My Georgia Home

View from my balcony in Duluth on a snowy day in 2009.

 

This Thanksgiving Day marks my 32^nd year here in Georgia. I made my home here in 1980. I use the term “home” loosely because Maine will always be home to me. However, I have lived in Georgia almost half my life now.

A lot has happened in those 32 years. I thought about all the different changes and experiences I have seen since living here in Georgia. There are quite a few to say the least.

I came to the Atlanta, Georgia area originally with a friend seeking work after Grad School. I ended up as an intern at the then fledgling CNN. At that time a 24-hour news channel seemed ludicrous. Ted Turner’s new network was what we call here in the South “the red-headed stepchild” of the TV news genre. However, it ended up being a major force in the TV news business. That’s a whole other story which I will go into later on.

I did land a permanent job at CNN in the graphics department, but I had to leave for health reasons and held six other jobs after that. First I worked at The Southern Banker magazine based in Norcross where I lived at that time. It was only a part-time job as Advertising Production Manager. I found I needed another part-time job to make my expenses each month. The woman who held my job previously suggested I ask for a job as a typesetter at an advertising firm in Norcross which printed ads for bowling alleys. I got that job and used to commute between the two jobs. Scheduling included doing the magazine job early in the morning so I could then go to the typesetting job. One day a month I spent the whole day at the magazine putting the monthly edition to bed.

The typesetting job eventually became a full-time job, so I therefore left the magazine. Good thing, because it folded soon after that. My boss at the ad company moved on to a position as publications manager at the Atlanta Jewish Community Center. She asked me to come with her as typesetter, paste-up helper, sometime writer and overall assistant. I accepted and was with her at the Center for eight years.

I enjoyed that job very much; met many interesting people; and participated in a huge Israeli Expo at that site. Budget cuts soon after that left me without a job. However, I received two weeks pay for every year I’d worked there, eight, so that I had something to live on while I searched for another job.

I held two more jobs after that for print houses as a proofreader until my final job before retirement at Network Communications in Lawrenceville.

Where did I live all those years? At first my friend and I lived in a trailer we bought set up in a park in Lawrenceville. At that time I was working nights at CNN and it was a long road home at night because I-85 wasn’t completed yet. Pleasant Hill Road, which I drove every night, was a back road then. It has changed remarkably since the mall and other businesses have taken over the area. When I drive up that road I note the places that were there when I first came and how businesses have grown up around them, including what was once a country Baptist church.

In the Atlanta area, in fact, there is often an old section of a town and a new section. They come to be known as “old Norcross” “old Lawrenceville” etc. If you go off the main roads in these towns you will come upon these places and many times it’s like stepping back in time into the early 1900s. Usually there is a railroad track running right through the middle of them.

All the places I have lived in Georgia have been in Gwinnett County, a suburb of Atlanta, except for the one house I rented in Roswell which is in North Fulton County. I have lived in apartments, a duplex, a house, and two trailers which I bought. I’ve had several roommates along the way and have also lived by myself. Since the flood three years ago, Nanci and I live in an apartment in Duluth.

I have owned six vehicles since living in Georgia. The first was an old mustard colored Chevy Luv truck. The clutch went on it finally and I sold it for $500. For about three months my only means of transportation was a moped I’d brought from Connecticut with me. As I lived just down the street from my job at the time and the bank was at the end of the street the other way; and the grocery store was around the corner, I made out all right. I carried a back pack and used the basket on the bike to carry what groceries I needed for a few days at a time.

The folks helped me buy my next car, a Chevy Hatchback. Good car. I drove it into the ground before I bought my Honda Civic, which I also drove into the ground. After that I had another Chevy truck, an S10, which I lost in the flood. My newest car is a Chevy HHR, which I love. Guess you can tell I mostly like Chevies.

In the last 32 years my physical environment has changed dramatically. When I came here, I-285 wasn’t even completed, nor was I-85. Now there is still construction of some kind everywhere you go. It’s said that kids growing up here think something is wrong if they don’t see some kind of orange cones when riding in a car. Another thing that amazed me about the roads is that they are always resurfacing them even if they don’t need it. I can’t remember the last time I hit any kind of depression in the roads I travel here on a daily basis. Of course there is no freeze and thaw to contend with either.

Sports Teams

I’ve seen a lot of changes in the sports teams here since 1980. Most significant is the changes in the hockey teams. When I first came here, the Flames were still here. They moved to Calgary. Then the new team, the Thrashers, moved to Winnepeg. We had a minor league team, the Knights, which was very popular. It was the first team to have a female goalie. Nanci and I enjoy our local minor league team, the Gwinnett Gladiators.

We had one championship season with the 1995 Braves who won the World Series that year. Our football team, the Falcons, also participated in Super Bowl XXIII against the Broncos. In the old days when the team wasn’t so popular and they’d black out the game locally, a friend used to drag me up to North Carolina to go camping so she could watch the game on a little TV we brought with us. She was one rabid fan.

My favorite sport of all is Women’s Basketball. Nanci and I were fortunate enough to see the NCAA Women’s Championships down in Atlanta the year Diana Tarasi and Swinn Cash tore up the floor and Pat Summitt, of the Tennessee Vols, the opponent, threw a chair onto the floor in disgust. We sat amongst all those yellow Tennessee jersied fans and steadfastly rooted for UConn. We were both distressed to learn of Pat’s recent diagnosis of early on-set Alzheimers disease. We’lll miss her involvement in the game, as she was so much a part of college women’s basketball for so many years. The basketball venue in Tennessee is actually named for her.

I’ve watched the development of Women’s Basketball from the college ranks to the eventual establishment of professional leagues. The old ABL here in Atlanta, had the Glory as one of the first pro teams. Later on, the Dream was an expansion team of the WNBA. It’s been fun watching all my favorite players’ progression to the pros. Nanci and I have also gotten to see the Dream play downtown.

Of course the mother lode of sports is the Olympics. I was here for the Atlanta version of the Olympics and enjoyed it immensely. I have previously written of my experiences of that wonderful time in Atlanta. What I remember most about the games, however, is the July heat we had to endure. The Atlanta Olympic Committee lied to the IOC when they said the temperatures would be just fine for competing. Not. I am thankful for the misting tents which you could go into for some relief.

Georgia Tourism

While I have been here in Georgia I have been able to enjoy some of what Atlanta and Georgia has to offer in the way of tourism sites. In downtown Atlanta I have visited Underground Atlanta, the World of Coca Cola, whose world headquarters are here; the Martin Luther King Center; and Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he preached. I have attended ball games at Turner Field, the Georgia Dome, and the downtown arena.

I have visited the house used as the setting for Twin Oaks in the movie, “Gone With the Wind” down Augusta way. I have taken friends to my favorite café in Juliet, Georgia, about a three-hour ride south of Atlanta next to Macon, the Whistle Stop Café, made famous in the movie, “Fried Green Tomatoes,” one of my favorite movies. The whole town is a tourist attraction for that movie. The local people have gotten a lot of miles out of it. The café is so popular that you have to sign up on the chalkboard hanging outside the door to get in when it opens. Meanwhile, it’s fun to hang out on the big wrap-around porch. And yes, they do have fried green tomatoes which are delicious

Nanci and I have also visited Savannah when she went down to sign up for Jeopardy. I took the Paula Dean Tour and ate at Uncle Bubbas, her brother’s place. The best wild shrimp in the world right out of the Savannah River and if you don’t order barbecued oysters they’ll bring you one to try. Delicious! We both want to go back when we can spend more time.

So there’s my Georgia story so far. I don’t know how much longer I’ll make Georgia my home, but don’t be surprised if some day you see Nanci and I cross the bridge in New Hampshire and open up all the windows to let in all the Maine air as we come to make Maine our home.

Thanks for listening.

 

 

 

Help Build a Dory Shop

The museum needs to raise 15k, to be matched by an anonymous donor. The museum is asking for fully tax deductible contributions to be sent to:

 

Sail, Power & Steam Museum

75 Mechanic Street

Rockland, ME 04841

 

Captain Jim and Meg Sharp thank you.

 

 

Thomaston Library News

 

 

Baby Signing Workshop

December 7; 11am-noon

 

 

This event is funded by

 Dena Davis' Children's Festival,

pictured here with her son during

 Thomaston Public Library's Story Hour.

Photo by Joanna Hynd

 

Marcie Howard, certified elementary school teacher and Signing Time

Instructor is coming to Story Hour at Thomaston Public Library. She will

be visiting Friday, December 7th from 11am to noon. This event is funded

by the proceeds from Dena Davis' Children's Festival. "I am so happy

that Dena is funding this special baby signing workshop. I am looking

forward to learning about baby signing, and how it can improve early

speech and child development: plus it just sounds like a good time,"

says Assistant Librarian, Joanna Hynd.

 

Marcie Howard has worked with children for the past 20 years as an

elementary teacher. She is a certified Advanced Instructor at Signing

Time Academy and the creator of Sprouting Signers.

 

Thomaston Public Library's Children's Room is a recently renovated space

located on the first floor in the old Thomaston Academy at 60 Main St.

in Thomaston. Public parking is located behind the Academy.

 

Photography by Neil Shively

The Thomaston Public Library is proud to once again to host the photography of local artist Neil Shively. Librarian, Jocelyn Callaghan, recommends his photography saying, "The vibrant colors mix with the peaceful scenes to bring together a display that will captivate you with a sense of sea-side tranquility." This display can be seen at the Thomaston Public Library downstairs in the general fiction section.

 

 

“Neil’s photographs are luminous,

 eye-catching and so beautiful!”

says new head librarian Ann Harris.

Photo by Neil Shively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Mother’s Thanksgiving Dinner

Or How to

Make Your Holiday Special

 

From squidoo.com

Thanksgiving dinner never tasted as good as your mother’s. My mother’s spread looked something like this picture. The menu was similar to many other houses in the South End, however, it never tasted as good as your mother’s. Right? In this blog I will try to make up for the fact that you don’t have a mother to cook your Thanksgiving dinner for you anymore, or if you do, you can’t make it to where she is this year.

This is what my mother’s spread usually consisted of: Turkey; home-made stuffing; rolls; cranberry sauce from the can; creamed onions; smashed potatoes and sweet potatoes; squash and turnip also smashed; gravy; a green bean dish; maybe a jellied salad; relishes and celery stuffed with cream cheese and walnuts on top; all manner of pies, usually at least chocolate, apple and pumpkin.

How did they do it without microwaves to keep everything warm; and how did they get everything to come out at the same time? A miracle right? I can see my mother’s stove with every burner going with the serving dishes ready when it was time to put it all on the table at once.

My father’s duty was to slice the turkey, which he did with an electric knife later on. I once attempted to replicate my mother’s menu and invite a few friends who could not be home for Thanksgiving either. I did pretty well but it ended up more-or-less as a serve-it-yourself event. Everyone put what they want on their plate and zapped it in the microwave to reach the proper temperature. Worked pretty well that way since I didn’t have a big table to sit everyone down at.

 

You can find menus, recipes and tips at the following sites online:

www.foodnetwork.com

Better Homes and Gardens site at: www.bhg.com

www.marthastewart.com/856379/thanksgiving-menus/

There are many videos on You Tube to help you prepare your Thanksgiving dinner menu. I came across one hilarious video called “Thanksgiving Dinner in an Hour.” It’s an outrageous video to anyone who loves this holiday and the preparation that goes into it which is part of the fun of it. My mother would be simply appalled to even suggest such a thing. But here you go:
 

 

 

If you need help decorating your table for the holiday, there is a very good site with many suggestions at

http://pinterest.com/christinekysely/thanksgiving-table-settings-autumn-ideas-decor/

If you decide you don’t want to cook at all, there are many restaurants in Maine that are serving Thanksgiving dinner. Here are a few along the coastal area. I suggest you call to make reservations if you’re interested. Besides the restaurants listed below, I suggest you also call your favorite local restaurant to see if they are serving Thanksgiving dinner. A check at the Courier Gazette online could not give me that information. Just remember, you won’t have those leftover turkey sandwiches to eat while watching the football games.

BRUNSWICK

Inn at Brunswick Station; 4 Noble St.; 837-6565

CAMDEN

Camden Harbour Inn; 83 Bayview St.; 236-7008; www.camdenharborinn.com

GRAY

DiSanto’s Restaurant; 322 West Gray Road; 438-4300; www.disantosrestaurant.com.

PORTLAND

Eve’s at the Garden; Portland Harbor Hotel; 468 Fore St.; 775-90910

Old Port Tavern; 11 Moulton St.; 774-0444

SOUTH PORTLAND

Saltwater Grille; 231 Front St.; 799-5400

In the days before we jumped from the Thanksgiving table to head for the Mall, we actually had local celebrations of the holiday. Many of you may remember this old hymn which is very appropriate for the Thanksgiving holiday. I couldn’t download the audio, but if you bring the site up at http://nethymnal.org/htm/w/e/wegather.htm  

and then set your laptop on the Thanksgiving table, you can sing along to the words below. Here’s some information about this song along with the words:

                                                                                                       

Photo from the above site,
 Eduard Kremser

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known.
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our Defender will be.
Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

So there’s your complete plans for the holiday. I hope you and yours enjoy the holiday. I will be cooking dinner here for Nanci and me.  It will be a late dinner as she is working till 5:00 pm. While I’m cooking though, I’ll remember my mother and all the special food memories she gave us on Thanksgiving. God bless her and God bless all the servicemen and women serving overseas during the holidays and God bless the United States of America.

Thanks for listening.

(Note: sorry for the format problems.)

Where will your

 Thanksgiving Turkey Come From?

 

A recent ad in the Courier carried an ad for fresh turkeys and produce from “Fresh off the Farm.” The farmer’s market on Route 1 in Rockport advertises everything you may need for your Thanksgiving holiday, including “fresh turkeys,” locally raised with no antibiotics or Growth Hormones!

The word “fresh” always triggers something in your brain, especially if you are my age. Times spent at the farm over in Bremen and harvesting fresh vegetables and eggs to eat at that day’s dinner, bring back many happy memories.

Many’s the time that Aunt Freda would instruct Uncle Carl to go out and kill a chicken for Sunday’s dinner. They didn’t have turkeys on the farm, but if they did, I doubt that they were concerned with antibiotics or growth hormones. Farmers just fed the birds period and that was it. We are all still here so I guess they did something right.

If you visit the Farmer’s Market on Route 1, I’m sure you’ll get a wonderful fresh turkey to eat on Turkey Day. But there is another possibility for the source of a turkey, especially if you are a hunter.

 

Maine now has a significant population of wild turkeys. If you want to experience Thanksgiving Day like the Pilgrims did, here’s your chance. I looked up some facts about our wild turkeys at

 www.maine.gov/ifw/wildlife/special/wild_turkey/index.htm

Here’s some of what they had to say about our special Maine wild turkey:

Physical Characteristics

The Wild Turkey is North America's largest upland game bird. Average adult hens weigh between 8 - 12 lb. and adult toms between 10 - 20 lb., and a large tom can weigh in excess of 25 lb. Toms sport which are bristle-like feathers that protrude from the chest and can grow to a length of more than 12 inches on older toms. Beards may be present on about 10% of the hens; however, they are thinner and shorter than those of adult males. Heads of gobblers (adult toms) are generally bare and blue with a hint of pink and red, but colors can change with the mood of the tom. During mating season, the gobbler's crown swells and turns white and its wattles become large and bright red. Heads of hens are somewhat feathered with smaller, darker feathers extending up from the back of the neck. Legs of toms are longer than the hens and are equipped with spurs.

Did You Know....

·         Turkeys can fly up to 60 miles per hour and a distance of 1 mile?

·         First year birds have dark legs?

·         Game farm strains of wild turkeys do not survive or reproduce well in the wild, and they introduce inferior breeding stock into natural populations?

Longevity. Mortality is greatest and most variable in the early stages of life. Once Wild Turkeys reach adulthood, they may live as long as 10 years.

Population and distribution trends. Historically, wild turkeys existed in significant numbers in York and Cumberland Counties, and perhaps in lower numbers eastward to Hancock County. From the time of settlement until 1880, agricultural practices intensified until farmland comprised about 90% of York and Cumberland counties. The reduction in forest land and unrestricted hunting are believed to be the two most important factors leading to the extirpation of native wild turkeys in Maine in the early 1800s. Since 1880, many farms have been abandoned and the land has reverted back to forest. By 1970, only 15% of York and Cumberland Counties remained farmland. This reversion of thousands of acres of farmland to wooded habitat greatly enhanced prospects for reestablishing turkeys into their former range.

Reintroduction. Attempts to reintroduce turkeys to Maine began in 1942 when the Department of Inland Fisheries and Game released 24 birds on Swan Island, in Sagadahoc County. In the 1960s, fish and game clubs in Bangor and Windham made similar attempts to reestablish turkey in their areas using imported birds raised from part wild and part game-farm stocks. None of these attempts succeeded in establishing populations of wild birds. In 1977 and 1978, MDIFW obtained 41 Wild Turkeys from Vermont and released them in the towns of York and Eliot. In Spring 1982, 33 turkeys were trapped from the growing York County population and released in Waldo County. In the winter of 1984, 19 birds were captured in York County and released in Hancock County, but poaching was believed to be the demise of these birds. During the winters of 1987 and 1988, 70 Wild Turkeys were obtained from Connecticut to augment Maine's growing turkey population. Snow depth is believed to be the major factor limiting the distribution of turkeys in Maine.

Hunting. Legal hunting of Maine wild turkey was slowly reintroduced once the population warranted it. By 1996 there was a major expansion of the hunting zone and the establishment of North and South zones. The site gives tips on hunting the bird.

If you want more information about Maine wild turkeys, this is the site to go to.

What other ways do we have to get our turkey for Thanksgiving? Well, there is always your local supermarket. Butterball is the best of course. In the Sunday paper I found a coupon for Butterball which has a mail-in offer. If you can find this coupon, you can get five $1 coupons good on any Butterball product. See details at www.butterball.com/savings.

Another Concern about our Maine Birds

I would like to add my concerns to this turkey story with regards to another Maine bird, which we don’t generally eat, the Seagull.

Not long ago a woman was cited by the city because she was feeding the seagulls. She said they were hungry and she was probably right for three reasons.

One is the fact that the fish factories that used to abound in the area and which seagulls were used to as a source of food are gone.

The second is the fact that blueberry farmers have had to shoo the gulls away because they were flying inland to eat the berries because they can’t find food closer to the ocean.

The third reason is the reintroduction of another endangered species to Maine, the bald eagle. I saw a picture of an eagle in the Courier just this past week that was landing in nests in the South End. It was reported that one may have had a gull with him. These eagles, as good as it is to see them around again, are in competition with the gulls for food. The gulls don’t stand a chance up against one of these big birds.

So my question is…are we upsetting the balance of nature by our seemingly preservation projects by reintroducing these birds?

 

Thanks for listening.

NOTE: Ok, folks, here's your chance to help me out. You should see coupons for Butterball turkey, which I mentioned in this story, to the right of the story. Click them and I will receive some monetary gains. Thanks and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Veterans Day, November 11

Helping our 23 Million Veterans

 

 (I posted this blog last year on Veterans Day. You can still help our returning veterans in the following ways. This list comes from Parade magazine of last November.)

1. Help build a home or donate equipment for a house for a severely disabled veteran with “Homes for Troops.” To get in touch with that organization go to www.homesfortroops.org.

2. Provide free transportation to medical facilities by volunteering to drive a Disabled American Veterans’ van. See www.dav.org/volunteeers.

3. Provide care for the pet of a vet who is deployed or wounded and receiving help at a VA facility. www.guardianangelsforsoldiers.pet.org.  

4. The Library of Congress is interested in recording the stories of old soldiers. Go to www.loc.gov/vets  for a kit and instructions.

5. Ship your old cell phones to www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com.www. For each one donated, the organization will pay for an hour of talk time for troops overseas.

6. Donate used DVDs to www.dvds4vets.org.

7. Have extra coupons? Military families may use expired coupons for up to six months past the due date. See www.coupsfortroops.com .

8. Contribute clothing, food and gifts for service members. They will be used to prepare gift boxes. Go to www.operationgratitute.com/volunteer.

9. Post a care package with a thank you note through the Kitchen Table Gang. Go to www.soldierpackages.org.

10. Share your expertise with a vet, financial, legal services, counseling, building etc. Go to www.milserve.org.

11. Support Big Brothers and Sisters. The organization has a program to help children with parents in the armed forces. Go to www.bbbs.org.

 

Last year I also introduced you to first lady, Michelle Obama’s organization for vets: www.JoiningForces.gov. For that full story go to the archives for November 2011.

One of the first books about the Iraq war

In this year’s Parade, they reviewed a book by an Army returning veteran, Kevin Powers, called Coming Home. The book is a novel based on his experiences in the Iraq war. He was interviewed for the piece by Lynn Sherr. Here’s some of what he had to say about the challenges facing returning veterans.

About the dehumanizing effect of war:

In war “No matter how extreme the circumstances you’re in, they become normal.” When the soldier returns home there is a feeling of letdown.” The ordinary nature of living back home can be confusing.

A feeling of helplessness ensues on returning home. “Overseas, I was part of a team; people relied on me. When you return, there’s this feeling of being isolated in your powerlessness.”

A feeling of not fitting in: “It’s hard to find people to connect with…we (vets) know about fear in a way few people know…very few people understand what that’s like.”

Powers’ writes in his book about vets on the way home who say, “Well, what now?” He says there is a feeling of aimlessness and purposelessness. “You can get back into life or…you can be lost.” He says that suicides are rampant.

He talks about his experiences in “killing.” On dealing with the aftermath of killing, “…we’re talking about the worst thing that human beings can do to each other and having that be normal.” When the vet returns home those feelings come with him. You develop physical responses to what’s happening around you. Things like fireworks can send a vet right back into battle. He can even feel like people are shooting at him.

Making choices about life when a vet returns home can also be confusing. Being used to being told what to do and when and where morphs into having to make your own choices about things like education and looking for a “normal” job.

 

Understanding our returning veterans can go a long way in helping to re-introduce them back into American life. If we all take just a few minutes to talk to a vet about his experiences, his feelings, his concerns about his future, we can perhaps relieve some of the stress that man or woman veteran is under. They kept our country safe. We need to give them a feeling of safety in that same country.