The Barnyard

We live in a typical midwestern suburban subdivision about 10 miles north of Akron, Ohio. One reason we picked this area was because it has a rural feel with a large park to the north of us and significant tracts of open land to the south and west of us.

Most of the houses were built by Ryan Homes in the early 1980s with typical suburban-size lots of about one-third acre. When we bought our home 28 years ago, there was a 100-plus acre farm across Stow Road that runs by our subdivision. There was a lot less traffic then and Pam and I enjoyed quiet summer evenings outside as a respite from our jobs in central Akron.

Then about 20 years ago, the family that had owned the farm since the 1840s decided to sell most of the land to Pulte Homes which built more than 200 new homes on the farmland. That increased the traffic on Stow Road and the summer evenings were not as quiet as before.

However, one small remnant of the farm remains directly across the road from the entrance to our subdivision. There is a Victorian style two-story farmhouse built in 1915 along with another small building that has room for two vehicles and a small apartment. A couple of years ago, a younger couple (who we have not met) bought the house and outbuilding. They put  in a swimming pool and fixed up a small hen house and shed put up a new wire fence on a quarter-acre lot next to the house.

There are now about a dozen chickens, four goats and a miniature donkey in this barnyard. A year or so ago I wrote an article for a chain of suburban newspapers about people raising chickens in urban and suburban areas for eggs and I suspect that’s what this couple is doing. Also, the four goats could be providing milk and the donkey is probably there just for show.

I pass by this barnyard a couple of times a day on my way to and from my house and I wonder about the social dynamic among the animals. Most of the time the chickens have their heads down on the ground looking for food. The goats seem more sociable and often two or three of them are standing together. Occasionally, I will see one or two of the goats standing next to the donkey, but the donkey spends most of its time alone.

Can these animals really communicate with each other? Do the goats understand the chickens or the donkey? There have been many stories personifying animals. The one I remember best is “Animal Farm” by George Orwell. He said this was a satire of the 1917 revolution that overthrew the Czar and his family in Russia and led to the creation of the Soviet Union by the ruthless dictator Josef Stalin. In Orwell’s book, the animals united to rebel against and overthrow their inept human owner.

The revolution was led by two pigs and one of them eventually killed the other to take complete dictatorial control of the barnyard.

I haven’t seen any signs of the animals rebelling against their human owner. There is usually a sizable bale of hay hanging on the fence for the donkey and goats to feed upon and the chickens seem to be well fed too. The sturdy newer fence ensures that none of them are likely to escape. Although, before the new fence was installed, I did see one chicken on the loose very close to the road.

I wonder if she was thinking about crossing the road.

 

Savannah Blog-Week 5

Savannah, GA prides itself on its eccentric characteristics: the unique street pattern with 22 squares interspersed with several main streets; the many legends that allow it to call itself the most haunted city in America; its liberal alcohol policy of allowing people to carry “party cups” anywhere outside in the historic district; and, the second largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the country. 

During my five weeks in the Savannah, I saw many unusual things.

I mentioned before things I saw from my balcony looking across the street at Drayton Tower, a contemporary styled 12-story apartment building. At least three times, I saw young women undressing in front of the nearly floor-to-ceiling windows. One time a fully-clothed woman was watering plants and noticed me on the balcony and she quickly pulled down the drapes. Another fully-clothed woman would dance in front of the windows while wearing headphones.

Savannah has lots of ghost tours, mostly after dark and guides tell riders tales of bizarre happenings and haunted buildings. These tours were mostly by tour bus or horse-drawn carriage. But, I saw one group on a ghost tour in a hearse that had the roof removed and riders sat in elevated seats so they could see the sites more clearly.

Another kind of tour I observed was a vehicle that was powered by about a dozen riders pedaling while drinking from their party cups. They were singing and shouting and were obviously well-lubricated.

Savannah also must be one of the South’s most popular sites for bachelorette parties. During my time there, I saw numerous groups of young women sporting matching t-shirts being led by the bride wearing the same t-shirt and a veil. The women in one bachelorette party were all wearing brightly-colored wigs.

Also, there was an upscale hotel across the street that had a large outdoor rooftop patio that was the site of three weddings the last week I was there. After the ceremonies, the parties would move inside for dinner and dancing. But, the bands were so loud, I could still hear them clearly. One band had a drummer who played the loudest I think I’ve ever heard and not very well. Unfortunately, that band played until midnight.

I did tour the Mercer Williams house that is next to Monterey Square. General Hugh Mercer, the grandfather of renowned composer Johnny Mercer, began to build the house in 1860, but construction was halted by the Civil War. Gen. Mercer served in the Confederate Army and was captured by Union forces and imprisoned. When the war ended, he returned to Savannah in poor health and could not complete construction of the house. He sold the house and it was completed in 1868, but no member of the Mercer family has ever lived in the house.

After being unoccupied for nearly a decade, antique dealer and developer Jim Williams purchased the house in 1969 and restored it. Williams was one of the leaders of the movement to restore the historic district of Savannah and is credited with restoring 50 houses in the district.

Williams is the main character in the book “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” written by John Berendt that was published in 1994. Three years later Clint Eastwood directed a movie version of this story that begins with the extravagant Christmas party that Williams held every year at the house. After the party, Williams shot and killed a young man who worked for him during an argument, and the book and movie deal with the trial that occurred afterward.

The last weekend I was in Savannah, I was enjoying an iced-coffee and people watching near Chippewa Square when I noticed a young couple with two children trying to take photos of themselves. I volunteered to take their photo and the guy was really pleased and said I should be a photographer. I told him I worked for 30 years in video production and we had a good laugh. His family was from Washington, D.C. and he said they have visited Savannah several times for a long weekend vacations.

On my journey home, I stopped in Greenville, NC to visit a friend. Dr. Sam Barber is a music historian and my brother Tim took a class Sam taught at Ohio State in the early 1970s. Sam found out from Tim that our dad was involved with the Cleveland-based Wings Over Jordan choir that had a weekly radio show on CBS from 1938 to 1947. They developed a long-time friendship that resulted in a book they co-authored called “Go Down Moses: The Wings Over Jordan Choir” that was published last year. It is available on Amazon.

In the early 1990s, Sam visited me and we videotaped interviews with several of the surviving choir members still living in the Cleveland area. We have kept in touch and had dinner together and breakfast the next morning before I headed north to Ohio. It was a great time to catch up on things.

The next day I drove 628 miles in 11 hours and 15 minutes which was okay considering there were five traffic tie-ups for construction in the 100 miles between Winston-Salem, NC and the West Virginia Turnpike and rain once I reached Ohio.

It was an interesting visit, but I am glad to be home and it’s time to think about summer travels.

  

The Sounds of Savannah—Week 4

As I mentioned before, Savannah is a quintessentially Southern city. Many of its streets and boulevards are lined with large oak trees with branches draped with Spanish moss overhanging the lanes of traffic. It has a unique street pattern of nearly two dozen small city-block-sized parks stretching out for about mile or so from the city center on the Savannah River—the border between Georgia and South Carolina.

These parks provide a restful interlude for anyone walking between historical sites, shops and restaurants in the historic district of Savannah. One would expect these parks to be quiet, with the sounds of chirping birds and the clip-clop of hooves of horse-drawn carriages plying tourists around town.

I picked an AirBnB rental in the middle of the historic district for its location, a 15 minute or less walk from many of the main historic sites. I have a studio apartment in a 100-year-old building and this rental is pretty much what I expected. The building is old, but serviceable, and the accommodations have pretty much met my expectations.

My one problem is, however, the constant noise emanating from the streets surrounding my building. I am on the eighth floor on the east side of the building and there is a 1990s 12-story apartment building directly across the street from me. Based on my observations, these two buildings may be among the tallest in all of Savannah. 

Street noise between our two buildings is amplified by a “canyon-effect” and that has been a source of annoyance. During the day, there is a pretty-much constant rumble of regular traffic from cars, an occasional truck and tour busses. I have no problem with that. 

My issue is with those who drive so-called muscle cars that sound like NASCAR race cars and accelerate with a roar on the streets below. Also, there is an occasional motorcycle or large pickup truck far noisier than conventional vehicles. Add in the noise from sirens on police cars and ambulances, and it gets to be a bit much.

I acknowledge that I am not used to the street noise of the city because I have lived in the suburbs for the last 30 years. And I am willing to accept a lot of this street noise as part of living in the city. As I write this, the bells of nearby St. John Basilica are tolling for the six o’clock Angelus, and I find that sound quite appropriate and beautiful.

Another source of noise are garbage trucks that patrol the city well before dawn and pick up the refuse from nearby hotels and apartment buildings including mine. Very early in the morning there is a lot of noise with the clanging of the metal as large dumpsters are picked up and emptied and the beeping sounds as a truck backs up away from the dumpster. Most of the time this noise starts between 6 and 6:30AM, but one morning I was awakened by the clanging and beeping at 4:20AM!

Now to the good stuff. One of the nicest aspects of the neighborhood is that there is small bookstore on my block that has a wide selection of used paperbacks. I needed it last week because the weather in the middle of the week was cool and wet. The small store has is jammed with books and most of the paperbacks are $2.50 and up. I’ve read a couple of international intrigue books by David Baldacci and mysteries by Dean Koontz and James Patterson. 

I wanted to hole up in a coffee shop and read or write during these rainy days, but most were too crowded to find a seat. Once the weather broke, I headed for nearby Madison Square to read and enjoyed some people watching. Two city employees were there with leaf blowers cleaning off the sidewalks, but they were gone in about 15 minutes. 

After a while, I was hungry and walked a couple of blocks to a sandwich shop called “Anita Deli Sandwich.” I love puns and this one will remain high on my list of favorites. The roast beef, cheddar with carmelized onions on a sandwich sandwich was delicious It was so big I took half of it back to my apartment for later.

As I walked back through Madison Square, I noticed a work crew arranging several dozen white wooden folding chairs in rows in one corner of the park for, I presume, a wedding. The sunny and pleasant weather and the beautiful park would be a nice change from a conventional church wedding I thought.

There is a contemporary looking hotel down the block from me that has a rooftop swimming pool and a couple of rooftop patios. Later that afternoon, I saw a bunch of people in suits and dresses gathered on one of the patios for another wedding. It looked like a swanky affair (rooms at this hotel start at about $400 a night!) with about 100 people in attendance. After the ceremony, people gathered inside and a band played until almost midnight.

The rest of the weekend is kind of a blur as I read, watched hoops and walked about town. The streets were still crowded on the weekend, but nothing like the weekend after St. Patrick’s Day.

On Monday, I headed to Tybee Island for a couple of hours of beach time. It was sunny and about 70, but the wind was very chilly and I was glad to get back to my warm car for the ride home.

I’ll have more in my last Savannah blog in a week or so.

 

Savannah's St. Patrick's Day Party-Week Three

“Turn out the lights, the party’s over…”

—sung by Willie Nelson and also by Don Meredith on “Monday Night Football”

I decided to delay my third blog until the end of the weekend because of Savannah’s annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration which began on Wednesday night and didn’t seem to end until Sunday. More about that in a minute.

My third week in Savannah began with a couple of cloudy and very cool days. Overnight low temperatures were in the 20s the previous weekend, so I spent most of the evenings indoors watching college basketball conference tournaments. 

On Sunday afternoon, as I read a book in Chippewa Square, I had a very pleasant surprise. At the other end of the square, I heard someone announce the playing of a recording of the national anthem of Ukraine in solidarity with that country under attack from Russia.

I walked over to see what was happening and found that members of the Savannah Philharmonic were beginning a concert. A group of about a dozen orchestra players and chorus members proceeded to perform a free hour-long set of Broadway show selections for a crowd of several hundred spectators. The singers and musicians were very good and the crowd was very appreciative.

I was sorry Pam missed this because a soloist sang “Summertime” and that is one of Pam’s favorite songs. 

Pam arrived Tuesday night and we spent Wednesday sightseeing. On Thursday morning, we walked a couple of blocks over to Oglethorpe Street to watch Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade that has been held since 1804. 

It wasn’t held the last two years because of Covid restrictions and officials estimated that about 400,000 people viewed the parade. It was well over two hours and featured several bagpipe and drum corps, high school bands, floats and more. My AirBnB apartment was near the parade route and my aching back and legs led me to return to my apartment before the parade ended.

There is a bar about a block from my apartment and a couple of other open-air restaurants nearby. For four days, there was almost continuous music from mid- morning until well past midnight. If I were in my 20s, I would have gladly joined in the partying. But, I am older than that (by a lot!) and the noise and music were too much.

So, the day after St. Patrick’s Day, Pam and I decided to head for the beach at Tybee Island, which is normally about a half-hour away. But, the drive out there took over an hour because of heavy traffic and an accident on the main highway to the beach. After cruising through the beach parking lot twice, I was able to get a parking spot and Pam and I headed for the beach. 

We were there close to an hour and a half, but thick clouds rolled in and I noticed the sky to the west was very dark. I looked at weather radar on my phone and figured the storm would hit about 5PM. We made it to the car with a few minutes to spare and headed back to Savannah. 

On Saturday, we got a welcome respite from the noise and heat when we attended a Bach marathon at Ascension Lutheran Church across from Wright Square. The event was scheduled to last from 11AM until 4PM and we listened for about two hours. Many of the players were under 17 and some were very good.

Revelers are allowed to carry alcoholic drinks outside in the historic district of central Savannah and St. Patrick’s day and the next couple of days resembled a cross between Mardi Gras and a SEC football pre-game tailgate party. After the concert on Saturday, Pam and I went down to the Riverwalk area along the Savannah River and observed thousands green-clad revelers imbibing under the watchful eyes of Savannah’s PD and Chatham County Sheriff deputies.

The sidewalk and park were jammed with thousands of people, many carrying plastic cups with their favorite beverage. There were long lines outside a couple of bars and a continuous stream of cars and pickup trucks—with windows open and music blaring—snaked their way down the cobble stone street. It was, in the words of my late mother, “…a seething madhouse.”

Things finally began to calm down on Sunday and we decided to drive up to Beaufort, SC, a charming coastal town about an hour north of Savannah. We ate lunch at a bar cafe that featured numerous types of tacos—shrimp for me and ahi tuna for Pam— and then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at a wonderful park on the bay. The skies were clear and there was a mild, cool breeze coming off the water.

The relaxing afternoon was the perfect way to end this noisy and chaotic week.

  

Savannah Sabbatical--Week Two

My first week in Savannah ended with a cool and windy Friday. I had thought about going to the beach, but the weather made me decide to wait. Instead I went to a local coffee shop and spent time people watching from a table outside. March is a huge tourism month here and the crowds on Bull Street reflected that. 

Most of the tourists were white, middle-aged couples who spend time strolling Savannah’s distinctive squares in the central historic district, touring historic homes and visiting gift shops. There were also a fair number of students from SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, that borders the historic district.

There are some pretty eccentric people here. While sitting outside the coffee shop, one 50-ish guy went by on a segue and shouted “Happy Friday!” Most of the people on the sidewalks waved or yelled back at him. Because I am retired, Friday no longer has the cachet it once had, but I know it is still important to those still in career mode. A little while later, a 40-ish woman walked down the sidewalk and was urging everyone who is “unknown’ to join her group. I have no idea what she meant, but it added to the slightly bizarre nature of this area.

My wife Pam and I first visited Savannah in the late 1970s, when we decide to stop during the return home after visiting my parents who were living in Florida. We were impressed by the stunning beauty of the numerous parks on squares throughout the historic district. There was a charming, antebellum quality of the city that impressed us. We visited the city a few times since, most recently in 2016 when we enjoyed the annual Home and Gardens Tour and an evening carriage ride through the historic area.

I came down here alone this time and I am less impressed than I was in the past. That may partly be the because I am staying in the middle of the historic district, where there is more traffic and noise, especially during the daylight hours. Each weekday morning, I’ve been awakened at around 6:30AM by the sound of garbage trucks emptying trash dumpsters. There are several nightclubs and hotels in the area, and I’ve heard music from bands playing until well past midnight. I like the convenient location of the AirBnB that I rented, but the downside is that it is definitely noisier.

The crowds on the streets Saturday were unbelievable. It was like a Yesterday Land at Disney World. The closest coffee shop had a line out the front door and the parks in the squares were jammed with tourists. The odd counterpoint to this were the homeless people in a couple of the squares I visited who were sitting or lying on the benches oblivious to the commotion. The noise on the streets was much worse than I had encountered before in Savannah because of numerous very loud motorcycles and monster trucks speeding down the streets.

Sunday I decided to drive to Hilton Head Island, SC, which is about an hour away and visit Coligny State Park which has a giant parking area near the beach. I never made it to the beach because the parking area was packed and there were dozens of cars patrolling the lots seeking an available space. I tried another beach access area, but the story was much the same. Apparently, thousands of others also decided to take advantage of the 80-degree temperatures and blue skies to hit the beach.

I headed back to Savannah and enjoyed the rest of the day on the comfort of my balcony with an ample supply of Bourbon.

Monday, it was less crowded so I took a long walk through several blocks to Boughton Street and then turned back towards my apartment. I sat on the balcony and read another book. About 4:30PM, I noticed another young women in the Drayton Tower across the street undressing in front of the window. This was the second time during my visit I had seen this happen. My new take on the old saying is: “People who live in glass houses need to remember when to close the blinds.”

Monday night, I went to restaurant that was only a block from my apartment. It’s called the Six Pence and I had a good meal of “Bangers and Mash” which is sausage links and mashed potatoes with gravy with a serving of green beans. The meal was very tasty.

Tuesday began with a very thick layer of fog and clouds when I awoke at 6:30AM to the noise of the garbage trucks making the rounds. I had morning coffee and breakfast and decided to go to Chippewa Square and read. I found another place to get iced coffee and I read my book and occasionally looked up at the tourists and students from the nearby Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). It was about noon and the sun came out and it was comfortably warm. The weather for the rest of the week was questionable, so I decided to go back to the apartment and gather my stuff to head to the beach.

Tybee Island is about a half-hour east of Savannah and I arrived a little after 1PM.  As you enter town a sign says that all visitor parking is only available on pay parking lots. I found a lot near the main beach and paid my $7 for two hours and headed out onto the sand. The sun was bright and breeze was a bit cool, but it was a very enjoyable couple of hours. On the drive back to Savannah, I was stopped at a railroad crossing for 20-30 minutes before arriving at my apartment.

Wednesday and Thursday were fairly uneventful and the skies were mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. I spent a lot of time watching college basketball games in conference tournaments. Wednesday for lunch, I visited Clary’s, a longtime Savannah traditional diner that was prominently mentioned in the book and movie based here called “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” 

I went for a couple of short walks and made a trip to the grocery store on Thursday, but did not do much else, That night, I went dinner at Hitch, a bar across the street. I had chicken pot pie filling in a large burrito and was topped with a unique recipe for pico de gallo that was mostly collard greens in a sweet and sour base. It was really delicious.

I will be back again with more next time.

  

 

 

The Savannah Apartment-Week One

I arrived in Savannah, GA, on Tuesday March 1, after a 700-mile trip from Stow that I stretched into two days. I arrived in mid-afternoon and followed directions for parking and getting the key to the AirBnB rental I have booked for about five weeks. The studio apartment is in an eight-story brick building that is about 100 years old and located in Savannah’s historic district. 

I picked the unit because of its location within walking distance of the historic sites and attractive parks that dot this part of town. The closest park is Chippewa Square which features a statue of George Oglethorpe, the founder of the Georgia colony. It was the location in the film “Forrest Gump” where Gump sat on a park bench and said the film’s most iconic line: “Life is like a box of chocolates…” So many tourists wanted to take pictures at that bench that traffic was impeded and the city eventually removed the bench and placed it in a museum. 

Another feature I like is that there is a decent size balcony that has a great view of downtown Savannah and the historic district. However, some of the view is blocked by a 12-story apartment building that is directly across the street. This newer, modern-looking structure is made of gray stone with large glass windows and it seems architecturally inconsistent with rest of the 18th and 19th century structures in the area.

I am not a voyeur, but the large windows provide a good view inside some of the apartments, especially at night. I haven’t seen any crimes or murders a’la Hitchcock’s film “Rear Window”, but some residents—the majority of them female— might be more careful about what they do or wear while in front of these large windows. Just saying…

So far, I’ve just been getting settled into the apartment and getting to know the surrounding area. The streets are lined with large oak trees with lots of Spanish moss hanging from the limbs. It is still early spring, but I’ve seen some pink azaleas blooming on the boulevards. 

On Wednesday, I decided to get a good brunch and I wound up at the Collins Corner Cafe. I had a delicious meal of sausage gravy over poached eggs and biscuits, chicken sausage links and fennel slaw. From my table on the sidewalk, I could observe the horse-drawn carriages and tour busses going by as well as multitudes of tourists on foot. It was a very pleasant, sunny day and a wonderful experience. When it came time to pay my check, I told my waiter to notice the last name on my credit card, and he asked me if he could get a raise. Couldn’t give him a raise, but I did give him a nice tip. 

Then I had nice walk back to my apartment and spent the sunny and warm afternoon on the balcony reading a book that Pam had bought and recommended. It’s called “Spymistress” by William Stevenson and chronicles the tale of Vera Atkins who was one of Great Britain’s most prominent spies before and during World War II. One of her colleagues in the British intelligence system was Ian Fleming who said Atkins was an inspiration for his character James Bond. Fleming later recounted that when he was at a dinner with Atkins, she ordered a Martini with Booth Gin, very little Vermouth, a twist of lime and wanted it “...shaken, not stirred.”

After two warm sunny days, I thought about going to the beach on Friday. However, the weather turned considerably cooler and it was cloudy so I found a nearby coffee shop and read and did some people watching. March is a very big tourism month here as the spring-like weather attracts large numbers of “snowbird” tourists. Most of the visitors I saw were couples in their 40s and up and a surprising number of groups of only women. 

The major event in March in Savannah is the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade which draws tens of thousands of visitors and is billed as one of the largest in the country. Later in the month, there is a significant home and garden tour in the historic district that draws thousands of visitors. It wasn’t held in both 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid pandemic, but the website said the tour will be back on this year.

My last two sabbaticals in El Paso and Las Vegas were in the dry, desert-like southwest. The low country of the southeast coast couldn’t be more different. So I plan to share more experiences in my next blog, so stay tuned.