30 Hours in Atlanta

As I write this I have now been in Atlanta for about 30 hours. 

My cousin Marsha did me right by finding this furnished studio apartment above a garage in Midtown Atlanta. All I had to provide was the bedding which I did by going to TJ Maxx. 

Now while TJ Maxx is within walking distance there is little devil that went down to Georgia in that detail. Accessing TJ Maxx (as well as the Whole Foods next to it not to mention Home Depot) requires one to climb a trail which is more like steep jagged incline. Ascending the incline isn't as much of a challenge as descending it. It's not something one wants to do at night or in wet weather. But my new landlords tells me that it saves one from walking an extra 40 minutes.

Fortunately, I don't think I'll have to navigate the trail too often. As luck would have it there is a Whole Foods kitty corner from where I'll be working. So I can always shop on my way home from work or perhaps during my lunch break. 

I did get a bit lost while practicing my commute as I wandered down the wrong Peachtree Street. But I found my way and I will have a very nice commute as much of it will go through Piedmont Park which is only a couple of blocks from my apartment.

I have yet to use a Bank of America ATM. Unlike Boston or New York City, you don't find Bank of America ATMs every couple of blocks. Things are a lot more spread out down here. I will have to address this tomorrow. But everything in good time.

One thing Atlanta (or at least Midtown Atlanta) does have in common with Boston and New York is that it's very liberal in its political inclination. There are Biden signs everywhere as well as signs for Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock - the two Democrats who are running for Georgia's two Senate seats. There are also rainbow flags everywhere. Much to my surprise, Atlanta has one of the largest LGBT communities in the country. By percentage of the population, it is only behind San Francisco and Seattle. 

There are also scooters here. Lots of them. Many of them just laying down on the sidewalk. I can see why South Park devoted an episode to the subject.

Complete strangers more apt to say hi to you. Not everyone does it. But I've certainly had it happen more over the past 30 hours than in the entire two years I spent in New York and quite possibly the 18 and a half years I spent in Boston. I don't know if I'll get around to engaging people in that way. Mind you many people have migrated here from the Northeast or from California. I'm inclined to think that people who will say hi to strangers in Atlanta are either from Georgia or a neighboring state like Alabama, Tennessee or the Carolinas. 

On the downside, far fewer people wear masks. Oh, it has to be done in indoor public settings. But when it comes to masks this isn't New York City. There is a local campaign, "Let's make mask wearing contagious," but this hasn't spread. When you consider that the CDC is located in Atlanta this is not a positive state of affairs when you consider this country will hit its 9 millionth COVID case sometime tomorrow. 

But these first few hours in Atlanta have been more positive than negative. I hope this can be said of the hours which will follow.