Wednesday, October 31, 2012

49 Years Ago Explosion on Halloween in Marietta



On Halloween night in 1963 in downtown Marietta Atherton Drug Store blew up.  Six were killed and 25 people were injured.

That moment changed the home towners way of life.  Atherton Drugstore soda fountain and grill was the informal social center of Marietta and then suddenly a poof and never more.

I was in the Navy in New Jersey at the time but I heard about it within a day. 

After I returned home after the Navy I stopped at a Sinclair Station in Smyrna, just south of Marietta to fill up and the attendant came out to put gas in, he was on crutches.  I recognized him as a high school buddy of mine, Smitty,  several years my junior.  He only had one foot.  He told me he lost the other foot in the Atherton exposion.

It wasn't the work of anybody evil or anything like that.  A leaky gas pipe was the cause.

If you want to read more about the explosion:
http://www3.gendisasters.com/georgia/1960/marietta,-ga-drug-store-explosion,-oct-1963

Life goes on.






Monday, October 29, 2012

CIRCUS Ole'




I know, I know, that is not how you spell it.   It is Circus Olay.

Seriously folks, yesterday we went to see Cirque Du Soleil, the TOTEM presentation at Atlantic Station in Atlanta yesterday.

They put on quiet a show doing various juggling and acrobatic feats to the beat of fast music with a plenty of loud drum music.  While sitting in our seats I overheard two couples that are friends with each other talk about the other Cirque Du Soleils they have been to and the ones they knew about.  They have several in Las Vegas, Disney World, New York City and whatever else they said blended in.

They have many acts that blend from one to the other.  One act I was impressed with was 6 or 8 Asian females on high unicycles doing the darnest things with little metalic bowls.  Each had a stack and with their feet they would lob them to the another female's head, or "ring a head" so to speak.  It amazed me of their precise synchronization and not even looking at each other, now that is teamwork. 

There were no lions, tigers, elephants or any other kinds of animals, as you might expect a circus to have.  It was a series of scenes with a similar them:  Mankind.  First the creation and evolution of life and on to the diversity of it all.  And all of it to a fast musical beat.

Photograpy wasn't allowed.  These pictures I took as we walked outside of the tent.



Background:  14th and 15 Streets Area






Background:  Atantic Station; what used to be Atlantic Steel



Sunday, October 28, 2012

SUNDAY FUNNIES!! MAD's PUZZLE PAGES! Wheee!


Remember the Puzzle Pages in your favorte comicbooks and Sunday Funnies?  Well, you could always count of MAD lampooning something that you held dear.  Art by Will Elder and it was probably written by editor Harvey Kurtzman.



Saturday, October 27, 2012

ZOMBIE WALK IN MARIETTA TODAY!



Today is the Zombie Walk in Marietta.  Why a Zombie Walk?  Better still, why not a Zombie Walk?

I don't know if we will be able to attend to festivities or not.  But the above Hunter-made video is of last year's Zombie Walk, in case you don't get to see the one this year..... maybe you are buried in work (or dirt) and just can't get away.

On Top of Kennestone's Witcher Street Parking Deck


Kennesaw Mountain

Not long ago I had a doctor's appointment at the Witcher Street Medical Building and had to park near the top  of the parking deck.  I noticed looking out the side how beautiful the scenary was and made a mental note that next time bring my camera and park up on top.

The next time I forgot to bring my camera.

But yesterday I remembered.

Remember - Click on each image to make it bigger and amazing.


The New Cobb County Courthouse


Blackjack Mountain





Sweat Mountain

Friday, October 26, 2012

The Count Down Has Started



Yesterday Was October the 25th.  In other words, yesterday was two months from Christmas.  Today is one day less.  tick . . . tick . . . tick.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Today in History, Oct 25:

Little Orphan Annie newspaper comic strip

Not to be confused wilth....

Annie Fanny of PLAYBOY Magazine


1924 1st appearance of Little Orphan Annie comic strip on this date.



1962 Stevenson demands USSR amb Zorin answer regarding Cuban missile bases saying "I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over"  (read yesterday's post to see my part in this) on this date.




Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Larry Miller



Have you noticed this post on this blog before? It has been posted several times. Everyday when I had a new post this one slides down more out of view. When it slides off the page it is time to repost. Hi!



Have you ever faced a life-threatening illness for which there is no treatment or cure? Have you ever become overwhelmed by the costs of your illness? Have you ever had to rely on your family and friends to make a life-saving difference on your behalf? Larry faced these conditions all at once. Larry was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis, Emphysema, and Pulmonary Hypertension. There are no treatments for these diseases and there was no hope for him without a lung transplant.



Larry was evaluated and approved for a bi-lateral lung transplant at Emory University Hospital in April. On May 14th Larry received the call from Emory saying they had lungs for him. His transplant was performed on the 15th with excellent results. Due to the generosity of the donor’s family, he received a very healthy set of young lungs (to use the surgeon’s words).



Larry is recovering exceedingly well and was released to go home on the 31st of May. He is gaining strength each day by following his drug regimen very carefully and by following a vigorous program of Pulmonary Rehabilitation.



His recovery is great news, but with it comes enormous annual costs for post-transplant treatments and medications. I have known Larry and been his friend since the 5th grade (1953) so I offered to head up his fundraising committee. We are working to help Larry raise money to cover some of these costs. Fortunately, Larry qualified for a matched account in the Georgia Transplant Foundation’s (GTF) Fundraising Program, GTF will match every dollar we raise up to a maximum of $10,000, and then they will hold the money and administer the distribution for Larry’s medication expenses. You are receiving this letter because your name was found in Larry & Milly’s address book under the heading Friends & Family. We need Your Support to reach the $10,000 Goal! Please consider making a donation to help us raise the funds Larry will need to buy post-transplant medications which will support the maintenance of his transplant.



How to Donate Checks/money orders should be made payable to Georgia Transplant Foundation with Larry’s name in the memo section of your check. Please mail checks/money orders to Georgia Transplant Foundation, Attention: Transplant Fundraising Program, 500 Sugar Mill Road, Suite 107-A, Atlanta GA 30350. An envelope is enclosed for your convenience. Thank you for supporting this life-saving campaign. The Georgia Transplant Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides financial, educational, and emotional assistance to Georgia’s transplant community, is assisting us in our fundraising efforts.
If you have questions or want further verification, please see the Georgia Transplant Foundation website at www.gatransplant.org or email TFP@gatransplant.org. If you have already made a donation, please accept our thanks.

Sincerely,
Paul Roper
Committee Chairman

50 Years Ago I Enlisted into the Navy Reserves



Kennedy and Kruschchev had their dramatic stare-down confrontation, known as the Cuban Missile Crisis on October 22nd 1962 and the surrounding days.  About two days later, swollen up with a surge of patrotism I enlisted into the Naval Reserves at NAS Atlanta. 

I went to monthly weekend reserve meeting, had boot camp on the Naval Air Base during the Christmas season, then in July, a week before my birthday I went on active duty for two years.

And here I am now with Navy memories.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

The Blue Ridge Parkway and the Roads Home

On the day we left Asheville, as planned, we went north of the Blue Ridge Parkway to see Mount Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi River.

The bottom line is that we did not make it to Mount Mitchell.  We ended up driving with a cloud surrounding us which made visibility about 15 to 20 feet.  We could barely see the car's tail lights in front of us and we were following dangerously close.

When we begin going up in the mountain ridges the turning of the leaves were at their peak.  Beautiful.  But once we were inside the cloud everything was stark white.

These are the photos taken that last day, before and after going inside the cloud.

With the digital camera, not having to account for wasted film, we went on a shooting spree.  During the entire trip we shot over 400 pictures, and over half of them were on  the last day.  You will notice on the trip back we developed an appreciation of pretty clouds.









See the low could flying directly over us.  It swallowed us.

The rest of the pictures are after the cloud episode.


















The Nantahala River