Hanging Art

This past Sunday I posted a series of pictures mostly looking out at the streets around the Square while I was wandering around Glover Park before a concert of the Cobb Symphony.

What I remembered later while looking over those pictures but unfortunately didn’t remember then, or I would have take a some pictures of some storefront canvas awnings that for a while became one of our pastimes as teenagers (with nothing better to do).

Outside McClellan’s 5¢ & 10¢ Store was a long canvas awning. Almost every store front had an awning. They would have just looked like a plain block shape building without their awnings. Different stores had different colors, some were striped, some were lightly color and others were dark in color. Each awning help give each store a personality.

One time a group of us boys stepped out of McClellan’s and were standing under the awning discussing what to do next when Jimmy Pat, our little evil resident friend, sucked up some snot from his throat and HOCK-TUIEE!! He propelled a wad of snot up in the air and it splattered on the bottom side of the awning.

We all looked at it. It’s weight caused it to stretch downward, but the membrane-like material it was made of held on. It got about a quarter inch down and stopped. Oh well.

The next day about the same time and place one of us remembered the wad of snot propelled by Jimmy Pat and looked up and it was still there. Like a little stalactite.

A new fad was born. We named the new hanging substance a “hang”.

Soon every awning around the Square had “Hangs” hanging.

Through experimental testing we found out what we need to have in our mouth at the time of the sucking up the snot to give the hang more character. Chocolate candy had great effects, not to mention the color effect…. Milk Duds seemed to have the properties to stretch hangs downward the longest. Milky-Ways help create stronger hangs that would swing in the wind and yet would “hang” on.

Strawberry milkshakes gave a pink hang, which was a pleasure to the eye but changed color in time. We found that blue jaw-breaker candy was needed for blue hangs.


Suddenly there were hangs outside of just about any doorway going outside on Marietta High School’s campus, in hallways, in the boy’s bathrooms, and just about all over campus. I don’t know about the girl’s bathroom.

Coke or any carbonated soft-drink seemed to weaken the density of the snot, and just splattered instead of hanging.

We should have found the right combo to make the right artistic hang and bottled it and sold it…. Another opportunity slipped away.

Eating Watermelon

These are Anna’s great grandparents James Marion and Mary Jane Pannell Prance. James’ living dates are 1857 – 1935 and Mary Jane’s are 1853-1927. We can be sure the picture was on or before 1927. In the picture they are enjoying a favorite summer pastime: eating watermelon.

Anna’s mother Marie donated this picture to the Vanishing Georgia Project.

Mary Jane Pannell lived off Sandy Plains Road between Marietta and Roswell. Her family’s long driveway was eventually a road into a subdivision. The name of the road was Parnell Road. I think an official back then misread somebody’s handwriting when officially naming the road. I think it should have been Pannell Road.

But who cares now?

Hero of the Day, Adam

Whew!
It was like a day in Hell to be cut off from the rest of the world, on-line.

Light night as we were going to bed there was an electric storm going full blast. This morning my computer could not go on-line to do my email and so was the internet kind of stuff… so, no blogging.

Luckily enough, I didn’t know what I was going to discuss today anyway. So, now I do!

It has been brought to my attention that it is a terror to be clipped from blogging and all on the Internet.

And that is about it.

I called AT&T and didn’t get much headway. The technician I talked arranged for a on-the-road technician to visit me tomorrow. But, in the meanwhile I called my son Adam and he walked me through several things to do, and he got me up and back running in no time.

That’s my boy!

The Mission of Nombre De Dios, St Augustine postcard

On the back:

"THE MISSION OF NOMBRE DE DIOS
ST AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA
Shrine of Nuestra Senora de la Leche, First establlished circa 1602 at Nombre De Dios.
John Hinde Curteich, Inc,
Printed in Ireland"

So, it was printed in Ireland eh? I found that many times the people who are not part of what they are looking at, or maybe on the outside looking in, can see things the people within do not see.... if that makes sense.

The little chapel itself reminds me of a little chapel we saw on the coast of Georgia one time... I forgot on exactly what island. For some reason every time I see the picture of the little Georgia chapel I think of authoress Eugenia Price. At the time I saw it for real, she must have lived near by.

Marybeth Petty (1944-2008)

I was thinking of writing a post about the mystic quality of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both dying on July the 4th (1926). Both were the major creative force of one of our most precious document the Declaration of Independence. I never got around to it.

Then another person died this July the 4th, who effected many people and had a free rebel spirit. No, I am not talking about Jesse Helms. My first cousin Marybeth Petty died after a long illness.

I’m know many people will miss her.

Lurking in Glover Park

psst! Click to enlarge.

As I mentioned in the last blog, we arrived at Glover Park Saturday evening about 2 hours before the concert was to begin. That is fine. We do that. Anna likes to sit and read and I like to sit and watch people.

Not only did I sit and watch people walk by but I also walked around and took some pictures, some in the park and some looking out from the park, which are these.

Small Worlds Come Together

Last night we returned downtown to another concert in Glover Park. This time is was the Cobb Symphony playing show tunes, marching bands music, the Arm Forces piece – when they play the theme from the various arm service, when they played yours you are to stand, which I did when they played “Anchors Away” and I was somewhat surprised of the number of the people who gave me the thumbs up when I stood. And of course, Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” closed it up for the evening.

We arrived early of course. I would say too early, but there were a several little bunches of people in the park sitting and waiting too. We were a little over two hours early, I can’t imagine what went through those people's minds to be earlier.

We picked out a good place and unfolded our seats and sat down. Two women came up and asked were we going to sit there for the next two hours. We said yes. One asked have we ever eaten at Efes Turkish Restaurant and we said a few times. We suggested the gyro’s. They told us earlier today they went upstairs above the same restaurant and took a belly dance class. Later they reported back to us and told the food was good.

While sitting there watching the Cobb Symphony members show up and get organized a young lady came up and asked would we mind if she sat by us. She went on to explain that her fiancé was playing, and sitting right there, next to us, she could see him better. Sure, have a seat.

We talked and talked. She, her family, and he and his family are very religious yet very adventurous. As we talked, it didn’t take long to discover that Anna and her father was in the same graduating class in high school.

While the band members continued to set up I saw a girl I recognized years ago that worked at Krogers when she was a teenager. Then, we would go to Krogers to shop in the evening and this same girl and an older man worked in the deli. They seemed that they could never do anything right, but they had a good time with the free samples… one time, they went back to the closed meat market and fried up a package of tiny little wiener links and I stood there watching them and they asked me did I want some? I said I did, and one of them found a little napkin and gave me a few, they were eating them straight off the hot skillet.

She reminded of the type of girl that was the main character in the movie JUNO. She didn’t seem to care what people thought of her, but you could tell there were intelligence sparkling behind those relaxed eyeballs her hers.

I told the lady sitting next to us about her and she told us that now she is an expert music-mixer-synthesizer and was voted the top DJ in the Atlanta area.

I told the lady I was glad she found her calling because it certainly wasn’t at Krogers.

The lady mentioned that she went to college at Southern State which is in Statesboro, Georgia, and was part owner of a donut store in Statesboro.

I told her that on our cruise in the Bahamas we met a man and his family who owned a donut shop in Statesboro. In seconds we were describing to each other members of the family – yep, the same people.

Small world. We met them in the Caribbean and she was a business partner. And now, we meet her in Glover Park in Marietta. I am always amazed how small this world is.

She had more to tell about the man. He was aggressive and up to no good. He would cheat the employees out of some of their pay and they never knew the difference. They had words and went their separate ways.

But even after they went their separate ways he sent a message to her through her 5 year old nephew he was going to “get her” or something to that effect.

I wondered if the little guy is continuously part of small worlds. On the ship we met sat with his wife at a table at Johnny Rockets on the ship and when we said we lived in Marietta she said they used to own a donut shop in Marietta.

And less than a hour later Anna and I was talking to a few Statesboro School teachers that were on a “girls vacation” away from their husband. When we told them we just talked so a family from Statesboro – “hey! There they are now!” and we called them over and they told each other where they lived and they lived in the same subdivision.

Small worlds.

Other things we noticed on the 4th.

Near our sitting place watching the parade there was a grandmother there along with her son or daughter, and their his or her spouse and grandchildren. During most of the parade she was very kind and considerate and had a very motherly smiled. Then Obama’s group came by and she jumped up and down and hooted and hollered and cheered. Her son or daughter and his or her spouse kind of nervously looked embarrassedly around, knowing they were in the middle of Republicans. The old lady had balls, good for her.

Later in the evening we went to Williamson Brother’s Barbecue. You could tell by the amount of cars it was crowded. We put our name in with the hostess and we were told it would be about a twenty minute wait. Well, we are not ones to wait at a restaurant like that, but there are exceptions: It was getting late, and after all, BBQ on the 4th is something we traditionally do. So, we waited with the many other people.

Outside was a young man in a tuxedo. Inside, people were standing and sitting around. On a bench was a young lady dressed in a white wedding gown.

In not too long of a time their name was called. I bet it was the first time the bride heard them addressed as a couple. I saw them at a table ordering. No lavish $10,000 wedding reception for them… but I bet it will be remembered just the same.

Everybody Loves a Parade - again!

click on any picture to make it huge.

We arrived in downtown Marietta for the 4th of July Parade a few minutes after 8am this morning... thinking we would be able to pick the best viewing spot....NOT!

There were hordes of people had already beat us to the prime viewing spots. Here, I have selected some of the pictures I taken today. Unfortunately, there were people all over the place, which got in the way of many of the photographs, either by hogging the view away from my subject, or being so darn close to me my camera automatically adjusted on them instead.

Why didn't all those troublemakers who messed up my pictures just stay home today? That was be a unique parade... 189 entries with 29 floats, on to parade in front of just Anna and I.























The below picture is after the parade at Glover Park. If you cllick on the picture you can see among all the people to the left Senator Clay's Statue, and dead ahead is the fountain.

Happy Birthday, We The People!!!

Peachtree Road Race on the 4th of July

My last Peachtree Road Race number.

I ran the Peachtree Road Race every year from 1982 to 1987. Well, that is only six, but it seemed like more. It is an annual event in Atlanta which started in the early 1970s.

My son Rocky has ran it a number of years now, probably by now he has ran it more than my six times. He will be running in it tomorrow.

I had my number for the 1988 race and a day before the race my sister-in-law called in the morning and said her husband (Anna’s brother) had evidently died at Lake Juliet about 20 miles north of Macon, Georgia. While swimming alongside a friend in a row boat he went under and did not come back up.

Anna’s family was in turmoil. I decided not to run the Peachtree and looked in want ads and found someone living not far away that wanted to buy a number to run. I called him and sold it to the guy. It was an easy transaction, no bickering.

My father also died about ten days later, but at moment that was yet to come.

Getting back to the Peachtree Road Race, The years that I ran I would always go down to the starting area, on Peachtree Road in front of Lenox Square Mall the Sunday before the race and run the route. Why? Because it was fun.

Usually on the Sunday morning pre-run practice there are several hundred running. I remember one Sunday morning, while running, seeing an aged dirty looking homeless person gnawing on a bone by a garbage can in an alley that ran beside a restaurant.

The Sunday run is just a fun trial run. And you even got a tee-shirt at the end in Piedmont Park. Each year, or most of the years, somebody at the finish line was handing out Trust Company of Georgia Tee-shirt. It had a big T on the front.

Each year I would collect my Trust Company “T” shirt, and get my bike that I chained to a post before hand and pedal back to Lenxo.

On the 4th,the day of the real race, which isn’t a “real” race unless you are a noted runner there are much more people there. I think when I ran the participants were limited to 25,000. Now, I think it is double that, if not more.

At the starting line you are placed according to your number. I always rated in the last segment, or the slowest. I have seen people like Jimmy Carter ready to run, also anchor man John Pruett, and some other local newsmen.

Behind a big tall building near Lenox was a patch of woods. Once, I thought that was a good place to pee. When I got there, behind almost every bush was a girl’s head hunkered over taking care of business.

There was also what they called “The World’s Longest Latrine” which was shielded from view by a long hanging canvas…. The men would stand alongside a very long cement parking lot rain gully and relieved themselves. Once I was there and a bunch of women came rushing in telling the men to move over and squatting over the gulley. And other women came rushing in to with their cameras taking pictures…. It was a riot, or almost one.

In the race, in the back part, after the gun shot or whatever went off and people began moving slowly forward, you had to walk almost a mile before the people around you could pick up their pace to a run.

It was always fun and interesting to be part of that moving force. More than once, groups of Marines were near me singing in cadence. I remember once lady painted green and dressed like the Statue of Liberty.

At points, starting I think at Cardiac Hill, which the hill Piedmont Hospital is on, volunteers were on the side with water cups. You would gulp the water and throw the cup down and keep on running, maybe the next water stop you would splash the water in your face to cool off.

At the finish line you got in line for your official Peachtree Road Race t-shirt and another line for a free beer. I understand the free beer is a thing of the past.

Interesting, I remember a fast female runner that the Atlanta Track Club invited to run and also invited her to give a speech at the finish line when all the festivities ere taking place, which she did. Then, an hour of so later, we were driving up Peachtree and there was the same lady, in her same running outfit, walking back the six mile trip alone. I felt for her, it was like she was no longer needed.

The whole run, from start to finish was like a mad-house… a fun mad-house.

That was many years and pounds ago.

Studying Visitors

I have a counter on my blog. It counts every visit and makes a note of how long every visit is, where they came from, and how many times they been back – and what they looked at.

A couple of times a day I look at the counter report and muse and wonder at what I see.

Over last weekend I titled a posting something like “UGA Is Dead” and suddenly my visitors increased. For three or four days my count is up near 200 more each day. It will fizzle out soon I hope. They arrive here and in less than 2 seconds see there is nothing to it and move on.

I think a bunch of people everyday run a Google on UGA and that is why I had so many visitors.

I have said other words that suddenly increased my traffic…. And again, once they looked at what I had to offer, they left in a second or two.

So, temporarily when I say something that attracts a mass of people my visiting number goes up, but also at the same time the return visits and lengthy visits percentage decline. They don’t stick around very long and don’t come back. So, what I feel is my quality numbers decline.

I think the visiting numbers can be misleading.

I really feel complemented when I see a big large percentage stayed over 10 minutes and really feel great when people stay longer than an hour. And even more so, if they are returning visiting… they are coming back for more trash from Eddie – to see what words of wisdom I mutter…. Hah!

What I don’t like is people being attracted here for other reasons than I intended. A good example is a couple of brothers I have observed through the past ten years that live in their late grandparents home, as far as I can tell, and they live in a make-believe military world. I think now they are over 21, maybe even pushing 30, and have only one thing in mind – look like commandos. By their appearances they remind me of Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum and have named several blog postings that when I wrote about them. For a long time I have been getting hits searching out my Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum, mostly from England but also other parts of Europe, and sometimes Australia.

Another good example is when actor Peter Boyle died I had a bit about him and named the post “Joe is Dead”. I called him Joe because that is what my wife Anna and I nicknamed him years ago and have been calling him that ever since. That was the first movie we saw him in, “Joe.” I get still get several hits a day searching for my “Joe is Dead” post. Once they see it, it is not what they had in mind, whatever that is, and they quickly exit. The people that hit “Joe is Dead” are mostly European.

Three of my posts of local eateries get several hits a week. Brandi’s World Famous Hotdogs, Sam and Dave’s BBQ and the Old Mill in Acworth.

Alton Brown’s House and Rock City Bird House each probably get about a visit a day. Alton’s visitors are from all over the U.S. and the Rock City Birdhouse tend to be mostly in Tennessee.

With the exception of Will Elder stuff, my comic book posting are rarely visited. My historical stuff is hit often more locally.

Speaking of which, several people, who consider Marietta their home, have told me face to face or by email how much they enjoy my local stuff I tell... I try to oblige them - not only for them, but also for me. It is good mind exercise to swim around in the ooze of your brain to see what you can remember... or at least I hope it is good exercise, I hope I can always climb back out.

Another thing that baffles me is my blog’s July 2007 Archives. At least a dozen people a day visit to see that month’s archives. I have no idea what is so attracting there. But they seem to in bunches every day, from all the world.

Do I have an International flair of what?

Income Tax Birthday

Yesterday I forgot to tear off the page of the History Channel Page-A-Day. If I had, I would have told you that July 1st was the anniversary of the Federal Income Tax.

On July the 1st, 1862, Congress established a system of collecting taxes. Why? Because they had a war to pay for. After the Civil War, they stopped enforcing the new tax laws.

The IRS was not established until the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913.

Now, again, we have a war to pay for. Every politician knows it is the kiss of death to vote for higher taxes to pay for that war. Don’t worry, our descendants will pay for it.

1 - 2- ?

The other day I overheard the 16 year old boy across the street call his dog.

Wait! First you need a little background: The 16 year old is a school drop out. He and his girlfriend live with his parents along with their one year child with another one on the way.

Back to what I overheard:

He was calling his dog. He called the dog's name and called it and the dog did not respond. He called it by its name and said it had better come by the time he count to three.

Then, he said slowly, "Onnnee!.... Twooooo!............ (silence)."

I told Anna that I wasn't sure - maybe he thought the dog didn't know three came next or maybe he was the one that didn't.

Brennan's French Quarters, Royal St., New Orleans

On the back it says that the building was erected during the twilight of Spanish rule of Louisiana, later it was the Louisiana Bank, the first banking institution in the Louisiana Territory. After that it was the home of Paul Murphy, world-famous chess champion.

But when we went there it was a French restaurant.

I do not know of any specific fact, but I'm sure when we dined there the expression faux pas was used many times.

Ooo-La-La!

Edna Jane Garrett White

Edna Jane Garrett White is a relative on my mother’s side. I am descended from her grandfather, Joseph Garrett.

Edna was born in Fannin County, Georgia, but moved to Marietta after she was grown.

In late 1970s when I started working at my family tree somehow Edna got word that I was doing so, and got in touch with me. I suppose my mother told her.

Edna called me up and invited me over to her house, she had some pictures and things to show me. She had some pictures of the Garretts and their houses and barns in Fannin County and some Garrett Reunions there. She lived off Church Street in Marietta on Frances Avenue in a very pretty white house with a long front porch. – the whole house was spotless clean. Things seemed to shine.

She also had a lot of Garret heirlooms – bowls, silver, cabinets, and so on. She was probably in her 80s at that time, but had a energetic hyper full steam, nervous energy about her.

They way she rushed around showing me things to take pictures of she reminded me “Mother” in Psycho.

Her husband was very laid back and looked very tired. I think I would be too, if I had to keep up with Edna every day. His hair was snowball white, the same as her hair.

Not only did she have artifacts and heirlooms in her house, but over on Cherokee Street was a retired general that lived there at one time that she was friends with. If I remember correctly she had a key and we pulled out china plates and things that she had custody of to photograph. Since the guy was no relation to me, I gave her the pictures.

I think she died about a dozen years ago… and her husband died a few years before that, may he rest in peace.