Waffle House and self-professed "hick-hopper" Kid Rock are taking life's lemons (well, in this case, charges of battery and a busted window) and creating a tasty fund-raiser.

Since last fall, the performer has been scattered, smothered, covered and yes, chunked in controversy after a post-concert late night snack with members of his touring entourage turned into a series of court dates in DeKalb County State Court. Mr. Rock, aka Robert James Ritchie, 37, was charged with battery after a scuffle in the parking lot of a Buford Highway Waffle House with another customer.

From 2 to 4 p.m. today, Kid Rock will appear at the Waffle House at 1100 Old Peachtree Road in Duluth to greet fans, take orders, sign autographs and pose for pictures. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised will be donated to Nicholas House, a homeless shelter for families in DeKalb County.

"For a while now, we've been working with Kid Rock's management to try and turn a negative into a positive," Waffle House rep Pat Warner told Buzz on Monday. "We're hoping to raise some money for a worthwhile charity."

Kid Rock is in town for a concert tonight at Gwinnett Arena. On its Web site Monday, Project961.com, Atlanta rock radio station also was doing its part, hosting an online auction with passes into the Waffle House appearance, tickets to the show and a backstage meet-and-greet. By mid-afternoon Monday, the auction had attracted 11 bids and the package had a high bid of $500. The online fund-raiser is due to end at 5 p.m. today.

Last month, Kid Rock pleaded not guilty to the battery charges. A court date is pending.

So with the court case as yet unresolved, why did Waffle House agree to host the fund-raiser with Rock?

Explained Warner: "We're not even thinking about that right now."

Still, Waffle House is, well, covering its bets. Due to an expected heavy turnout of fans today, Warner added: "We've notified local police to expect a crowd. We've already heard from fans in St. Louis who are flying in for this and folks who are driving from Alabama."

A struggle to be 'Fair'

WSB staple and syndicated radio yakker Neal Boortz is getting a bit bloodied on The New York Times paperback nonfiction best-seller list so far with his latest, "Fair Tax: The Truth, Answering the Critics" (Harper, $14.95), but he's retaining a sense of humor about it all.

"The first book debuted at No. 1, the second book hit No. 2, and now I'm No. 4; at this rate, I'm not doing another for at least two years," Boortz tells Buzz. Even worse, we got a peek at the stats to be published this coming Sunday and the book, co-authored with Congressman John Linder and Rob Woodall, slips to the No. 9 position, beaten out by a pair of books written by Barack Obama and Elizabeth Gilbert's inexplicably popular memoir "Eat Pray Love." Cracks Boortz of the touchy-feely tome: "If I knew that all I had to do was go to Bangkok and get [horizontal] I'd be No. 1, too!"

Still, Boortz says he's happy the book is out there as an educational tool in the 2008 election. And while the Libertarian concedes his radio show would benefit from having foe Hillary Clinton elected this fall, Boortz says: "I don't really want to sacrifice the future of this country in favor of good radio."

Overscene

University of North Carolina alum and former Atlanta Falcon Alge Crumpler cheering on his alma mater's men's basketball team at Stats sports bar downtown as the team beat rival Duke University over the weekend. We're told Crumpler crippled "a variety of food from the buffet, along with beer he drank from special cups the Tar Heels fans brought down from Chapel Hill."

Also spotted: growth hormone-free home run champ Hank Aaron and his wife, Billye, taking in a performance of "Menopause: The Musical" at the 14th Street Playhouse in Midtown. After the show, the Atlanta Braves legend happily stayed to sign autographs for the cast while Billye scored autographs from the cast as well.

HIGH FIVE

Music

Best-selling albums last week at Decatur CD

1. Stephen Malkmus, "Real Emotional Trash"

2. Kathleen Edwards, "Asking for Flowers"

3. The Gutter Twins, "Saturnalia"

4. Jim White, "Transnormal Skiperoo"

5. "Once" soundtrack

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

News correspondent Sam Donaldson is 74. Singer Bobby McFerrin is 58. Actor Terrence Howard ("Crash," "Hustle and Flow") is 39. Actor Johnny Knoxville is 37. Singers Benji and Joel Madden of Good Charlotte are 29.

—-Contributing: News services