Tales from the Corners

When I first heard about a film titled Super 8 was coming to theaters this summer, my eyes and ears perked up. Like thousands of kids across the U.S. in the 1970s and 80s, Super 8 filmmaking was an integral part of my youth and adolescence. I finally got the chance to see the film this past week and it seriously hit home. I felt as if Writer/Director J.J. Abrams, who is around my age, got a peek into my life when I started making home movies in Ohio in 1979. Abrams pretty much got the entire look right in Super 8 even down to the Kodak Ektachrome film cartridges that my friends and I used in our cameras. I confess that the first camera that the characters in Super 8 used was a brand that I dreamed of owning. Our first cameras were Bell and Howell. A few years later when the Super 8 format was being pushed out of department stores in favor of the newly-crowned VHS video cameras, I begged my dad to purchase a nice Sankyo camera that was able to record sound as well as switch to fra...

I just read that pizza chains’ sales are up in this recession. We’re talking about Pizza Hut, Domino's and Papa John’s. A recent ABC-TV report said that in this sluggish economy, cheap sells. To me, that’s a bit of a shame. I like to support my locals who put their original interpretation on a dish like pizza. I hope the neighborhood restaurants are doing well because in these tough economic times, it’s tough to eat well and local. It’s all too tempting to hit a fast-food chain when the food is quick and cheap. The folks at Savi Urban Market have done something about eating what's good for you while being affordable. No, Savi is nowhere near here. I asked the owners to think about locating a unit in Peachtree Corners. They’ll think about it. The closest market is in Inman Park. If you’re looking to buy local, fresh and easy-to-prepare food, make the trek to this neighborhood market in a well-preserved brick building on Atlanta’s Elizabeth Street. High quality affordable gour...

Our governor recently signed a bicycle bill which requires drivers to stay three feet away from road cyclists. Indeed the intentions are good, but just how do motorists judge that distance? It’s a tough call to make from the driver’s seat. Do automobile operators have to get out their measuring sticks? Is there an “app” for this requirement? All kidding aside, I love recreational cycling with an emphasis on recreational. I wish I could write that my bike will replace my car to get to work, the grocery store and doctor’s appointments, but I’m just not comfortable with sharing main roads with a Ford F-150 or worse yet, an 18-wheeler. I don’t mind riding on the side streets, but to be honest, the roads are not big enough for all of us. The busy straight and windy roads in the metro area are not wide enough for the SUVs, pickup trucks and minivans which have been popular in this region for years. I’m a big fan of bike lanes and paths. If I ever share the road, I prefer less busy times,...

As I entered the neighborhood on a rainy, gloomy Thursday evening in late May, a plethora of tree limbs, leaves and branches met my wet, well-worn tires. I encountered more debris as a power truck passed me by on the other side of the road. The crunching sound of my automobile smashing twigs and pine cones mixed with the rain made my heart pound a bit. After I was away at my daughter’s gymnastics class for just one hour, I quickly discovered that a massive rainstorm plowed through the area. “This couldn’t be good,” I thought to myself. When I came upon the road leading into my subdivision, there was a fire truck blocking its entrance. A tree had fallen on the one line that feeds power to the subdivision in which I live. I know this drill all too well. I’ve been living in this house for 17 years and in the state for 22 years respectively. Once something like this hits, it takes the dedicated workers at the power company several hours to restore electricity. Believe me; I have worked c...