Today Is Not Over Yet

Born, Bred and Destined for Atlanta, Georgia

After I graduated from high school I had a burning desire to be out on my own. In fact I wanted to be out of my home city and even my home state. It wasn’t that I didn’t like my hometown, which is Atlanta, Georgia, it’s just that I had a stubborn streak of independence that kept pushing me to investigate the rest of the country and live on my own. I wanted to experience my self and life in a city that I wasn’t familiar with and one in which I didn’t know anyone else. And I mean anyone, no friends, no family including extended family, no one. My parents were pressuring me to go to college but to be honest I never did send out my applications. I wanted to take a year off of school and travel the country. I was so restless I really didn’t know what I wanted, I just wanted to move on, that much I knew.

So I packed up my little dog Paint and a few of my clothes and books, oh and of course my guitar, and I drove off. My parents were slightly horrified but they knew this was coming and they also knew there was no changing my mind once I decided something. It turns out I didn’t get far. I was just going to drive until I found a place that I felt like living in for a while. This happened a lot sooner than I expected. I passed through Savannah, yes I was till in Georgia, and was absolutely enchanted by the town. And it fit all of my qualifications for living in, except that it was so close to home. So, I moved in to a small studio and worked in a café for six months. I did enjoy my time there but soon I felt the need to be moving on. When my lease was up Paint and I packed up and headed out.

This time we got all the way to Chicago, Illinois. And for various reasons I ended up staying in Chicago for five years. I had a brief relationship, which held me here at first, but I loved the blues clubs and the theatre and I even got a few gigs playing my guitar. I was happy here for the most part until I suddenly an inexplicably began to yearn for Atlanta. Even Paint seemed to be missing home. I thought about Rosa’s Pizza, which had been my regular stop all through high school. There wasn’t a Chicago pie that could tame my cravings for Rosa’s. There was also the Carroll Street Café that I missed. I would love to be sitting at their outdoor patio as I passed the numerous patio cafes in Chicago. That’s it, I knew Atlanta was where I wanted to be and was anxious to move back. I reserved a room in one of the local Atlanta hotels and bought a plane ticket. Atlanta loved me, it set me free and now I’m returning and am hers to keep.

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