A Few Braves for Memorial Day

I did something very American last night….I attended a baseball game……an Atlanta Braves baseball game.  

I do enjoy going, but every time I attend a game I have to reacquaint myself with the process.

Finding a parking place…

…and even though we tend to park fairly close it is still a hike to the stadium from said parking place….yes, I know MARTA exists….that’s another story for another time. 

However, where else can you see someone sweeping the grass?

…or witness some “hosers” in action?

The food…..a dieter’s nightmare….the cotton candy, hot dogs, beer, peanuts and where else can you get a four dollar bottle of water????

Then there’s the seating situation…..thigh to thigh and elbow to elbow with perfect strangers swilling the beverage of their choice, shouting at the players and the umpires, the up and down every time someone wants to leave their seat and let’s not forget the sweating.  

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It’s hot so I sweat…..I’m 50 (did I just type that?).

I’m sitting in close proximity to others so I sweat.

I just sweat with strangers and people-watch…It IS entertaining.

Where else can you see cute little want to be players like this?

..and last names that totally fill up a jersey?  Seriously?

…and during lulls in the game you get to see life-size TOOLS race each other and duke it out….and I’m not referring to the politicians either.

The players…..very talented rich men every one of them, but durn……when did they get so young?   I have a son their age.....sigh. 

But then the game creeps in….the crack of the bat…..

….and the Tomahawk Chop gets revved up, and I remember why I enjoy a Braves game at the Ted.

I loved every minute of it!

i hope everyone had a restful Memorial Day....but most importantly I hope you took a few minutes and was grateful for the military regarding all they have done, continue to do, and will do in the future to protect our freedom.


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More New Blogs

Here are a few new blogs I’ve added to the blogroll:

The Bees Knees Daily…..Wow!  I’m loving this site.  The Queen Bee states, “My blog is mainly transcriptions of old Georgia newspapers that include marriages, obituaries, society columns, property sales, etc.  Since I'm a history buff, I also like to add news articles related to American presidents, arts & entertainment and history in general.  I'm a member of Gene bloggers and add genealogy related posts several times a week as well.  Most of my ancestors lived in Georgia and can be traced back to the early 1800s.”    I’d like to add that many of her interesting postings involve items and pictures from her own family.    A great historical find!

Atlanta SKYriseblog…..The tagline states Atlanta’s Luxury Condo blog.    This site has wonderful images and a little information about many of Atlanta’s best downtown addresses presented by realtor, Kevin Grieco.  He considers himself a lifestyle consultant and states his job is to fully understand his clients’ needs and then help them create the environment they are looking for via in-depth consultations, maintaining accurate and current market statistics, creating proprietary research, and collaborating with other luxury lifestyle professionals.    I’m just thrilled I get to see a little of these fantastic places to live, and will bookmark a few, so that I know where I’m going when I make that first blog-million!

La Dulce Vida - The Sweet Life…..Our host at this site…Adriana Iris… states her interests are as diverse as her family...photography, painting, sewing, cooking, music, writing, flamenco, gardening, yoga, poetry…..trying to treat every day as a new adventure and holiday.  As I was reading her “about” page one thing struck a chord with me.  She says, “I use too many of (…) and make no apologies.”     LOL...I do too!  It just happens, and I can’t stop it.  It’s nice to know I have a partner in crime.

The Bishop House….Okay, at first click-through you will exclaim, “This isn’t even an active blog.”   Yes, I know.  It hasn’t been updated in a while, but the site is written by W. Jeff Bishop who has served as president of the Georgia chapter for the Trail of Tears Association.   This site is also a portal to some of his other sites.   If you are into history this link might be of interest to you.

Atlanta Historical Tidbits….interesting images, lots of genealogy links.  This site is owned by Jeanette McDonald…..Over the last few years she’s probably traced over 100,000 names, she states she is so familiar with the early colonists that she can just about open a discussion about any ancestor in the Southeast region.  She’s behind the wonderful Georgia Pioneers web site/resource.

The Society for Georgia Archeology…..no, it’s not a blog, but it is a new addition around here under my resource header.

Live Blogging: The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917

The Atlanta History Center is presenting a live blog event remembering this significant event in Atlanta history…..You can find it here.

My students and I would SO BEING DOING THIS if I was still in the classroom!!!

The Great Atlanta Fire of 1917 occurred on May 21^st and covered over 300 acres in the Fourth Ward – 2000 businesses, homes and churches were displaced.

Head on over and enjoy the minute by minute timeline of the event including pictures.

New Blogs for the Blogroll

Here are four new additions to the blogroll…..all Georgia owned and authored as well as a couple of my own housekeeping details.

Oracle of HOTlanta…..a brand new blog regarding issues of the day dished up by the Oracle along with his predictions.   His first issue is near and dear to my heart since it concerns my little hamlet of Douglasville.    

The Diction of Politics…..political analysis, issues of the day, and as the tag line states in the blog header….."analysis of political word choice denotation versus connotation".     This should be a fun read….

Sarah Way Down South….Sarah explains her blog in just a few words, “Writing, culture, sports, politics, southern life and my life”.   It’s so much more than that…..go see.  

 Motherhood in the Raw…..It seems like the writer and I are on opposite ends of the mom spectrum, but I can sure relate….even though I’m sure we agree it’s the toughest job you will ever love.  Her tagline reads…..”If you were looking for the joys of parenting, you may want to leave this blog.”   She has the most important ingredient motherhood requires…..a sense of humor.

Hopefully these blogs will contribute to the Georgia Blog Carnival as I plan to revive it very, very soon.

Also….it recently came to my attention that the links to obtain an email subscription to Georgia on My Mind had been broken.....folks weren’t receiving updates….and new folks  who wanted to subscribe had no location to enter their email addresses.   Hopefully this has been fixed, and all is well.

Please remember to add Georgia on My Mind to your “likes” on Facebook, too!!!

Waiting on the Vote

So, I guess a lot can happen in 16 days…..I arrived home from a lovely sojourn to the beach, published an article here at Georgia on My Mind regarding Sunday alcohol sales, dealt with some air conditioning issues, was elated to hear the Douglasville City Council had unanimously decided to allow the people to vote on the Sunday sales issue this November, dealt with a fire in downtown Douglasville, and then……….surprise!    Our Mayor decided to veto the unanimous council decision.  He also vetoed a resolution that would extend pouring hours.

His reason?

A press release stated, ”…both vetoes are based on public safety concerns and his belief that a majority of Douglasville’s citizens are opposed to the two measures approved by the City Council.”

He also said, “I campaigned for mayor on a pledge to help make this a safe community to live in, to help make it one of the premier places in America to live, work, play and raise a family.  That is what I intend to do, as I consider the decisions I must make as mayor.”

Apparently the Mayor’s idea of making Douglasville a premier place is by lifting the heavy burden of the act of voting from the people and making all the decisions himself.

So, last night I Googled the words “mayor”, “Douglasville”, and “veto”….those are the only three words I needed to find more Google links than I cared to know about…..almost six pages full of various links ……..regarding Mayor Harvey Person’s veto.

If you notice I didn’t even need to Google his name.

Some of the links I expected…. Douglasville Patch here (see all of the comments and the Mayor’s complete press release) and a second Patch article here and the local paper…..the Douglas County Sentinel.    

The AJC was expected along with the local television stations like CBS-Atlanta and even WABE our PBS station where my beloved high school teacher, Mr. Goss is an on-air personality can be found here, BUT I really didn’t expect to find the story repeated over and over in places like Macon, Savannah, Columbus, and even Augusta.

Then there were the out of state outlets….Jacksonville, Florida, Chattanooga, Tennessee, The Republic from Columbus, Indiana and don’t forget Spartanburg, Greenville and Anderson, South Carolina.

Hmmm…seems like the Mayor has really gotten the attention of lots of people out of town.   Yes, based on the comments at some of these links people are really encouraged to come to Douglasville.

Last night I saw  Peach Pundit had picked up story and in the comments “Three Jack” linked his or her comment to a Question and Answer  for the Candidates published at Douglasville Patch here ……and yes, if you click through you discover I authored the column.   I wrote the questions with input from friends, emailed the questions and then copy and pasted the candidate’s responses into the column for publication…..just as they were sent to me. 

One particular question I asked was…..Do you think there should be a vote on Sunday package sales allowed? Why or why not?

Mayor Persons responded, “I personally do not favor Sunday package sales of alcohol, but feel that there is substantial public opinion to allow it to be placed on the ballot and allow the citizens to decide. The facts for both sides need to be presented and the citizens need to decide this issue.”

So.....the citizens need to decide.    Doesn’t that mean they get to vote?

Apparently the answer is no per the Mayor.

Since the election the Mayor has hemmed and hawed regarding the issue. He placed the matter in committee to “gather information” and “analyze the issue”.

What’s so hard about letting people vote?  Over 100 jurisdictions across the state of Georgia did just that during last November’s election. 

In February, a friend of mine emailed the Mayor…was passed off to the committee chair and then was told until there  was a full hearing  of citizens no action would take place….citizen input they advised was important.   

Citizen input…..doesn’t that include asking for the right the vote….especially since the General Assembly thinks it’s okay?

During my Google search to see who else was discussing events in Douglasville I found the blog The Diction of Politics…..not only did this blog’s author discuss the situation,and the candidate’s question and answer forum…..they also named me.   The author decided to write a letter to the Mayor.   Click through and read what Alix has to say here.

I also invite you to check out the Facebook page for Douglasville and Douglas County for Sunday Alcohol Sales here.

And then today the Neal Boortz show picked up the story.  Mr. Boortz railed against Mayor Person’s for his comments while campaigning and subsequent veto.    I had planned sleep in a little this morning, but my phone began ringing as Dear Husband wanted to alert me that Neal’s target of the day was none other than our Mayor who was elected just this past November by the citizens of Douglasville.  

Neal Boortz didn’t just talk about the Mayor and his veto during the first hour when he’s just heard in the Atlanta area……he continued on and off during his entire show which is syndicated and reaches 230 radio stations nationwide with a listening audience of six million people.

Six million people representing families looking for a new place to live….six million people representing business owners wanting to re-locate their business…..Damn.

Come to Douglasville where the Mayor will pat you on the head and decide what is best for you.

….and I have to tell you as a lover of history and as a Social Studies educator….the Mayor’s veto has really broken my heart.

No, it’s not because I want to purchase a drink on a Sunday.  

It has to do with the vote.

This issue became convoluted with the rights and wrongs of consuming alcohol…..it was too early for that, and the last time I checked it is a legal substance.    At the council level this issue was about letting the people vote or not letting the people vote.

What many are losing sight of…..the Douglasville City Council decided to allow the people to vote, and….let’s make sure we are clear on the issue….the Mayor did NOT veto Sunday sales.   

He vetoed the citizen’s right to vote.

The right to vote is precious.

Voting is one of the things I constantly discussed with students.   I would tell them that once they turned 18 the first thing they should do is register to vote…..and if they didn’t I would hunt them down and haunt them.

Why would anyone waste their opportunity to vote?

Why would anyone appreciate an elected official who took your right to vote away?

Let the people vote!!!!

Views of Atlanta's Civil War Depot and State Square

If we could travel back in time to Atlanta in 1864 it would be hard to realize we were in the same city with or without Sherman’s efforts to destroy the city.   

Here are a few images of Atlanta’s train depot and State Square....you can click on each image to isolate it and make it a little bigger:

This is the depot before Sherman ordered it destroyed.  Source:  http://www.old-picture.com/civil-war/Atlanta-Railroad-Georgia-nearer.htm

This picture is part of the Federal encampment that took possession of State Square near the depot.  The large building in the middle is Atlanta's City Hall    Source:  http://www.americaslibrary.gov/es/ga/es_ga_atlanta_1_e.html

A view of the rail yard    Source:  http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/madness-genius-shermans-ruthless-march/

The depot as it appeared after November, 1864   Source:  http://www.civilwar.org/150th-anniversary/the-gathering-storm-2.html

Another image of the depot and some of the rail yard    Source:  http://www.shorpy.com/node/6484

Some of the buildings surrounding State Square including hotels and stores    Source:  http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/CivilWar/sep164.htm

Another view of the rail yard and the destroyed depot   Source:  http://www.shorpy.com/node/10236

Some of the buildings on State Square including the Atlanta Intelligencer  office.....a newspaper.   Source:  http://atmo4.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/02/the-civil-war-part-1-the-places/100241/

More of the  Federal tents on State Square.  The building  on the left is the Trout House Hotel while the building on the right is the Masonic Hall     Source:  http://irapl.altervista.org/nit/viewpics.php?title=%5BAtlanta,+Ga.+Railroad+depot;+a+nearer+view%5D

For more information regarding Atlanta’s train depot and State Square head to this article.

Georgia's Civil War Generals

The men I’ve featured in my photo collage all have something in common as you can tell by my title……

They lived in Georgia….they were Confederate Generals…..and they all are buried at Oakland Cemetery.

Top row, left to right:   John Brown Gordon, Alfred Iverson, Jr., and Clement Anselm Evans

Bottom row, left to right:  Lucius Jeremiah Gartrell, William Stephens Walker

If you would like to find out more about each General you can access my article here.

Sunday Alcohol Sales in Douglasville and Douglas County

So I have to ask….has the ban on Sunday alcohol sales in Georgia finally outlived its purpose?

Do any of us even remember what the purpose was?

The ban is part of what is referred to as a blue law.  Blue laws were basically passed to enforce religious standards….in the case of the state of Georgia it was mainly passed to help folks  observe Sunday as a day for worship and rest.

  

Originally the laws included a ban on shopping along with Sunday sales of alcohol.  Eventually the shopping ban was lifted, but the alcohol ban seemed firmly entrenched in the Georgia code as well as in our sweet little old traditional minds.

Apparently God isn’t offended by shopping and eating out.

Now, I don’t normally have an issue with traditions.   I observe a few of them myself, but when it comes to a point where you are making others observe your traditions or religious practices as a matter of law…..no…..it’s just not right.

As you might have heard Governor Nathan deal signed into law SB-10 last April providing the opportunity for cities and counties across the state to allow citizens to speak their minds at the polls regarding Sunday sales.

Last November over 100 different cities and counties voted on the issue and the majority spoke proclaiming while religious views should be tolerated they should NOT dictate what every citizen should have the right to do or not do.

In my neck of the woods, however things have run at a much slower pace.   We have politicians who wanted to “study” the issue.   We also have politicians who firmly believe in keeping the Sabbath holy and are firm in their convictions we should follow their example no matter what.
    

This article from the Douglas County Sentinel advises four [county] commissioners [recently] spoke in a manner indicating they support the alcohol votes, but one was adamantly opposed.

“We are talking about taverns, Taco Mac, places like that all over the county,” said District 4 Commissioner Ann Jones-Guider.   “It will affect our police, our jail.  There will be broken families.  How will it look when people leave the church and go to a tavern to have a beer?  I don’t think this is a pro-family rule to put on the ballot.   I don’t want us to be like Atlanta and Fulton Industrial Boulevard.”

You know….I visit Taco Mac quite frequently.   It’s a great addition to the restaurants we have in Douglasville.  Yes, they have a great selection of beer.   Yes, lots of people go there due to the selection of beer.   They also go there to have dinner.   I guess the Commissioner doesn’t frequent Taco Mac or “places like that” or she would notice there are many families with children of all ages who frequent Taco Mac…..I’ve seen little league teams there having their victory dinners.   Sometimes I even go on Sunday and see folks enjoying a meal after church….and yes, I see friends who I know attend local churches and they enjoy a beer or two…even on Sunday.

The Sentinel article continues….Sunday retail sales have been approved in Villa Rica, Austell, Hiram and other areas surrounding Douglas County.   The Douglasville City Council will vote May 7 on whether this will be put on the ballot.   Due to this, some commissioners view alcohol sales as an economic development issue.

“This will give our businesses a level playing field,” said District 2 Commissioner Kelly Robinson.

Guider sees it differently.

“We are supposed to keep the Sabbath,” Guider said.   “We have ‘in God we trust’ on our car tags.  If we are going to trust him, we need to obey him.  Who are we praying to if we aren’t going to trust and obey?”

If I’m not mistaken “in God we trust” is an option with car tags….not a requirement.
  

Hmmm….that’s interesting.  I can choose to have 'in God we trust' on my car tag, or I can opt to not have it, but I can’t pick up a bottle of wine at the store on a Sunday and go home to enjoy it along with my dinner like I can any other night of the week.

This Sentinel article quotes District 3 Douglas County Commissioner Mike Mulcare, who favors putting the measure before the voters.  “I have nothing against Subway and Wendy’s.  I frequent those restaurants, but they are not the quality restaurants where you take family or celebrate a birth or a wedding.”

Richard Segal is the administrator of a Facebook group called “Douglasville and Douglas County for Sunday alcohol sales.  The group can be found here. Though the group is mainly focused on Sunday retail sales, Segal supports restaurant alcohol sales in the county as well. 

Mulcare said he has seen people in his district sit down in a restaurant only to leave after learning they could not be served a beer.  “This is an example of government intrusion into a business decision,” Mulcare said.  “This is us governing how a business operates.”

It’s at this point I think I should interject that Mr. Mulcare and Mr. Segal don’t drink.   “It’s not about me being for or against it,” Mulcare said.  “It’s about the people being for or against it.  I don’t feel they elected me to decide for them.”

Gee….a politician that GETS it.

How refreshing!