Ups and Downs

We voted yesterday. We were the second and third people there to vote yesterday morning. We arrived about 7:20. The polls did not open until 8:00. I was surprised at that, because the two times I was a poll volunteer they opened the doors at 7am. We sat in the car and waited. There was one man standing by the door. So, we were the other two waiting to vote at that time. But, we were also sitting in the car waiting at five until 8:00 when a long line was forming.

I think slightly over a dozen people voted before we did. Those sneaks! Slipping in front of us in line, before we even got out of the car – the nerve of some people.

In a posting recently I mentioned that the people voting on the Republican ballot would use a booth for the Republican ballots, and the Democrats would use Democrat ballots and the booth for Democrats.

Not so!

Modernization! Things have changed. Now, they give you a little card that they assigned you and the party on. You use any voting machine. The card you insert tells the machine what party-ticket you are voting for.

After we voted we were driving to our next appointment (we cram a lot in on Fridays [Anna’s off day]).

While driving down the road I heard the song “Hajji Babba” on the radio. I haven’t heard that song in many years, but recognized it immediately. It was the theme song for the Movie “Hajji Babba” staring John Derek. You might remember John’s wife years later, Bo Derek.

I saw the movie Hajji Babba at the Strand Theater in Marietta in 1954 or 1955. John Derek was the hero, who did heroic things like sword fight, swung on ropes, cut holes in tens and gracefully leaped through the holes. I don’t remember much about the plot – it took place in a desert in the middle east, according to Google the full name of the movie is “The Adventures of Hajji Babba of Ispanhan”. The whole Arabic concept seemed mysterious and romantic, just like the movie “The Sheik” Like I said, I don’t remember the story details, but a lot very scanty clad leggy veiled women in a harem were all over the place.

Now, after 9/11 I find it scary. Not only do they swing on ropes and cut slices through tents they also cut off peoples’ heads who have a different point of view. When are they going to drop the other shoe?

Oddly, when I was telling Anna about John Derek’s starring roll as Hajji Babba we drove by a restaurant named Derek’s Restaurant on Canton Road.

Magic is in the air.

We had an appointment with a lawyer. The lawyer’s office is in what was the street car terminal in the 1930s and 40s, and in the around Civil War times was stables for travelers who stayed next door at the hotel (who was owned by a Yankee spy – Mr. Cole).

In the lobby of the lawyers’ office is fancy metal design on the ceiling which I think is a remnant left over from its terminal days. The time with the lawyer took slightly over an hour. Over half of that time we discussed in details the older citizens of Marietta…. It was almost a “living or not living?” game… and who was the parents of whom, and/or the brother or sister of whom. And we also just about covered each house on Powder Springs Street., who lived in each house and what they did and where the family is now.

When the lawyer told us how much to fill out the check for I wondered if we left right after the business was settled and we did not talk about Marietta, would the amount be the same? I think so. He seemed to be a person of integrity.

Next we had lunch in Kennesaw at the Oyster Café. The Oyster Café is run by a bunch of Koreans, probably a family. Before the Oyster Café’ the group owned the Oyster King, which was a Huddle House, or a Waffle House at one time. They cook delicious jumbo shrimp and oysters – scallops, catfish, perch, and another fish are on their menu. French fries and cole slaw are served with everything. We figured that is to make the plates look full of stacked high food.

For some reason they closed the Oyster King and had it bulldozed, - that and a few more joining acres. More than a year later in the bulldozed area (but not the same spot) they had built a huge grand restaurant that was nothing like the converted Waffle House, but the menu is the same. It is worth the ten or so miles trip every once and a while.

We went home to let Willow out. While there, I checked my email and an old friend Ralph wrote me a letter telling me he enjoyed my blog and writing about Marietta and thanked me. Ralph made my day.

We went back out shopping, mostly for three baby showers, and also to our weekly visit to Wal-Mart. We are just about between four Wal-Marts.. all four are almost equal distance from us. Sometimes the things are not located in all the stores the same places… I’ll speak for myself: wow, that is confusing!

When we returned home in the evening, I was tired, I need a shot of caffeine ever-so-often, or I get tired, after we unloaded the car and I checked my email and I had an email from another old school friend, Walker. He said he just finished reading the December and January portion of my blog and said he enjoyed it. Well, actually he said December, January and February – but February was just entry, unless he was talking about 2007 months. Again, my day was made – this time Walker did the making.

Life is good – or at least I thought momentarily.

This morning another classmate, Ken, had an email waiting this morning about another classmate Bobby, who is fighting cancer. It did not sound good. I knew Bobby to be a very serious smiling high energized positive person. Our thoughts will be with Bobby and his family.