Archive for the ‘Georgia’ Category

Day 8 – Alone Without Internet

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

(Written on 7-12-10 upon moving into our new house in Georgia)

I’ve lived too long without Internet or telephone.  Even my nine-year-old was counting the hours until “the man came to turn on the Internet.”

As I sat at my laptop working on my column yesterday, my daughter walked into the room and stared.  She looked upset… almost angry.

“I thought you said the computer didn’t work.”

It was a question, with a tinge of accusation.

I explained that the computer worked – programs like Word or Photoshop – but the Internet was not connected yet.

“Oh. Okay.”

I’m not sure she entirely believed me.  She checked the browser on her computer… just in case. Nothing.

It didn’t take long for boredom to overtake her.

I’m trying to remember the last time I was bored.  I have so much I have to do, combined with so much I want to do.  I just don’t have time to be bored.

(Do I sound like an elderly coot complaining about how “kids these days” are always bored?  Sorry, if I do.)

It didn’t take long for boredom to overtake her.  She opened a Word document and began designing cool flyers for her friends.  Her six-year-old sister walks into the room and stares.

“MOM! It’s not fair that Annie can go on the computer and I can’t!”

*Sigh*

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Posted in Georgia, Internet, Kids |

Comparing bugs to 80’s fashions

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

Day 5 in Georgia (July 10, 2010)

We saw a huge insect on the carport ceiling.

Georgia ceiling bug

Duh duh duuuuhhhh!

He looked angry and walked slow because of the heat.  I assumed.  I went in the house to get the camera.  I wanted to document this large insect that is native to Georgia.  From the family room, I heard TJ, my two-year-old, screaming in the carport.  I ran to the kitchen.

Had the huge bug attacked?  Did it swoop on my youngest child and bite him?  I entered the kitchen in time to see all three children being ushered in by Dad.  T was screaming; his face was red and streaked with tears.  Dad, however, was calm.  I exhaled, suddenly realizing that I had been holding my breath.

“Boy, you can’t be that scared of a bug,” Dad says with a grin.

I didn’t say that I, too, was frightened enough to cry and scream.  This was no ordinary bug.  This bug had huge iridescent wings, long hairy legs, and dead, black eyes.  He walked slowly – with a purpose.  And he walked upside down on the ceiling!  He could make a precise death march to directly above my head, let loose his sticky grip from the ceiling, and glide to a soft landing in my hair.  He’d resemble one of those hair bows from the 80’s… but much more Goth.

The bugs in Georgia are as frightening as 80’s fashions.

Goth Bow

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Posted in 1980s, Georgia, Nature, Uncategorized |

Make new friends, but keep the old…

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Day 3 in Georgia (July 8, 2010)

I’ve moved quite a bit in my adult life.  I’ve lived in Savannah, GA; Iron Mountain, MI; Reston, VA; Bluffton, SC and in many different towns in northeast Ohio.  Heck, I’ve moved three times in the past year.  But here is one of the reasons that I like the South.

We hadn’t even been in our new house for a full day when there was a knock at the door.  The neighbor from the house behind ours – I soon learned her name was Darlene – was standing on our porch holding a pink flower cutting from a bush in her yard.  She welcomed us to the neighborhood, told my children about another neighbor’s kids, and invited us to swim in her pool whenever we felt like it.  Only when I’ve lived in the South have I had neighbors show up at my door bearing “welcome to the neighborhood” gifts.  Not that I’m knocking my Northern neighbors through the years.  For the most part, I’ve never been introduced to those living in my community.  It was as much my fault as theirs.  The exception, of course, was Main Street.  You gals know what I’m talking about.  That was a dysfunctional Andy Griffith neighborhood if there ever was such.

I miss it.

Andy Griffith Show

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Posted in Friends, Georgia |

Nature’s Music

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

Day 3 in Georgia (July 8, 2010)

Calhoun is a small town in North Georgia approximately halfway between Atlanta and Chattanooga.  It has many of my favorite Southern establishments, including Food Lion, Piggly Wiggly, and, of course, Fred’s.

Driving through the downtown area with the windows rolled down, I heard a strange noise above the sound of the radio.  I turned the music off, and as we slowed to a stop at a red light, the sound came into focus.  Insects chirping.  And lots of ‘em.  Loud and harmonic and amazingly powerful. Insects in the South are not at all like insects in Ohio.  Yes, I know the North has its share of creepy crawlies.  But the South does everything 10x over. The tea is ten times sweeter.  Ten times as many foods will be fried.  And bugs are ten times as plentiful and that much more dangerous.

But these insects, crickets or cicadas, are not climbing up my leg or hiding in my cabinets ready to bite.  They’re up in the trees.  They’re singing.  I can enjoy and respect that.

I don’t turn the radio back on, but enjoy nature’s music for the rest of my drive.

…

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Posted in Georgia, Nature |

What to do about poo

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Day 2 in Georgia (July 7, 2010)

Dung Beetle photo by Laurie Harley

A beetle and his lunch

We left the La Quinta Inn to head towards our new house and Dad stopped us on the sidewalk outside.  There, in the morning heat was a dung beetle.  It was rolling its lunch – a firm round dog turd – with its hind legs.  It was majestic and disturbing and funny and gross.

I’ve never seen a live dung beetle before.  I’ve seen pictures of them and documentaries about them.  But never right in front of me.  At least not one in the process of rolling dung.

You would think a creature that had enough skill to walk backwards on its front legs while rolling poo with its back would be somewhat intelligent.  No.  Not so much.  I mean, besides the fact that it eats poo; this little guy pushed his find into a brick wall (the La Quinta Inn) numerous times before realizing that the 1” ball would not fit into the 1/8” crack.  He quickly surveyed the excrement before rolling it on down the sidewalk.

The Moral of the Story:

Don’t give up; there’s always another way.

–or–

If you have a big appetite, be sure your door opens wide.

–or–

If your poop doesn’t fit through the crack, try another exit.

…

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Posted in Georgia, Nature |
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