A “wonderful world” indeed. Yes, there will always be issues to complain about — driving, drought, debt, and more, but starting at the top, there’s abundant opportunity to express my happiness. I love this city in which I was born – at Piedmont Hospital when it was located downtown, where the Braves have come and gone.
My parents then lived in the Massellton Apartments on Ponce de Leon near Piedmont Road, which my father and his brothers Ben and Levi built. That handsome three-story is still there now, operated as a condo complex. As a child of nine years, I operated “Bud’s Place” Coke Stand at Oakdale and North Decatur, and attended DeKalb’s public Druid Hills School (along with such notables as Larry Gellerstedt, father of the Larry now heading the giant Cousins Company, and the “Driving Miss Daisy” playwright Alfred Uhry).
Yes, I’ve seen great things happen in my city. It’s been good to me, and at 89, I love its amenities more every year. I’m very fortunate to have a good office – the Buckhead Coalition – to work with, good health to sustain me, and a good wife to come home to. What I’m reaching out for is to get my readers to be equally happy about our surroundings. It’s that time of the year where we can all find a ray of sunshine of some source.
Although it’s pretty well known I focus my attention on the Buckhead Community, I admit I go downtown for sporting events, and to Midtown for performing arts, but I shop right here at home among fifteen hundred retailers! These stores do an estimated $2.9 billion in annual sales, which no other Georgia-area sub-market can equal.
Please don’t let road rage ruin your holiday. Traffic is the price we pay for the merchant diversification we enjoy, plus some 300 places that sell food and beverage just in Buckhead, not to mention about five dozen art galleries and other places of entertainment. I’ve seen this metro area grow to well over six million in population as it continues to expand. I love it!
Some are still complaining about recent elections, but I’ve found politicians tend to move toward the center after getting elected, pleasing even more people than those who put them in office. This will be the results I predict, so not to worry. And, as to car congestion, ask any businessperson who travels, and you will find Atlanta has less travel pressure than most big cities, relatively speaking.
I’ve had the good fortune of knowing nine of Atlanta’s mayors, and I expect to know the one who gets elected next year. They have each had their own styles, but in the end all provided some of the progress and prosperity from which we’ve benefited. I had the honor to serve as president of the 15,000-member National League of Cities, which gave me the opportunity to visit many City Halls. No two governments were structured exactly alike, but not one of them had a better operation than what has served us.
This region, the state, county, and our city have been good to me, and I’m happy to give back. It’s on this note that I wish one and all a happy holiday season, and beyond far into the future. It’s there for the taking.
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