AJC > Sandy Springs > Blog
When the pines come tumbling down
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m writing this from my home office, aka the screen porch, and I’m staring at a pine tree lying horizontally across our backyard that used to be standing tall in the neighbor’s property.
The good news is that no one was hurt, though I’m guessing our three dogs got a triple dose of adrenaline when it smacked to earth. And we’d hosted a party in the yard less than 24 hours before, so I’m thankful it did not come tumbling down then.
The only casualties are two metal chairs, an umbrella, a birdbath and an outdoor light, but we are hopeful the later can be nursed back to health.
I’m not a big fan of developers that clear-cut lots but if I ever hit the lottery you will see every pine on our property being hauled away. Of late just about every problem tree on the street has been a pine. And I have spent many unhappy hours scooping pine needles out of the gutters, so there is no love lost between me on the conifer population.
I’m certain that pine trees have their place in the circle of life but a few million in my pocket means there will be a glut of new firewood.
And I’m not the only one with tree problems. In our neighborhood we have a large dead pine at the intersection of Scott Valley and Burdett that needs to be dropped under supervision, but we’ve been told by the city they can’t afford it. Indeed, we have been told that there are several trees around our little slice of heaven that need to come down but the money is not there.
Anyone who has ever had a tree taken down knows that it’s not cheap. But a dead tree often has diseases or insects that can fatally affect nearby living trees. So if you’re the city what’s the answer? Go into debt removing dead trees — or ignore them and know that the problem is going to get bigger. We need more than a shrug of the shoulders.
The same day the tree toppled into our yard a friend down on the Gulf Coast of Alabama got six inches of rain in one afternoon. After we swapped our stories she suggested perhaps a greater power in the universe was just making its presence known - reminding us that we are not truly in charge.
I wonder if the universe knows how we should handle our tree problem?
The estimates to get the tree out of our yard are around $600. For less than half that amount I could get a fancy-schmancy, heavy-duty chainsaw and do the job myself, though it has been suggested that me with a super-powered chainsaw is one step down on the common-sense safety scale from me having a loaded gun.
Maybe I should just go buy some lottery tickets.
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Gas crunch helps put things in perspective
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve been lucky so far that I have only had to sit in two gas lines. Who would have thought that a hurricane hundreds of miles from our little burg would be slapping us around weeks later.
I’m lucky that most of my work takes place from home - my morning commute is the walk from the kitchen to wherever I park my laptop. In a normal week half a tank is more than enough.
But it’s funny how we can get so sideways when something that we take for granted is suddenly gone. All the convenience stores where I normally swing in for a couple gallons are still without gas.
I hope they’re selling a lot of beer nuts and sodas, but I suspect all sales are down since they have no fuel to peddle. One manager told me it’s been so long since he’s seen a tanker truck that he forgot he was in the gasoline business.
My buddy Brian has started taking the MARTA train to work, schlepping his bicycle to complete the journey and is giddy over how little gas he needs these days. How little gas you can get by on is the new status symbol.
I don’t criticize anyone who drives one of those big gas-chugging Hummers but you couldn’t give me one right now. My grandfather told me once to think twice before taking on anything I had to feed or paint. I’d love to know what he would think about any consumer vehicle that gets single-digit MPG.
The gas crunch reminds me of an ice storm a few years back where our neighborhood was among the last to get put back on line. We were without power for three days. By the time the lights where back on I was about ready to crawl inside the fireplace on top of the embers just to recall what warm felt like.
I’d rather sit in a gas line than be down in Clayton County where parents are wrestling with high school diplomas that are not worth the paper they are printed on. When Zach and Amelia were applying to colleges we never had to worry that their entire high school educations might be null and void.
There is much to be said for simply having a roof over my head with electricity, gas and running water. It’s kind of like that admonition that when you have your health you have everything.
Maybe not everything but the potential for everything.
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Keep the drinking age at 21
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I know there are some kids who could handle the responsibility that goes with alcohol consumption at the age of 14, and I know several adults in their 50’s who have no business being near a can of beer, much less hard liquor. So I get it - being 21 does not automatically make anyone suddenly more responsible. But a benchmark is needed and that’s as good as any.
When I turned 18 the state law in Georgia allowed me legal access to booze and I took full advantage. And I was a late bloomer because some classmates had learned how to alter their driver’s license and had been drinking for a couple of years.
And if you knew the right places to go here in Sandy Springs you didn’t even need a fake ID. The bartender would just ask if you were 18 with a wink and you were off to the races.
Some say it would be a good thing if we were more like some European countries where kids grow up having wine with dinner. It would take much of the mystery out of drinking and leave some less likely to go wild when they finally leave home.
Both our kids were able to travel to Europe after they graduated from high school, and both drank while across the pond. So by the time they left for college any curiosity had been satisfied. But I don’t think a sudden culture shift is going to help.
I had my first drink at 16. My dad offered me a beer and when I recovered from the shock he laid out the rules. Only one. I was not allowed to get one without permission. And once I drank it I was not to leave the house the rest of the night.
There is the argument: “If I’m old enough to serve in the military at 18 I should be old enough to drink.” Great. Enlist, get through basic training and I’ll be happy to revisit the discussion. But don’t tell me your freedom is being abridged because you can’t legally drink until you’re 21. The Constitution wasn’t written to guarantee a good keg party.
Keeping the drinking age at 21 will means less kids under age dying from binge drinking or from wrapping their car around a phone pole while driving drunk. Not to mention anyone they might crash into.
If you are reading this and thinking the drinking age of 21 is The Man keeping you down, you’re right. And may you live with that resentment for years to come.
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Ah, life’s little bumps: My favorite Target is closing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Life as we know it is getting ready to take a radical turn that may take years before we can assess the true impact.
We’re losing our Target.
I know, I know - a new one is going to open south of I-285 in October, but that means the one about two minutes from our house is going to close.
I’ve been shopping there since it was a Richway, way back into the 70’s. It was a ritual that on weekends home from college I’d go there with my folks’ credit card to reload on detergent, shampoo, etc. Better to get them to foot that bill so I could have more beer money.
And as I grew older and it morphed into a Target I set aside such childish things and that store became our shopping Mecca for darn near everything it takes to raise two kids.
The annual trip for school supplies? Yep. Just a short drive and a few hundred bucks later Zach and Amelia were primed and ready for another year of academia.
Heading out for vacation wasn’t complete until we made the trip to get the travel-size toothpaste, mouthwash and other sundries - plus whatever sunscreen was on sale that week.
And I can’t count the number of times that place bailed us out when one of the kids would casually mention during Sunday evening supper that they had a project due in the morning and needed poster board, glue sticks, construction paper, markers, two turtledoves and a partridge in a pear tree. Still, no problem.
Now I know that there are discount stores like this all over the metro area, but this one was two minutes away. It was practically like another room in the house - albeit the only one that had a cash register.
The future Sandy Springs City Hall will someday occupy that site, and while I think the mayor and city council are probably really swell folks, I don’t see the advantage to having them just a couple minutes from my front door.
But change, I am told, is a fact of life. When Zach left for college four years ago it was tough. When Amelia left for college last year, the house felt so empty. And now this.
I better make a trip up there while I can for tissues. I have a coupon and I think I’m going to cry.
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Pump up the volume and pay the fine
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Marietta has started cracking down on people who blast their car sound system. For those who get pegged the fine will be $135 - a nice chunk of change for sharing your tunes with the rest of the world.
This hits home to me for two reasons. One, I drive an ancient Volvo that has an underachieving air conditioning system, so in the warm months I drive with my windows down and can hear anyone cranking their sound system. Second, I’m an offender.
One disclaimer - my car audio system is nothing to write home about, so I don’t know how far the sound might go when it wafts out through the sunroof. But no matter, on occasion you can hear Toby Keith or Trace Atkins flowing out on my ride.
And if your karma is not in order that day you also get to hear me singing. I don’t want to think about what I could get fined for my vocal rendering of “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” [note - this is the proper name of the song] during rush hour on Roswell Road.
That aside, it might not be the worst idea for our city officials to consider the same measure. In addition to discouraging my rolling version of The Grand Old Opry, it would be nice to do something to bring down the volume of every day life. Not everyone wants to hear my radio. Or yours. Or anyone’s $1,000 sound system blasting country, hip-hop, hard rock, Rush Limbaugh or whatever they enjoy.
By the way - why is it that some of the most powerful sound systems are in some of the shabbiest-looking rides? Isn’t there a common-sense moment that should kick in when one is about to install a stereo that costs twice what the car is worth?
I can predict the opposition, because it will be the same crowd that fussed when the city trimmed the hours that late-night clubs could stay open. When that happened people screamed that the city council was trying to take the “fun” out of being a Sandy Springsteen , that they were trying to drive people out of town.
If they got that incensed over the closing time of a bar, an ordinance over the volume of their car radio would put their knickers in a twist that might never relax. Which, for my money, is reason enough to do so.
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Well, Bro (and the good people of Sandy Springs, while we’re on the subject), when you have a problem, you can take care of it: a. yourself, which by your admission isn’t viable; or b. get someone else to do it. Since the default choice... read the full comment by Tom Osterman (yep) | Comment on When the pines come tumbling down Read When the pines come tumbling down
adgj lbsei hcykqa epdwazy kbtie kajsfu aupdrshcl... read the full comment by xtydwrng dtbki | Comment on Cityhood movements send strong message to counties Read Cityhood movements send strong message to counties
adgj lbsei hcykqa epdwazy kbtie kajsfu aupdrshcl... read the full comment by xtydwrng dtbki | Comment on Cityhood movements send strong message to counties Read Cityhood movements send strong message to counties
I was hit this past June, lost some teeth and my bike. Worse yet, I am out close to $6,000 in bills and the cost of the bike. I was passing traffic, on the right, commuting home from work. I was struck by a motorist turning right without a blinker.... read the full comment by Mike | Comment on Cyclists and motorists can share the road Read Cyclists and motorists can share the road