georgia confidential

worth the wait

AUSTIN, Texas -- I first heard of Alejandro Escovedo about 15 years ago. Stephen Bruton sang his praises, then the next thing I knew he was everywhere in the music press:  big names were headlining benefit concerts to assist him with long-term medical bills. He was a legendary figure in Austin circles and gaining notice for his solo work. And he remained on my List of Acts I’d Like to See.

So straight off the airplane, Goal #1 was to catch his 10 p.m. show at the Continental Club.

But that was 10 p.m. rock ‘n’ roll time. Our position in line was pretty good – probably among the first 20 people – but 10 p.m. was long ago, and we were still on the sidewalk. We heard Toni Price’s set, and hope sprang eternal when we heard Alejandro’s sound check.

And yet we waited.

in training

My years in Nashville were when I was in peak form for live music consumption. I would see a band usually once a week, sometimes more. I built up my strength to my peak: 4 nights in one week. I think they may have been consecutive -- but that taxed even me.

I reflect fondly on those days now that I consider it a triumph to make it to one show a month. But I must gear up!

I'm in the midst of four concerts in seven days. Ooh, I get a tingle just typing that. Last night was Elvis Costello, and I am going to see Nick Lowe and Wilco both nights they're in town. (Don't be a hater.) And then, Bryan Ferry (sigh) next Saturday night.

When it rains, it pours.

I've got to build up my stamina because I'm vacationing in Austin, Texas (which bills itself as the Live Music Capital of the World) at the end of October.  The whole point of the trip is to see as much live music as I can physically stand. Let the practice rounds begin.

conquering the urban jungle

Oh, the list of places to see is so long and the time is so limited.  The more I go and see, the more I find to explore. It’s a vicious circle.

And wouldn’t you know, on this particular day I had a morning activity and a nighttime activity in Atlanta. The wisest course of action was to spend the entire day in the city. It was an action-packed weekend, with all kinds of activities that I was not taking part in (music festival, Georgia Tech football, major golf tournament) but needed to navigate around. This was a happy challenge, but involved a crazy amount of planning – I had to take two outfits, I couldn’t take MARTA, and I had to find places to park all over the city. This is where my true country mouse roots are revealed: I hate trying to park in the city.

Somehow I came up with plenty to do in the hours between the mosque tour and the Elvis Costello concert.

shared spaces

I went to a mosque for the first time today, courtesy of the Atlanta Preservation Center’s Sacred Spaces weekend.  The mosque, Al-Farooq Masjid, is located near Georgia Tech and IKEA, and from its grounds you can see the skyscrapers of Midtown.

The day was not what I had expected (or, in some ways, hoped) in that I thought there might be more explanation about mosque’s architectural features and meaning. We did, however, get a 90-minute overview of Islam from one of the mosque’s leaders, and I found him to be an excellent spokesman and very effective speaker.

The Atlanta Preservation Center (quickly becoming my favorite thing about Atlanta) did its usual quality job in preparing participants for the event. Women were advised to wear long sleeves, to cover their heads with a scarf, and everyone was told that we would take our shoes off.  We weren’t allowed to take photographs inside the masjid, but you can view some great shots on the mosque’s website.

halftime show

Today I turn 44 years old, and if genetics and current medical science are any indication, my life is halfway done.

I’ve been thinking about this for the last few weeks, not in a sad or maudlin way, but rather in a “wow, that turned out pretty good” way. The last few years in particular have been very happy ones – but even my “worst” years to date have spoiled me.

I grew up in a Norman Rockwell painting. I have never known real want or true fear. I can count my regrets on one hand (and I try not to).

I knew all four of my grandparents. My parents love each other and are still together. My siblings are among my closest friends. I met my first nephew when he was just a few hours old. I’ve participated in the weddings of many special people. I wrote a couple things that ran on A-1 and got picked up by the national wire. I live and work with wonderful folks.

That would be enough for one half-lifetime, wouldn’t you agree?

But how about this highlights reel from the first half …

get your game on

The Braves had a 4-game homestand this weekend, and that seemed just too convenient to miss, so I decided to spend a little time at Turner Field.  The game I chose turned out to be a losing one for the home team, the worst of the weekend for my favorite player, and one of the few that didn’t go into extra innings. But it also happened when the temperatures were lowest, and for that reason alone I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I come from a very proud family of baseball lovers, and part of the pride stems from loving an underdog team – not, I repeat, NOT the Cubs – and claiming that fandom. When our family team, the Chicago White Sox, won it all in 2005, it was one of the highlights of my dad’s adult life. I am sure that years from now, my nephews will be able to recount in great detail that amazing October night. Even now it all seems surreal.

marvelous midtown

Somehow the Georgia Tech bookstore has become a rite of passage for all my out-of-town guests. I’m not kidding – I am hard pressed to think of guests who I have not taken to the GT bookstore. A main reason is location: I know where it is and how to park there, and it’s a convenient place to meet if I’m coming in on MARTA. More importantly, it has books, a general crowd-pleaser. Perhaps even more compelling, it has a Starbucks. 

And so it was that JFA and I were there on Saturday morning. We sat outside, watched the world go by, caught up. I haven’t seen JFA in months – I mean, months. This may have been the longest we’ve gone without seeing each other while are living in the same country.  Some mornings when he was starting work in China, he would call me, who was wrapping up my workday in South Carolina. When I was in Northern Ireland, I would call him when I came home from work, which was the middle of his afternoon in the Midwest.

And even on the same continent, it’s just hard to find time. What a luxury to sit and listen and gab, about everything and nothing. He was willing to have lunch at an “upscale Southern” place I have been dying to try, and that  was wonderful.

Then we walked through Piedmont Park and agreed that we are not hot-weather people. Piedmont Park is beautiful, and it was fabulous  to see all the folks who were out for the jazz fest and farmer’s market and a sunny Saturday. 

I think it would be nice if I could import JFA every few Saturdays for Midtown adventures. I could not have spent a more wonderful day … even if a museum was not involved.

farewell oprah

I was in the live studio audience of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" once. Surprised? Me too.

My sister-in-law, her sister and cousin invited me along when they won two pairs of tickets. Yes, they dialed for weeks on end, a triple threat that hit the jackpot. I got to tag along.

I like Oprah. But being in the Oprah audience wasn't high on my life list. So more than a few times during the whole adventure, I wondered what all the Oprahmania was about. First off, it's true -- you have to get up at an ungodly hour to stand on the street outside the Chicago studio.

Heard stories about a fabulous spread for all the guests as they wait to get into the studio? Don't believe it. There were vending machines, though. And lots of time to study them.

the first taste is free

A co-worker lent me his golf cart so I could give my recent visitors the true suburban experience. I live in a city that has more golf carts per capita or more miles of golf cart path per capita or some ridiculous stat like that.

Here's my stat: I am one of the less than 3% of residents who don't have a golf cart. I drive a hybrid car -- which feels like driving a golf cart. And I'm probably the only person who answered a recent city survey question, "What can we do to improve the golf cart paths?" with the answer "Stop having golf carts on them, so it's easier for us walkers."

As you can tell, I am not in the golf cart spirit.

aerial view

We had an absolutely perfect day for a helicopter tour of Atlanta. We also had just the right guide, a bon vivant named Ken, who knew how to keep us laughing about the fact that we were getting INTO A HELICOPTER which would hurtle us through the air, above skyscrapers and over areas without soft landings, such as Georgia 400.

Yes, the helicopter ride had seemed like a good idea for a Mother’s Day gift, because the thing you probably don’t know about my mom is, she’s game for anything. I think once you’ve been on a multi-day station wagon odyssey with three small children, there is very little that scares you.

So we clambered into the helicopter, which seems remarkably small as you approach it. We clamped on the headsets so we could talk – or in my case, not talk but instead have an internal dialogue reminding myself that it was probably pretty unlikely that we were going to die. As the ground fell away I wondered if that MARTA station, quickly receding in size, would be my last view of this earth.

This happens to me during the first 30 seconds of any non-airplane ascent – a Ferris wheel, a glass elevator, all give me a short burst of panic. But my mom had settled in to the co-pilot’s seat – I don’t think I could have handled that – and Ken was beginning his barbed patter about the denizens and buildings of our fair city.

He explained why the King and Queen Buildings are named that (their tops resemble the chess pieces) and it was very cool to look down on that.  Ditto the Governor’s Mansion, and some of the big money houses near Buckhead (an area I don’t know at all!) We followed Georgia 400 down into Midtown, and I liked seeing these familiar buildings from a different vantage point.