Category Archives: Uncategorized

FDR loved Georgia, and he was particularly attracted to Warm Springs.  He started visiting in 1924, having heard that the mineral springs here would be therapeutic for his polio.  The repercussions were enormous, both for the March of Dimes, which FDR founded, and for all the programs of the Great Depression which benefited the farmersContinue reading “Georgia on his mind”

We saw two major landmarks today.  The first is a symbol of horror to any passing student of the Civil War:  Andersonville, site of one of most fatal and notorious prisoner-of-war camps.  The Union soldiers there thought it a living hell, and over 13,000 of them died.  The entire park is dedicated to all prisoners ofContinue reading “In which we gain understanding”

Surely you’ve heard of the Okefenokee Swamp?  Even if you don’t just love rolling that name around your tongue, you may be old enough to remember the Pogo cartoon strip by Walt Kelly, which was sited there. 

We seem to be following General Sherman and his troops right along coastal Georgia.  We started our day at Fort Pulaski, outside Savannah.  The Confederates lost it early in the war, which greatly affected the role Savannah was able to play in supplying the South.  It was the first time traditional fortifications were lost toContinue reading “Our march to the sea”

Savannah is just naturally gorgeous.  Its 22 public squares are each a distinct oasis of quiet, draped and garlanded by live oaks and Spanish moss.  But the moss is full of nasty bugs and you dare not touch it.  And when the sun recedes, the sense of darkness is not just about the light. 

Leaving Beaufort, we drove the short distance to St. Helena Island, one of the chain of sea islands that also includes Hilton Head, and the home of the Penn Center, an important site in the story of the transition from slavery to freedom. 

A gorgeous low country town, Beaufort weathered the Spanish, the French, the American Revolution and managed to survive the Civil War by being occupied and not burned.  That preserved some of the most wonderful architecture in the South, evidently a cross between Charleston and Savannah.  The crepe myrtles, palmettos and spectacular live oaks with their hangingContinue reading “Beautiful Beaufort”

No, I am not intending to refer to what may or may not be going on at the moment in the household of Anthony D. and Huma Abedin.  Those are the WEINERS. This is about WIENERS. As we have now officially left North Carolina, I’ll comment on the intense competition in the hot dog world in thatContinue reading “The Wiener Wars”

Like all good tourists, we did tour the lovely South Carolina State House building, which is newly renovated and immaculately landscaped.  And like all good students of irony, we were particularly taken with the statue of Strom Thurmond.