AJC > Sandy Springs > Blog > Archives > 2006 > October
October 2006
Do we need a nifty city slogan?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Now that we’re an official city, do we need a nifty slogan? Atlanta tells us every day is “opening day” in that fair city. I’m not sure exactly what it means, but it sounds really cool.
Usually these chores are handled by hiring an advertising agency, but I think we have better things to do than put our tax money in the pocket of some slick idea merchant. Not that I have anything against ad folk; I have several friends who are in the ad business. But I also have a friend serving time in a federal penitentiary, so draw your own conclusions.
The point is I think we can handle this little chore all by ourselves and save the city a tidy little sum. Let me toss out a few concepts, just to get the ideas flowing.
As a city we’re less than a year old, so maybe we play to that angle:
Sandy Springs: We’re Still Under the Manufacturer’s Warranty
We Haven’t Been Around Long Enough to Screw Up
We Still Have That Great “New City�? Smell
Or do we think geography and existing assets:
Sandy Springs: Gateway to East Cobb
The Traffic of a Big City Close to Home
We’re the Largest City of Our Size in the World
Do we try to appeal to the young demographic, who represent the future generation of Sandy Springsteens:
We’re Where Hip Meets Hop
Get Yo Bling in the Springs
We Don’t Like Kevin Federline, Either
By now your creative juices should be flowing, or at least beginning to trickle. What is there about our little piece of heaven that you would suggest we promote to let people know about Sandy Springs?
An aside to my pals at city hall – if you choose one of my slogans, consider it a donation to my hometown. But if you want me to dress up in a hillbilly bear costume, stand at the city limits and wave at people as they drive in, I’m going to need some serious
Take the Sandy Springs SAT test
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last weekend my daughter Amelia and four friends performed the fall ritual of high school seniors everywhere – taking the SAT. All are aiming for a score that will land them in the college of their choice and maybe some scholarship cash.
So I started thinking — what if one had to take an SAT-style test to be eligible to vote in Sandy Springs? What if we really raised the bar for citizenship? What if one had to earn the right to be called a Sandy Springsteen?
I haven’t drafted a formal presentation for the next city council meeting, but I wanted to give you some study questions so you have prep time. Grab that #2 pencil and good luck!
1) Fulton County is to Sandy Springs as:
a) Toothpaste is to acute gum disease
b) Motor oil is to axle grease
c) General Sherman was to the original Atlanta tourism board
The answer is “c�though a half point is awarded for anyone choosing “a� because they were thrown by the word “disease� in connection to Fulton County.
2) Dave goes into Sandy Springs’ “adult� nightclub. He has $75 is cash and his American Express card. Valet parking is $5; the cover charge is $10. If his drinks are $5 each and table dances are $10, and he has six drinks and two dances, how much will he tell his wife he spent over a five-hour period?
a) $45, but he’ll say he only had two drinks and watched a ballgame at the bar.
b) $75, but claim a client wanted to go there and he just couldn’t talk him out of it.
c) Dave will lie like a dog about the whole thing and forget about it until the Amex bill arrives with a $1,000 charge from the club. His wife sees the bill before Dave, who will pay for that evening for the rest of his life.
The answer could be any of the three, but “c� is the most likely since there is a proven correlation between watching strippers and male-memory lapses.
3) A car is puttering down Roswell Road at 5 p.m. on a Friday. Assuming the stretch it will cover is six miles, and the car is going 48 miles per hour, how long in minutes will the trip take from beginning to end?
a) 24 minutes
b) 16 minutes
c) 8 minutes
OK, this was a trick question. Anyone clocking 48 mph at that hour on that day would have to be driving on the sidewalk to get close to that speed, assuming all pedestrians got out of the way.
So how did you do?
What happened to the dream of being a fire fighter?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There are likely few men out there who did not, at some point from birth to around age 12, fantasize about becoming a fireman. It was the fodder of a young boy’s dream.
You got to ride on a bright red truck. You got to hit the siren and the flashing red light. There was a faithful Dalmatian seated right next to the driver.
The truck was covered with stuff. Axes. Hoses. The helmet and coat. That tall ladder that probably stretched beyond Jack’s beanstalk. And let’s not forget the brass pole back at the fire station that you got to slide down.
Most boys also, at one time during those years, had their own toy fire engine. I did. It had the ladder, the red flashing light, the siren. It even shot water. Santa was a big hero that year, as he was the year my son Zach got his fire engine.
No, I did not elbow him out of the way Christmas morning to play with it myself. That would have been quite unbecoming my status as an adult. I waited until he was out of the room – then I played with it.
Along the way boys lose that idealized dream. Sports, music and girls begin to take up brain space, as does reality. Firemen go to the scene of horrible accidents and see things one never forgets. Firemen run into burning buildings to fight fires and sometimes they don’t walk out. It takes a special person to do that job. No one gets rich fighting fires.
If you ever wanted to reach out locally and make a difference, opportunity is pounding on your door. In December we Sandy Springsteens will have our own fire department and there is a wish list – hell, I’d call it a need list – for the stations.
For instance, Station #2 at Johnson Ferry and Sandy Springs Circle needs kitchen supplies/service for 10 fire fighters. This includes plates, cups, silverware, mixing bowls, a blender and a commercial-quality coffee maker. Mattresses have been secured, but nightstands and lamps are needed.
Beyond the immediate needs, it would be a great thing for all of us to adopt these heroes on a regular basis. I’m sure they wouldn’t turn away homemade cookies, pies, cakes, etc. They probably also would be pretty happy if from time to time someone brought in 10 pounds of really good coffee. District 4 council member Ashley Jenkins is bulldogging this effort and can be reached at Ashley.Jenkins@sandyspringsga.org.
This is near and dear to my heart. What they give us every time they roll is beyond my ability to place a value on. We are forever in their debt.
Not only is this a good thing to do, we owe it.
Is life better now that Sandy Springs is a city?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’re closing in on our first year as an official city, but before we light the birthday candle and get all moist and sentimental, I need to ask a few questions. This isn’t an exercise in Monday morning-quarterbacking; I just curious about life in Sandy Springs now that the dust has settled:
We have our own mayor and city council duly elected and on the job. Can you tell any difference in your day-to-day life, as opposed to life with the Fulton County Commission?
Is city hall running efficiently? Is it easy to get a license or permit? Or are we already starting to stall out in red tape?
As a citizen, do you feel heard?
For that matter, is there anyone (and it would have to be a mighty brave soul in this burg) in the confines of Sandy Springs who truly thinks we took a giant step backwards by shaking off the county as our governing body? Anybody miss Rob Pitts and his merry band controling much of lives?
We have our own police force patroling the city. Are the Sandy Springs police more visible than the Fulton County cops are? Are they making a difference with the ongoing traffic problems and criminal activity? Do you really feel safer?
Last year at this time one of the hot topics was what, if anything, a city government would do about the congregation of Hispanic day laborers gathering around Copeland Road looking for work. Has that situation changed? Deteriorated? Is it still a hot-button issue?
Likewise there was much talk about the need for low-rent apartment complexes being cleaned up. Is this situation better, worse or stuck in neutral?
Overall, are the things that seemed so important 12 months ago still a factor in your every day life as a Sandy Springsteen? Or to get a little Reagan-esque, are you better off now than you were a year ago?
And does anyone, other than me, miss the turtles?
Should some businesses be forced out of town?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last week pawnshops around our fair little village became the latest business to feel the weight of our new government.
The city has imposed new fees on these businesses and that has caused predictable whining. I don’t really have an opinion because I haven’t been in a pawnshop since a guy (in another county) tried to sell me a fake Rolex for $2,000.
It is interesting to note, however, that the businesses making headlines in the last several months include pawnshops, nightclubs frequented by the young and adult-oriented businesses (porn merchants and nude dance clubs).
I’m not alleging the city is trying to run any of these out of town, but it’s of note that all three are hardly mainstream businesses. By mainstream I mean none of the three probably show up on most people’s weekly itinerary.
In an average week, most people probably hit the grocery, the pharmacy, the dry-cleaners, fast-food restaurants and a discount store. Our little home may not be typical, but I promise the following has never been said in the Osterman domicile:
“Wow! Look at the price of fresh shrimp. Honey, would you swing by the pawnshop and hock my wedding ring?”
“I couldn’t sleep last night so I tried going to a packed bar with music blasting in my ears and got [drunk] at 2 a.m. I thought it might relax me.”
“Well, we celebrated our anniversary at that club where women take off all their clothes and gyrate for dollar bills. Then we walked down the street and bought some porn and faux-fur handcuffs.”
Some owners of these businesses contend the city is trying to ease them out of town by imposing new rules and fees. I can’t speak for the mayor and City Council, but I would hope they aren’t burning a lot of time trying to create a commercial utopia.
The bigger question is how do those of us living here feel about these places? I wish the naked-lady dance club and porn palaces were gone. I have nothing against the nightclubs, nor do I care if there are a few pawnshops across the landscape.
Are we a less desirable place to live with such businesses in town? Do we want any legal businesses forced out of town and why? Do we want any elected body defining what is acceptable?
We’d best think before we answer.
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