Tales from the Corners

Twin Lakes development/City of Peachtree Corners You can’t get there from here. That’s what folks were saying to me when I first moved to my stomping grounds of many decades in Peachtree Corners. I always disagreed with that description about getting to Peachtree Corners. Getting to ‘PTC’ (no, not Peachtree City, a similar-sounding city to our south had already been using those initials) is not impossible. Rather, you can get there from here, you’ll just have to pack a lunch because you’ll be sitting on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard or Holcomb Bridge Road while traveling to this young city 20-plus miles north of Atlanta. OK, you won’t have to pack a lunch every time while getting to Peachtree Corners. It’s easy to zoom to the area during the off-peak hours – say 4:30 a.m. on a Sunday. You would be amazed at how Peachtree Industrial Boulevard is like Germany’s Autobahn at those hours. Yes, be careful because both the cities of Doraville and Dunwoody set up speed traps when on...

I visited Brussels twice in 1995. The city was a connection point to get to Paris in the early part of the year and London in the latter half. On both occasions, I was wowed by the understated elegance of this European city. When arriving there directly from Atlanta, I was curious as to why the airport went by various names including Brussel Nationaal or Bruxelles-National or Brussels-Zaventem. Are they so sandwiched between Germany and France that they need to have three or more names for everything? The airport was eerily quiet when I was there. It seemed like a scene from a strange Wim Wenders film where there is an air of mystery in the air. Arriving at the local rail stations was a step back in time for me. It didn’t help that I was there in February and December respectively that year which made conditions quite dank. Like many tourists passing through, I walked the town, sampled the chocolates and local cuisine.  Now more than two decades later, I weep just like...

This is just one design proposed for a new bridge in the city of Peachtree Corners. Georgia I confess that I’m a bit jarred by one of the  proposals for a pedestrian bridge in Peachtree Corners.  For those who are not “in the know,” this young city is proposing to connect The Forum shopping center to a new Town Center development on Peachtree Parkway with a bridge. One of the proposals is for an “iconic” futuristic-looking bridge. From one of the images provided by the city, the actual bridge and attached walkways and stairs look great. I’m just a bit put off by the overhead massive cables. I’m trying to picture the entire thing and to me, it just pops out of nowhere. It’s too much. Perhaps I’m a “romantic” when it comes to community and city development, but I would not mind seeing something quaint with arches and cobblestones. Who knows, maybe I’m way off base here and that design will be the best one, but to me, that pedestrian bridge doesn’t seem to fit in t...

I'm not sure about you, but this spring-like weather lately kind of took me by surprise. It's probably safe to assume that spring is basically here. Here we were cranking the furnaces one week and now we are on the verge of starting up the AC units. Time out, right? I seem to have somewhat of a long-term memory and methinks that the forecasters were calling for a cold, wet winter which could only spell ice-storms and or snow-storms. Admittedly as of this writing we are officially into the latter stages of winter for a few more weeks - so could something still happen? It's doubtful since the next few weeks still look spring-like. Of course where I grew up on Ohio's North Coast, we would get teased with spring in early March only to deal with one last blast from winter which could last another week or two. From reports up north and seeing the candidates spill into Ohio for the Ides of March (March 15) primary, things are looking mild in the Buckeye State ...

Photo from ABC News To keep things on the lighter side in this 2016 political season, for some reason, this photo tells me that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is now the 'Andrew Ridgely of U.S. politics.' I'll end it right there for obvious reasons. This is just a gut feeling. For many 'not in the know,' Andrew is the other half of the 1980s pop music duo, Wham! His well-known partner in that group, George Michael grabbed the spotlight during their time together and more so in his solo career. Since I made this comparison, is George the Donald J. Trump of the pop music world? I don't think so, but certainly Governor Christie looks strange playing second banana to Mr. Trump. I'm not being disrespectful here at all. It's that we are used to see Chris Christie standing on his own.