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2003

Charlotte and Atlanta

 

Morning. Breakfast at Bojangle’s. Checked out of the Motel 6, determined to “do Charlotte” in two hours or less. We went downtown. We saw my old house and neighborhood. We expreienced the intersection of Queens and Queens and Providence and Providence. And we found a cool map store at Kings and Morehead.

We toured the old neighborhoods around downtown, and Mark commented that he never knew anyplace could be quite so lush and green. I think he liked it…

 

We took pictures downtown and went to the Harris-Teeter in Dilworth (which was one of my “home” supermarkets in the late 1980s), and then we went to Dairy Queen for ice cream. Not just any DQ, mind you, but the “Nanook of the North” DQ on Wilkinson Boulevard.

 

Soon (but later than planned), we were headed south toward South Carolina, the Gaffney peach, and (eventually) Atlanta. Our only obstacles were Greenville/Spartanburg (where we spent an hour locating a K&W Cafeteria) and lots of old, slow people on underdeveloped freeways.

 

Finally we arrived and checked into our lovely accommodations at the Red Roof Inn where I’d stayed last visit. Only we had a MUCH smaller room. That was OK, since we turned on the TV and heard the news that it was now legal for us to have sex, so we did.

We also heard that day that Lester Maddox (racist former governor of Georgia) and Strom Thurmond (mummified former senator from South Carolina) had died. Maynard Jackson (first black mayor of Atlanta) was also lying in state. Oddly enough, the Supreme Court decsion on sodomy was still the top headline in the Journal and Constitution the next day.

 

I love Atlanta and have a strange relationship with it, but that’s been covered before. Tonight, after a stop at Kinko’s so Mark could do some work and a lovely dinner from Krystal, we just drove the length of Peachtree Street from Buckhead to downtown. Mark was amazed; Atlanta was a much more urban and cosmopolitan place than he’d envisioned.

 

We stopped by the coolest Kroger in the world to get supplies and cash. It was a two-level affair, and it gave me a stiffie, especially when I realized my Ralphs club card worked there.

 

We also detoured down Ponce de Leon and I showed Mark what a Krispy Kreme was supposed to look like. None of this stucco, strip mall shit you see in California, although the counter and stools had been elminated even in this one.

Finally, we were all tuckered out and went home to sleep.

Atlanta to Greensboro

 

After a not very early start and breakfast at Waffle House (in this particular one, smoking had evidently just been banned), we went back into the city.

 

The first stop was Little Five Points, also known as the Haight Street of Atlanta, and the neighborhood where Miss Daisy finally allowed Hoke to drive her to the Piggly Wiggly. We hit Wax-n-Facts (I first visited this store almost 20 years ago) and Criminal Records. Then we drove around the neighborhood. I was happy, because I’d finally found a Minute Maid Orange Soda, which had not been an easy task in North Carolina.

Inman Park and the area around Little Five Points is quite beautiful and doesn’t seem all that pricey or “precious”. It’s another potential home, methinks.

 

Farther down Moreland Avenue, we found an old A&P which still bore the impressions of its old “Super Market” lettering, even though it probably hadn’t served in that capacity for over forty years. I was excited. Mark was accommodating.

 

We went back downtown for more photo ops and then made for home, after obtaining gas for about 70 cents a gallon cheaper than in San Francisco. I would have liked a lot more time in Atlanta. Mark would have too. A repeat visit will be forthcoming.

The drive back was from hell. We encountered a nasty traffic backup about twenty miles north of Atlanta, and things weren’t crystal clear the rest of the way either. It was, after all, the Friday which began Fourth of July week. We ended up eating at the very same K&W as yeaterday in Greenville. Mark liked the cafeteria scene, I think.

 

As soon as we got back to North Carolina, it started raining. By Lexington, it had become one of those torrential summer downpours with thunder and lightning. It was cool. You never see rain in summer in California, and you absolutely never see rain with this much volume. I liked it.

Finally, we arrived back in Greensboro. Mom and Dad were relieved.

Greensboro Some More

 

I was a little nervous about Mom and Dad getting to know their new son-in-law, even though Mom had already met him. I needn’t have been; everything went smoothly.

 

We hit my old stoping grounds on Tate Street so Mark could do some work at my old Kinko’s, which looks much worse for the wear, and then we met my parents for barbecue at Stamey’s.

 

We spent much of the afternoon driving around the city listening to The Music 103.1, my old radio station. It was sort of exciting showing him my hometown; I was already pretty well-acquanited with his even before we met, although he showed me things I’d never seen before. I think I make a good tourguide, as I’m pretty well versed in Greensboro trivia. OK, maybe that means I make a boring and tedious tourguide…

 

We went to (yes, another) cafeteria in Kernersville for dinner with Mom and Dad and my aunt. After dinner, we went through all my old vinyl, looking for items to add to the collection. I couldn’t make many decsions about what to bring back; I wanted it all, and that will require a house. Some day…

Coming Home

 

Last day in town. I took back the rental car, and Mom made lunch. We even had a cake for Mark, simce I’d mentioned that Monday was his birthday. I love my Mom and Dad…

Soon it was time for Charlotte, the airport, and all those tearful goodbyes. I hate this part of the trip. The drive down is always so quiet. But I know I’ll be back soon, and will actually see some of the friends I missed this go-round. I most definitely won’t wait another two years…

We’re Back

So Mark and I went to Greensboro and Charlotte and Atlanta, and we ate a lot, and we didn’t see anyone but family, and a couple of famous old bigots (and one civil rights pioneer) died, and sodomy was legalized just hours after we’d committed a felony in a Motel 6 in Charlotte, and we ate a lot more, and there were thunderstorms, and we brought back vinyl and liver pudding and Diet Cheerwine, and it was all pretty damned exhausting, but fun…

Details to follow, along with apologies to everyone I didn’t see…

CNN?

You know it’s going to be a strange day when your first piece of email in the morning starts with “you must be getting lots of hits after the CNN article”. If anyone has any idea what that’s all about, please let me know. I think it has something to do with Carolina Circle Mall in Greensboro, and I sort of hope it doesn’t have anything to do with this…

OK…

OK. That’s a relief. CNN actually linked to Deadmalls.com which in turn has a link to one of my pages. I was a little horrified at the thought of Mom seeing a news story on CNN about how I used to suck dick at Montgomery Ward when I was 16…

Covering Bland

Now I ask you: does the world REALLY need a Dave Matthews cover band?

Speaking, however, of cover bands, I’ve just come to know the wonders of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. It is difficult not to love a band who can pull off pop-punk covers of both “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” and “The Rainbow Connection”…

And for those of you who aren’t in the know, “The Rainbow Connection” is Kermit the Frog’s classic theme from “The Muppet Movie” and not some stupid pride anthem…

Free Speech?

As much as I’d prefer not to give a certain radio talk show host (and, ummm, FORMER TV personality) any more publicity than he’s already received, I will point out that it’s very unappealing to watch a self-described “conservative” (who should, one assumes, know better) whine about how his First Amendment rights were violated and what a “victim” he’s become…

First, as I’ve said before, one’s right to free speech does not include the right to use anyone else’s facilities for this expression (despite a wrong-headed ruling by the California Supreme Court). Second, I was under the impression that taking responsibility for one’s own actions was rather high on most “conservative” checklists…

But, of course, this realization could only come from a logical, rational, and thoughtful analysis of the issues, which is not something for which this particular personality (nor most of his “nation”) is well known. After all, reasonable commentary generally doesn’t work well when shouted…

On a completely unrelated note, I really crave one of these (thanks to Jim in NC for the pointer)…