AJC > Sandy Springs > Blog > Archives > 2007 > December
December 2007
Start small on New Year resolutions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I think one reason we make resolutions at this time of year - other than the fact we hope our personal slate is wiped clean by the calendar - is we usually have the time to reflect. We think about what works in our lives and what doesn. As well as what we can do to make things better.
We just don’t know where to stop.
We set our selves up for failure by making resolutions that would do us some good - like, I will exercise more — but are impossible to keep - I will run 20 miles a day and do 8 million crunches while eating raw organic produce.
We need to start small and build from there. Nothing wrong with shooting a few fish in the barrel if it gets us moving in the right direction, eh? So with that in mind I’m making what I hope are some resolutions I will be able to keep:
When driving on Roswell Road, no matter what, both middle fingers will remain wrapped around my steering wheel.
Unless she performs a concert within the city limits of Sandy Springs, I will not devote any brain space to Britney Spears. Or any member of her family, which seems to be adding members every day.
I will no longer forward e-mails headlined “This really works!!!!” that promise some great measure of luck for passing it on to my unsuspecting friends.
I will, however, save the e-mail address of spammers and send them those “lucky” e-mails.
I will walk on a beach under a full moon with my lovely bride.
If the discussion of a tunnel under I-285 resumes I will remember those people who think it is a good idea are probably otherwise fine folks. Probably.
When Sandy Springs’ first dog park opens I will try and make sure Jake and Sydney get over there weekly for some R & R.
I will try and eat a bit more of what I should, and a bit less of what I shouldn’t.
And if I don’t get all these things done in 2008, I will try and remember there is always 2009.
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Dear Santa: Bring our troops home safely…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dear Santa:
I know it’s been some time since I wrote, and you probably don’t get too many letters from 51-year-old guys, but I have a tall order this year and I can use all the help I can get.
One reason I haven’t written lately is because I’ve hit that age where it doesn’t take a lot of stuff for me to be happy. Don’t get me wrong - I like seeing my name on those boxes under the tree - but sometimes less truly is more. Or at least OK.
Anyway, what I want this year came to me during a trip to the airport last week. I had a little over and hour to kill, so I got a newspaper, grabbed a soda, and settled in with the crossword puzzle. And that’s when it happened.
Around the corner I heard someone making some pronouncement in a loud voice. I heard something about Iraq and Afghanistan, and my first thought was some nut was using the captive audience in the atrium to make a political statement.
But then I heard really loud cheers, applause and whistles, which the nut cases usually don’t get. When I looked around the corner I saw a large contingent of Army soldiers walking through, headed to their departure gate. The loud voice belonged to a veteran now working with the USO, and he wanted to make sure those brave American heroes did not leave home without a proper send off.
The soldiers looked like any other travelers making their way through the terminal on a business trip. Except their way of dressing for success was desert camo. And instead of brief cases they carried canvas duffels. And no one was going to make sure business would be done in time to get them home for the holidays.
And that’s where you come in, Santa. What I want doesn’t even have to show up Christmas morning. What I want is for all those soldiers to come home in one piece, and for good. I want them to get back to the business of being fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, and sons and daughters.
So that’s it. Hope I’ve stayed on your “nice” list through the years and rest assured Mrs. Osterman will put out her usual four-star, preemo cookie plate Christmas Eve. I know I’m asking a lot, but it’s what I want. No new golf clubs or big-screen plasma HD TV or hotsy-totsy wristwatch.
And I hope I’m not the only one asking for this.
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Billboards are blight on the metro landscape
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As part of a legal settlement reached with outdoor advertising companies, the powers that be in Fulton County have granted permits for approximately 75 new billboards to go up around the county - 23 right here in Sandy Springs.
The mayor and city council plan to fight this one tooth and nail. We shouldn’t have to clean up anyone else’s mess, and certainly not at the cost of the visual pollution brought about by these monstrosities.
There is nothing good to say about billboards. I have yet to see one that blends into the surrounding landscape, much less improves it. The last thing we need is 23 more butt-ugly steel towers going up around town.
I can’t recall the last time I looked up and thought anything I saw on a billboard was clever, intelligent or well conceived. And I’m not even sure they work in terms of planting the seed for whatever they’re selling.
Indeed, as I sit here I can recall two boards in the city. One is the Georgia Lottery board near Roswell Road and Abernathy. The other is a stone’s throw from Lowe’s, and it used to carry an ad promoting Home Depot. Someone was either very clever or very lucky with that placement.
OK. I’ll admit to recalling one other board near Sandy Springs Plaza, but I only remember that one because it advertised a flower show for more than a year after the event took place. I don’t think that was the result the client was looking for.
But I guess in the interest of fairness I should try and say a few good things about billboards. Here goes:
I can’t remember any study linking billboards to any disease in a lab rat. There may be one; I just can’t recall it.
Billboards cannot be held responsible for what has happened to the Atlanta Falcons this season.
Likewise they have no affect on rising gas prices, the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage industry or any possible hole in the ozone layer.
And while I’m in a magnanimous mood, I will allow one new board. It has to be at the city limits and facing toward Fulton County. And it would simply read: “We won. You lost. Get over it. Have a nice day.”
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Bye, bye American Pie
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For such a young city, we’ve lost a landmark.
American Pie, a Sandy Springs staple, has quietly gone away, leaving behind memories of alcohol-abetted debauchery and hook ups for generations of pub crawlers.
I remember when the building that housed American Pie was one of those steakhouse chains that popular during the ‘70s. I can’t recall if it had the fiberglass steer parked out front, or if the steer was on the neon sign but it was the place in town to go for all things beef.
After the bovine business slowed, the building became American Pie and young Sandy Springsteens had a place of their place own to drink and hook up. I don’t have the exact dates but suffice it to say that the Pie was around during the “your place or mine” era of sexual freedom.
This, of course, was a time when an STD could be cured by some penicillin and the HIV virus was beyond our imagination. Casual sex was a good thing back then.
I only went to the Pie once with dubious intent. I was divorced, wanted to see what the fuss was about and perhaps try my luck. As I sat at the bar 10 feet away I saw a guy in a glittering silver suit, heavily moussed hair and wrap-around sunglasses hit on a woman in a black latex mini skirt. They left together five minutes before I realized I was in the wrong place and made my own exit.
I was no saint, but I sure didn’t belong at the Pie, either.
Later the place became know for all sorts of quirky events, as well as the home for expatriate Pittsburgh Steeler fans to watch their team via satellite and chug Iron City beer. They even made the official sandwich of the Steeler fan - white bread with a fried egg, french fries and some kind of meat. God knows how many future heart bypass procedures are out there from those things.
Part of what did the Pie in was the city’s decision to roll back the time for last call, but I also wonder if it hadn’t run its course.
Years ago in midtown there was a place named Harrison’s, which was as much a landmark as Stone Mountain. It was a place to see local celebrities and suck down pricey booze, not to mention make a new one-night friend.
At its height the place was packed. Then other bars opened and the hordes went elsewhere for their alcohol and assignations. We can be a fickle city.
And I’ve never run a bar, but I suspect it’s hard to be the hip and happening place for years on end. In any event, a colorful chapter in Sandy Springs’ folklore has gone away.
Bye-bye, American Pie.
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Saving trees: Getting to the root of a problem
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Several months ago I wrote - in jest - that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had come to town and adopted all the trees in Sandy Springs as a way to protect them from being chopped down by developers. Now it appears we don’t need Brangelia after all - thank goodness.
A group has organized, Trees Sandy Springs, with the goal of taking care of trees around the city. Dare I say that within weeks of putting the dog park issue to bed, there is no better time to start thinking of the welfare of our trees. Get it? Dogs. Trees. Ahem.
Protecting trees around town has come a rallying point for many Sandy Springsteens in the last couple of years as residential development has exploded. Developers are buying older homes, knocking them down and building bigger and more modern houses. But along the way some were also clear-cutting the land, which meant a lot of fine old trees were disappearing without a second thought.
Now don’t get me wrong - every single tree in Sandy Springs is not sacred. There are about a dozen pines on my lot that I would gladly turn into firewood if I ever hit the lottery.
But there’s a great magnolia in our front yard that’s been here as long as the house has. And a Japanese maple that my dad and grandfather planted. I’d hate for either to be run through the chipper.
And there are dozens of hardwoods throughout our neighborhood that I would likewise hate to see dropped simply to make building a house a little easier.
A lot of those trees have been around for decades and add character and beauty to the ‘hood. Not to mention they’re home for all manner of critters. And they help clean the air. Considering the number of cars belching noxious emissions, our air can use all the help it can get.
So it’s a good thing that the trees now have their own advocates. Other than the reasons already stated for keeping them around kids need trees for climbing and for rope swings. We adults need the shade on hot days. And as I alluded to before, our dogs would really miss not having any trees.
But for those of you who really need to rip nature out by the roots, take heart. There’s plenty of kudzu around town and last I checked no one has adopted that.
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