2:07 P.M.
PG started to feel the familiar stiffness in his big toe. While it was not painful, it could get worse. PG decided to take the offensive, and get treated before the stiffness turns to pain. This means going to the herbal emporium of Dr. Xu. You go to the office , and sign in. He sees you when he sees you.
When facing quality time in a waiting room, it is best to bring a book. The reading material for PG these days is Skinny Legs and All, by Tom Robbins. PG read SLAA in the early 90’s, when he was working in an office downtown. Like all Robbins stories, a re-do reading will uncover noisy nuggets of knowledge, and forgotten figments of imagination.
While warming up the vehicle, PG saw the word “orchidaceous” on page 197. If something like the o-word gets PG’s attention, his response is to note the page number, and put an inkpen dot on both sides of it. As it so happens, on this day PG was looking at page 198, and saw “then allowed” with a ball point bump on both sides. This was referring to a New York art dealer.
The full sentence was “It was as if Gropius had created her, then allowed Gaudi to add the boobs.” The art-monger in question had an unremarkable face, but a generous mammary allowance. The bosomy business lady was discussing the art of Ellen Cherry Petway. At the same time, a vehicle, crafted by Boomer Petway, was eliciting exclamations of magnifque. The automobile was crafted to look like a giant turkey. It had been delivered to Ellen Cherry Charles as a love offering before the wedding. Now, the sheet metal bird was stealing the thunder of Ellen Cherry, who considers herself to be the artiste. This was not a good development for the recently consummated marriage.
The Petways are soon going to trendy New York parties. Ellen Cherry has this country-girl notion of what an art party should be like, and finds the real thing to be lacking. Boomer has another reaction. “I guess that’s what I like about ’em. … They’re just as petty as everybody else.”
Petty is one of those eye-of-the-beholder concepts. Certainly, the current social justice discourse in America explores new levels of petty every day. The five letters p-e-t-t-y can be retrofitted with all five vowels, with y left to ask why. Patty, petty, pitty, potty, putty. All five work. Even pitty does double duty as an “obsolete spelling of pity,” as well as the stage name of a Brazilian rock and roll lady.
PG stumbled onto the art party comment at 1:24 pm, soon after he got down to some serious waiting. A half hour later, Ellen Cherry tore up an invitation to Boomer’s one man show. The arty paper turned into mutually destructive snowflakes and sparks. Could Tom Robbins have foreseen the contemporary disrespect for snowflakes in 1989, when SLAA was written?
Snowflakes and sparks made their appearance on page 207, and were duly noted. At 2:07 pm, PG was in the middle of his consultation with Dr. Xu. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Ku Klux Klan Billboards
The display of a link on this page does not indicate approval of content.
‘All Lives Matter’ signs mixed in with order of ‘Black Lives Matter’ posters
How Dollar Stores Became Magnets for Crime and Killing
Kneeling in the Church of Social Justice
What’s the history of Ku Klux Klan billboards near Smithfield? CuriousNC finds out.
As you’re about to enter the site, a newspaper boy jumps out at you:
Win Without War Barbara Lee Speaks for Me: Cut the Pentagon budget!
COVID-19 pandemic reveals the peril of ignoring metadata standards
Universal Masking in Hospitals in the Covid-19 Era
How St. Louis’ History of Private Streets Led to a Gun-Brandishing Couple
What we can do now about Stone Mountain’s 150ft Confederate carving?
Car crashes through Emergency Room at Piedmont Hospital in Buckhead, killing one
APD officer says he fears for his own safety on the job following protests, firings
Racial division is being sown in the name of anti-racism
The Black Officer Who Detained George Floyd Had Pledged to Fix the Police
Waraq Rap Group Labeled As Gang By Providence Police After Being Charged …
“Sh**ty Media Men” List Creator Unable to Escape Libel Suit
Why no outrage? Atlanta shootings surge, but it’s not the cops
Well-known homeless advocate stabbed to death in Baltimore robbery
City of Atlanta sees massive spike in crime over last month – we dig into what’s going on
Deputies raid meth house, find original Ku Klux Klan hood
Everything is shit because we live in Marty McFly’s dystopian alternative timeline
The Case For Moving On … On ice cream trucks, memory, and race in America
Florida State just barred many employees from caring for kids while working remotely.
3-Year-Old Girl Shot In Englewood Is The 4th Chicago Toddler Shot In 10 Days
Herman Cain is receiving treatment for coronavirus at an Atlanta hospital
Merci Mack, a Black woman killed in Dallas, is 18th transgender death this year
Listen To Lee Greenwood’s New Version Of, “God Bless The U.S.A.”
Will dispatch tapes quell critics of the police response during rioting?
What It’s Like to Be a Caretaker for Someone Who Has No Idea Coronavirus Exists
Hip-Hop Won’t Stop Protecting Alleged Abusers The industry has been proclaiming …
‘The Portrait of Mr W.H.’ by Oscar Wilde, 1889
“It hurts people when they see a white man bouncing a brown baby on their lap.”
The Other Side of the Mountain Story: A Native Perspective on Mt. Rushmore
Why Are More Gay Men Turning On Transgender People?
How ‘white fragility’ reinforces racism – video explainer
Shooting at Riverchase Galleria in Hoover; 8-year-old boy killed, 3 others wounded
The Purpose of Persuasion To defend the values of a free society with courage and …
Shattering the “White Fragility” Myth … discuss THE book of 2020: White Fragility
Naperville man takes his own life after seeing $730K negative balance on investment app
Woman falls to her death while taking photos at Grand Canyon
Atlanta City Councilmember Joyce Sheperd: ‘We need our police officers’
@sota_jahra This was before the shooting on Edgewood / auburn! ATLANTA ALWAYS TURNT
6 tautologies ~ woke breaking point ~ Steven Pinker ~ gay pride 1971
covid party ~ Fxck July 4th ~ memorial carving ~ dolls head trail
dolls head trail ~ stonewall 06/27/69 ~ TransLash ~ carl reiner
The Churchill version is more fun. “Ma’am you are ugly” “Sir you are drunk” “But in the morning I will be sober” Atheists might enjoy putting a space 6 letters into Churchill, creating church ill ~ There is a post about the carving on Stone Mountain. This is one of the proposals. “2. Stop mowing the lawn Allow the Memorial Lawn to grow into a forest. It is not protected by the law. A major problem with Stone Mountain is the formal, triumphant view of the sculpture, making the entire park a celebration of white supremacy.” The carving is 400 feet above the lawn. ~ Daryl Davis is a bullshitter. He talks fast, and says a lot between pauses. Eventually, he says things that can be researched, and shown to be lies. He said that Warren Harding was sworn into the KKK in the green room of the White House. I have written about Mr. Harding at my blog. One thing about him… he was a progressive about race in 1920, when it was not popular. Mr. Harding sponsored anti-lynching legislation in the Senate. He took other stands in favor of civil rights for Black people. I looked up the claim about the KKK, and saw an article debunking it. ~ A member of a NYC Community Education Council to a colleague: “It hurts people when they see a white man bouncing a brown baby on their lap.” “I would like to know how having my friend’s nephew on my lap was racist.” “Read a book. Read White Fragility.” ~ “have you ever actually read Robin D’Angelo’s book white fragility” … “you got to be kidding that’s torture I have only read reviews of it” … “I’ve actually had to read it that is one of the worst books ever written” ~ @JohnHMcWhorter @GlennLoury you mention substituting witch for racist… here is something I wrote where I substituted racist for the magic word, quoting a speech by James Baldwin… It is amazing how it worked ~ People who argue about what word to put in front of “lives matter” have no equivalent. ~ @stillgray The mass shooting in Atlanta happened at a bloc party. They were doing donuts and one of the cars hit another. That’s when it kicked off. Wasn’t a protest. ~ pictures for this livin’ is easy post are from The Library of Congress. ~ selah
35 Broad Street
PG was having a delightfully slack afternoon, The one productive activity was editing pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. In box seventy two of “corporate bodies”, in the Lane Brothers archive, there was a picture commissioned by King Road Marker Company. It displayed a brand new crosswalk, over Marietta Street at the intersection of Broad Street. The picture was taken at 1:51 p.m. September 27, 1954. This is a repost.
The time caught PG’s eye. 1:51 is one of the times used to display clocks and watches in advertising. Most ads use 10:09. This arrangement of the hour and minute hands makes a welcoming gesture. This allows the logo of the watch to be visible, and is thought to encourage the viewer to purchase the timepiece. The shadows on the buildings indicate that the picture was shot in early afternoon.
The clock with the magic time advertised the C&S national bank. The building behind the clock was the headquarters of that bank. In 1954, Citizens and Southern bank was a prime player in the Atlanta market. (PG’s dad said that C&S stood for choke’m and squeez’m.) At some point, C&S merged with NCNB to become Nationsbank, which was later absorbed by Bank Of America.
C&S kept it’s headquarters at 35 Broad Street for many years after competitors built trophy buildings. Their were constant rumors about where the C&S highrise was going to go. Finally, C&S Plaza was built at Peachtree and North Avenue, a mile north of five points. The building was to become the tallest building in America outside of New York and Chicago. During the construction of this building, C&S became part of Nationsbank, and later Bank of America.
The picture is featured in Atlanta Time Machine. The building is now owned by Georgia State University, with a BOA branch on the first floor. The banking hall is spectacular. It was designed by Philip Shutze, before the great depression. Here is more information.
Nations Bank Building (Citizens and Southern National Bank Building, Empire Building)
35 Broad Street, NW 1901: Bruce and Morgan, Architects, NR.
Remodeling of Lower Floors and Interiors 1929:
Hentz, Adler and Shutze, Architects; Philip Shutze, Designer
Fourteen stories high, the Nations Bank Building was the first steel-frame structure to be built in Atlanta. Its clear-cut silhouette, simple fenestration, and heavily decorated terra-cotta top bear the influence of the Chicago School. In 1929 the building became the headquarters of the Citizens and Southern National Bank, which asked Philip Shutze to redesign its three lower floors. Because the impression of load-bearing masonry was regarded as better suited for a banking establishment than large glass panes were, the original display windows were replaces by classical motifs apparently “carved out” of Indiana limestone.
Philip Shutze was inspired by Italian Mannerism, and especially by the city gates of Verona by Michele Sanmichelo (1484-1559) … Reached from Marietta and Walton streets through lofty arcaded entryways and a more intimate elevator lobby in the early Renaissance style on Broad Street, the banking hall is a long nave articulated by colossal Corinthian pilasters. While its walls and floors feature several kinds of Georgia, Tennessee, and European marbles in a warm gold-brown color scheme, the ceiling, from which hang gigantic chandeliers, is left bare. The Pantheon, which Shutze had measured during his internship at the American Academy in Rome, served as direct source for the pedimented niches, and for the floors with alternate square and circular patterns. Also, of Roman inspiration are the bronze desks and the eagle motif found throughout the design.
July 3, 1981
July 3, 1981, was another day before a holiday. The new President, Ronald Reagan, was recovering from gunshot wounds. There was talk of an era of conservatism, with possibly severe repression.
There was an article in the New York Times. RARE CANCER SEEN IN 41 HOMOSEXUALS. “Doctors in New York and California have diagnosed among homosexual men 41 cases of a rare and often rapidly fatal form of cancer. Eight of the victims died less than 24 months after the diagnosis…”
This was the media debut of AIDS. It would not have that name for a while. Almost nobody thought, on that summer day, just how bad AIDS would be. In five years it was obvious how serious AIDS was.
PG was on another trip to the west coast. It was becoming obvious that this would be a vacation, rather than a relocation. He was riding a bicycle, with a milk carton overloaded with camping gear. Some kids told him to get saddle bags, and carry the weight lower. If you have the weight on top, you would lose control coming down a big hill. PG did not listen to the kids.
On July 4, PG left Patrick’s Point state park, about 300 miles north of San Francisco. Coming down the first hill on highway 101, the bike shook, shook harder, and flipped on its side. PG was thrown off. The front wheel was bent beyond repair. PG gathered his gear, left the bike behind, and got a ride into the nearest town.
PG got a bus ticket to Seattle. That city was in an economic downturn, with less than half a page of help wanted ads. PG found a auto delivery service, and got a VW bug going to Oak Ridge, TN. In a few days he was in Atlanta. A few days later, a temp agency came up with a job as a driver for a blueprint company. PG worked for that company, in one form or another, for the next 24 years.
As for the gay men with Kaposi’s Sarcoma … in all probability, the patients mentioned in that article were all dead within a year. AIDS has become a dominating story in our time. At its worst, it was claiming 50,000 lives a year. With the advent of wonder drugs, the death toll has been greatly reduced. The impact of AIDS on American life cannot be adequately described. This is a repost.
Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. Lawrence K. Altman is still writing articles for the New York Times.
James Baldwin And The Six Letter Word
In the spring of 1963, KQED filmed a show, “Take this hammer”, about James Baldwin. The snippet in the video above seems to have been the last three minutes of the show. Here is a transcript. Mr. Baldwin discusses a six letter insult. The n-word is more about the speaker, than the spoken of. A 2010 blogger had this to say.
“I’ve often felt that people’s projections of me are oftentimes just that – their projections. However, Baldwin’s ending sums up a solution to this perfectly: “But you still think, I gather, that the n****r is necessary. Well he’s unnecessary to me – he must be necessary to you. Well, I’m going to give your problem back to you…you’re the n****r, baby…not me.”
It is now 2020. (All discussions of race must mention the year.) The TV show was fifty seven years ago. A few things have changed. To many white people, overt expressions of racism are seen as bad manners. The n-word is taboo in polite company. The overall attitudes may not have changed, but most white people are careful how they say things.
This is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress. These men are Union soldiers, from the War Between the States.
A few weeks ago, this blog published a feature, James Baldwin And The Six Letter Word. At the center was selection of James Baldwin talking about the n word. There was a transcript available, which makes today’s exercise a lot easier.
Mr. Baldwin was discussing this nasty word, and offered an insight into who the user of this nasty word was really talking about. Now, there is another nasty word being casually tossed about these days. This other nasty word is racist. What would happen if you took Mr. Baldwin’s talk, and substituted racist for nasty? It is an interesting way to look at things. What follows is not a perfect fit, and may be offensive to some. A few times, it is very close to the truth.
Who is the racist? Well i know this…and anybody who has tried to live knows this. What you say about somebody else (you know) anybody else, reveals you. What I think of you as being is dictated by my own necessities, my own psychology, my own uhm fears…and desires. I’m not describing you when I talk about you…I’m describing me.
Now, here in this country we got somebody called a racist. It doesn’t in such terms, I beg you to remark, exist in any other country in the world. We have invented the racist. I didn’t invent him, white people invented him. I’ve always known, I had to know by the time I was seventeen years old, what you were describing was not me and what you were afraid of was not me. It had to be something else. You had invented it so it had to be something you were afraid of and you invested me with it.
Now if that’s so, no matter what you’ve done to me I can say to you this, and I mean it…I know you can’t do any more and I’ve got nothing to lose…and I know and I have always known you know and really always..…I have always known that I am not a racist…but if I am not the racist…and if it is true that your invention reveals you…then who is the racist?
I am not the victim here. I know one thing from another. I know that I was born, am gonna suffer and gonna die. And the only way that you can get through life is to know the worst things about it. I know that a person is more important than anything else. Anything else.
I’ve learned this because I’ve had to learn it. But you still think, I gather, that the racist is necessary. Well he’s not necessary to me, so he must be necessary to you. So I give you your problem back. You’re the racist baby, it isn’t me.
Two Hundred Yards Behind
In 1985, PG went to work for Shaky Blueprints. The real name was a Japanese word that nobody knew how to spell. Two of the previous hires were an athletic young lady, and a fat man. Until better nicknames arrive, we will call them AYL and FM for this story.
AYL was trying to get FM to go jogging with her after work. This was an ongoing conversation, with FM always turning her down. One afternoon, PG wore an old pair of jogging shoes to work, and said that he would go running with AYL.
Shaky was just off highway 400, in what is now part of Sandy Springs. There was a road leading away from it. The road went over the highway, and went in a wooded semi circle for a couple of miles. The plan was to go on this loop, and take sidewalks on Roswell Road back to Shaky.
At one time, PG went running every day. He was out of the habit by this time, and always a slow runner. When the work day was over, PG tied his glasses on with a rubber band, did a few stretches, and was ready to take on the course.
AYL and PG left the parking lot, and started up the road. PG trudged along with his head down. When he got to the bridge over the highway, PG looked up. AYL had taken off like greased lightning, and was already two hundred yards ahead. PG hollered for her to slow down, and finished the course.
Pictures for this repost are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. Have a happy July.
Chamblee54 
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