Georgia On My Mind

Wordless: Georgia Pecan Trees

2009-11-18T19:37:00.001-08:00

A road winding through a grove of pecan trees somewhere between Unadilla and Cordele, Georgia.

Happy Wednesday!

The Wordless Wednesday hub can be found here

Georgia Carnival: Edition 60

2009-09-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

Bugs Hugs is a new blog to the Georgia blogroll presented by Andrea. She’s a stay-at-home mom and she likes to sew and do a little painting here and there. In her most current post, Go Green! Buy Locally! Eat You Vegetables.... Andrea advises, “Every year, the Georgia Farm Bureau Women’s Committee chooses a different commodity to promote. This year, it is vegetables, with an emphasis on being green and buying locally!

Personalized Sketches and Sentiments is also a new blog to the Georgia blogroll written by Maria, a self-taught artist creating unique sketches. She’s been taking orders since 1985. Seriously….go look. Her work is amazing and unique, but the look of her blog is pretty cool as well. ok See her latest work here.

Jewelry anyone? Jenjie's Crafty Stuff has some great jewelry and other things for you to look at and buy. This is a new blog to the blogroll as well.

Donna over at The Barefoot PhotographerⓇ presents Shelter Dog in May -- Art Show Entry in October…..a picture and post about about a very special pet.

Salmongirl has posted Dreams of A Secret Agent over at Ashes and Glass…….more artwork inspired by dreams….AWESOME!

Hot Button Issues Including Politics

Freddie Sirmans over at Doomsday Log Book believes the Economic Recover is BS and thinks Teaparties and Townhalls Are a Waste of Time

Project Logic GA takes a look at Fox News and MSNBC……Yellow Journalism or Healthy Debate
William Cotter presents Health Care Option posted at Paw Paw Bill

Dan Matthews shares What is the future of Oconee County, Georgia? posted at Oconee County, Georgia Politics - Recreation, News, Art, Music, Culture, Sports and More, saying, "Lots of frustrating questions with no simple answers about the future of Watkinsville and Oconee County, Georgia, a great place to live if we continue to work together to keep it so."

Over at The Other Athens James is advising about Property Tax Circuit Breakers and actions by the Athens/Clarke County Commission.

Out and About….Things to Do in Georgia

Sue over at Fieldtrips With Sue has some great ideas for trips with kids including picking your own apples, heading out to Piedmont Park, or Dauset Trail Nature Preseve in Hampton. Sue also clues us into a free parking deal at the Georgia Aquarium, and if you want to leave the state don’t miss her post regarding the Nickelodeon Hotel in Orlando .

Norcross recently hosted the Taste of Britain event….Felicia from Fluffy Flowers was lucky enough to attend and shares British Car Fayre.

Over at Southern Byways Apryl Chapman Thomas presents Southern Byways » Get Outdoors: “Hunting” for Treasures in Habersham County, Georgia.

Atlanta With Kid has a nice review of the Imagine It Museum for kids, and gives us 10 Fun Corn Mazes Around Atlanta

The Q Family Adventures wants to quell our camping phobia in 5 easy steps and gives us

five reasons why we like cruising with kids.

Georgia Sports

James over at The Other Athens provides the lowdown on South Clarke football here.

Georgia…in Days Gone By

Joe over at ATLHistory alerted me about this one….. Appalachian History provides a look at the Tallulah Falls Railway.

In case you missed it I posted a little tale about the four Georgians who founded Helena, Montana here earlier at Georgia on My Mind.

Watching That Dollar

Saving With Sadie provides some great information regarding Travel Bed-and-Breakfast Style

Georgia Eats

Visit Gena Knox for all sorts of recipes and food talk. Check out her Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting……yum! Yes, she’s also a newbie to the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind.

Georgia Lifestyle

Rich Single Momma provides 12 Ways to Thrive as a Single Mom…..married moms might glean some good advice from this one as well.

Social Media

Visit Media Connection….a program of conversations about social media news, trends and innovations. A recent posting includes a conversation with Marketing Expert Toby Bloomberg

Sherry Heyl presents Spotlight on Lens On Atlanta posted at LISTEN, CONNECT, INFLUENCE, saying, "I am very excited for PBA and for Atlanta that we have been able to launch this site as a means to connect the citizens throughout metro Atlanta."

Thomas L. Strickland presents More From the Director’s Vlog - Time Flies and Fair Is Foul posted at GRABBINGSAND, saying, "Our non-profit theatre company is producing Macbeth on the grounds of Barrington Hall. What better time to experiment with producing a somewhat irregular video blog?" So cool!

Georgia Gardens

Felicia Haywood presents Easy Gardens for the South posted at Fluffy Flowers where she explains what has kept her away from the computer so much this past summer.

Georgia Roads

Steve Williams, webmaster over at The Georgia Road Geek presents Georgia Announces Toll System Bid Winner. Which company won the bid for the I-85 High-Occupancy Toll?

Notices Received

I received an email notification from Brad Malone, Public Relations Supervisor at Six Flags Over Georgia. He was inviting Atlanta area bloggers to a phone conference that will take place on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 regarding the 2009 summer season, their plans for fall, and what’s already in the works for next season. Bloggers/citizen journalists will also have the opportunity to ask him questions. If you haven’t already received your e-mail invitation…..don’t worry. Six Flags will be posting a recording of the conference call on their website.

Sara over at the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau advises Atlanta is extending tourism programs for a limited time. Her email explains the following:

Atlanta’s Backyard Adventure hotel packages, extended through September on Atlanta.net, offer reduced room rates and discounted admission to major attractions. In addition to hot offers like Sheraton Atlanta’s Beat the Heat package (guests pay a rate equivalent to the outside temperature on the day of check-in), participating hotels are including memorable perks such as shopping and dining gift cards, in-room movies, complimentary breakfast buffets, iTunes gift cards, room upgrades and more.

Atlanta’s MVP, or Most Valuable Package, provides admission to five of the city’s top attractions for just $89, representing a 35 percent savings over standard admission prices. Available through Oct. 4 on Atlanta.net, the package includes tickets to the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coca-Cola, an all-day pass to Six Flags Over Georgia, an all-attractions pass to Stone Mountain Park, and an upper box section ticket to an Atlanta Braves game.

Other deals include:

Cheer on the Atlanta Braves as they contend for the National League Wild Card with home game series against the Washington Nationals (Oct 1-4).

See nearly 500 years of African American contributions to this country at America I AM: The African American Imprint exhibition, through Sept. 27 at the Atlanta Civic Center.

Witness the largest outdoor exhibition of British sculptor Henry Moore’s monumental bronzes ever presented in North America at Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Moore in America exhibit, on display through October.

Experience the Georgia Aquarium’s 10,000-square-foot interactive exhibit, Planet Shark: Predator or Prey, opening on Oct. 3.

Beginning Oct. 6, more than 50 of Leonardo da Vinci’s works will be on display at the High Museum of Art in the new Leonardo da Vince: Hand of the Genius exhibition.

After a $10 million transformation, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum will re-open on President Carter’s 85th birthday, Oct. 1, with a new exhibit featuring a unique area called A Day in the Life of a President.

And finally…..

The Margaret Mitchell House recently introduced a new visitor experience which includes a new exhibition, Margaret Mitchell: A Passion for Character.

Well, that’s it for this edition of the Georgia Carnival.

If you have a Facebook profile you can now become a fan of Georgia on My Mind. Look for the link to join the group located in the right sidebar.

Please support these fine Georgia bloggers by letting them know you have visited them with a comment. Your continued support with your links and shout-outs at your site helps to alert others to what we Georgia bloggers have to offer.

The next edition of the carnival will be found here at Georgia on My Mind on Friday, October 9th. Posts can be sent to gamind@mail.com or use the handy submission form. Submissions are due by Thursday, October 8th by 6:00 p.m.

Thanks for your continued support of the Georgia Carnival!

Rain, Rain....Go Away!

2009-09-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

So far my family has come off easy regarding storm/flood damage. While I'm in the lowest spot in my subdivision my home sits up fairly high. However, the creek that runs along the back of our property is very, very angry. It washed out the dirt around one of our trees and down it came. Luckily it missed the house.

It will be a long night. We have several large trees on the front of the house, and IF they fall....they WILL hit the house.

Still, I have many friends who report they have lost their homes or have severe property damage. They are hurting, and my hearts go out to them.

The Four Georgians

2009-09-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here’s an interesting fact….Helena, Montana was founded by the “Four Georgians” following a gold discovery along the Last Chance Creek on October 30, 1864.

Hmmmm…..the “Four Georgians”.

Who are these folks and how did they get a label like that?

The four Georgians are thought to be John Cowan, D.J. Miller, John Crab, and Reginald (Robert) Stanley. History is really a strange thing because only one of the four was a true Georgian…John Cowan. The others hailed from other places. D.J. Miller came from Alabama, John Crab was an Iowan, and Reginald Stanley was from England.

Many folks who have researched the four men had come up with the theory that the gang of four was called the Four Georgians not because they were from Georgia but because they used the Georgian method of placer mining.

The four had moved about Montana for six weeks looking for gold and finally returned to one of the first places they had visited. They had aptly named it Last Chance Gulch because they decided to try it one last time before giving up.

On July 14, 1864 they found flat gold nuggets and gold dust and the Last Chance Bonanza had begun. Three years later the four men sold out their claims and went about their lives as wealthy men.

This site states, “Once the news spread about the gold discovery, Helena became a boom town seemingly overnight. In only a few short years, several hundred businesses opened up shop in Helena, and more than 3,000 people called Helena home. Also, many previous mining strikes in other areas of Montana began to play out. As a result, many miners in these areas gravitated toward Helena.As the gulch began to fill up with people, the miners decided they needed to come up with a name for the town. The name “Helena” was not immediately bestowed upon the town. The “Four Georgians” originally named it Crabtown after John Crab, one of the founders. However, many of the miners from Minnesota began to call the town Saint Helena, after a town in Minnesota. The name was eventually shortened to Helena, its current name.”

Today, the same creek where the Four Georgians found their gold, runs underneath Helena’s main street. Helena even has an elementary school named for the Four Georgians.

Of course, as many historical events go there are two sides to the story. John Cowan returned home to site of the old mill (the original burned awhile back) is now a great restaurant. The website for the The Old Mill Restaurant advises John Cowan did travel to Montana with his cousins Frank and Tom Cowan. Also along for the trip were John Boring, Bill Palmer, and Henry Rusk all from Forsyth County.

Notice that Cowan’s traveling companions are not the same men mentioned in the local area history I found for Helena listed earlier in this article.

The Old Mill Restaurant website further states that after several months John Boring and Tom Cowan returned home to Georgia. Along the way John Boring was killed by Indians, but Tom made it home. This left John Cowan, Frank Cowan, Henry Rusk, and Bill Palmer in Montana….four men, four Georgians.

Hmmm….the only Georgian we know for sure was in Helena is John Cowan.

I just hate it when I research something and can’t find the answers I want.

I’ve sent an email to The Old Mill Restaurant…..perhaps they can clear this up for us.

For now we have a mystery on our hands.

Patriot Day...A Day to Remember

2009-09-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

Today is the day that we remember the sacrifice of the 2,993 casualties in the September 11, 2001, attacks.

I’m remembering…..and I’m sure you are as well.

A worthy website to visit regarding that terrible day is The September 11th Digital Archive.

Also…..this link will take you to my past postings at History Is Elementary regarding September 11th including my own personal experience that very sad an shocking day… here.

Georgia Carnival: Edition 59

2009-08-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Georgia Blog Carnival…

The bloggers featured here are all part of the extensive list of bloggers from Georgia I have listed in the right sidebar of this site. Any Georgia blogger can submit a post to the carnival, or a blogger from another state or country can submit a post for inclusion if the topic is Georgia related.

If you have a Facebook profile you can now become a fan of Georgia on My Mind. Look for the link to join the group located in the right sidebar.

I remain engrossed in my efforts to categorize all of the Georgia blogs on the blogroll. Several new categories were added this week including “painting and drawing”, “travel and tourism”, and “photography”. I will be adding new categories every few days for the next month. Check back often.

The next carnival will be published here at Georgia on My Mind on Friday, September 11th.
Submissions will be due Thursday, September 10th.

If you maintain a Georgia blog and would like to host the carnival at your site e-mail me to set up a date. It’s a great way to put your own personal spin on the carnival.The last edition of carnival can be found here and the carnival archives are found here.

Now on to the carnival:

Hot Topics…

James from The Other Athens announces a protest event against “the various healthcare ‘reform’ proposals put forth by congressional Democrats and the Obama Administration scheduled for tomorrow at Oconee Veterans Park.” More information can be found in his post Oconee Healthcare Reform Protest.

Jason with Georgia Legislative Watch provides data from New Polls Regarding the Georgia Governor's Race.

Jim Galloway with the AJC's Political Insider posted Kasim Reed's Thoughts on Gay Marriage. In case you are unaware Kasim Reed is a current Atlanta mayoral candidate.

GriftDrift at Drifting Through the Grift says Finally, the Mayor's Race Heats Up.

Buzz Blog shares Mary Jo Kopechne might have been a catalyst for Ted Kennedy's career

Is it immoral to complain about tax money going to bail out people who made poor decisions? Some on the Christian Left think it is. Over at Considerettes Doug discusses how good stewardship requires that we make good use of our resources both corporately via the government, and more importantly, “individually” with our charitable dollars in his post titled Economic Morality and Responsibility: The Prodigal's Older Brother.

Speaking of taxes The Other Athens shares The Howling where James states, “I’ve been making this same point for years. Whether it is the latest iteration of SPLOST, or Homeowner Tax Relief Grants, or an increased hotel/motel occupancy tax, we are constantly being assured that someone else will pay for our local expenditures. But it does not work out that way, does it?"

Ethnic Opining

Over at Project Logic GA Slyram is discussing that saggy baggy pants thing, and makes some very good points with Black Beauty, Sagging Pants and Funny Names.

Over at An African American Analysis Freddie Sirmans states, “Nothing has been more devastated by the welfare state than the African American community in the USA.” He also asks, “Why is there out of control violence in the African American community?”

High School Sports

High School football is off and running. James over at The Other Athens provides SCHS Pigskin Update and states, “This year’s campaign will not be an easy one, as several opponents on the [Stephens County High School] schedule are ranked in preseason polls: the AJC has Flowery Branch at #3 and LaGrange at #4 in its AAA top 10….”

Keep up with all the match-ups and scores at WSB-TVs high school sports page.

Parenting and Legalese Connections

Michael Neff over at Atlanta Personal Injury Blog relates interesting findings from a new study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Is anybody out there comprehending and listening???? Read Michael’s post, For Parents, Child Household Safety is Something that Can and Needs to be Taught.

Out and About in Georgia

Wren's Nest Online has published a few pictures of the interior of the home. See Sneak Peek of Wren's Nest Interior for some great views including Joel Chandler Harris’ bedroom. For those of you not in the know the Wren’s Nest is the home of Georgia’s own Joel Chandler Harris. From the site itself….Harris’ fame as a result of the popularity of the Brer Rabbit tales made him a reluctant celebrity in his day. Harris was second in literary fame only to his good friend and admirer Mark Twain. Theodore Roosevelt visited the home during his trip to Atlanta, and his gift to Harris, a stuffed owl, can still be seen looking down on the family’s library.

The Initiative to Protect Jekyll Island has published their most recent newsletter. You can read it here. It includes the newest update regarding development on Jekyll and several announcements.

Chris Moncus shares his Fourth of July photos (has it already been nearly 8 weeks?!?) here . All I can say is….WOW!!

If you are looking for something different to do with the kids….or even adults Southern Byways has a solution for you. Sometimes something different is right in your backyard. Check out Hidden Gems: Bear Hollow Wildife Trail in Athens, Georgia.

Fieldtrips With Sue recently began a new feature called Inside Scoop which is a series of questions with an attraction insider. Check out her post Inside Scoop on Atlanta Braves for Kids where Sue interviews Meagan Swindle with the Atlanta Braves regarding special activities for kids.

A little History, Of Course

Over at History Is Elementary I took a history question from a good friend and turned it into a post regarding German immigration during World War II with Putting the EZ Into Easing Into America.

In my post Thars Gold in Them Thar Hills I examine the nation’s first gold rush. No…..not 1849 and no, not California. Try North Carolina….even better... try 1799!

An Announcement from the Atlanta Audubon Society

Catherine with the Atlanta Audubon Society contacted me the other day to give me some information to relate about six distinctive gardens on display southeast of Metro Atlanta in Peachtree City and Fayetteville. The purpose of the tours is to demonstrate how people can preserve the region’s wildlife and, more broadly, its biodiversity by cultivating native plants and other essentials for wildlife survival. All of the sites have been certified by the Atlanta Audubon Society as wildlife sanctuaries. More information on the requirements of a sanctuary can be found here.

Tours will take place Saturday, September 12 from 9 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Advance tickets are on sale for $12 by calling the Atlanta Audubon Society at 678.973.2437. Tickets are also available on the day of the tour for $15 at the first and last sites. Children 12 and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult.

More information on the sites can be found here. I was very excited to discover two of the locations involve the Sams family of Fayetteville. What????? You don’t know who Dr. Ferrol Sams is!!!! Here’s a short article from Georgia Magazine and make sure you check out a listing of his works here. I read his short novel, Christmas Gift! to many of my groups of fourth and fifth graders and they always loved it (there were some parts I had to gloss over and leave out).

Georgia Roads

Georgia Road Geek's blogmaster, Steve, shows us what a wrongway multiplex is as he tries to navigate a confusing route through Rome, Georgia in his post Let's Get the US 411 Connector Built.

Literature and Art

Sara’s post titled The Feather and Butterflies over at Ashes and Glass is where she begins a series reflecting on a class she attended at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center . Go see her art and how it connects to her dreams. I love the colors!

Flannery O’Connor is one of Georgia’s most popular authors. Recently Paw Paw Bill took a trip to visit one of O’Connor’s home close to Milledgeville called Andalusia. Check out his post Flannery O'Connor's Milledgeville.

Felicia over at Fluffy Flowers has been celebrating the anniversary of Woodstock with Plushstock and through midnight on August 30th you have an opportunity to vote on her entry…PLUSH AMP. I agree with Felicia….Make Plush, Not war!

Writing Craft

Jennifer Escalona writes at a new blog on the Georgia blogroll titled The Life and Times of a Freelance Writer. On her about page Jennifer explains she is an Atlanta-based, Pushcart-nominated author and full-time freelance writer. Her goal in life (and I think this is a very worthy one) is to learn something new every day. In her post Heartsick, Footsore, and Addicted: Avoiding and Embracing Writer Stereotypes Jennifer takes an interesting look at the writing life and its consequences.

Jackie K. Cooper has been on the blogroll for awhile. His blog is the place to find all sorts of entertainment reviews and columns. Well……Jackie should be congratulated because he has been invited to become a regular contributor/blogger to Huffingtonpost.com . Check out his first contribution with his post Pat Conroy's Ode to Charleston.

Religion and Culture

Over at "Got Bible?" I ask the question, Is Your Wanter Stuck? Think about all the things or situations you want right now. I bet we could fill up a page or two with all the things we want from the insignificant (removing a hangnail) to the very significant (world peace)…from the small (a bracelet at the local department store) to the very large ( a new car, a cruise, or a new home). Yes! This is the post where I explore that so very Biblical concept…..”to covet.”

And Finally….An Announcement from the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau

Amanda Latson with the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau contacted me recently to clue me in on several Atlanta opportunities. Here’s what she told me:

1. Outdoor Explorations: Backyard Adventures in Atlanta....60 percent* of people who plan to take vacations are hoping to economize their leisure travel by finding less expensive activities or meal options. Plan an adventure in your own backyard and take advantage of the free offerings and money-saving hotel packages this withBackyard Adventures, now extended through the fall. Not sure what you want to do this weekend? Play the How do You ATL?game and design a personalized, interactive picture of Atlanta based on your unique style and preferences.Tell us what you didin your Backyard Adventure and you could win your own Backyard Adventure prize package.

2. Take a Hike...VisitStone Mountain Sky Hiketo trek through the treetops on the nation’s largest family adventure course. During the day, explore Sky Hike’s quarter-mile course of suspended wooden bridges and ropes and finish off the night on the great lawn with Stone Mountain Park’s LaserShow Spectacular.

3. See the City in Style……Hop on a bike with Bicycle Tours of Atlanta and explore the city on two wheels. See the city’s architecture, historical sites, in-town neighborhoods, dining, entertainment and some hidden jewels off the beaten path. Also tour Atlanta with flare on Segway Tours Atlanta. Beginning at Underground Atlanta, this three-hour tour gives you a new and interactive way to discover the city.

4. Root, Root, Root for the Home Team…..Head to Turner Field and cheer on the Atlanta Braves as they contend for the National League East division title. Visit Turner Field on a Friday night and stay after the game for theFriday Night Fireworks Show.

Well, that’s it for this edition of the Georgia Carnival.

Please support these fine Georgia bloggers by letting them know you have visited them with a comment. Your continued support with your links and shout-outs at your site helps to alert others to what we Georgia bloggers have to offer.

The next edition of the carnival will be found here at Georgia on My Mind on Friday, September 11th. Posts can be sent to gamind@mail.com or use the handy submission form. Submissions are due by Thursday, September 10th by 6:00 p.m.

Thanks for your continued support of the Georgia Carnival!

Become a Fan of Georgia On My Mind on Facebook

2009-08-26T06:20:00.001-07:00

A fan page has been set up for Georgia on My Mind. You can find it at the link below or use the widget I’ve placed in the right sidebar.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Georgia-on-My-Mind/253221885715?ref=ts

Thanks to everyone who has joined the group already. Watch for status changes to roll across your Facebook homepage soon!

Georgia Bloggers: Painting and Drawing

2009-08-26T05:33:00.000-07:00

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that discuss painting and drawing:

AMO

Cosmic Persona Designs

Dream-Create-Inspire

Eat It All

Foothills and Highlands

Southern Plein Air Painters

Zinnia Art Studio

Do you know about a Georgia blog that discusses painting and drawing I haven’t listed? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

Georgia Bloggers: Tourism and Travel

2009-08-26T05:24:00.000-07:00

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that discuss tourism and travel:

Atlanta on the Cheap

Film Georgia

Southern Byways

The Atlanta Traveler

Travel-Eat-Sleep

Urban Baboon

Walk of Shame

Wrens Nest Online

Do you know about a Georgia blog that discusses tourism or travel I haven’t listed? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

Georgia Bloggers: Photography

2009-08-26T05:16:00.001-07:00

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that contain photos on a daily or regular basis:

Andrea's Picture of the Day

Strolling Through Georgia

The Barefoot Photographer

Do you know about a Georgia blog that discusses photography or serves as a photo blog I haven’t listed? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

Georgia Carnival: Edition 58

2009-08-14T15:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Georgia Blog Carnival…

The bloggers featured here are all part of the extensive list of bloggers from Georgia I have listed in the right sidebar of this site. Any Georgia blogger can submit a post to the carnival, or a blogger from another state or country can submit a post for inclusion if the topic is Georgia related.

I remain engrossed in my efforts to categorized all of the Georgia blogs on the blogroll. Several new categories were added this week, and I will be adding new categories every few days for the next month. Check back often.

The next carnival will be published here at Georgia on My Mind on Friday, August 28th. Submissions will be due Thursday, August 27thth.If you maintain a Georgia blog and would like to host the carnival at your site e-mail me to set up a date. It’s a great way to put your own personal spin on the carnival.

The last edition of carnival can be found here and the carnival archives are found here.

Now on to the carnival:

Hot Topic…..Health Care Reform

Slyram provides an opinion over at Project Logic GA with the post Palin Isakson and the Healthcare Debate stating, “Stop right there and let me give my take on the difference between misinformation and lying.”

Hmmm…..does something smell fishy????? James is all about the “fish” aspect of the health care reform debate. Check his post out titled Red Fish Blue Fish over at The Other Athens.

and here are the latest postings from some other political blogs on the blogroll:

Erick at Confessions of a Political Junkie offers CBO Tells Congress That Should Obamacare "Work", It'll Drive Up Costs.

GriftDrift at Drifting Through the Grift gives us Town Hall Twist and Shout….his take on Hank Johnson’s recent town hall meeting with voters.

Jason at JasonPye.Com weighs in with a notice……Jim Marshall to Hold Two Town Hall Meetings

Religion and Culture

Recently my pastor gave a series of sermons on building in margin in our lives…..slowing down, concentrating on what’s important….that sort of thing. Doug Payton over at Considerettes discusses a different kind of margin in his post Marginalized by the Bible. Doug tells me his post is part of a segment he does for the Shire Network News. He discusses an exhibit in Glasgow, England where patrons were allowed to write in the margins of a Bible. The results were not what the artist intended.

Out and About in Georgia and Beyond

Over at Fluffy Flowers Felicia shares with us a colorful visit to Lockerly Arboretum in Middedgeville, Georgia….. a former home of Georgia author Flannery O’Conner.

Speaking of Flannery O’Connor, Paw Paw Bill visited O’Connor’s Savannah home on Lafayette Square and shares pictures and tales of O’Connor’s backward walking chicken in his post Flannery O'Connor's Savannah.

I have to agree with Paw Paw Bill concerning his love of Savannah. I have my own love affair with the place well. My husband and I spent the day there on July 28th, our anniversary. Over at History Is Elementary I posted a video of images from various squares and other areas of Savannah complete with music and a little text thrown in here and there…….the video is titled Street Scenes From Savannah.

Mr. Elementaryhistoryteacher and I had actually been to MY St. Augustine….and hit Savannah on the way home and in case you missed it –

last weekend was spent at the West Georgia Balloon Festival.

Over at Atlanta With Kid Travel Blog we are given glimpse into one family’s trip to Asheville, North Carolina…..a great destination. Check out Weekend Escape From Atlanta....Asheville, NC. There’s so much more to Asheville than just the Biltmore estate.

Passing the time with our Passions

In her post Slow Exposures 2009 Donna, The Barefoot Photographer, provides a look at her two submissions to this years Slow Exposures photography exhibit, a showing that celebrates the rural south and preserves those images and scenes that we all remember and are gone.

Amy over at The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog provides 5 Tips for the Newbie in Family Backyard Camping……Amy states, “As a newbie in the camping world, I have learned a lot during our first family backyard camping. The vast varieties of camping products are mind-boggling. Who knows, there are that many types of tents, sleeping bags and sleeping pads.”

Hmmm…..Blogging and using social media can be a passion, can’t it? At least it is around here at my house. Sometimes I’m a little too passionate about it.

Mostly Media's own SpaceyG has decided to help us muddle through the social media jungle by providing us with Social Media Cooking School. I sincerely hope episode two isn’t far behind because I recently jumped into the mix at Facebook much to the chagrin of my 20-something son and teenaged daughter. Help me, SpaceyG!!!!!!

And what about security on the Internet and our privacy…..

Ariel Silverstone's blog has a tagline that states, “Leadership and innovation in risk management and information security”, and he’s also passionate about physical security, technology evangelism, and public speaking. In his most recent posting, The Maine Event....a Discussion Regarding Maine's New Privacy Law…..he gives us the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Literature and Art

Over at the Wrens Nest Online Lane has posted a great analysis titled 1967 Editorial Condemns Segregation at the Wren's Nest and Praises Uncle Remus. Lane states, "The editorial is a damning criticism of the Joel Chandler Harris Memorial Association that ran our museum until 1983. But it’s also an eloquent defense of Joel Chandler Harris and Uncle Remus that is just as relevant today as it was 40 years ago.” Go….go now and read……the post is top-notch!

Paul’s blog, Classic Ground, is a site that mixes beliefs and premises related to art, cultural literacy, and even a little Notre Dame football. He recently wrote about R.A. Miller, a folk artist. In his post titled, Lord Love You, Paul states, “[The exhibit] Lord Love You [is] drawn entirely from the private collection of Carl and Marian Mullis, [and] presents many of Miller’s best known themes – God, country, popular culture, and animals – plus some art highlighting his social and religious commentary.”

This Southern Thing of Ours

Where Insulin Meets Insolence: Lynne's Pancreatic Prattle is a brand spanking new blog to the Georgia blogroll. Lynne writes that she is a freelance writer and registred pharmacist (those are good to have around, ya know?) and she resides in North Georgia where she is very proud of her native status as a Georgian and loves the fact that she grew up in the rural south of our fair state. She also tells me she’s so full of herself that she maintains two blogs. Gee, do you think I should tell her I maintain three? :) Enjoy Lynne’s post, Southern By the Grace of God which examines all of those stereotypes that we native Southerners must endure.

Lynne’s other blog, I Have Measured Out My Life in MP3s also recounts her journey as a born and bred Southerner who is married to a wonderful man, a mother to a precocious four-year old, characterizes herself as intolerant, vain, opinionated, somewhat lazy, verbose, and fluent sarcasm. Yep, she’s a Southern woman, all right! Yet she continues that she does believe in Jesus, Rick Bragg, family values, childhood innocence, shoe shopping, and the Harvard comma. Lynne does have a secret though……..read her post She Don't Use Jelly to discover what it is.

Legalise

Another new blog on the Georgia blogroll is the blog of Michael Lawson Neff, an Atlanta based personal injury attorney. His topics range from national law topics to topics of local interest from a legal point of view. In his postDo Red Light Cameras Prevent Accidents?, a particular camera is examined that was reactivated in Duluth, and he provides some interesting data.

Colleen over at Facing the Sharks asks the questions, “Should the Georgia Court of Appeals candidates for judge be allowed to solicit donations from lawyers and corporations, even though they may appear before the judge for litigation?” See her post Justice For Hire ...Now Pay the Nice Judge a Campaign Donation

Education News and Views

Well, it’s begun…..the schoolyear, that is. Donna, over at Sew Blessed has posted the annual back to school pictures, yet something’s a bit different this year. Ian is beginning the 11th grade…..head on over to Yet Another First Day of School and see something unusual. Yes, examine the pictures very, very carefully. Let us know if you find something amiss! :)

Switching gears to address the money side of education James at The Other Athens compares one school system to the one in his area and asks, “What Do They Know That We Do Not?”

Well, that’s it for this edition of the Georgia Carnival.

Please support these fine Georgia bloggers by letting them know you have visited them with a comment. Your continued support with your links and shout-outs at your site helps to alert others to what we Georgia bloggers have to offer.

The next edition of the carnival will be found here at Georgia on My Mind on Friday, August 28th. Posts can be sent to gamind@mail.com or use the handy submission form.

Submissions are due by Thursday, August 27th by 6:00 p.m.

Thanks for your continued support of the Georgia Carnival!

West Georgia Balloon Festival

2009-08-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

I attended the West Georgia Balloon Festival this past Saturday, August 8, 2009. It was very interesting watching the balloons being launched. It was even just as interesting people watching at the event.

If you visit this link you can see another video (not mine) that includes the balloons after dark……Outstanding!!!!!!!!

Georgia Bloggers: Decatur/Dekalb County

2009-08-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that discuss Dekalb County or Decatur, Georgia on a daily or regular basis:

Decatur-Dekalb

Decatur Metro

Dekalb Officers

in Decatur

Masterworks Studio

My Daily Struggle

Next Stop Decatur

Do you know about a Georgia blog that discusses Dekalb County or Decatur I haven’t listed? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

Georgia Bloggers: Rural Life

2009-08-13T07:20:00.001-07:00

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that discuss rural life on a daily or regular basis:

A Snowball's Chance in...

Andrea's Picture of the Day

Country Charm

C's Corner

Dottypants

Foxes Earth

From Melissa's Desk

Southern Somedays

Wayfarer's Journey

Do you know about a Georgia blog that discusses rural life I haven’t listed? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

Georgia Bloggers: History and/or History Education

2009-08-13T07:15:00.001-07:00

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that discuss history and/or history education on a daily or regular basis:

A Few Good Pens

American History Blog

ATLHistory.com

Buster's War

Cobbloviate

Downhome Traces

First Baptist Church, Lithia Springs...a History

Georgia on My Mind

Georgia Soul

Historical Books

History Is Elementary

History of Laurens County, Georgia

Laurens County African American History

Laurens County Sports History

Southside Atlanta Memories

Vinings Jawja

Why Do You Ask?

Wren's Nest Online

Do you know about a Georgia blog that discusses history and/or history education I haven’t listed? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

Georgia Bloggers: City Living

2009-08-13T06:19:00.000-07:00

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that discuss city living on a daily or regular basis:

Arc of Time

Ashes and Glass

Asian Cajuns

Atlanta's Blah Girls

Bombchell in Atlanta

Cable and Tweed

Drive a Faster Car

Duane Moody

I Saw It on Ponce

Inside the Perimeter

KISS Atlanta

Mermerings

Nia Knowles: Westend

Random Atlanta

ShawnAllison.com

Stumptown, GA

Do you know about a Georgia blog that discusses city living I haven’t listed? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

Georgia Bloggers: Marketing

2009-08-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that discuss marketing on a daily or regular basis:

Atlanta Marketing Center

Babyboomer Insights

Burning Desire Marketing

Chief Prognosticator

Concept Hub, Inc.

Event Streams

Marketing Through the Clutter

Do you know about a Marketing Georgia blog I haven’t listed? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

Georgia Bloggers: Going Green

2009-08-13T06:05:00.001-07:00

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that discuss going green or living the green lifestyle on a daily or regular basis:

Green Peaches

Foodshed Planet

Organicasm

Sustainable Dunwoody

Do you know about a GREEN Georgia blog I haven’t listed? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

Georgia Carnival: Edition 57

2009-07-29T20:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Georgia Blog Carnival…

Just like June’s edition this is the edition that I could title the “Newbie Edition” as many of the blogs linked to are new to the Georgia blogroll. Instead of highlighting them in a “new additions” post I’ve elected to highlight them within the carnival along with two or three regular submissions from the past month.

Once again this month the Georgia Carnival has been swamped with submissions from non-Georgia blogs and blogs that do not fit the Georgia Carnival theme even though submission guidelines are clearly stated.

Not wanting to leave out a bonafide Georgia blog or a post that fits the criteria I checked each submission…..it took awhile.

Ok, on to better things…The bloggers featured here are all part of the extensive list of bloggers from Georgia I have listed in the right sidebar of this site. Any Georgia blogger can submit a post to the carnival, or a blogger from another state or country can submit a post for inclusion if the topic is Georgia related.The next carnival will be published here at Georgia on My Mind on Friday, August 14th . Submissions will be due Thursday, August 13th.

If you maintain a Georgia blog and would like to host the carnival at your site e-mail me to set up a date. It’s a great way to put your own personal spin on the carnival.The last edition of carnival can be found and t here, and the carnival archives are found here. Now on to the carnival:

Saving Your Cents – Wow, what a great savings blog this is! The blog’s author, Lissa, states, “As one we can find great savings…but as many we can find grand savings. I love all things at a bargain…it was only natural that I eventually figured out how to get toiletries and groceries for free!” Head on over for some great bargain news, and I’ve been told a second blog by Lissa is on the way. This recent post explains how you can get $10 worth of free food from Schwans.

Life as Leigh Sees It – Take one Georgia-based freelance writer and mix with humor and everyday life in the South and you end up with a great read. Check out one of Meredith’s latest postings called Chicken…whatever you are thinking…..that’s probably not what this post is about. :) Go read…enjoy!

Fieldtrips With Sue – Sue is a mother of three boys who dutifully follow her on her hometown adventures around Atlanta. She is also a contributing blogger for ATL Insider and Travel Savvy Mom in addition to working in marketing and public relations. A recent post at Fieldtrips With Sue titled, Are You Ready For Some Football?, provides some great info on how you can take the kids or just yourself to watch the practices in Flowery Branch as the Falcons get ready for the new season.

The Primerica Blog - Primerica, the largest financial services marketing organization in North America has a blog….I’ve added their blog to the Georgia blogroll because Primerica was established in Georgia in 1977 and has always kept its corporate headquarters in the Atlanta area. The home office is currently located in Gwinnett County and employs close to 2,000 people. Priamerica has 100,000 representatives and serves 6 million clients in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and Spain. The company sponsors a number of volunteer programs to help give back to the community. Primerica actively participates in Meals on Wheels and blood drives, the Gwinnett Relay for Life, school mentoring and other community programs.

In Upward Pursuit – This is the blog of Drew Powell, a young man I know personally. In Upward Pursuit is Drew’s own journey through his seminary training, his many mission trips including Nicaragua, and those first few years out of high school. Remember those????? They were pretty exciting, weren’t they? Drew’s latest posting provides pictures and descriptions of the recent SonShine Festival….3 days of Christian music.

Mara Davis – Mara is the morning DJ on DAVE-FM….I’ve been listening to her since the early 90s and consider her a friend even though we’ve never met. Mara states, “I love, love, love being on the radio and it never gets old for me. My job is a dream come true every day.” Check out one of her latest postings…In Studio With Alton Brown…yes, the food guy (I also love).
Downhome Traces – the about page at this site states, “this video blog is about history and places, most of which are connected to Atlanta and are often revealed through films, photographs, and other visual traces.” In a recent post the blog’s author, Steve Bransford, posted about the Winecoff fire….an Atlanta tragedy from years past….check it out here or you might be interested in the Allman Brothers archive.

A Is For Atlanta – This blog is written by a Southern Fried Yankee that knows his way around town…..he happens to be a realtor as well. In a recent posting at this site I discovered that the high school I graduated from…Woodward Academy….is the largest private school in the Atlanta area. Go War Eagles!!!!! Information regarding the Inman Park Dine Out can be found here.
Chop-n-Change – the tagline at this blog says it pretty well….”covering the Atlanta Braves like a swarm of gnats on a hot day”….now, that’s pretty good coverage. :) Find out more about the authors of this great fan blog here. Recent postings include For Pete's Sake regarding the ongoing Pete Rose saga and OMG: A Trade Rumor.

Submissions from long-time members of the Georgia blogroll include:

Satellite TV Guru provides a review of DirectTV here stating, “While traditional cable still exists, many would argue that it has been surpassed far and wide by the superior programming and service of satellite TV services, especially when it comes to price.”

Over at History Is Elementary I recently posted some thoughts on Overcoming Mountains and including a little history on the challenge early settlers faced along with some pictures I made during a recent trip through the North Georgia mountains.

Steve Williams, Georgia’s very own Georgia Road Geek is asking the question Could Rest Areas Go Away? Gee, I hope not. Over the weekend I used five different rest areas between Atlanta and St. Augustine, Florida.

Over at AMO A.M. Otwell shares Reflections.

Freddie J. Sirmans shares The Myth of Free Health Care stating, “That is the true problem in the medical profession today there is no market forces to help control prices, just like throughout the economy.”

Amy at The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog provides Family Friendly Water Parks in or Around Atlanta and 5 Family Favorite Outdoor Adventures Around Atlanta.

…..and finally…..How do you ATL???????? Vacations from home seem to be the latest craze as everyone is scaling back and cutting their entertainment dollar to the bone. Recently the folks at the Atlanta Convention and Visitor’s Bureau contacted me with the following information:

This year 58 percent of people who normally take vacations away from home will shrink their vacation spending, according to a recent USA Today/Gallup Poll. Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) has created vacation packages for Georgia residents to stretch their vacation dollar and create memorable experiences close to home.

Hotel packages on Atlanta.net offer reduced rates and discounted admission to the city’s top attractions. Whether it’s unwinding in a private cabana outside the W-Atlanta Buckhead’s glamorous heated outdoor pool, taking a breathtaking 50-story elevator ride to the top of the iconic Atlanta Marriott Marquis, or ordering room service and watching a Dive-in movie at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead, visitors will find fun, family-inspired vacations on ACVB’s Web site.

“As people are reevaluating plans for a summer vacation, there is no better time for metro Atlantans to get out and explore the new and exciting hotels, attractions, restaurants and exhibitions right in their own backyard,” said William Pate, president and CEO of ACVB.
From July 8 through Aug. 5, residents of Atlanta’s 28 metro counties are encouraged to submit photos or videos that depict their favorite Atlanta pastimes. The week of Aug. 5, a panel of judges will select three semi-finalists from different metro Atlanta counties. The semi-finalists video or photograph entry will be displayed online at 11Alive.com and on Atlanta & Company Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to Noon. The week of Aug. 6, the public will be invited to vote on the winning entry at 11Alive.com.

The semi-finalist with the most online votes will have the unique opportunity to appear as a guest on WXIA-TV’s Atlanta & Company to share how he/she ATL’d. The grand prize winner will also receive a Backyard Vacation trip package to Atlanta which includes a two-night stay at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in downtown Atlanta, four CityPass booklets for front-of-the-line access to six of the city’s top attractions, and a $100 gift certificate to New York Prime in Buckhead.

For more information about the contest, visit Atlanta.net and click the How do You ATL? icon on the center of the homepage. Also on the page, play the How do You ATL? game to design a personalized, interactive picture of Atlanta based on your unique style and preferences, and turn your custom getaway into a reality by exploring the exclusive backyard vacation offers that pique your interest.

Sounds like fun, huh? Get busy….the deadline is fast approaching. For more more information contact ACVB Public Relations by reaching the following people:

Lauren Jarrell, Director 404. 521.6649 ljarrell@atlanta.net

Sarah Solomon, Specialist 404.521.6645 ssolomon@atlanta.net

Suzanne Forte, Specialist 404.521.6632 sforte@atlanta.net

Amanda Latson, Coordinator 404.521.6398 alatson@atlanta.net

Well, that’s it for this edition of the Georgia Carnival.

Please support these fine Georgia bloggers by letting them know you have visited them with a comment. Your continued support with your links and shout-outs at your site helps to alert others to what we Georgia bloggers have to offer.

The next edition of the carnival will be found here at Georgia on My Mind on Friday, August 14th. Posts can be sent to gamind@mail.com or use the handy submission form.

Submissions are due by Thursday, August 13 by 6:00 p.m.

Thanks for your continued support of the Georgia Carnival!

Georgia Carnival: Edition 56

2009-06-15T06:32:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Georgia Blog Carnival…

This is the edition that I could title the “Newbie Edition” as many of the blogs linked to are new to the Georgia blogroll. Instead of highlighting them in a “new additions” post I’ve elected to highlight them within the carnival along with two or three regular submissions from the past month.

Once again this month the Georgia Carnival has been swamped with submissions from non-Georgia blogs and blogs that do not fit the Georgia Carnival theme even though submission guidelines are clearly stated.

Not wanting to leave out a bonafide Georgia blog or a post that fits the criteria I checked each submission…..it took awhile.

Ok, on to better things…The bloggers featured here are all part of the extensive list of bloggers from Georgia I have listed in the right sidebar of this site. Any Georgia blogger can submit a post to the carnival, or a blogger from another state or country can submit a post for inclusion if the topic is Georgia related.The next carnival will be published here at Georgia on My Mind on Friday, July 1oth . Submissions will be due Thursday, July 9th.

If you maintain a Georgia blog and would like to host the carnival at your site e-mail me to set up a date. It’s a great way to put your own personal spin on the carnival.The last edition of carnival can be found here and the carnival archives are found here.

Now on to the carnival:

Amy at the Q Family Adventures, a longtime submitter here at the Georgia Carnival shares Outdoor Adventures Around Atlanta and advises, “Take the kids out for great outdoor adventure this summer around Atlanta.”

ATLHistory.com is a blog that I’m very excited about as it mainly covers Atlanta history. A recent post…seen here…discusses books regarding Atlanta history that can be located and read online.

D-Day was June 6, and I remembered it over at History Is Elementary with several links in my post titled Remembering D-Day.

Live Apartment Fire’s tagline states, “Watching Atlanta’s news through somewhat averted eyes”. The “about” section states the purpose of the blog is to cover the news business in metro Atlanta (TV, radio, print). See more about the backstory of this interesting blog here. Recent postings include TV News Stinks and Duck and Cover Up concerning the attempts of one Atlanta reporter to interview members of the Fulton County School Board regarding excessive spending.

A Voice for Freedom is written by Zack Smith, a graduate of Kennesaw State University. In his most recent post, Seward's Folly Finally Realized With Sarah Palin, Zach makes a great point regarding how current events have long fingers that stretch back through history. He states in his post….”While the governor castigated big government bailouts for companies and people who were “imprudent” with their money, she failed to realize the man she praised bailed out a Russian empire in dire financial straits.” History does have a knack for irony, Zach!

PrimoroBlog specializes in medical practice management consulting topics. Recent postings include Patient Satisfaction and Internet Marketing. The main page for Primoro, Inc. can be found here.

Beautiful Fences is a blog all about beautiful fences. What else would it be? The blog has an extensive site index so you can find just about any topic regarding fences you might need. Micah has several other links to his fence sites listed on his profile here. Recent postings include a discussion regarding stone columns and another discussion regarding lattice fences.

The author of American History Blog is based in Atlanta. This site has a full site index to help you wander around the site, and new posts are added weekly on various topics. A recent posting discussed Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. One of Jefferson Davis’ Georgia connections is the Union finally captured him right here in Georgia.

Straight from St. Simons Island comes Savings With Sadie. This page is full of alerts, coupon information, and just plain deals, deals, and deals. Here's a post discussing how you can get a free issue of Marlin magazine and Sadie’s most recent post asks Are you camera ready?

Well, that’s it for this edition of the Georgia Carnival.

Please support these fine Georgia bloggers by letting them know you have visited them with a comment. Your continued support with your links and shout-outs at your site helps to alert others to what we Georgia bloggers have to offer.

The next edition of the carnival will be found here at Georgia on My Mind on Friday, July 1oth. Posts can be sent to gamind@mail.com or use the handy submission form. Submissions are due by Thursday, July 9th by 6:00 p.m.

Thanks for your continued support of the Georgia Carnival!

General Patton's D-Day Speech

2009-06-06T10:09:00.001-07:00

General George S. Patton is a real favorite of mine. He was colorful, he was bombastic, he was complicated and like his words and actions or not he WAS a great American.

Patton has no real Georgia connections except for the many hundred s of Georgia men who were under his command during World War II, however, Patton did have Georgia relations. He is connected to the Hugh W. Mercer family out of Savannah and during his early military days he trained at Fort Benning, Georgia. Later, he commanded the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Benning before they were relocated.

Since today is a time to remember D-Day I wanted to post Patton’s speech to his troops prior to the invasion. Let me warn though…..Patton’s words are in true Patton nature. They are colorful and could offend, but you can’t fault Patton’s true knack of placing the proper expletive in the right place.

I’ve provided the entire speech here in all its glory. This is a speech I have never been able to use in the classroom. :)

Be seated.

Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about America wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of bullshit. Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle.

You are here today for three reasons. First, because you are here to defend your homes and your loved ones. Second, you are here for your own self respect, because you would not want to be anywhere else. Third, you are here because you are real men and all real men like to fight.
When you, here, everyone of you, were kids, you all admired the champion marble player, the fastest runner, the toughest boxer, the big league ball players, and the All-American football players. Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser.

Americans despise cowards.

Americans play to win all of the time. I wouldn’t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That’s why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American.

You are not all going to die. Only two percent of you right here today would die in a major battle. Death must not be feared. Death, in time, comes to all men. Yes, every man is scared in his first battle. If he says he’s not, he’s a liar. Some men are cowards but they fight the same as the brave men or they get the hell slammed out of them watching men fight who are just as scared as they are.

The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared. Some men get over their fright in a minute under fire. For some, it takes an hour. For some, it takes days. But a real man will never let his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood. Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base. Americans pride themselves on being He Men and they are He Men.

Remember that the enemy is just as frightened as you are, and probably more so. They are not supermen.

All through your Army careers, you men have bitched about what you call ‘chicken-shit drilling.’ That, like everything else in this Army, has a definite purpose. That purpose is alertness. Alertness must be bred into every soldier. I don’t give a fuck for a man who’s not always on his toes. You men are veterans or you wouldn’t be here. You are ready for what’s to come. A man must be alert at all times if he expects to stay alive. If you’re not alert, sometime, a German son-of-an-asshole-bitch is going to sneak up behind you and beat you to death with a sock full of shit!
There are four-hundred neatly marked graves somewhere in Sicily, all because one man went to sleep on the job. But they are German graves, because we caught the bastard asleep before they did.

An Army is a team. It lives, sleeps, eats, and fights as a team.

This individual heroic stuff is pure horse shit. The bilious bastards who write that kind of stuff for the Saturday Evening Post don’t know any more about real fighting under fire than they know about fucking! We have the finest food, the finest equipment, the best spirit, and the best men in the world. Why, by God, I actually pity those poor sons-of-bitches we’re going up against. By God, I do.

My men don’t surrender, and I don’t want to hear of any soldier under my command being captured unless he has been hit. Even if you are hit, you can still fight back That’s not just bullshit either. The kind of man that I want in my command is just like the lieutenant in Libya, who, with a Luger against his chest, jerked off his helmet, swept the gun aside with one hand, and busted the hell out of the Kraut with his helmet. Then he jumped on the gun and went out and killed another German before they knew what the hell was coming off. And, all of that time, this man had a bullet through a lung. There was a real man!

All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters, either. Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don’t ever let up. Don’t ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain.

What if every truck driver suddenly decided that he didn’t like the whine of those shells overhead, turned yellow, and jumped headlong into a ditch? The cowardly bastard could say, ‘Hell, they won’t miss me, just one man in thousands.’ But, what if every man thought that way? Where in the hell would we be now? What would our country, our loved ones, our homes, even the world, be like?

No, Goddamnit, Americans don’t think like that. Every man does his job. Every man serves the whole. Every department, every unit, is important in the vast scheme of this war.
The ordnance men are needed to supply the guns and machinery of war to keep us rolling. The Quartermaster is needed to bring up food and clothes because where we are going there isn’t a hell of a lot to steal. Every last man on K.P. has a job to do, even the one who heats our water to keep us from getting the ‘G.I. Shits.’

Each man must not think only of himself, but also of his buddy fighting beside him. We don’t want yellow cowards in this Army. They should be killed off like rats. If not, they will go home after this war and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the Goddamned cowards and we will have a nation of brave men.

One of the bravest men that I ever saw was a fellow on top of a telegraph pole in the midst of a furious fire fight in Tunisia. I stopped and asked what the hell he was doing up there at a time like that. He answered, ‘Fixing the wire, Sir.’ I asked, ‘Isn’t that a little unhealthy right about now?’ He answered, ‘Yes Sir, but the Goddamned wire has to be fixed.’ I asked, ‘Don’t those planes strafing the road bother you?’ And he answered, ‘No, Sir, but you sure as hell do!’ Now, there was a real man. A real soldier. There was a man who devoted all he had to his duty, no matter how seemingly insignificant his duty might appear at the time, no matter how great the odds.

And you should have seen those trucks on the road to Tunisia. Those drivers were magnificent. All day and all night they rolled over those son-of-a-bitching roads, never stopping, never faltering from their course, with shells bursting all around them all of the time. We got through on good old American guts. Many of those men drove for over forty consecutive hours. These men weren’t combat men, but they were soldiers with a job to do. They did it, and in one hell of a way they did it. They were part of a team. Without team effort, without them, the fight would have been lost. All of the links in the chain pulled together and the chain became unbreakable.
Don’t forget, you men don’t know that I’m here. No mention of that fact is to be made in any letters. The world is not supposed to know what the hell happened to me. I’m not supposed to be commanding this Army. I’m not even supposed to be here in England. Let the first bastards to find out be the Goddamned Germans. Someday I want to see them raise up on their piss-soaked hind legs and howl, ‘Jesus Christ, it’s the Goddamned Third Army again and that son-of-a-fucking-bitch Patton.’

We want to get the hell over there. The quicker we clean up this Goddamned mess, the quicker we can take a little jaunt against the purple-pissing Japs and clean out their nest, too — before the Goddamned Marines get all of the credit.

Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin and Tokyo. And when we get to Berlin I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging son-of-a-bitch Hitler. Just like I’d shoot a snake!

When a man is lying in a shell hole, if he just stays there all day, a German will get to him eventually. The hell with that idea. The hell with taking it. My men don’t dig foxholes. I don’t want them to. Foxholes only slow up an offensive. Keep moving. And don’t give the enemy time to dig one either. We’ll win this war, but we’ll win it only by fighting and by showing the Germans that we’ve got more guts than they have; or ever will have.

We’re not going to just shoot the sons-of-bitches, we’re going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. We’re going to murder those lousy Hun cocksuckers by the bushel-fucking-basket. War is a bloody, killing business. You’ve got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts. When shells are hitting all around you and you wipe the dirt off your face and realize that instead of dirt it’s the blood and guts of what once was your best friend beside you, you’ll know what to do!
I don’t want to get any messages saying, ‘I am holding my position.’ We are not holding a Goddamned thing. Let the Germans do that. We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy’s balls. We are going to twist his balls and kick the living shit out of him all of the time.

Our basic plan of operation is to advance and to keep on advancing regardless of whether we have to go over, under, or through the enemy. We are going to go through him like crap through a goose; like shit through a tin horn!

From time to time there will be some complaints that we are pushing our people too hard. I don’t give a good Goddamn about such complaints. I believe in the old and sound rule that an ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood. The harder we push, the more Germans we will kill. The more Germans we kill, the fewer of our men will be killed. Pushing means fewer casualties. I want you all to remember that.

There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great World War II, you won’t have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, ‘Well, your Granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana.’ No, Sir. You can look him straight in the eye and say, ‘Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Army and a Son-of-a-Goddamned-Bitch named Georgie Patton!'

That is all.

Over at History Is Elementary I’ve linked to some of my past postings regarding D-Day and WWII…Remembering D-Day and Eisenhower's D-Day Letter can be found over at American Presidents Blog.

Georgia Carnival: Edition 55

2009-05-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Georgia Blog Carnival!

I must apologize for the carnival being a bit late. When I began gathering the submission posts from my email account I noticed I had a large number of them. Great, right? I mean….I would love to have several more submissions each month to the carnival, however lately I have been swamped with carnival submissions from non-Georgia blogs and blogs that do not fit the Georgia Carnival theme. Let’s just say if I wanted to host a carnival full of blogging tips, software to drive traffic to your blog, and ways to make money online I would have a very full carnival.
Not wanting to leave out a bonafide Georgia blog or a post that fits the criteria I checked each submission…..it took awhile.

I'm not sure what is worse...comment spam or carnival spam. :(

Ok, on to better things…The bloggers featured here are all part of the extensive list of bloggers from Georgia I have listed in the right sidebar of this site. Any Georgia blogger can submit a post to the carnival, or a blogger from another state or country can submit a post for inclusion if the topic is Georgia related.

The next carnival will be published here at Georgia on My Mind on Friday, June 12th. Submissions will be due Thursday, June 11th.If you maintain a Georgia blog and would like to host the carnival at your site e-mail me to set up a date. It’s a great way to put your own personal spin on the carnival.The last edition of carnival can be found here and the carnival archives are found here.

Now on to the carnival:

The writer 0ver at Ballpark Savvy knows that everybody in Georgia is a Braves fan. He researched and put together an articled titled Turner Field Guide which shares ideas on how to save some money when going to Turner Field.

Over at Organic Health there is a great article regarding How To Start An Organic Garden.

At History Is Elementary I recently posted a book review regarding a new children’s book titled The Gift…a book written by my sister, Karen Craft. It’s a true story about a mother’s love, blended families, and adoption.

Miss Georgia State: Lifestyle Diva, a blog soon to be added to the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind recently posted Good Customer Service and Proper Etiquette. I agree with her….it does seem that common courtesy has gone out the window.

Did you hear about the Atlanta family that decided to sell their house and give the proceeds to charity? The inspiring story is posted over at The Digerati Life. Check it out here.

Over at Satellite TV Guru, The Guru shares how to Watch Lost Season 5 Episodes Online .

Paw Paw Bill discusses two issues in recent news….H1N1 Swine Flu 4U2 and the Banking Crisis.

Over at MarcusASmith.com Marcus explains how the Audacity of Hope can be beneficial.

Do you ever wonder if everything you read on the Internet is true? Recently I found an interesting online fact regarding President Franklin Pierce. Check out my post at American Presidents Blog titled Milk and a Pierce where I make an attempt to check out the facts.

Well, that’s it for this edition of the Georgia Carnival. Please support these fine Georgia bloggers by letting them know you have visited them with a comment. Your continued support with your links and shout-outs at your site helps to alert others to what we Georgia bloggers have to offer.

The next edition of the carnival will be found here at Georgia on My Mind on Friday, June 12th.

Posts can be sent to gamind@mail.com or use the handy submission form. Submissions are due by Thursday, June 11th by 6:00 p.m.

Thanks for your continued support of the Georgia Carnival!

Additions to the Blogroll

2009-04-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more additions to the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind:

Just Sharing a Story – This blog has a family connection of the most important kind. This blog promotes the new children’s book titled The Gift by Karen Craft. She just happens to be my sister. You can read my own book review of The Gift here, and if you visit Just Sharing a Story you can purchase the book at the site.

The Barefoot Photographer – Donna has a great blog centered around her love of photography. Her “about” states, “Her favorite subjects include old houses, spiders, cemeteries, and frogs. In 2006, Donna began teaching photography and formed the Fayette Photo Club. " Check out her website here where you can find out more about her photography classes.

You can see some of Donna’s work at the upcoming juried photography exhibit titled Nature Undisturbed from April 24 through May 3rd at Dogwood Gallery and Framer, 1175 Senoia Road, Tyrone, Georgia. The showing is to benefit the Southern Conservation Trust. The gallery can be reached at 770.774.3524 or visit the Dogwood Gallery website.

Green Peaches – The tagline at this blog states, “Atlanta, Environment, Sustainability, Life”, and the “about us” page states, “Green Peaches strives to provide interesting and useful information about environmental and sustainability issues in the Atlanta area.” Check out Michael's latest post regarding Earth Day events in Atlanta including events for the entire week.

If you have a Georgia blog and would like for me to add you to the blogroll please contact me at gamind@mail.com to request a link.

Please remember the next Georgia blog carnival will May 8th here at Georgia on My Mind. You can submit your post to the carnival here . Please remember to keep submissions down to two and they must be dated within the last 30 days to keep the carnival relevant.

Georgia Bloggers: Atlanta

2009-04-20T18:02:00.001-07:00

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that are based in Atlanta, Georgia or discuss Atlanta on a daily or regular basis:

Live Apartment Fire

A Is For Atlanta

ATLHistory.com

Blue Heart of Dixie

Bombchell-in Atlanta

Braves Journal

Chamblee54

Chop n Change

Chow Down Atlanta

CinemATL

Confessions of a Music Addict

Couldn't You Just Di?

Creative Loafing-Fresh Loaf

Dave O'Brien's Braves Blog

Downhome Traces

Drifting Through the Grift

Drive a Faster Car

Duane Moody

Ellie's Dad

Fear of Arthropods

Georgia Tech Sports Blog

Going Through the Motions

Green Peaches

Howell Mill Hell

Inside the Sprawl

Joeventures

Mara Davis

Mash on the Gas

Mermerings

Metroblogging Atlanta

Metro Political Report

Mostly Media

Mostly Muppet

Nia Knowles: Westend

Oym Park

Poop and Pie

RadAtlanta

Random Atlanta

Rowland's Office

ShawnAllison.com

Steakhead's Atlanta Eats Blog

Sweet Georgia Blue

The Adventures of Spastic Squirrel

The Sunday Paper

Thoughtmarker

Urban Baboon

Walk of Shame

Welcome to Terminus

Wrens Nest Online

Do you know about a Georgia blog headquarterd in Atlanta, Georgia or discusses Atlanta I haven’t listed? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.

Georgia Bloggers: Athens

2009-04-20T17:24:00.000-07:00

The following list represents the Georgia’s Blogs on the blogroll here at Georgia on My Mind that are based in Athens, Georgia or discuss Athens on a daily or regular basis:

Between the Hedges

Casa de Nicki

Classic Ground

Dawg Sports

Flagpole

Georgia Dogs

Janny Girl

Jeff Owens: The Real Deal

Red and Black

Safe as Houses

The Other Athens

Do you know about a Georgia blog headquarterd in Athens, Georgia or discusses Athens I haven’t listed? Please contact me at gamind@mail.com to let me know, or to advise any corrections that need to be made.