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Published: June 22nd 2006
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Atlanta Botanical Gardens
had some amazing examples of natures most symetrical work Boy, they ain´t kidding about the southern hospitality thang.
Three days in Atlanta Georgia, kicked off with me checking out of customs around 10pm. I’d looked up a hotel/ motel on the internet called the ´Days Inn´ but hadn’t booked anything, ´kel surprise´. A little bit worried as after rescheduling my flight itinerary with the most helpful Delta Airways staff down a phone at the check in desk, it was more like midnight.
Note: Delta Staff in the Caribbean (in this case Barbados) really need to take a leaf out of the American Delta staff’s book. I heard a radio programme in Grenada telling the staff at the airport that it costs nothing to smile, the sulk coming from them is stifling sometimes. It’s not like I need to hear, ´have a nice day´, all the time, they could take a leaf out of the English book, not over-friendly but definitely more helpful or at least you feel so. Anyway back to the point, really does feel strange to have such a public wine about something - this blog thing is gonna take some getting use too for me.
This reminds me of LA, Esther and I
Niki´s work
anyone who knows me well, knows that this place was like heaven to me get to Los Angeles and our contact is stuck in a recording studio for two days, so we just had to pick a motel/hotel, which all seem to provide free shuttles and cheap rooms and believe it or not swimming pools. I as yet have not used the swimming pools provided in these places, but they are there for all to use. America never sleeps, this must really add to their neurosis but in a time of need it’s really great. The shuttle will pick you up at anytime and I end up sharing it with some marine cadets (3 girls, 2 boys) from Denver Colorado. Their connecting flight was delayed so the Marines (I guess) taking them to boot camp for the next 3 months, left them behind. They did organise their accomodation for the night so they weren´t all bad. I asked them why they wanted to join the army and they had various reasons, career, opportunity, experience, ´they break you down then rebuild you´. This for me wouldn’t be something to look forward too but it was hard not to get effected by their enthusiasm. They all seemed like lovely kids but I couldn’t understand why they
would want to join the military (because I couldn’t think of anything worse for me) but also at a time like this. Still I respected them and hoped and preyed none of them would ever see service.
The motel/hotel was as I expected big room, basic and just what I needed. I realised that I was taking my first hot shower in a month, never felt the need in Grenada. In the morning I caught the shuttle back to the airport and take Marta (Atlanta transport system) metro to my first destination. This became a daily routine, and even though I’d originally looked up the motel/hotel Days Inn, which was in downtown Atlanta and ended up in the Days Inn East, I didn’t mind traveling back out everyday. The metro is so easy to follow and use that you can’t go wrong. Peachtree Underground Shopping Mall was my first destination, I had visions of it being like the underground mall/virtual city I’d heard they had in Canada because of the severe winters, but it was much much smaller. It had some fairly uninteresting shops but some really interesting galleries, which made my day. The first gallery / shop focused
on African Art, by this I mean art created by Africans (I´m also guessing African Americans) and art whose theme was African, whether it be images of Black people, Black love, Black style, Black Music, Black Life. Very interesting for me as I´d never seen a gallery with such a vast collection of work and styles all focused on Blackness.
The next gallery I stumbled upon (the entrance wasn´t clear at all, very hidden away) was the Underground Railroad (UGRR) Quilt Code Museum.
It was run by this wonderful lady called Serena Wilson who was giving a lecture to some other people who had stumbled in, about the collection and ethos of the museum. As it happens a lot of the exhibits were taken from her family history which made the experience all the more personal and grounded in a reality, the reality was standing right in front of you, talking about the subject. What really got me about what she was saying was, she was talking about slavery not really quilts, and not the typical idea of slavery.
Not specifically the slavery of black people in America or elsewhere (a specific race that had been enslaved) but how
free jazz in the park
every week during the summer. They look after Atlantians and boy do they love jazz peoples, all peoples had enslaved each other at one time or another. All Peoples enslaving All Peoples at one time or another, not a race left out, with the story of Human Ingenuity before and beyond Pyramids to Industrialisation and the cost to ´other´ peoples in order to do so. She talked about slavery now, its still going on. I wondered about how and whose slave am I. What she had to say really made me wonder and I thought her exhibition and talks would be an excellent thing to programme in for the anniversary year in the UK (2007) of the abolition of slavery. But I’m not in the UK and I’m not working in the Arts so…someone else should invite her over, (contact email: ugrrquiltcode@bellsouth.net ).
No breakfast and desperate for lunch I kept looking around, all the time getting hungrier and hungrier but unwilling to do the fast food thing. That’s all I could see on offer until I stumbled upon the bar 'Jamaica´. What a nice friendly little bar and restaurant, it was just what I needed after a month in the Caribbean. I ordered rice and fish, which unlike fast food takes time to
cook. I was hungry but could wait, and it was worth it. There was so much that I took away a doggy bag which ended up being dinner too (Bonus). The staff were lovely, everyone I met was lovely in Atlanta, its that southern thang they talk about. I’m a bit wary of ´friendly people even though I’d describe myself as one and get offended when people talk about Londoner’s being unfriendly and cold. It’s just that it usually does mean they want something from you that you don’t necessarily want to give, and with time in a big city you become wary. I got talking to this guy in the bar Jamaica, he was working for the owner as a general handy-man come dogs body from what I could gather. He was from New Orleans, Louisiana and had become homeless in Atlanta since Katrina. He lost his parents, wife and one of his children but was thanking God for what he did have. I hadn’t really thought about where in America the people who lost their homes to hurricane Katrina had gone. From the streets and what this guy was saying, a lot of people had heading for Atlanta.
He told me of his plan to get back on his feet and how the bar Jamaica weren’t really doing it for him. At least the man was trying.
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Clare and Tiny
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Wicked photos
Beatiful pics Donna- real inspiration