a brave and beautiful city.......

When Sherman marched his troops through Atlanta during the Civil War, then left it in tatters, no one could have ever imagined that the town would rise above the ashes to become a the beautiful international city that it is today. It would take years for it to form, but it would surpass all plans anyone could have envisioned at the time.

If you were to fly into Georgia from any destination, the landscape is covered in green, until this mecca, that appears like an island, pops up in the middle of it. In actuality, Atlanta has three tiers to it's cityscape, but only a keen eye or native son can recognize it. There is the actual city itself, or "downtown", then there's "midtown", and lastly, there's Buckhead. Each area is rich in history and vast in wealth of it's citizens. Starting on Peachtree Steet, the most famous street in the city (that has over 28 surnames for added confusion), it meanders north over 60 miles away to Lake Lanier. Along the way, it changes it's name numerous times, but that's very typical of the way they name streets here.

There are dozens of other neighborhoods that surround and intertwine themselves within the city limits, and they all have charming names that are easily recognizable if you are a native or transplanted native, such as myself. What is equally nice about these neighborhoods is the fact that each one has at least one, if not several, parks. It's as if a park were placed and named, and a neighborhood was placed around it. Convince me that you wouldn't like to live in an area named Morningside, or Garden Hills, and you'd have a hard arguement on my part.

Traveling north from downtown, and heading into midtown is the Margaret Mitchell Museum located on 10th and Peachtree. The MM museum was adopted by the city history center in the 1990's who finally restored it from it's original "dump" appearance. It was here that Margaret Mitchell wrote most of her famous story, "Gone With The Wind"; taking a full ten years to complete. She had always called it "the dump", and with good reason. Her tiny apartment resembled a broom closet at best. It consisted of three tiny rooms, one being a kitchen, one her bedroom, and the front room being her livingroom. It was here she tapped out the pages that told the story of life during the few days before the Civil War and through the Reconstruction Period. It was called "the greatest love story ever told", and the premiere of the movie was held to record crowds in 1939.

The museum now resembles an original brick apartment building, well taken care of, with a lovely green lawn out front. Window casings gleam in white, and flowers are planted along the walkways. It didn't look like that a few years back, nor did it appear that way during Miss Mitchells stay. For many years after her death, the apartment building sat in a state of disrepair, was raped of its beautiful stain glass windows by antique hunters, and set fire to twice during the 1980's by homeless people who occupied its vacant rooms. It looked like a "dump", and we could all understand why Miss Mitchell referred to it that way.

A few miles up Peachtree, is The High Museum where famous pieces of art are displayed on loan, and in collections from famous museums of Europe. It sits across the street from the Woodruff Arts Center, where the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra houses its concert series.. and is only minutes away from the famous Fox Theatre. It is at the Fox where you can see anything from a play to a concert featuring The Clash. (I've done both.)

A little further north is the heart of beautiful Buckhead, where the History Center, a major financial and hotel center of the city, and beautiful mansions reside in park-like settings. If you live in Buckhead, you live in good company, as the Governors Mansion is located a few streets down from the History Center. It was here this past weekend that our Governor invited Prom students to party after their dance, and he served them up pancakes and waffles for breakfast. Isn't that just the friendliest thing you ever heard of?

Travel north of the city and you would cross over the Chattahoochie River into a quaint little town called Roswell, which by population alone is really a city. But there are no tall buildings here.... large, yes, but nothing tall. It even has a town square with a cute little cotillion in it's center park. It is here that you could find southern mansions that were left untouched by the northern troops during the Civil War. These antibellum plantations have all been restored, and are open today for tours of a time when life was a bit slower. Judging by the traffic on the roads, you might have a different idea, but once inside these magnificant homes, you cannot help but be transformed into the life of the early 1800's. In some cases, the original furniture is still in place..... carefully stored during the war; lest the pesky northern troops use it for firewood.

Like the city of Atlanta, Roswell has many parks as well. The two best are located on the Chattahoochie River, and are fondly known as the "river parks" by the locals. It is here that you can set up a picnic and listen to free concerts on saturday nights, or go for a five mile bike ride that connects Marietta (the neighbor in the next county) to Roswell by the river. It is so family friendly, that many people bring their children here to play on the many swing-sets, or teach their children how to ride a bike; after all, it has an amazing bike trail.

Travel a little north of Roswell, and you enter the charming town of Alpharetta. Since the cities are so close together, the area is more known as Roswell/ Alpharetta (even though the high schools of each seperate city have a rivalries that go pretty far back). Like Atlanta and Roswell, Alpharetta has numerous parks and bike trails, but unlike Atlanta, it has no tall buildings. It is in Alpharetta that you would find homes where the Braves players live.... or should I say mansions, and the most prestigious neighborhood is Country Club of the South. No doubt entry here is gated, and the only way in is by invite only.... unless you have the money to purchase one of these million dollar mansions. Let's just say that it is an area that the service industry likes to target, as these people do nothing for themselves. Between the well-manicured lawns, and the parties given for no particular reason, it is obvious that money flows pretty freely when the job is to the specifications of the tennants.

Even though both Roswell and Alpharetta are seperate cities from Atlanta, they still claim to be part of the big city itself.... after all, they still belong to the same county and are counted as part of the population of Atlanta. What once was "moving out to the country" and up to North Fulton county, is now only a 15 minute drive down to the heart of Atlanta..... considering that you do not try this treck during the morning or evening rush hours. The city of Atlanta, that was once burned to the ground, has sprawled in all directions, with each neighborhood and neighboring town laying claim to census results as well as all the metro perks Atlanta has to offer.

In the past 23 years that I have lived here, I have seen the city change, grow and adapt into becoming an international center. We've hosted the 1996 Olympics, and we're home of the most of the Fortune 500 companies. The Civil Rights Movement was born here in the small booth of a pharmacy cafe when Dr. King held court with his followers back in the late 1950's. A wonderful zoo shares a park with our Cyclorama exhibit of the Civil War, and we've just added the worlds largest aquarium to the tourist must-see sights. The city constantly evolves, and leaves nothing to ruin for too long as real estate is a premium. We probably even have the best baseball stadium, as we were able to convert the Olympic Stadium of 1996 into the new home of the Braves. A great honor for all of us has been the 15 consecutive wins by our Braves in the National League playoffs, so they deserved the stadium left behind.

So is it no wonder that Andrew Young had named Atlanta a brave and beautiful city? We have been through several reconstruction processes, starting from the remnants of the Civil War, and into the new millenium with a population of over 4 million people. Like the statue of the Phoenix rising from the ashes that sits downtown, Atlanta continues to push forward and past the constraints of its borders. The city knows no boundries when it comes to its graciuosness and pride.... unless you get stuck on the highway during rush hour. Then it's every man for himself.