http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs Jim Osterman, with a few education- and work-related interruptions along the way, has lived in Sandy Springs since 1962. en-us spoole@ajc.com 2009-02-09T11:08:34-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Jim Osterman, with a few education- and work-related interruptions along the way, has lived in Sandy Springs since 1962. http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2009/02/09/suburbs_arent_i.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs There was a time when people moved out to the suburbs to get away from crime. The cities were dens of iniquity and the ‘burbs were the place no one ever locked their door, folks watched out for each other,... 10705003@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2009-02-09T11:08:34-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2009/02/02/holy_alpo_does.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs “Three years after it gained independence from Fulton County, the city remains one of the largest in metro Atlanta without a dedicated dog park.” — Text from a recent news story on ajc.com. You know those times you read something,... 10506603@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2009-02-02T11:35:39-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2009/01/26/upgrade_itdoes.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs A couple of years ago the folks in our neighborhood noted with raised eyebrow that some of the homes that were being built in sites previously occupied by ‘50s-era brick ranch were going for $950,000. Homes within two miles were... 10316303@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2009-01-26T10:31:42-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2009/01/19/our_real_life_h.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs I was sunk deep in my favorite chair to watch playoff football convinced nothing was going to move me. But it’s hard to care about cover-two defenses and play-action passes when your wife says: “Hey, there’s a fire truck parked... 10159703@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2009-01-19T10:42:42-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2009/01/12/are_you_better.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs Soon we inaugurate a new president, which for some will be a welcome sign that the election season is finally over. No more yard signs, no more bumper sticker, not more attack ads clogging our TV’s. I can hear the... 9989203@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2009-01-12T10:06:52-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2009/01/05/the_jake_indica.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs I did a lot of reading during final months two weeks of 2008 on what to expect in the New Year and based on what I read we might all be advised to dig a hole and jump in. The... 9837503@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2009-01-05T12:15:59-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2008/12/30/epstein_lets_wo.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs Growing up our front yard was the venue for a lot of neighborhood football and baseball games. It was big and flat, with few places to lose an errant ball. Back then, in the absence of umpires and referees, we... 9739203@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2008-12-30T11:23:52-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2008/12/22/whats_happened.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs Christmas made its first appearance at our house about a week ago as we pulled the boxes down from the attic and started decking the halls at the Osterman homestead, as my brother refers to it. The finishing touch every... 9594203@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2008-12-22T07:21:35-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2008/12/16/the_real_housew.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs I read this week that “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” reality show is coming back for another season, so I’m developing “The Real Housewives of Sandy Springs” because even I can see the potential gold mine when it’s staring me... 9508403@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2008-12-16T10:50:52-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2008/12/08/hey_congress_i.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs I’ve heard that success is a lousy teacher; that the great people in history have learned more from their failures than they ever did when things went right. Apparently failing has also become lucrative. By now I’ve lost count of... 9324103@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2008-12-08T10:59:46-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2008/12/05/wheres_my_piece.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs I’ve heard that success is a lousy teacher; that the great people in history have learned more from their failures than they ever did when things went right. Apparently, failing has also become lucrative. By now I’ve lost count of... 9292503@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ 2008-12-05T20:44:15-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2008/12/01/too_attached_to.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs I never thought about how attached I have become to my mobile phone until recently when a story popped up on the Internet about an Arkansas man suing McDonald’s. He had left his phone at the fast-food haven and naughty... 9154403@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2008-12-01T08:19:38-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2008/11/24/new_sandy_sprin.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs The Sandy Springs city council recently voted to buy the property that used to house Target at Johnson Ferry and Sandy Springs Circle as the future home of City Hall. The price tag was $8 million and if nothing else... 9032803@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2008-11-24T09:12:48-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2008/11/17/christmas_gifts.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs The recycling box on the carport is starting to overflow with colorful flyers offering all manner of “must have” gifts for the holidays. And if I’m not careful I get caught in that retailing undertow that grips us all every... 8878603@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2008-11-17T11:47:27-05:00 http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/entries/2008/11/10/a_lot_to_thankf.html?cxntfid=blogs_around_sandy_springs Caroline Hartrampf, age 19, of Sandy Springs was recently killed in an automobile accident and it hit close. Our daughter is 19 and when I hear about accidents like that my mind goes to the unthinkable “what if” place. Separately,... 8705103@http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/aroundss/ Jim Osterman 2008-11-10T08:12:21-05:00