october 13

October 13, 2009 - Tuesday 

those mighty oaks sing so this weekend i took a road trip. reluctantly. i love to travel round the east coast especially. have a special fondness for all southern sundries so i love a good small, muggy southern town. but new england in the fall is one of my favorite destinations. maybe next year..... but for now, i stayed fairly close to home. mostly because i have two fairly young children who require quite a bit of time and attention. not that my parents mind watching them but keeping up with an 8 and 5 year old is just a wee bit much to ask for more than two days. i also stayed close to home because i just knew that this wasn't a trip i wanted to take right now. but it was a birthday gift from my husband. he was hell bent on taking me back to savannah to celebrate and have a "romantic" weekend. needless to say, i wasn't too excited to be going with him. the city has changed since i visited last, some 7 years ago. it is largely due to the  popularity of a few famous books and movies written about savannah as well as a bustling art school and community. i remember when it was 3000 people in the entire college! scad, midnight in the garden of good and evil and the addition of the crazy southern bitch we know as paula dean have all garnered large tourist attention. i lived there for a total of 4 years, back before the hype. although i don't consider myself a "local" by any means, i have a strong suspicion that the extra attention is not welcome by all. after all, people have to live their lives here, not just vacation. same thing in any other historically significant city i would suppose. and despite the new development, the changing shape of the city, it was still the way i remember. the air was thick like the air there always feels. there are only a few months during the winter that the air has a crisp feel. the rest of the time, it's a little like a damp washcloth. i had forgotten the beauty in the old squares, the relevant homes that are truly homes and not just houses. the oaks, those mighty oaks sing to me. the architecture is alive, detailed and takes me back to another time. it's inspiring. pinkie master's still serves pbr on draft and smells of stale beer...also reminds me of a certain frosting i like on my cake. you can still get a great slice at vinnie's and take in breakfast at clary's. heck, the velvet elvis is still rockin, although i think it's lost some of it's punk roots. there are still lots of familiar places that remind me of those growing up years. it's even sweeter knowing that this man that i love has walked these same streets. although not together, i know he would appreciate them the way i do. it's truly a gem of a city and if you haven't been, i highly recommend you pack your walking shoes, slow down your gate...nothing moves quickly there, and get ready to drink the hell out of some irish whiskey and watch the trees sway.  but something very surprising happened while i was sitting, watching the people walk by, alone in thought. this wasn't a trip i wanted to take, i wasn't sitting on the park bench with the man i truly wanted to be with. but still i felt settled, relaxed and clear. it was as if the dappled light from the great oaks was shining down on me alone. i was reminded of the beauty and wonder we take for granted. i was awakened and renewed. i miss being around other people who are imaginative, full of wonder, challenging ideas and our perception of art. the tennis mom mentality that i'm surrounded with each and every day numbed it in me over the years. but i'm slowly feeling it roused. this time it feels stronger, more mature. it's something more attainable and palatable. walking those cobblestones, taking photos, it ended up being just the thing i needed to remember the places and people that i love and what my future holds. i have everything i need right here, in me. just need to open it up and see how this baby handles the turns. oh sweet savannah. thank you and we will meet again.