AJC > Sandy Springs > Blog > Archives > 2008 > September
September 2008
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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Cowardly act is not free speech
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For the second time, someone spray-painted a swastika where everyone could see it in our neighborhood. The first was on a speed bump; the latest one was on a stop sign.
This comes at the same time as the neighborhood is at odds with The Epstein School over the school’s desire to expand its campus. The police are investigating, and between the Mountaire Springs Neighborhood Association and the City of Sandy Springs there is a $5,000 reward for the arrest of the person who did this.
Right now the conventional wisdom is that this is the work of someone in their teens that doesn’t understand the severity of their actions. Part of me really hopes it is a kid, for two reasons.
One, teenagers are prone to do stupid things due to their lack of maturity, which is not an excuse. It bothers me that any child was parented in a manner that would result in this kind of behavior. But kids that make mistakes have the opportunity to learn from them.
The other reason I hope it’s a kid is that anyone ignorant enough to spray-paint an obscene symbol like that during this time is also stupid enough to brag about it. And I’m guessing they are also not the kind of person that a legion of other kids wouldn’t mind turning in - especially for $5,000. That’s a nice payoff for doing the right thing.
However, if the person who did this is an adult and you think you are speaking for many of us, think again. Those of us opposed to the Epstein expansion would be opposed if it were a Protestant school, a Catholic school, or a 18-wheel truck driving school. Our opposition has nothing to do with what is being taught - it’s about the size of the campus.
And if you do have a problem with what is being taught at Epstein kindly have the courage to say so publicly. Painting a swastika on a stop sign is not an exercise in free speech - it’s the act of a coward.
We use the word “neighbor” too often without thinking. While it does refer to those who live near our home, it is also a term of familiarity and affection. So if the person wielding the spray paint is an adult you may live in the neighborhood, but you are not our neighbor.
But I think I can speak for most of us when I say the following - and I’ll use small words.
Please go.
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From Dad: A plea to young drivers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dear Amelia and Zach:
Hope all is well as you settle in for another year in college. The house is mighty empty without you two.
Your mom and I saw something this morning, which is why I’m writing.
We were running down Mt. Vernon and came upon an accident that took place a couple of minutes before we got there. There were two girls on their way to school when another vehicle pulled out in front of them. There was a lot of twisted metal and broken glass.
I know you have heard me rail about those “idiot” parents that give their kids access to these big SUVs. You two know how fast I can climb on to my soapbox. It’s too much car for a kid to drive - back when I was that age most kids got a small car as their first vehicle. It’s just stupid that any teenager is driving one of those big tanks.
Like I said there was a lot of twisted metal and broken glass. But the two girls did not have scratch on them. They were shaken but who wouldn’t be? No cuts, no scraps, no bruises. And lucky for them a woman who saw the whole thing had pulled over and was waiting to serve as a witness.
When I climbed into the vehicle get their school books out I had to maneuver around several air bags that had deployed. The front end of the vehicle was smashed but the passenger compartment was intact and if the airbags weren’t out you wouldn’t have know anything had happened. That big old SUV protected those two.
It was not lost on me that these girls were just about your age, Amelia. And if anyone saw the look in the eyes of their mothers when they got to the scene of the accident you’d not forget it any time soon. The good news is that both appeared to be more scared than injured.
You two are probably wondering where the old guy is going with this. I’m going to ask a favor and I’ll do one in return. I promise to talk less and think more. I promise to set the soapbox off to the side so I can better use my eyes and ears to take in the bigger picture.
What I’m asking from you is this. When you’re driving, slow down a couple miles per hour. Turn the music down a notch or two. Turn off your phone. Be aware of the other drivers.
That’s my favor to you and that’s your favor to me.
I love you two so much,
Dad
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