Not long after social scientists invented juvenile delinquents, American film-goers discovered James Dean, who became the all-time poster child for troubled teens when he starred in "Rebel Without A Cause."

In the film, Dean played the new kid in town. He was tormented by the "cool" crowd and taunted into proving his manhood by facing bad boy Buzz in a high-octane challenge called a "chicken run."

The contestants were supposed to race stolen cars toward a cliff overhanging the ocean. The last driver to jump out and save his skin won the testosterone derby.

Dean bailed in plenty of time, probably because he didn't want to jeopardize any potential back seat action with female costar Natalie Wood by going car surfing. Buzz had some bad luck and sailed over the cliff to his death.

I don't know a single teenage boy who saw the movie and then played automotive chicken.

But another kind of chicken fight is brewing in Georgia after an Augusta restaurant owner made a suggestion that threatens to shake Georgia's cultural heritage to the core.

The restaurant owner is Chris Cunningham. His company operates eight Wife Saver restaurants. Cunningham's restaurants sell lots of chicken. He says his customers love it. He also says his diners wouldn't recognize a Brown Thrasher if it flew through the door and said hello.

Which is a shame, since the Brown Thrasher is Georgia's state bird,

but not for long, if Cunningham has his way. He wants to dump the thrasher and name the chicken Georgia's official bird.

"What's the Brown Thrasher ever done for the state of Georgia?" Cunningham asked. "If it wasn't for the chicken, Georgia's economy would be in the tank."

Cunningham has started a Web site called flipthebirds.com to promote the idea of changing state birds.

Naturally, thrasher supporters are up in arms — or wings — over the idea ... and not just fans of Atlanta's pro hockey team, the Thrashers. A leading Brown Thrasher advocate is former Georgia Lt. Gov. Pierre Howard, who had a semi-illustrious political career before he was abducted by space aliens in 1998 and disappeared for a decade.

A couple of years ago Howard resurfaced and is now head of the Georgia Conservancy. On behalf of the group, Howard posted a letter outlining the thrasher's Georgia connections and begging bird lovers to back the brownie in its fight against the kinfolk of Foghorn Leghorn.

Howard's published plea ends by saying:

"The Georgia Conservancy calls upon all Georgians to sign our petition to reject such a move. Please join us today. We can't let the Brown Thrasher down. Since it cannot speak for itself, we must speak for it!"

You couldn't call this episode a tempest in a teapot, but "furor in a frying pan" has a nice ring to it.

Frankly, it's fun to watch the two sides peck at each other in a good-natured way. And Lord knows, we need all the lighthearted news we can get in these troubled times. Let's hope all involved have a good time, then go to the nearest Chik-fil-A and sign a peace treaty.

There's just one worry. Cunningham said he hoped the matter would be given serious political consideration.

"People need to get online, call us, get a yard sign, ask for a T-shirt, do something," Cunningham said. "I just want to see how people think about it, and maybe the legislators might listen to us. At least the chicken will get a little respect out of the deal."

Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Georgia's elected leaders clearly have bigger fish to fry. If they get involved in this bird business, they can only come off looking like turkeys.

(Send your e-mail comments to: alex@ newnan.com)