweet Linny, as I call her, to write a little bit about herself…so here it is.

Yes, it is true, we met over the internet: got to know each other very well before our first meet. I was born and raised in a suburb of Chicago and my move to the south came after I met Ronnie. We settled in Fort Worth in 1999 and even thought I travel up north to see my family, I call Fort Worth my home. I love it here. MY palate cannot take most of the heat that Ronnie’s can, but I do like some spice. Ronnie found a chili recipe on the internet and created his own version which I have found to be the best chili ever. I am still trying to get used to chili with no beans. I have been Ronnie’s taste tester for a lot of his new creations and I have to admit, he’s a pretty dern good cook. I just hate having to clean up after him. Enough about me; back to Ronnie.

I am honest to a fault so don’t get your feelings hurt if my review of your product is not what you expected it to be. My judging criteria will be based on five judging categories; Packaging, Aroma, Texture, Taste, and Aftertaste. I will assign 20 points to each category for a total of 100 pts.

I am very appreciative of being asked to write reviews of products others make.

My taste is quite simple. I love garlic, hot peppers, onions, and tomato.

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