Good Music, Bad Ass-Hole

In Glover Park last night they had the big band sound of the Still Swinging Band.


Here is a few bits and pieces of the music. Before intermission they played the Armed Forces Salute.. you know, when they call out the branch of serve and play their tune all members of the audience that was in that branch stand up and be proud that you help defend this country.

I had it all planned what I was going to do.  Then, then some guy walked by who knew the man and woman sitting next to us.  The guy talked loud and persistent.   Listen near the end, you can hear his loud voice.   He would  never shut up, although at times he had to talk loud to drown out the music of the band.  He ruined my whole plan…. Like I drove the seven miles there just hear him.  Ass Hole!

Lurking & Slithering in Glover Park

Oops!

Merry Christmas!

OM Jennings

If you have more than one Jennings how would you spell it? Jenningss or Jenningses? Jennings Patterson has been around Marietta about as long as I have. He has always been a pleasure to talk to. Several years ago at a concert in downtown Marietta he walked up to me and ask me was I Eddie or Rock Huner and he told me who he was, it took my mind a few seconds to readjust itself but it was Jennings, and now I don't see how I didn't instantly recognize him.

Again, we went downtown Marietta to another festival. This one was a Grass Roots Music Festival. As a matter of fact, it was the 20th annual Marietta Grass Roots Music Festival. I don’t know why this is the first one we knew about.

About a month ago we noticed posters in windows of downtown stores announcing the Grass Roots Music Festival.

I don’t think any famous names or famous groups played. It was a six hour concert consisting of 9 or 10 groups or individuals that played or sang. We only stayed two hours or so, but were well entertained.

There was the bandstand and a gazebo. A large group would play on the large bandstand and when they were winding down on the smaller gazebo a small group, or an individual would be ready to start playing. It was like one platform’s ending was the other player(s) cue to start. Ideally I think that is the way it was suppose to go, but throw in cell phone and friends hanging around talking, I don’t think things moved that prompt.

Not only was there the music but other things were happening in the park. There was at least two couples married within an hour or so posing for photographers. And it looked like one engaged couple posing. One young teenager had on a pink crown and girls with pink beads would pose with her by the fountain, one at a time.

One large Latino family members were all formally dressed up. I thought it was a wedding, but it was their teenage daughter’s "Sweet 16" announcement, or so a lady standing close by ooing and ahhing. We asked her and she told us and added she thinks it is sweet and is going to do it when her daughter turns 16. She added she was Spanish too.

Different schools had mock monsters as art work all over the park and kids were running all over the place. Check the video. You will see!

Over-The-Hill Game Turf Rumble - Almost

The video says the concert on June the 26th. Oopps! I made a mistake (what else is new?). It was actually the June the 25th. Instead of redoing everything , it is easier to just tell you about it here. I can live with that mistake for a few days until I forget about it. Forgetting is sort of like forgiving.

At last month’s concert somebody beat Monty to his regular spot, by the Liberty Bell to set up his tarp, chairs, and cooler. This month he and Paul decided to stake out the spot at 2:00pm. At 2pm, or shortly after that they met and laid it all out.

A city park official came by and told them that people cannot claim their spots until 4:00pm. But, he added, they could set up it up 3:30; Which they did.

Paul called and told me they had the old spot by the Liberty Bell claimed and secured.

We showed up about 6:30. At the Monty’s favorite spot by the Liberty Bell was being sit on by some people that weren’t us. Monty’s tarp was folded up with the metal pegs on top, on the ground, on the edge of the sidewalk. A blanket was where the tarp normally is.

We called Paul to tell him the situation and he in turn called Monty.

Not long afterwards, Monty came rushing up with a determined focused look on his face. Who he perceived to be the enemy was a lady sitting in a chair close to the blanket. Monty told her in no uncertain terms that they were sitting wrongfully on the spot he earlier claimed.

The lady politely, but firmly, strongly disagreed with him. She said it was like that when they got here, but someone else, teeny boppers, she said, took up the tarp and laid their blanket down. She said she told the teeny boppers that they couldn’t do that. They said, well, they aren’t here, are they? After that they but down the blanket and folded up the tarp (neatly, I might add) and left to get something to eat and socialize.

Then, across the walk a lady came over and concurred what the lady said. She saw it all. She had on a very low low-cut purple dress and she bent over a lot. Like her, I saw it all too.

What the teeny boppers didn’t realize, they made rules to go by when they said, “But they aren’t here, are they?” At the moment “they were not there were they?”

So, we took their blanket up , and put our chairs down. However, we were nice. We replaced their blanket behind us, so they did not lose a place, they just got related a few feet.

Strangely, when the teeny boppers returned their first words were an apologetic “We’re sorry!”

Whew!

Also, during this conflict it was brought out that tarps are no longer allowed in the park. It kills grass. And it was brought out that one official was telling people they could claim their spots at 3:30 and another official was enforcing the 4:00 rule. The right hand and the left hand needs to communicate so that each will know not to conflict with the other.

Also, I think possibly the parks people were making up rules as they go. I wonder if there is a list of rules and regulations for Glover Park or any city park visitors?

Speaking of tuff claims on concert nights and at the end of the attached video that states that “there is more than meets the eye” one of the things, in the video that didn’t meet the eye is a man I have watched for years at these concerts. He drives a motorized wheelchair, the turn-around or something like that. He likes to wheel his wheels up to his favorite spot and enjoy the concert there. If people are already there, which there usually are, his machine will root them away. Most of the time, because he is handicapped, people will move out of the way of the machine. But some people have stood their grounds and told him it was not marked “handicapped” and he would drive away with a scowl on his face.

One time, I mentioned to him, if he wanted a certain spot, he needed to arrive earlier before anybody else had claimed it and beat them to it. He looked at like me like was a nut. Well, at least he is a good judge of character.

Marietta Scene

So Long Paul

Paul Newman we are going to miss you in many ways.

World-wide your movies will be missed. You were an expert actor.

You were a philanthropist with your salad dressing company that helped many underprivileged people.

Marietta will miss you. With your generous monetarily gifts Marietta gave the downtown Glover Park a beautiful facelift.

So long.

The Living Dead

Senator Alexander Stephens Clay statue. Photo by my son Adam Hunter

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.

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!!!

Howard's Taxi Service

At the concert on the Square last night, because of the crowd, and the loud music and Willow, we sat more away from the main area than we usually do.

We sat on the walk that leads from East Park Square to the fountain. About half way down the walk you have to either leap over a Liberty Bell or go around it. We sat about halfway between the Liberty Bell and the park perimeter sidewalk. Just a whiff distance from where the smokers gravitate too. It wasn’t too bad, I think the wind was blowing the nicotine smoke the other way.

I remembered Howard’s Taxi Service. We were sitting almost at what used to be Howard’s Taxi Service’s office.

Howard’s Taxi Service was a one man company. His office was a telephone mounted on a power pole on the edge of the park. He could pick as his chair a park bench or his taxi and be only a leaping distance from the ringing telephone.

If I remember correctly, Howard was tall and lanky – which worked out fine, because he phone was mounted high and out or reach of us short mischievous teenagers.

I don’t know what percent of his customers asked for local trips and what percent asked for long trips. I doubt if he kept up with it either.

I do know he was known for his long trips. A certain druggist on North Park Square had him make long trips quiet often. He had Howard go to the north Georgia mountains to pick up a load of moonshine for him and bring it back.

They had a good professional relationship.

Happy Days Are Here Again

The Glover Park last Friday evenings of the Month warm months has started. The evenings of slurping of fine wines and fine local beers are here again and leaving a pile of liter for the people working off their public service fines to pick up are here again.

We will dance to that.

Taste of Mareitta? - Too Much Taste!

Remember - click on the pictures to make them more impressive than they really are.

Now that it is getting warm there will be a lot of activity in Glover Park, which is the Square within the Square in the center of downtown Marietta.

There will be concerts, arts & crafts festivals, and whatever else they can think of to attract the big spenders from out in the county. I think the first item to kick off the warm months fun is “A Taste Of Marietta”, which last year was very crowded. Too crowded.

Also last year, The Taste of Marietta coincided with the Confederate Memorial Day March. The parade was down the Marietta Parkway, aka, Powder Springs Street, to the Confederate Cemetery. The march did not go through the center of town, which are normally what parades in Marietta do. Why? I suppose because they couldn’t get a parade permit because of the crowds at Taste of Marietta.

It almost makes me wish the days of old were back with us. Back in the 40s and 50s on Saturdays when we walked through Glover Park after a matinée the park had a few drunks on park benches drinking out of brown paper bags – the county was dry then. The fountain in the center first was a fountain surrounded by a fish pond with huge carp-gold fish with white splotches lazily just resting. There was usually a preacher preaching to a handful of drunks on one of the benches. Often you would see a drunk in the bushes or facing a tree excusing himself. The playground was kept simple. It had a slide, a see-saw, swings, and squeaking hand push merry-go-round –, a sandbox. and, oh yeah, a 55 gallon raised and on its side, with sand in it - I never tried that one. Now, they have a big almost life size train engine. The ground is some kind of rubberized material, so if a kid falls they will just bounce and a series of things to climb on.

In between the raggedy shrubs was sand. There were no bushes was well sculptured and hardly any grass. The sidewalk was plain and simple. There are four of them, that all meet at the center where then the fish were, and cross each other and continue to the opposite corner. Now, they have very fancy brick work and well sculptured greenery.

The drunks with the brown paper sacks have been replaced with yuppies with chilled ice buckets and the finest wines.

We just don’t get tired of trying to impress one another do we?

Below is a similar picture as the one above, taken a step or two to the left and on a less crowded day.

Hot Summer Days on the Square

Above is a picture I snapped at the fountain in Glover Park this past July the 4th.

Below is another picture of the fountain I took a year or so ago. Sometimes on a hot day that fountain with its falling water is just too irresistible.

Glover Park Concert Series Starts

Yesterday the Friday night concerts (each last Friday of the month) started for the season in downtown Marietta on the Square. We went… it wouldn’t be completed without us, but no one else knows that but us.

Last night’s concert was a blues/beachboy type of music. It seems they would cancel each other out, but they were pretty good and provided some good dance music.

There were wall-to-wall people all over Glover Park, where the concert was, and also on an adjacent street blocked off. In front of the bandstand an area is blocked off for reserved tables and that is where all the elite site, and behind the bandstand on the blocked off seat were also a sea of tables but I am not sure those are reserved or you just bring your own table and set up your own. It seems to the be thing to decorate your table and the neighboring trees up with whatever theme you choose and then Mrs. Morris, the lady in charge of the concerts gives an award for the most creative table. It is an America’s “Look-at-me” competition at its best.

In the elite roped off dining area was a girl I was good friends with in high school. We sort of had a brother sister relationship. She was wealthy – so, when we matured we naturally went our separate ways. Back then she also taught a little girl baton twirling – the little girl was Anna..

Although there were many people there, a few stand out as people we have seen year after year. There is one man who is apparently single – he comes along. He has an electric wheel-chair…. He arrives late and insists on a certain place by a little wall with a good view. Each time he has to just about by mechanical force clear the area for him and his machine or he has to verbally asked for it. For a couple of years I have been thinking about politely telling him if he would get there a couple of hours earlier then he could get his choice spot by first-come-first-serve. Last night he lost out, the people there would not relinquish their place.

Near us in a picnic mold was a large group of middle aged people. I don’t think any of them had a wedding ring on. Marietta Divorce Club? They seemed to have a good time… several of them made a show dancing, showing they still had what it takes – and were pretty good at it.

Next to us were a humble nice polite husband and wife with Georgian accents. It didn’t take us long to discovered they were natives. And he used to lived in the same neighborhood as a good friend and his family… although he was about 8 years younger than my friend and me…. He knew the whole family.

It is a small world among natives – it doesn’t take long to be tripping over one’s own feet with the 3 or 4 degree law.

Each year an artist paints a picture that is used by the city’s parks and recreation for the official concert poster – the picture with the schedule of the concerts someplace on it. This year was the first year the artwork was not of Glover Park, where the concert is held. The artist usually has prints made up and has a table that she is signing prints and selling them. This year was no exception. This year the artist is the Mayor’s daughter.

Gee, I wonder how she was picked even though she strayed from the traditional theme?

An Afternoon in the Park - May 1989

An afternoon in Glover Park, downtown Marietta. Rocky (near center) is playing his trombone in the high school jazz band and Adam is in another part of the park playing play stuff.

Glover Park pictures

Gover Park

Glover Park will be the focus point of the 4th of July celebrations here in Marietta so I thought I would just say a little about it.

It was first the grounds of the second Cobb County Courthouse but Sherman had it burned to the ground in 1864. The the courthouse was rebuilt across the street.

Somehow the Glover family became owners of Glover Park. The Glover family supplied the city with its first mayor and it was certainly one of the wealthiest families in Marietta, they owned Glover Machine Works which first made locomotives and then other things, mostly for a war effort.

Until fairly recent times black people was not allowed to sent on the benches in the part. The Glover family still owned the park and a sipulation on the loan of the park that if black people sat on the benches then the park would reverse back to the owners, the Glover family. Less than twenty years ago a member of the Glover family had lawyers change that clause.

When I was young I did not enjoy walking throughthe park to get to other side after I left the movies. On Saturdays it was full of farmers sitting on benches talking about politics and crazed preachers on soapboxes thumping on their bibles saying the end is near. And on weekdays it contained mostly drunks drinking out of brown paperbags and pissing in the bushes. The shrubs were untrimmed and the dirt looked like white sand. There was squeaky equipment playground and on one corner was a telephone on the side of a pole. It was the office of Red the Cab Driver. Red also was your local bootlegger, if Red was alive today, he would be be your local pusher-man.

About 30 or so years ago Glover Park with private funds got a face lift. Joann Woodward and her husband Paul got things rolling by donating several hundred thousands. The cement walks were changed to cobblestone and the gold fish well in the center was made to look like a shrine - they also put in a big fountain and kicked the gold fish out.

Througout the years I have taken pictures of the park. Here are some of them.