While many retired football players turn to TV announcing or take up leisurely games of golf, the south Georgia boy Herschel Walker decided to go a completely different route. Further proving himself as an athlete without boundaries, he traded an already brutal contact sport for something he says is even more physically challenging, even more mentally demanding and, much to his liking, a whole lot more risky.

Addiction is one of the most pervasive forms of social dysfunctional behaviors society contends with on a daily basis. The use of illicit drugs is increasingly widespread and its impact is not restricted to any particular ethnicity, social class or age group. An estimated 20 million Americans aged 12 or older are current users of an illicit drug, representing 8.5 percent of the population. The estimated economic cost of substance abuse in the United States exceeds a staggering half a trillion dollars per annum, including the costs of health care, drug-related crime and losses in productivity. This figure includes costs of approximately $181 for illicit drugs, $168 billion for tobacco and $185 billion for alcohol. It’s a significant, ongoing and costly problem that can affect just about anyone. These are the stories of those who have been affected by addiction and how they eventually found hope.

Fitness icon Jamie Eason is as real as it gets: She’s a self-professed homebody who loves cooking and spending time with her Lab, Molly. She spent some time on the field as an NFL Houston Texans cheerleader, but her season was cut short when she was faced with a recurring breast cancer scare. Caught in its early stages, the suspicious lump was removed, and she began healing her body. Her recovery sent her back to a desk job where she quickly became unhappy with her inactive lifestyle.

Savannah’s Second Annual Geekend is a two-day event offering insight in our ever-changing technology world. This year’s Geekend is November 4–6 and has social networking entrepreneur Noah Everett, 26,

founder of Twitpic, as the conference closing keynote speaker. South had the pleasure of catching up with Everett and got a glimpse at what it’s like to take an overnight idea and turn it into a global enterprise.

South magazine: What sparked the idea behind Twitpic?
Noah Everett: Basically on Twitter, which is text only, I tried to solve my own problems with not being able to upload photos. I spent the weekend developing the site and had it up and running by Monday or Tuesday.

SM: When did you establish Twitpic?
NE: February 2008, just over two years ago.

SM: Was there one single event where you said to yourself, ‘Wow I’ve made it big’?
NE: One of the biggest events is the Hudson River plane crash. I went to get on the site and couldn’t access the site. One of the passengers took a photo of the plane in the Hudson River. I had the The New York Times and CNN calling me.

SM: How does it feel to speak at this year’s Geekend in Savannah?
NE: Honored to have been invited I’m stoked! And for it to be in a cool city like Savannah, yeah I’m stoked! There are large vibrant art communities in Savannah and Charleston it brings in a young creative community.

Run for any office these days and you’d better know your Twitter. Our constant social media access has changed an awful lot over the past few years about the way we communicate. At the rate things are going, there’s no telling what the game changers will be in the 2012 election cycle. But it’s a safe bet that David Simons will be in on it, and Georgia politicians will keep calling on him to do his thing because some things in politics, like the need for a whiz-bang political consultant, aren’t going to change anytime soon.

In December 2006 on a quiet, picturesque section of the Sapelo River just north of Eulonia, Georgia, a young man doing some routine landscaping made a seemingly harmless discovery. An old cast iron container had poked its way out of the eroding riverbank and tumbled within a few feet of the water’s edge.

The structure, withered away by time, at first appeared to be a discarded fuel tank, far from a novelty item. But a closer look at the capsule, found on the shores of Fairhope, a plantation property roughly 50 miles south of Savannah, revealed something much more cryptic. Literally.

Imagine an old—some might even say decaying—city where you can’t throw a paving stone without hitting an honest-to-goodness eccentric, and even so-called normal people have a penchant for living in the past. Picture this place on a coast, set apart from the surrounding countryside to the extent that its culture develops a unique persona, and while everybody talks about everyone else’s business, almost no one asks a direct personal question. Now envision a stranger coming to town and starting to nose around, asking a lot of questions about a recent tragedy that has riveted most of the citizenry.

For those latter-day explorers, Earth children, paddle junkies, old hippies, parrotheads, would-be pirates, wild-eyed shrimpers and other assorted characters who live on Tybee, the island is their livelihood. Business mogul Stacye Jarrell is no different and is working hard to make sure everyone is building a home on solid ground.

While we often like to think as humans we have control and free reign over the entire Earth, the reality is there are places we can’t go, environments we can’t withstand, and situations that are much too hot for us to handle. Luckily, a few technological wizards are working to help us reach the unreachable and learn a little something about how the natural world works.

There is a very special kind of researcher residing in Savannah whose only goal in life is to research and solve the world’s most pressing ecological problems. Even more impressive, he specializes—and thrives—in environments that are inhospitable to virtually all other scientists across the world. Currently, his field experience ranges from reading seismic activity of volcanoes in Hawaii to keeping the depths of our own coastal marshlands and coral reefs clean and functioning. He’s got the weight of the natural world on his shoulders, yet from the massive water tank where he cheerfully hones his skills, he gives a friendly, relaxed wave. But, the big puppy eyes and surfer-like demeanor are a bit misleading because, after all, he’s not really the one in control.

Think your job brings the heat? Try walking a mile in these fireman’s boots, coveralls, jacket and helmet…oh, and don’t forget the impossible to carry water hose.

Check out the August/September issue out now to read all about it!