Atlanta Braves, Jimmy Carter and connecting with a couple of old friends…

It was a relative short drive from Chattanooga to Atlanta. My primary reason for visiting Atlanta was to go to Truist Park for a Braves game. Many folks I know who’ve been to numerous ballparks have named Truist as their “favorite.” It was not mine.

First of all, getting there was crazy. I had chosen to stay downtown, at the “Inn at the Peachtrees” mainly because any hotel near the ballpark was ridiculously expensive. (As were the tickets to the game!) The hotel was nice, and I got there early enough to have a shower and nap.

From the information I gathered, I assumed that public transportation would take me there without too much difficulty. That turned out to be an erroneous assumption.

I was going to take the MARTA rail northbound to the Arts Center and then change for the Number 10 Express bus, which showed a stop very close to the stadium. When I walked up to the MARTA station, the northbound side was closed…they were doing some kind of track work and all trains were running on the southbound side. So I schlepped over to that side and tried to buy a ticket, only the machine wouldn’t take any of my credit cards. I finally used cash. I got on a train…only it was running the wrong way. I got off at the next stop and saw a young man in a Dodgers shirt. I asked him if he was going to the game and he was and turns out he was as confused as I was. We finally got on the right train and got off at the Arts Center.

Upon checking the schedule again, we found we had missed the 10 bus by seconds. The next one didn’t come for another 28 minutes. And, to make matters more interesting, the schedule no longer showed a stop close to the stadium. The nearest stop was almost a miles walk. Argh! I asked my new friend (his name was Justin) if he wanted to split a ride on Lyft. $10 each. He agreed and we were able to get to the park before first pitch! (I then lost track of him, which was too bad, because I also ended up taking a Lyft back!) I hope he had fun; he was from LA.

Beer in hand, I found my way to my seat, which was right behind home plate. Great view.

The place was certainly impressive. Very bright, very loud…sort of like a Disneyworld of ballparks. There were lots of Dodgers fans there, which was good since the Dodgers rose up and crushed the Braves at the end, getting 7 runs in the top of the ninth. It was fun for me to see Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts play.

The best part for me was their resident opera singer, Timothy Miller, who came out in the middle of the 7th and delivered an incredible a cappella rendition of “God Bless America.”

Getting back to the hotel turned out to be almost as crazy as getting to the park. But this time I had a better idea of what I was in for. I found my way to the pick-up point for shared ride services and was confronted with numerous drivers, holding signs that said “Taxi” or “Limo” and asking anyone and everyone if they wanted a ride. Curious, I inquired of one how much it would cost to take me to my hotel. He did a few calculations and then proclaimed, “Only $100!” I must confess I laughed in his face. I walked down to a nearby KFC, where many other people were waiting, and called a Lyft. It was an…interesting evening.

The next day, I visited the Jimmy Carter Center. I did not expect to be so deeply moved. He is truly a great human being and I think we didn’t appreciate what he accomplished when he was President. The grounds are peaceful and beautiful and the museum shows his history and life work. He definitely “walks the walk.”

Some notable quotes:

“My feeling is that if we refuse to try something that might fail, we lack faith either in our ourselves or in our causes and goals.”

“God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes – and we must.”

“The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices.”

And finally, I had two unexpected reconnections with old friends! I had lunch with Bill Humphries, who was the youth minister at our church in Huntington. He was not “my” youth pastor, but my brothers knew him well and he officiated at my middle brother’s wedding.

And then I drove up to Alpharetta and saw my friend Cathy, whom I have not seen in 50 years! We were close in high school…then we lost touch and our lives took different paths. But another friend convinced me to reach out and I am so glad I did. Life is too damn short. We had coffee and cake and reminisced. Then she gave me the entire cake to take with me. 😆

I left later than I’d planned, but finally made it to Weaverville around 11:00pm. Tomorrow I start my advanced carpentry course!

Georgia, Georgia
The whole day through
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind