I arrived last night in Atlanta, attending a Braves game with an old family friend, Tony Merritt. Tony grew up in Atlanta and showed me around town a bit. Fulton County Stadium was an enjoyable spot to take in a game, although it feels a little too closed in for my liking. But the company was good and I even got the opportunity to meet Tony's little boy, who should be about six or seven but actually is about to head off to Iowa State University to study engineering on full scholarship.

Today, after breakfast with Tony, I decided to do a bit of sightseeing. My first stop was the Martin Luther King Center, where I saw an exhibit of some of his possessions. I then spent some time at his grave in contemplation; he really was an amazing man and while there is so much yet to be done in bringing justice to our land, he and his followers accomplished so much.

The aforementioned Tony is a black gentleman, some years older than me but not so many. As we passed the historic Fox theatre, he pointed out a set of stairs leading up to a doorway towards the back of the theatre. He told of the first time he attended a movie at the Fox: It was Ben Hur, and he was just a boy, but he remembers having to use those same stairs to enter the theatre . They led to the back balcony, the only seating area blacks were allowed to use. I know full well, of course, that such conditions existed; I just forget sometimes how recently they did. And I don't remember a personal friend of mine recounting a tale of such treatment. It brings the absurdity and injustice home to me all the more.

My final stop in that area of town was a tour of King's birthplace and boyhood home, a beautiful old Victorian dwelling that his maternal grandparents purchased in 1903 for 3,500 dollars. It's filled with furniture of the period, some of it original to the home, and is a place you should visit.

In the evening, I went to a neighborhood known as Little Five Points. It had been described to me as "the Greenwich Village of Atlanta." As the Village is one of my favorite New York neighborhoods, I decided to check it out. When I got there, I could see what they meant when they described it that way. Although it was a very small area, it was filled with vintage clothing stores, funky little restaurants and used bookstores. I would have enjoyed browsing in the shops but they were all closed! It was only 9:30 but everything was pretty much shut down. There were a couple of restaurants open and two or three bars, but that was it.

I stopped in one bar that had some food available and live music. The singer wasn't bad, I won one of her tapes in a giveaway and the turkey and swiss on whole wheat was tasty, so it wasn't a total waste of time. If I lived in Atlanta, I'd spend time in Little Five Points but I'd get there earlier.

Continue on the American Odyssey.
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