My thoughts on Georgia

Hi Everyone, just got back from one of those bike tour thingees.

I worked the Tour deGeoriga presented by AT&T (got to get the plug in - I got some free shirts!) professional cycling race. It was pretty neat.

You see... with these types of adventures I get to travel roads and visit towns somewhat off of my personal road map. In my myopic world and workplace when someone mentions Georgia, I think of Jimmy Carter, Billy Beer, the Cheetah club and Pecans.

I remember getting lost in "Hotlanta" during my crazy college days. I looked up at the signs in the intersection and knew I was messed up when I was at the corner of Peach Tree and Peach Tree. Probably not a good a good start to my sophomore spring break considering the amount of alcohol in my system at the time.

But that is not the basis of my opinion any longer....

I had the good fortune and opportunity to eat some of the best and freshest seafood ever on Tybee Island and in America's first planned city of Savannah. This Midwesterner didn't normally think of the state of Georgia being on the eastern seaboard. The marshes and tidal areas are amazing and still fairly pristine. The history from the area is rich and with a little investigation literally comes alive.

You get a real good sense of what the soldiers, citizens and slaves had to endure from both from the revolutionary and civil wars. Apparently GA was pivotal because of it's sea ports in our early conflicts.

As an example Fort Pulaski. This national monument is located just off the coast between Tybee Island and Savannah.

President Madison ordered a new system of coastal fortifications to protect the United States against foreign invasion after the war of 1812. The fort was named after the famous Polish General from the Revolutionary war, and was actually built under the direction of General Robert E. Lee in 1829. (the good general was trained as a civil engineer before the war between the states).

The place is a testament to advanced engineering and hard work. Even after the bombardment of the Union's new rifled cannons during the Civil war, this fort still maintains its seven foot walls on marsh land without one single crack in its foundation. (With all the advances in technology why can't they do that today with the drywall in my house?)

Within 30 hours of the Union's attack during the Civil war, Col. Charles Olmstead had to surrender the fort, the Union had developed a new technology - a rifled cannon shell. Those 60 pound shells could travel far distances (up to 5 miles) and easily passed through the fort's brick walls. This advance in weaponry made brick fortifications obsolete.

(As an aside, the good Col.was the uncle of Fredrick Law Olmsted who went on to design Central Park in New York and Jackson Park in Chicago. He dropped the "a" in the last name because he did not want be associated with a confederate. Small world ain't it?)

We also had the opportunity to stay in a bed and breakfast that was well over 200 years old. (LaFayette Manor) As a matter of fact, the one who built the manson was one of the original signers of the declaration of independence - George Walton. As a lawyer and a plantation owner he held a great deal of land in the north Georgia and had much influence over the direction of our new found country.

The "house" was later named in honor of General LaFayette who used the manor as a base of operations during the revolutionary war. It was even said that George Washington spent some time in the area because of his close friendship with LaFayette.

But what heartens my day, during these sojourns, is that I get the chance to meet people in small towns that have no desire to be connected to their crackberrys or have a need to check their emails every 15 minutes. People who genuinely enjoy having a conversation with an outsider, and care about the others who live in their town.

It seems that the half step slower pace allows one to connect with people and share commonalities that albeit quaint, are quite comforting and for me, help to restore my faith in Americans and our ideals.

Even though some of the towns reminded me of Mayburry right down to the "five and dime" and included Floyd the barber, the citizens in each town usually stopped and smiled and were genuinely concerned with your response to their "hello, how are you doing?".

Too often we get so busy with the goofiness of our day, that we really don't connect. Being connected via email, blackberry and blue tooth, is very different than spending the time to talk to our neighbors and get to know the community.

I enjoyed doing just that on this trip. When you do really connect, you can learn so much more and really appreciate the situation you are in and the life you have a chance to live.

So I have a challenge for you, go talk to someone today - really listen to their response, you might just be surprised how fun it can be.

Til next time...