On My Mind...

I began this post a few months ago and just tied up a few loose ends. I'm glad to finally publish this one. I hope that this gives a little more insight to the "mission" of this crazy entity that I've concocted in my head and my reasons for doing so. The subjects and locations may not be Georgian but the commentary always will be. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

A few thoughts this weekend.

Talking with a friend the other night about this blog (and its accompanying social media outlets) and the comment was made about how much Georgia had been on my heart the last few years. And it has.

A few days later my wife and I were discussing our upcoming 15th wedding anniversary. When she asked "what do people do for their 15th anniversary?" I replied, "a lot of them don't have 15th anniversaries". Not that 15 years is an unreachable milestone or anything. While crystal is nice, it's not exactly gold. But I was just making the point that a lot of folks, for many reasons, don't stay married that long.

These two things are related.

Let me start this commentary with this footnote. There are many reasons people either relocate or divorce. Many of them are quite legitimate and this is not a condemnation of any sort. This is what I have learned from thinking about the connection between these two ideas.

Now, Georgia loves me. It just does. When I stand on the bridge at Amicalola Falls and feel the mist on my skin, I know this. When I stand on the shell midden at Wormsloe and watch the morning sun illuminating the marsh, I know this. When I walk into the Varsity, hear "What'll ya have" and reply "double chili burger, fries and a large F.O.", the results let me know Georgia loves me.

I could keep going but this is the real secret to the Georgia love. A few years ago I was on my way into town. The route I was using that day includes an incredible view of the town and the valley it sits in as well as the mountains that serve as the opposite end of that valley. My thought at that moment was of a quote that, like our famous song, was penned by a Hoosier. The thought was:

"I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is." - Kurt Vonnegut 

Because the view was amazing. 

So then I started looking for more. I looked for natural beauty and found it. I looked for architecttural beauty and found it. I looked for historical and cultural significance and found it. I looked for greatness. And there it was. Appreciating my home made me love it more.

We have a tendency to find what we look for.

It happens in relationships as well. If you look for bad you tend to find it. If you look for good, it's there too.

Again, I say usually. There are exceptions to every rule.

But here is the gist of my goal with All the Biscuits in Georgia. Whether its on Instagram, Twitter or here at the blog, it's about opening my eyes and seeing the beauty that is there in front of me. It's about putting the pieces that are available into something that is intended but that needs a little assembly and it is about everything that has been, remains, or that could live once again. It's about the old quote about the good in this world being worth fighting for and doing just that. It's about hoping that you will take the chance to do the same

The Incident at the Drive-Thru

So there we were, hunkered down in the drive through of the Wendy's at the corner of Buford Dr. and Buford Hwy in Buford. The fact that I used the word Buford three times in the same sentence is a pretty good indicator that this story has to be true. You can't make this stuff up. (It's a real location. Check Google Maps)

We were in a bit of a hurry as my lovely wife was participating in a special and important event and we were late. The boys and I were going to drop her off and head over to Buford Dam because we had heard that there was a place with "Dam Good Food" (You can't make that up either) and we were considering scoping out a fishing spot.

So we were trying to feed the lone lady in our travelling circus of Southern Culture. I was wondering what the hold up was when I heard that unmistakable voice call out at the microphone. Loucilla Pickens called out from the Chevrolet Beretta in front of us, "Yes...I got seven orders...". (And you didn't even know that Chevrolet made a fuchsia Beretta. I told you you can't make this stuff up.) Seven orders. What could they probably want?

"On my first order I want a small Frosty.and that's all."

"Ok, go ahead with your second order" replied the patient voice from inside.

"On the second order I want a large order of onion rangs..."

"Ma'am we don't have onion rings."

"Oh....Janeal, they ain't got no onion rangs...I don't know, Janeal...ok I'll ask 'em...hey, what kinda burger joint are y'all runnin up in here?"

And that. my friends was how we got caught up behind the Duchess of Paddlefoot, Ms. Janeal Picklesimer and her sidekick, Loucilla Pickens. Paddlefoot is the little place that Janeal calls home. She rents out apartments that used to be a fine motor lodge. Her husband, Carl (admit it, you thought I was going to say Buford) is a welder and a dang good one. He doesn't speak much but if you were married to one of the five women in Georgia that aren't afraid of a Waffle House waitress (except of course other Waffle House waitresses) you wouldn't speak much either.

Don't get me wrong, she's a sweet gal but if you get on her bad side you're gonna get cut.

I'm not sure what they were doing in Buford that afternoon but they obviously didn't need to be at a respectable establishment on South Lee Street in 15 minutes. I listened on in frustration while my younger companions snickered at such amazing questions like "Is there anythang smaller than small?" and "what kin I get for a dollar?" For those of you keeping score, the Wendy's at the corner of Buford and Buford in Buford also omits from their menu: corn dogs, chow-chow relish, BBQ goat and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And, no,  they don't have peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches, either. If anything those two gals are persistent.

They finally left, for what I can only assume was a Randolph Mantooth fan club meeting, with a small frosty and a smaller-than-small bowl of chili.(I think the chili was a custom-made thing the manager concocted to get the dynamic duo out of her drive thru) The last thing I saw of them was Janeal flipping the ashes off the end of her Misty Ultra Light 120 and taking a swig off a one liter Diet Coke that she got from somewhere other than the Wendy's at the corner of Buford and Buford in Buford.

The good news is, the manager gave me 50% off my order and a sincere apology for the wait time.

50% off? did I mention how fond I am of Janeal and Loucilla?

Regardless, something tells me I haven't seen the last of that pair.

Knee Jerk

Thought for the week:

We live in an age that is constantly moving and shaking. Social media, 24-hour news, every talking head imaginable, even half-crazed bloggers slinging opinions faster than Waffle House hash browns.

That's a lot of noise. But how informative is it?

I'm guilty myself...a phenomenon that often leads me here, to hash something out for myself and maybe someone else.

Example: the latest prisoner exchange. The Taliban and the US have agreed to swap POWs. Obama is making a statement. You now have 6.34 seconds to form an opinion and voice it. And GO! What are the details? Who all is involved? What if th- TIME'S UP! Opinion, post it now!

No time for research, contemplation, or wisdom. No soul searching, no honesty, no deep thought processes. Just one knee jerk reaction after another.

Most of these reactions are based on party affiliation or some other form of group-think. I hate group-think.

So here's my challenge. You're free to challenge yourself as well. When an issue arises find the facts, take a deep breath, think it over, maybe reading it on real paper over two eggs with a side of bacon and a cup of coffee. Apply the morals, convictions and beliefs that you've developed gradually over the last few decades and arrive at an amendable conclusion - because details can change in a fast moving age. Be honest with yourself. You might even discuss it with a reasonable person of the opposite political stripe. 

Most of all, take your time. It's not a race. You don't have to have an instant opinion. Everything from the latest national scandal to the next crisis at work can be negotiated wisely if we just avoid a knee jerk reaction.