There’s ribs and then there’s Dreamland ribs. “Ain’t nothing like ‘em - nowhere” as the restaurant likes to say.

Dreamland was founded in 1958 in Tuscaloosa by “Big Daddy” John Bishop. This was the same year that Bear Bryant started coaching football at Alabama (If you’ve seen Forrest Gump you’ll see him portrayed - look out for the trademark houndstooth hat he always wore:

Bear Bryant died in 1983 aged 70. The Birmingham Post-Herald published a poem written by the American poet Charles Ghinga:

        He led his crimson troops
        Across two decades on the field;
        More than a coach, or a myth, or a man,
        He leaned against each goal post,
        A proud symbol of his sport,
        His chiseled chin catching the sun,
        His squinting stare peering out
        From under his houndstooth hat
        Searching through each autumn afternoon
        For the silent pride inside his boys
        Who fought for their gentleman general
        Who believed in the spirit of man.

Sadly “Big Daddy’ John Bishop senior is also no longer with us (he died in 1997, possibly due to excessive consumption of ribs). Thankfully, his son, John Bishop Junior is still with us and in training to become “Big Daddy” too. Here he is with a small takeout, just to keep him going on his way home. Above him (and Elmer) is a photo of John senior, wearing a hat which presumably contained some ribs.