@Georgia ,
In the present way, as the city and all that happened to it seems to have taken on a very important aspect with many of the posters on this thread. I see that you have family residing there. Do they like the city? Do they enjoy living there? What do they like most about it?
I myself have driven through Atlanta many times on my way from Florida to my old home in Columbus, Ohio. I have stopped there only to eat a few times and have enjoyed myself. I am always impressed when I drive through downtown Atlanta with the tall buildings and many businesses I view.
I also remember having to fly through the Atlanta airport when I was in the military going from one post to another. Huge place, busy, busy, busy! Always a check of my physical fitness as I ran from one connecting flight to the other!
As for how the present state of the city bares any relation to this thread topic, "the paradox of William T. Sherman," obviously the two have a history that we in the present are trying to resolve or attach importance to the two.
Just wondering how the combination of the two, in this time, can shed any light on that supposed "paradox."
Sincerely,
Unionblue
I’ll do my best to answer in the order of your questions.
My cousin and his wife live in an area near old five points called “Cabbagetown” in a restored home. He’s a retired professor from GSU. They love it there. It’s a very walkable area of the city. Lots of local pubs and restaurants- he’s quite fond of the Vortex. Their area is known for lovely gardens and they volunteer with neighborhood home tours etc.
His parents lived in College Park which is south of the main part of Atlanta near Jonesborogh. Their home was near Woodward Academy where my cousin’s attended school. My Aunt taught first grade in Clayton County for over forty years and my Uncle drive into town as he was an attorney. There are a fair number of pilots who live in this area due to the proximity of the airports. And, there are doctors who have a home there during the school year so their children are near campus and then another north of the city for the summers.
Since you literally do drive through town when you go through Atlanta, my hopes are that you were able to eat at the Varsity near Georgia Tech ( best onion rings around and fried peach pies and a creamsicle milkshake called the frosted orange) or you got off on Piedmont Avenue and went to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack and enjoyed the live music, q and rum baked beans.
The Atlanta Airport is huge. And, once you travel in and out a few times, you have it down to a science as long as they don’t change your fate and you have to make a mad dash to the new listing. The “Plane Train” makes getting to your location much easier.
Atlanta is a huge metropolitan area with both good and bad areas and good and bad people. I don’t want to make it sound like it’s all butterflies and rainbows. If you stay in town, try not to stay near Grady Hospital as the gun shot and stabbing victims will be coming in on ambulances throughout the night.
And, this may be misguided, but I’m comfortable taking MARTA by myself in to town when I was going in to the Mart for trade shows or needing to get myself to the airport.
There are loses in Atlanta as Rich’s is no more. Twice a year, if you were lucky, you went to Rich’s Department Store. Usually it would be for back to school clothes and to see Santa.
Rich’s was the most magical locations during Christmas. You went to get the all important photo with Santa for your parent’s Christmas cards. So, you rode being very cautious that your dress and bow and hair would not be mussed for the photo. After seeing Santa, you rode the Pink Pig. The pink pig was a pig shaped tube suspended on the ceiling of the toy department. The first car had the ears and the snout and the last car had a curled spring tail with a red bow on it. The ride took you all around the toy department to see all the offerings of the store and then you went outside and around the great tree on the top of the building.( The tree was Lit to great fanfare right after Thanksgiving.) Once you rode the pink pig and got your sticker saying you had been given that privilege you went to the Magnolia Room for lunch. It was a sunken dining room surrounded on one side by the most incredible book department I’d ever seen. Then, a little holiday window shopping would be done and you’d leave by going by the bakery and confectionary counters. Momma would select a caramel bar cake covered in a boiled icing that tasted like a creamy praline. It would be placed in a green and white latticed box and tied with string for the drive home. Then, if you had been good, you could select a small sack of candies to take home. This is where I was first introduced to Swedish fish and the raspberries with nonpareils and the sour cherries with the harder wax like outer covering and the gummy inside. And, you drove back home to Athens listening to your Momma backseat drive and complain to Daddy that she can’t understand where all these cars could’ve come from and things certainly have changed since they lived on Delia Drive when Daddy worked at the CDC.
So, like most places, there are fun memories of Atlanta and then they’re mixed in with the time Momna and Daddy has gone to Underground Atlanta for dinner out and Daddy had to pull her into a doorway to get her out of gunfire. ( they never went to Underground Atlanta ever again after that.)
There are very poverty stricken areas and very exclusive areas. There a wonderful schools and very poorly funded schools. But, there’s history there and the State House has a done covered in Gold from Dahlonega, GA where the first gold rush happens near the start of the Appalachian Trail, the High Museum, the Carter Center, Fernbank Science Center, Cyclorama, The Dump aka Margaret Mitchell House,The Coca-Cola Myseum, the Aquarium, ball teams, etc. I’m leaving tons out- but, yes, it’s an amazing place.
But, it’s all new construction, post Sherman’s bonfire. It’s not good manners to bring up Sherman. And, there’s still talk in hushed tones about families who lost everything in the war. And, you know exactly which war they’re talking about. People, the older ones, still call it the “War of Northern Aggression.” But, generations are being lost to time and its not as likely to be discussed because the people aren’t there who actually had their family members talk about it. So, it’s being lost to time.
But, south of town, there a huge location called Stone Mountain. With all the CSA monuments being removed I’m not sure what they’ll do with it. It’s a bas relief sculpture that’s 76’ by 158’ of Jefferson Davis on Blackjack, Robert E.Lee on Traveler and Stonewall Jackson on Little Sorrel. And, it’s a new creation- and one with extremely negative roots.
en.m.wikipedia.org
So, there’s a good bit of negativity still there. And, it’s not all directed to Sherman.
I still don’t know if any of these ramblings even touch on what you were shooting for in reference to Sherman. And, if you can further explain what it is you are trying to get me to explain to you- I’ll gladly do my best. But, this is Atlanta to me. It’s Celestine Sibley and Lewis Grizzard and Rich’s mixed in with a little gold from Dahlonega on the State House dome, some pot likker and cornbread, and it’s home.