Days 236, 237: Savannah, and how not to ruin a perfectly good meal.

February 29, 2008 by Julie.

Savannah: We didn’t do much of any environmental note except for our regular daily homework, and a lunch stop at the infamous Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room, where the banquet is SO worth the standing line…and there is always a line. Also, unless you come in a big group, you will be sitting with folks you haven’t met before, which makes for some interesting conversations. In our case, an nice friendly discussion about what’s going on environmentally across the nation suddenly became one man’s soapbox about those g**damn immigrants who need to be sent back to Mexico, and how are we talking about that issue. Which sent me into a red-faced emotional headplace producing only a shaky, “Well, that’s not really the issue…” and “…aren’t we a nation of immigrants?…” at which point the man across from me barked, “My people did it LEGALLY!!” And so, with Ben’s hand squeezing my leg, I focused squarely on what was left of my meal, for the REST of the meal (which was impossible not to enjoy as it was the blueberry cobbler which is to die for, however distracted I was) while Ben and Mark swayed the conversation in more thoughtful ways…

Before we left Savannah, we took a nice walk through the historic old town, Ben several times gave his standard stamps of approval, “I really like this town,” and, “I think I could live here.” We stopped at an antiques store that had Ben waxing poetic about building furniture from uncut wood, and we hit my favorite store, the Goodwill! I got a pair of pyjama pants for $2.50. Because I and the child are not fitting into my pants very well anymore and I have to get used to sleeping with clothes on whenever all 3 of us share a room together. Compromise.

We drove though miles and miles of pine forests on our way through Georgia, along Interstate 15 to Athens, some forests still dense, some selectively cleared and some completely razed, with heaping dead piles of trees awaiting a burn, as they are now considered trash. I will never understand that complete waste of energy. We passed signs saying, “500 acres for sale, $4000 per acre,” and I wondered how soon developers would turn all these woods into another sterile suburbia …just what Georgia needs… but it’s progress, they say…

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