Book excerpt: After retiring from a career as a public relations representative with Lockheed Martin Corporation, Joseph Earl Dabney currently enjoys a career as a writer, author, and speaker. He also has experience as a reporter and editor for several Southern newspapers. Dabney has written three other books: More Mountain Spirits; Herk: Hero of the Skies; and Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, and Scuppernong Wine, which was named Cookbook of the Year by the James Beard Foundation for 1999. Joe is a native of Kershaw, South Carolina, and lives in Atlanta. Book jacket.