April 26, 2004
On the off chance you have never been to Tallapoosa, Georgia, let me tell you about my first visit. We went to this little hamlet on Highway 78 in Haralson County, about 50 miles west of Atlanta, to see the Tour de Georgia peloton sweep up the hill, cross the train tracks, and head out of town. It took, maybe, a minute and a half. And I still missed spotting
Lance Armstrong! There were two breakaway cyclists on this leg, but neither one was Armstrong. It was pretty exciting, watching the cyclists and the cavalcade of bike repair vehicles and rescue squads that support this cycling spectacular. The crowd was really thin in Tallapoosa, unlike Alpharetta, which made parking and staking out the key-viewing corner a virtual zip. Perhaps next year this event will be of interest to the television stations. Twenty years ago in Atlanta, you couldn't watch the Indianapolis 500 on local tv.
Tallapoosa does not have a Starbucks, but it does have a Jack's. You can buy two sausage biscuits for $2 and you pour your own coffee. No fancy-schmancy frothed milk here. We talked to the chief of the paramedics that followed the peloton from county line to county line. He told us he personally preferred motorized bikes. Evidently cycling hasn't exactly caught on yet in Haralson County, but it will. The Tour de Georgia is only going to grow!
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The 11th annual "Jazzy Cajun Thing" held on April 24th was, by all accounts, a roaring success. Annandale Village's Executive Director
Patricia Brown said over $130,000 was raised to benefit the residents of Annandale, but they are not through counting. Each year "Jazzy" has managed to increase the money that is raised at this fun event. Twelve hundred tickets were sold this year. Eighty acres of trees were pruned to get the branches that festooned the vast ceiling of the big warehouse at 1005 Satellite Boulevard. That was one big old dark Louisiana swamp, my friends! When I went to my first "Jazzy" several years ago and saw all that Spanish moss hanging from the ceiling, all I could think of was, "This is Chigger World!" I was assured that it was all
boiled Spanish moss so no chiggers!
Everybody who attended "Jazzy" and all those who donated volunteer time and materials were helping contribute to the success of Annandale Village in some way. This is a private, nonprofit 124-acre community for adults with developmental disabilities that is located in Suwanee, Ga. There is no place quite like it in all of Georgia.
Gwinnett County Commission Chairman
Wayne Hill had on a gold crown along with the requisite Mardi Gras beads. I remarked, "Nice hat!" Hill said he and his wife
Carolyn were members of the Royal Court, the top supporters of Annandale over the years. Other members of the Royal Court were
Pam Jones, Jennifer Travis, Kathy Zickert, Esq., Marvin Tibbits, John Pentecost, Wayne Schumacher, Richard Trice, Octavio Ortiz, Dan Michael, Ricky Crawford, and
Duane Cochenour. Generous donors Herbert
and Teena Fowler of Snellville were King and Queen of Carnival once again. Fowler said his crown was hot but that his wife said he had to leave it on because he had hat hair by the time he wanted to take it off.
At "Jazzy," people love to play at gambling in the charity casino. I do not gamble with real money, my friends, but $20 for charity is a ton of fun. My favorite is Blackjack. It's a challenge to add up those cards upside-down! The cards are right side up for the dealer, of course. The food, as always, was fabulous, although I tried not to think about what I was eating when it came to the alligator piquant! One of the big draws to this event is the people watching you can do through the gloom because most of the folks you hear about in Gwinnett County attend this. I also notice who isn't likely there.
If you are a resident of Gwinnett County and want to get on the mailing list for next year's "Jazzy," please contact Annandale Village at (770) 945-8381. Once you attend "Jazzy," you will want to go again.
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Qualifying week in Georgia began today for our elected offices, statewide. Or, you could say, the "herding cats" event has started. Qualifying week brings out the blowhard politicians and the opportunists, as well as the true public servants. As taxpayers, it is imperative that we figure out who is who and who is which, so we don't get taken to the cleaners yet once again. We have until July 20, 2004 to make up our minds for the first go-round.
Politics in Georgia still reminds me of herding cats…you never know which way the candidates are going to run. If you have ever tried to get a bunch of cats through a door, you know that they will head in all different directions. They do not make it easy to corral them. Political candidates do that, too. Some of them are blatant job-hoppers and don't bother to complete an elected term if a better, more well paid elected or appointed office comes up. Never mind their contract with the voters. But this is America and folks are free to do what they want. Thank goodness for that freedom! I am just looking for candidates with ethics, with some responsibility to and for the jobs they want us to give them. I shall observe the herding cats with much interest and will listen carefully to what they will say.
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Hope all is well, and thanks for reading.
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