Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Doctor, Barnes, Methodists, Catholics, Beggar



One picture above picture is ex-Governor Roy Barnes’ law office. It looks kind of gaudy doesn’t it? That should be expected from the town that brought fame to The Big Chicken, also above

I went for my 6 month cardiologist visit today. He said all my figures were good and keep up what I have been doing (I think he meant keep paying him).

Afterwards I took a stroll down Memory Lane. I parked in the heart of Marietta and walked around and took some pictures.

The Roy Barnes and Associates Law firm takes up the whole building of what used to be the Annex of the First Methodist Church of Marietta. He bought it not long after losing the governor's race last time. The building is at least two but maybe three stories high. It is a good size building with many Sunday School Class size rooms.

I remember when the building was built in 1946. I was five years old. After the workmen would go home in the evening and on Sunday evenings our little bunch of neighboring kids would play all in it, like a bunch of war refuges. We would play cops and robbers and things like that. During this building of the Annex period we came home many times with wet cement on our shoes, dry plaster powder in our hair, and a few injuries.

I remember two brothers Mike and George. Mike ran into a room that there were no flooring yet and fell between the rafters to the level below. He ended up with a nail of some kind that went completely through his foot.

Mike was afraid to tell his parents because his parents told them to stay away from the building being built, and they besides they were Catholic, they might have been afraid some of that might rub off on them.

I don’t know why, but Mike and George felt they could trust my father and went to him. He cleaned the wound and if I remember correctly he poured kerosene on it the wound that made Mike holler like hell. I don’t know if he was eventually taken to the hospital or not.

Poof! Back to the present: I was looking at the Barnes stained glass through my view finder and a man approached me and asked if I wanted him to take a picture of me in front of the big picture. I said no. I remembered the man but I don't think he remembered me. About a year ago one Sunday morning I brought my bike in the back of the truck downtown and as I was getting it out of the truck the same man materialized and asked for a couple of dollars, he said he had just walked all the way from Cartersville, Ga., and needed breakfast. I may have gave him a dollar then.

This morning he told me he just walked 32 miles and was very hungry and…. I shot him a glare and walked away.

Last time he told me he walked from Cartersville. This time he told me he walked 32 miles. Which is essentially the same story, Cartersville is about 30 miles away.
The long walk story must be time proven as a good sad story.

3 comments:

Carolyn said...

I like that big chicken! Why don't they use that anymore?

Eddie said...

They do!
KFC orginal and crispy is being sold right in the Big Chicken's innards as I type.

Carolyn said...

Cool! Up here all they have is that "bucket of chicken" on a signpost.