Night on the Town

Yesterday evening we went to an outdoor concert in downtown Marietta. The weather was just right with a cool breeze. The music, I think, was suppose to be Beach Music – I guess it will do, for the price we paid – somehow I thought it lacked the beat, the words in the songs were there, but not the beat.

Earlier we ate outside at Marietta Pizza and I thought Willow our dog was well behaved. Not once did she snatch the food from a little toddler or anything, and bit or snapped at no one. Of course we had to eat outside because Willow was with us, which was nice. It is on a corner and you get to see the foot traffic of people coming and going. It may be better than dining out a sidewalk café’ in Paris, especially if you are a Marietta native.

Years ago that same corner building was Atherton Drug Store, a favorite hangout for Marietta High School students. Doc Atherton was known for approaching us face to face and rudely tell us to leave we were not going to buy anything. It didn’t hurt our feelings at all, and the hour or the next day, he would shoo us away again.

Then on Halloween night, 1963, Atherton’s blew up. A gas leak. Seven people was killed and 34 were injured. But like Phoenix the building rose up out of the ashes, this time only one story high, and in time Marietta Pizza came about. It is no Atherton’s but it will do.

Willow had not eaten yet, so we walked down to the Krystal and bought two of their best hamburgers. We spared no expense. We walked up to Atherton’s Park to feed them to her. This little park behind what used to be the train depot and is now Marietta Visitor Center and the Kennesaw House. As usual young college kids were hanging out around the tables. The park is named after Red Atherton, used to be Mayor Atherton. Yes, he was Doc Atherton’s son.

Earlier that day I got an email from a person, an artist, who said he enjoyed my blog we were on the same wave length and we were the same age, 66. Same age and same wave length? Poor him.

He said he lived near Little Road and Little John Trail in east Marietta. I know the area. It reminded me of an elderly lady that used to come to the concerts on the Square in Marietta. That reminded me of the old lady with the very sweet smile that we used to see at concerts on the Square, just like the one of that night. She lived in the same area, near Little Road.

The whitehead lady with the big smile was about 75. She moved to Marietta with her parents many years ago. She got a job with Southern Bell,. Which became Bell South. She retired before it became AT&T. We used to like to come early to the concerts to make sure we got a good bench and the gray haired lady did also. And so did a Victory Cab driver who lived in Woodstock, Georgia. The cab driver and the white haired lady shared a park bench. The lady was covered with tattoos. I only saw the tattoos on her neck, arms and her ankles. All the tattoos were penises. Big erect penises. She also had a wood keychain holder shaped like a penis.

We saw her and talked to her at every concert for about 3 years, then poof! She quit coming. Never more.

I think the cab driver faded away a while after that too. He came infrequent after that, then not at all.

An old high school friend – well, our friendship went beyond high school like houseboats, cruising around, etc etc yak yak – Monty told me over email that he was going to have a cold beer waiting for me. Lately he and his wife have been renting a table and decorating it with flowers, and that sort of stuff. I wanted to break bread, or pop a beer with my old friend. And was looking over the table reserved section when I heard him holler out, “ROCK! – Hey ROCK!”

And there he was flagging me down. I returned Willow to Anna and walked over and we had a beer and Monty introduced me to his wife and friends. I am bad a t names…. I always am at a first meeting… with me, names have to be rubbed in before I get them straight. Monty kept talking mentioning Kay this and Kay that…. I thought he was talking about his sister… and how come his sister was on his mind so much? Well, I think his wife is also named Kay. I think I made a fool of myself – again.

I enjoyed talking to Monty and meeting his wife.

As always, it was a treat watching the people and where Anna and I sat was a good place. We sat near the fountain and everybody has to make a loop around it during the evening – at least once… to be seen.

Another couple that our sons were in the scouts saw us and came by and talked. He said he reads my blog from time to time and he said he didn’t realized when were scout parents that I was so much in “old Marietta” state of mind. He said he wished he had known that – until recently he was buying and selling land near Kennesaw Mountain.

After about almost one and a half hours Willow let us know she had enough noise for her sensitive ear drums, so, LEAVE NOW! Or BAD HUMAN!!!