In & Out of Athens
For the past three weeks I have been Athens bound for a myriad of reasons, all of which meant journeying to the epicenter of life in the northeastern city—the University of Georgia.
It’s a college town for real. I have always liked the city and its atmosphere but it has never much been on my personal radar. And by that I mean when it came time for me to research possible post-secondary schools all those years (shall I say decades ago) the U of G in A never crossed my mind. Why? It was too dang close to home.
After 17 years of being reared in Jasper County, I was ready to spread my wings as far as they would span and my parents would allow on their dime so heading to Athens never entered my psyche. I am sure that partly stems from my sister attending Mercer in nearby Macon and my mother often getting the urge to do a “pop up” on her. So as a middle schooler I learned “too close” was not where I wanted to be.
As an adult, I’ve spent my share of time there usually at conferences and retreats enjoying its quaint Southern charm. So three weeks ago, I had a newspaper detail to speak at the UGA Grady College of Journalism to some eager photojournalism students many of which you may or may not see in a few weeks when they converge on the town square with their cameras in search of great stories to tell by their photojournalistic expression.
It was a late afternoon/early evening three hour course so I decided to take Robyn and Jacob for a “Day at UGA.” I checked them out a wee bit early, no biggie it was the day before winter break began. It would be their first “cognitive” introduction to life on a college campus, inside and outside the classroom. On the drive over, my son said “there is a college in all these woods.”
He has been used to the likes of the Downtown Atlanta college scene where the landscape is frocked with corporate skyscrapers mingled in with dormitories amid frantic traffic woes. The lecture was a blast as the students were inquisitive and attentive. Mark Johnson is one of the the coolest, laid back professors I have seen as he speaks softly but with intent. He had the lights on low for the entire session and he let the students out early to attend the career fair going on upstairs. The kids and I also headed upstairs for the fair as a good experience for them to witness as they will too one day be embarking on a career. After the fair, we trotted by Sanford Stadium for a few photos and then bounced across the street to the Student Center for some vittles at Panda Express and to the bookstore to browse before heading back west.
Two weeks ago, the Newton County gifted department had a field trip planned to UGA’s Archeology Department for “Anthro Day” so I tagged along as a chaperone for my son’s school. I and another parent had a small group of four young boys (including our sons) who were all about examining old relics and digging in some dirt. The field trip was interesting but had to be reworked a bit as a live excavation had been planned until the rain showed up early that morning and didn’t halt. The kids enjoyed it as they learned about spearheads, 3-D printers, super powered microscopes, ornithology, and so much more as they had a “free day” out of the classroom. And as a parent, I earned needed volunteer hours.
So last week, I again journeyed to the U of G in A for three days with my daughter as she had been selected to participate in the All State Middle School Honor Chorus. For her it was lots of rehearsals (and fun) with hundreds of middle schoolers from all areas of the state and for me it was getting her from point A to B on time while having big chunks of down time to explore. I tried many of the local hot spots including Insomnia Cookies, home.made, and the Blind Pig Tavern. In the end it was amazing to witness the culmination of some 220 young voices harmonizing together to create some beautiful chords.