COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA
TALK ABOUT TOWN


Your eyes and ears to the Capital City
Ya'll, what's wrong with a Iil' ol' draaawl?


Seeing as how South Carolina provides the world with more beauty queens than it does peaches, we'd think a little twang in that sugary voice would be as important as foam and tape in winning a crown.

So we were surprised to hear that the new Miss S.C. USA, Danielle Corley of Lexington, hired a coach to lose her "South-emism." Not to worry, defenders of Southern honor, coach Kathy Cobb isn't trying to make Corley sound like a Kennedy.

"You see these pageants and you can immediately hear the Southern girls. Sometimes they don't sound very good," said Cobb, who coaches many would-be queens. "I want them to retain aspects of their Southern heritage, But they need to sound patrician. Don't sound like you're from Tobacco Road."

So it's, I'm planning to get my degree in medieval languages, not Ah'm fixin' t'git a digray in ol' layngwidges 'n'sich. Cobb, who owns Kathryn Studios and bears a hint of the Southern patrician in her own voice, believes Corley is on her way to following South Carolina's Lu Parker in taking the national title.