Senior Life Atlanta
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PEOPLE
page 20
Former governor Deal: ‘People don’t want to compromise’
AUGUST 2021 • Vol. 6 No. 8 • AtlantaSeniorLIFE.com
SPECIAL FEATURE
portraits of people AND THEIR pets page 12
DRAGON CON COMES BACK TO LIFE The Man Behind the Flaming Carrot P8
g n i s s e r D for theP4 show
SEE THE PARADE! P4
Contents AUGUST 2021
COVER STORY COVER STORY for 4 Dressing Dragon Con Bob Burden, the man
8 behind the Flaming Carrot
COVER PETS STORY pandemic pivot for 10 AHappy Tails
12 People and their pets
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14 TRAVEL Atlanta’s sanctuary – the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
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16 GARDENING Don’t blame the
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goldenrod
THE CRATES 18 FROM Listen to the ‘Voice of Winter’
20 PEOPLE Former Gov. Nathan Deal: ‘People don’t want to compromise on anything... you have to compromise’
PERSPECTIVE 22 PERSONAL Life lessons learned from jigsaw puzzles
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STAY SAFE Avoid being a victim of ‘victim-compliant’ crime
On the cover Dan Carroll poses as the character Rex from Star Wars. Photo by Terri Harry
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16 Atlanta Senior Life focuses on the interests, accomplishments and lifestyles of the active senior population in metro Atlanta. It aims to inspire readers to embrace a more rewarding life by informing them of opportunities to expand their horizons, express their talents and engage in their community.
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Published By Springs Publishing
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COVER STORY
DRESSING FOR DRAGON CON Fantasy fans find fun in costumes
By Kathy Dean
programming guests from current and recent TV shows, but we also celebrate the classic If you walk along Peachtree Street in TV shows, movies of the 1960s and 1970s, downtown Atlanta over Labor Day weekend, through programming and guests,” said Dan you’re likely to encounter storm troopers, Carroll, a 58-year-old IT Project Manager from zombies and elves. The weekend brings Woodstock, Ga. He also serves as Dragon superheroes and superfans to take part in Con’s Director of Media Engagement. Dragon Con. “From children in costumes from a party The convention has drawn science fiction store, to homemade costumes, to costumes and gaming fans since its start in 1987, that could be screen ready for a movie when it lured just 1,200 attendees to production...Dragon Con welcomes it meet guests like Gary Gygax, coall.” creator of Dungeons & Dragons. Carroll made sure to mention By 2000, the event filled two the Star Wars-themed group hotels — the Hyatt Regency known as the 501st, who costume and Atlanta Marriott Marquis as stormtroopers serving the —and in 2014, expanded to five Empire, and their partner team The host hotels. In 2019, the number Rebel Alliance. “They are both a dedicated of Dragon Con visitors broke costuming group and a fantastic records when it reached charity year-round,” he said. “They 85,000. visit sick children and share a little bit of joy.” Some of his personal Costumes at Dragon favorite cosplay highlights Cons tend to be comic book Since its beginning, characters, such as Doctor Dragon Con has Strange, Iron Man and welcomed fans X-Men, “...mostly those costumed as their costumes that take me favorite film, video back to my youth in the game or literary 1970s, going to the local characters, a practice 5 & 10 cent store to get often called “cosplay” comics spending hours for “costumed play.” reading them,” Carroll said. Today, Dragon As far as his own cosplay, Con is a must-see “I have done one subtle event for cosplayers cosplay for 12 years as and the people who Obadiah Stane, the enjoy watching them, villain in Iron Man, with special events which is really me such as the Masquerade just putting on a Costume Contest and suit,” Carroll said. the convention’s annual “A few years back, I parade. borrowed a costume “Dragon Con is a place for Star Wars where anyone can come character Rex, and this and celebrate the things David McAlister year I hope to reveal my they enjoy, and each own Rex costume.” year we have plenty of
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The Con, the Masquerade and the parade Dragon Con claims to be “the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the universe.” The 2021 convention, the 34th, is scheduled for Sept. 2 through Sept. 6 in Downtown Atlanta. Tickets cover up to five days and cost up to $140 at the door. For more information: dragoncon.org. The Dragon Con Parade began in 2002 and “quickly became the most popular event at Dragon Con,” said Dan Carroll, the convention’s director of media engagement. “Starting with a few hundred marchers, many of whom signed up at the last minute, the parade grew to 3,200 enthusiastic marchers. With an estimated 85,000 spectators, this is the largest parade in Atlanta.” Convention veteran Lee Dodds said the parade is a great way to get a feel for Dragon Con. “It’s free, and it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll see someone dressed as a character you recognize. Just go early, because the crowd is big, and remember to take a chair!” she advised. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Dragon Con became a virtual event. It was available through streaming on the Dragon Con website, Roku and YouTube. When the convention went virtual, so did the parade, Carroll said. “A virtual parade was created with hundreds of costumers recording themselves marching in costume while maintaining safe social distance,” he said. The Masquerade Costume Contest has long been Carroll’s favorite Dragon Con event, he said, adding that it’s “a perfect blend of costuming skill with performance art and pageantry. Contestants are required to not just show off their costuming prowess, but to “ham it up” a little and act out their costumes for one of the largest audiences at Dragon Con each year.” Like the parade, the Masquerade allowed contestants to record their “bits” and submit them to be judged, he said. “It was one of our most successful virtual programs!” Visit DragonConTV on YouTube for videos of the 2020 parade and Masquerade. Go to dragoncon.org for more information.
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David McAlister, 68, a lawyer who lives in Decatur, has been attending Dragon Con since 1989. “I enjoyed taking my young children for short visits to see a little bit of the convention and the costumes,” he said. “They got hooked, and they try to come back to Atlanta every Labor Day weekend so that they can go to the con.”
con and enjoyed being part of the cosplay experience, so I decided I should try it again,” he said. A few years later, “I dressed as Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, from the not-particularly-good movie of that name. Since then, I’ve tried a couple of other costumes. My most successful one is a pirate captain costume based on the look of Captain Morgan from the rum bottle and commercials that ran a few years ago,” McAlister said.
A lot to choose from
He said that what he likes best about Dragon Con is that there are so many different activities going on, but one thing that everyone appreciates is the costumes. “Probably only 25% to 30% of people wear costumes, but they certainly dominate the view wherever you go,” McAlister said. For many years, he went to the convention in street clothes, though he admired what others were doing. “Then my daughter started making and wearing costumes, mostly based on
Oh captain, my captain
McAlister reported that he’s had fun with the Captain Morgan costume. David McAlister “Wearing the Captain Morgan costume is an characters from [BBC fantasy excellent excuse to stand the series] Doctor Who. About 10 crowded Marriott hotel lobby years ago, my wife suggested with a drink in hand, raising that a costume she had made a toast to people wearing the for a church youth play could most interesting costumes that be used as a wizard costume. pass by,” he said. “In the Captain I wore it one afternoon to the Morgan TV commercials, he
is always surrounded by other captains so that he can address everyone as “Captain.” At Dragon Con, McAlister said he tries to call out “Captain” to anyone he sees dressed as a captain of some kind – Captain Kirk, Picard or Janeway from Star Trek, Captain America, Captain Marvel, and other pirates. “They almost always call ‘Captain’ back at me. One year, I spotted someone in costume as Captain Kangaroo, the children’s TV show host from many years ago. Of course, I called out ‘Captain’ to him. He was startled, but he smiled when he recognized the reference and called ‘Captain’ back.” One less pleasant aspect of cosplay can be the Atlanta heat. “Walking outside in a heavy pirate captain costume or wizard costume is quite difficult when the temperature hovers around 90 degrees,” McAlister admitted. In spite of that, he’ll continue his cosplay at Dragon Con. Continued on page 6
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and Joel Hodgson (the show’s creator and star) saw us and asked to take a picture with us. That was pretty great.”
Stop and watch the zombies
John Dodds
The family that cosplays together
Continued from page 5
“Without a costume, you are just attending the con. Wearing a costume, you are part of the con. You become part of what people came to see, and that makes the whole experience better.”
Lee and John Dodds, 63 and 66 respectively, are retired and reside in Peachtree City. They’ve been going to Dragon Con for 10 years in person, and “one year virtually [2020] due to COVID.
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The atmosphere at Dragon Con is what the Dodds like most. “It’s fun to see people who share your fandoms, the panels can be great fun, and the parade is a must-do every year,” Lee said. “It’s not unusual for someone dressed as a zombie, covered in fake blood, to stop and hold the Lee and John Dodds door open for you or help you find the restroom.” We’ve been cosplaying that long The Dodds said they find a too,” Lee said. comfortable place to sit and Their daughter learned about watch the show go by. They Dragon Con through the internet especially like watching groups and got the family into cosplay. of people cosplaying together, “John was a theater major in such as several people dressed as college, so costuming and acting My Little Pony characters, or a were a natural fit for him,” Lee father and son as Indiana Jones said. “We’ve also always enjoyed and his Dad. Halloween. Costuming and “We also love costumes taking on the personality or or groups of people who are characteristics of someone else representing a pun, or a joke. for an evening has always been Like a ‘Deadpool’ dressed as fun for us.” ‘Po from Teletubbies,’ so he’s The Dodds said they’re ‘DeadPo.’ Or a group of men primarily drawn to general pop dressed as sailors, but the culture and sci-fi at Dragon Con. costumes are like the characters The three of them have dressed from Sailor Moon.” as characters from the Top Gear “One of our favorites was and Dr. Who television shows on someone who was [the arcade BBC, the Gravity Falls animated game] Zoltar from the movie Big. TV series and the Mystery He had built the entire fortuneScience Theater 3000 TV series. telling machine, settled in at the “We loved all of them and Marriott lobby and sat inside it.” loved doing that together as a family,” Lee said. “Although, with Dr. Who, John was the Doctor, our daughter was [the Doctor’s sidekick] Clara and I was [the time-and-space-traveling ship] Dragon Con Disability the Tardis. It was fun to do, but Services supports attendees I don’t think I’d do that one who have physical or other again. Then John and I were disabilities. Services include the Moonrise Kingdom main wheelchair accessible buses, characters [from the 2012 movie], sign language interpreters which was our favorite cosplay and special seating for so far.” people in wheelchairs and Lee said that one of the best those with service dogs. experiences was when they For more info, go to were dressed as the three main dragoncon.org, click on characters from the TV show ‘Resources,’ scroll to ‘At Mystery Science Theater 3000, a the Show,’ and click on name often shortened to MST3K. ‘Disability.’ “We went to an MST3K panel
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Photos by Donna P. Williams
Meet the man behind Flaming Carrot
Bob Burden
By Mark Woolsey The living was easy for Bob Burden in 1970s-era Atlanta. The UGA journalism graduate was supporting himself by buying and selling comics, movie posters
and other collectibles. He worked just a handful of days each month while he weighed several business ideas and soaked up life experiences that he planned to employ in his writing. Coming home one night after loading up on a happy-hour
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buffet, he saw his roommate laboring over a comic book project. He’d been at it for weeks and had finished a grand total of three pages. “I’ll show you how to do a comic,” Burden told him, drawing upon a nearly lifelong bent for storytelling and drawing. He brought to life a character he’d been tossing around in his head. “I sat down and wrote the first eight-page Flaming Carrot story,” Burden recalled. “Then I penciled it all and inked the first two pages that night before I went to sleep.” That marked his initial foray into the thendeveloping “new wave” comic movement. The character became a cult favorite. Up until
then, superheroes were, in Burden’s words “wellheeled and elitist,” with special powers and secret identities. Flaming Carrot ditched that model for a character who was-quite literally-a flaming carrot perched atop a human frame. He had no special powers or secrets and hailed from a blue-collar, milltown background. His sometimes whacked-out humor was of the David LettermanSaturday Night Live school. The character also abandoned the Boy Scout-like personal code of heroes such as Superman. Instead, he was, ahem, an out-front ladies’ man. “His appeal to women was preposterous,” Burden said, “considering that he was so goofylooking, sort of like Kramer in
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Seinfeld.” And he had a distinctive, unusual exclamation in “ut!” Burden says that came about after the Beatles played Shea Stadium in the 60s, with a group of female fans jumping onto the field. Most were caught but one got away. “And George Harrison was up there going ‘ut, ut, look at her go,’” said Burden “The problem is they don’t have a Flaming Carrot TV show, so people don’t know how to pronounce ‘ut.’” Other equally preposterous and surrealistic superheroes followed, including “Mr. Furious,” who would get so mad that he became bulletproof. His selfdescribed series of second-string heroes continued with “Mystery Men,” which eventually became a big-screen production. After the character Gumby became an “SNL” staple, Burden cranked out an authorized Gumby comic. “The story was good, and the artwork was good, and it was a real fun thing for me to do.”
Burden said the Gumby story won several awards including best single issue of the year. Capturing that honor in a competition usually dominated
by superhero comics was “kind of like entering an alligator with its tail cut off and painted yellow into a dog show and winning.” Burden considers himself more of a storyteller than a comic artist and satirist. Drawing came naturally to him with no formal training. Storytelling, he said. is key in his work. Overall, Burden said, he’s never worked a day job and has called his own tune. All these years later, he’s still drawing “Flaming Carrot” and is working on new projects like ‘Hit Man for the Dead,” a novel he’s shopping. He’s also publishing a
book of poetry he wrote when he was younger. Burden says he hopes to attend and present his work at Dragon Con this year. That will continue his longtime involvement dating back to his having helped establish the long-gone Atlanta Fantasy Fair in the 1970s. He seems excited that Dragon Con is back in-person this year. His take on the annual event: “It’s become almost like a Mardi Gras or Burning Man-type event. It’s taken on a life of its own. All of a sudden, instead of it just being about comic books or science fiction, it’s about the people.” Despite having arrived at his late 60s, Burden has no plan to mothball his pencils and brushes. Behind that decision lies some sound older-adult reasoning, that ties in with a decidedly healthier lifestyle in recent years. “To me, creativity is the closest thing to eternal youth I can imagine. And it’s all about having fun. If it ain’t fun, consider me done.”
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PETS
A PANDEMIC PIVOT FOR HAPPY TAILS
Pet therapy group brings joy to Piedmont Atlanta Hospital staffers Jerry Coker and Norma Jean
Piedmont Atlanta Hospital workers relax with dogs from Happy Tails Pet Therapy
By Donna Williams Lewis Jerry Coker’s golden retriever Norma Jean knows when it’s show time. Coker, a retired lawyer, is a volunteer with Happy Tails Pet Therapy, a Roswell-based
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nonprofit now in its 30th year of “sharing the comfort, healing and connection of the human-animal bond.” Coker, who lives in Buckhead, leads a Happy Tails team that began visiting patients at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital in Buckhead in 2019. During visits to
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the hospital, his dog wears a red Happy Tails vest identifying her as “Norma Jean The Love Machine.” “When I pull that out of the drawer, she comes trotting over,” Coker said, “and when I slip it on her, she walks to the door because she knows we’re headed to the car. And then, when we get to the
hospital, I think she gets a spring in her step and a very confident air about her as she strides down the hallway. “The experience at times is overwhelming. It’s a combination of seeing how much the interaction with the dog helps the patients and the staff members and realizing what an awesome privilege and responsibility it is to share our dogs with them. … I was on a visit one time and the patient who had been stroking Norma Jean’s face reached up and stroked my face just to say thank you.” When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Happy Tails’ visits with Piedmont Atlanta patients were suspended for safety reasons. But, by summer, talks began on how Happy Tails might safely do visits with Piedmont Atlanta staff, whose stress from dealing with COVID-19 was “palpable,” said Pam Redman, director of Patient Experience at Piedmont Atlanta. The first visit came on a sunny day in December, with a couple of the five dogs in attendance dressed up in Christmas attire. Several more visits with staffers have been held since then. “Staff are so grateful for these visits,” Redman said. “These dogs provide time for the staff to come out, decompress, have some respite and then love on a dog that’s going to love them back and not ask for anything.” Joan Macdonald, a clinical researcher and a member of Happy Tails’ board of directors, helped the organization
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Happy Tails Pet Therapy volunteers Patrice and Gary Hosmer join in the Children Heathcare of Atlanta’s Holiday Parade with dogs Lexi and A.C.; at right, the Hosmers visit Chattahoochee Technical College with A.C. and Bella the Cat
navigate the pandemic as its risk assessment manager. She said that first visit for Piedmont Atlanta’s healthcare workers was “so heartwarming to see.” “Just the shrieks of joy — ‘Norma Jean!’ They all clearly missed her and she missed them and they were all happy to have a little reunion,” the Brookhaven resident said. Happy Tails currently has 314 members and 250 pets serving 182 facilities including nursing homes, mental health facilities, rehab centers and just about every metro Atlanta hospital. About 150 more facilities are on Happy Tails’ Continued on page 13
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people and their pets
David Boehmig with Toby
We asked readers to send us photographs of themselves with their pets. Eric Hunger with Emma
Gary Ray Betz with his dog Doppelgänger
Doug Shore with Vincent
Robin Shore with Starr
Susan Clark with Jack the Rabbit
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Continued from page 11
waiting list, says the group, which constantly recruits new members to help shorten that list. In addition to pet visits, the organization has a program in which pets take part in physical and occupational therapy sessions and a READing Paws program
not mind being petted. Macdonald started volunteering in 2012 with Max, her white German shepherd, who passed away last summer. They mostly visited psychiatric hospitals where Max, who could be “a very serious dog,” gravitated toward people who were sullen
Writer Donna Lewis and her ‘granddog’ Louie
Above and right, Piedmont Atlanta Hospital workers relax with dogs from Happy Tails Pet Therapy
that takes pets into schools, libraries and other settings as reading companions for children. “Special visits” may include parades, college campus, or summer camp gatherings. Membership is open to pet owners with dogs, cats or rabbits. Dogs must meet a set of stringent requirements while cats and bunnies just need to be able to tolerate a harness, be docile, and
or disengaged “and would just go over and stick his head in their lap,” she said. On one of these visits, to a Veterans Administration facility, a young man in a corner responded to Max’s lap hug by burying his face in his fur, Macdonald said. She says he told her he’d been in the psych rehab for two weeks and hadn’t talked to anyone nor even smiled until his visit from Max.
“There were certainly times where you really felt like you helped provide someone an avenue on their path to healing,” Macdonald said. Patrice Hosmer, speaker’s bureau rep for Happy Tails, said she has seen pet visits bring a light of recognition to some Alzheimer’s patients’ eyes. She calls such times “moments of high grace, because you get to witness something that is very special.” The retired high school teacher and East Cobb County resident has volunteered with her cat Bella since 2012 and is writing a book about pet therapy. Her husband, Gary, volunteers with their dog
Lily. Coker looks forward to the day his team can get back to visiting patients, staff members and others throughout Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. Before the pandemic, he always tried to get to the hospital early so Norma Jean could interact with people in a waiting room before her one-hour visit to patient areas began. One day, he says, a woman tapped his shoulder as they left the hospital and told him, “You and your dog were in the waiting room earlier, and I just wanted to let you know that
your dog lifted the mood of the entire waiting room.” Redman praises Happy Tails for the level of training and commitment required of the volunteers and their dogs. “We just truly cherish and are so thankful for the times that the dogs and their handlers are able to come,” she said. “I think if we could have dogs here all of the time on our campus it would be a happier place.” For information on how to join, request a visit, or make a donation to Happy Tails Pet Therapy, visit happytailspets.org.
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TRAVEL
Atlanta’s sanctuary – the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area 1 | The 48 mile stretch of the
Travels with Charlie Veteran Georgia journalist Charles Seabrook has covered native wildlife and environmental issues for decades. For “Travels with Charlie,” he visits and photographs communities throughout the state.
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area begins at Buford Dam on Lake Lanier.
2 | Scene in the Cochran Shoals Unit 3 | Sibley Pond, Sope Creek Unit 4 | Ruins of old paper mill,
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5 | Scene along riverside trail in Johnson Ferry North Unit.
6 | Scene in Powers Ferry Unit 7 | Scene just below Buford Dam at the beginning of the CRNRA
8 | Walking Trail in Johnson Ferry north Unit
9 | Trout lilies along famed Trout
3 I travel a lot, whether it‘s a day trip in Georgia or a crosscountry trek to California or a cruise on a river in France. I want to see it all. But one of my most favorite destinations in the world is only a 20-minute drive — in normal traffic — from my home in Decatur. It’s the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, which, in my mind, is one of the most remarkable places in the nation. It’s hard to imagine Atlanta without this magnificent place, which is part of the National Park Service. Its 15 park-like units, covering 6,500 acres of land, stretch 48 miles along the river like a necklace of sparkling emeralds, from Buford Dam on Lake Lanier to the river’s confluence with Peachtree Creek inside Atlanta’s city limits. The park harbors some 950 species of plants — more trees, shrubs, wildflowers, grasses and ferns than are found within the entire boundaries of some countries. More than 100 butterfly species flutter about the park, and more dragonfly species live here than within the Great Smoky Mountains, which is 100 times larger in land size than the Chattahoochee recreation area.
Sope Creek Unit
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Lily Trail in West Palisades Unit
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10 | Trout fisherman in Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
11 | Old barn at historic Hyde Farm 12 | Scene in Johnson Ferry Unit 13 | Long time National Park Service Ranger/Naturalist Jerry Hightower
14 | View from trail in West Palisades Unit
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15 | Passion Flower, one of the
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many species of wildflowers that bloom in the CRNRA
16 | Scene along the river in the Cochran Shoals Unit
17 | Old mill dam, Vickery Creek Unit 18 | Bird watchers on boardwalk in the Cochran Shoals Unit
19 | Trout lilies along the Trout Lily Trail in the West Palisades Unit
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18 Most of this rich diversity is due to the park’s variety of natural habitats — old growth hardwood forests, wetlands, floodplains, old fields, steep ravines, gentle hills, spectacular cliffs. The diversity is wonderful for birds and birders like me who love to watch them. Woodpeckers
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and warblers thrive in the old growth woods and wet habitats along the river. Indigo buntings, gray catbirds and yellow-breasted chats flit about the open fields. Rainbow and brown trout also can be caught in the river — the southernmost habitat for the highly prized fish, which require cool water for survival. As Lake Lanier’s water gushes through Buford Dam and into the Chattahoochee, it is chilled to temperatures suitable to trout. History also abounds in the recreation area — beginning, of course, with Native Americans. Sixteen ancient rock shelters used as temporary refuges by Native Americans are found within the park. Among some of the many other historical features are the Sope Creek paper mill ruins, the historic Hyde Farm and the former Hewlett Lodge, which now houses the park‘s visitor center.
All of this rugged natural beauty and rich history lures some 3 million visitors each year. Many miles of trails through the park’s 15 units allow one to thoroughly explore the park for an hour or all day long. Perhaps what is most amazing to me, though, is that this sanctuary of serenity, sheer natural splendor and diverse wildlife habitat exists in the heart of Metro Atlanta. Then-President Jimmy Carter said it best in August 1978, when he signed the federal bill creating the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area: “It’s a rare occasion when within the city limits of one of our major cities, one can find pure water and trout and free canoeing and rapids and the seclusion of the Earth the way God made it.” More information: www.nps. gov/chat/index.htm
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GARDENING
Don’t blame the goldenrod THE ENVIRONMENTAL GARDENER Erica Glasener is the Community Involvement and Events Manager for the Piedmont Park Conservancy. She also serves on the advisory board for Trees Atlanta. August in Atlanta is a good time to get caught up with your weeding, especially after the recent summer rains we’ve been experiencing. And while it’s not the best time to add plants to your garden (since roots will be slow to get established with high soil temperatures and plants will require extra water), it’s an ideal time to add structures and hardscape, like edging for beds, walls, paths and fences.
Weeding
The best time to weed is after a long, gentle rain during the early morning or evening, when temperatures are bound to be a bit cooler. The soft soil will make it easier to pull out weeds, roots and all. Spending an hour per day weeding can make a difference (or so I keep telling myself) and you get immediate gratification seeing the results of your labor. But don’t be too hasty. Some perennials, like goldenrod, can be mistaken for weeds by the novice gardener. Goldenrod offers striking yellow summer blooms and comes in a range of sizes. It is also a favorite of pollinators. Unfortunately, this native beauty gets blamed for causing hay fever because it flowers at the same time that ragweed (the real culprit) blooms. The timing of the blooms is the only thing these two plants have
Garden with arbor
in common. Learn to recognize the difference between the foliage and the flowers of goldenrod and ragweed. The good news is that the best way to eradicated ragweed is to pull it out by hand, before or as soon as it blooms. This will keep the plants from spreading by seed and causing you and other unsuspecting visitors to your garden from sneezing or getting watery eyes. When you weed, make sure to wear long sleeves and gloves to avoid any possible skin irritations that this plant may cause.
Ideas for Adding Hardscape Edging
If you have flower beds that run right up to the edge of your lawn and there is not any separation between the two, consider adding a stone or brick edge. This will also help keep turf from creeping into your planting beds. The materials you choose should complement or be the same as the material that your house is made of. If your house is made of brick, brick edging makes sense.
with paving, the material you choose for your arbor should complement the style of your house and garden. A tip: If you are putting in an arbor, make sure it is not too skimpy and is in scale with the house and garden. If in doubt, make it one size larger than you think it needs to be. Use substantial size posts to support plants.
Arbor
Tall Perennials for Summer
An arbor provides a welcome an entrance to your garden as well as a place to train vines like Climbing hydrangea, native honeysuckle or crossvine. As
AUGUST 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com
Silphium and Joe Pye Weed
Fencing
Before you install a fence check with your local government or homeowners’ association about any restrictions on how tall fences can be or if they are allowed in the front yard. Fences make great neighbors and offer a place to train vines or provide screening. You can leave them unpainted or plant a hedge in front for a dark backdrop.
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Ironweed
Cardinal Flower-Lobelia cardinalis – growing 2 to 4 feet (it’s not the tallest, but offers a great August bloom), this beauty grows naturally in moist soils along
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streams, in swamps and in wooded areas. It also adapts well to a moist well-drained garden soil. Plant it where it gets afternoon shade and it will be happy. The striking red flowers are a magnet for hummingbirds.
purple coneflower
Cup plant – Silphium perfoliatumGrowing 4 to 8 feet on strong sturdy stems, this perennial gets its common name from the cup that is formed when the leaves encircle the stem. After it rains you can see the water
that collects. Up to 3 inches in diameter the yellow, sun-colored ray flowers are welcome in the hot summer months. Give this plant plenty of room to spread. Goldenrod-Solidago rugosa “Fireworks”– One of many different goldenrods, this one grows 2.5 to 3 feet tall and produces yellow flowers from summer to fall. Plant it in full sun or part shade. It tolerates a range of soil types including wet to well-drained. Just pull out plants if they spread Ironweed-Vernonia noveboracensis – Growing to a height of 4 to 6 feet, this tough guy booms in late summer with rich purple flowers. Give it lots of space and plant it in a natural setting or near a stream. Ironweed grows in full sun or part shade and will tolerate well drained soils. Joe Pye Weed-Eutrochium purpureum 4 to 7 feet – This pollinator-friendly perennial is
tough and beautiful, with large mauve-pink blooms from July to September, when butterflies are drawn to it. Make sure you have space in your garden before you plant it. Combine it with Ironweed and native grasses and plant it in full sun. Purple Coneflower – Echinacea purpurea - Growing 2 to 5 feet tall, the purple ray flowers surround the stiff orange cones. Plant coneflower in full sun or part shade. It prefers a well-drained soil and will tolerate periods of drought. Leave the dead seed heads in place and, come winter, the cones will be a source of food for goldfinches or other birds that eat seeds. When you visit other gardens or public gardens make note of the August blooms and plan to add some of these perennials to your garden in fall or early spring so that you may enjoy them next year.
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FROM THE CRATES
Listen to ‘The Voice of [jeff] Winter’ from the crates Kelly McCoy is a veteran Atlanta broadcaster who writes about the days popular music only came on vinyl records, which often were stored in crates. I’ve been blessed to have met many successful professionals in my industry and call them friends. These people have voices as different as they are. About 50 years ago, I heard a voice like no other. That voice belonged to Jeff Winter. Jeff’s voice was not the typical “radio voice” we were accustomed to hearing. By that I mean big pipes, or a somewhat deeper voice. His voice wasn’t high, but it wasn’t low, either. It was smooth, casual, and velvety. Not weak by any means, but natural and unaffected. Many radio types yell, grunt or growl. And there are other adjectives that could be used to describe their delivery: one technical
Jeff Winter
term we use in the business is “puking.” I first heard Jeff on WQXI FM, the sister station of WQXI, “Quixie in Dixie,” the legendary
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allowed to observe onsite remote broadcasts by WNBC for hours at a time. The program director was impressed by his enthusiastic interest in the station. Jeff was Kelly McCoy, left, and Jeff Winter invited to visit the studios and sit in with people Top 40 AM station that on the air to watch real live produced a list of wellradio from a heritage station in known radio and voice the famous RCA Building. talent long enough to Fast forward a few years. rival any station. (A fact After getting his first full time many Atlanta radio fans job at 17, then volunteering don’t know is that WQXI and working at a handful of FM once had the call New York area stations, Uncle letters WKXI. When Jeff Sam invited Jeff to join the U.S. began his radio tenure Army. in Atlanta, he actually While he was stationed at started on KXI.) Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Jeff is a native New Jeff was assigned to the Public Yorker who started his Information Office as a career after being bitten by the radio bug in the nation’s Broadcast Specialist. During Number One market. As a his stay, he entered a talent young 15 year old, Jeff was show at the service club with
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a comedy act that had him lip synching records. He won! His artistic abilities, along with his comedy later got him transferred to Fort McPherson in Atlanta, and he joined a “traveling troupe of soldiers.” This group toured the Southeast, and that’s how Jeff finished his military career. I guess it was the Southern hospitality that lured this northern young man to stick around for a while. This is the beginning of his time at WKXI-FM, later known as WQXI FM. Jeff later became the morning man at a brandnew station called WKLS, perhaps better known as 96 Rock. Both of these stations changed the landscape of Atlanta radio in major ways. Jeff worked in many different jobs at the stations but recording commercials with clients interested him the most. Commercials are how
Jeff Winter
stations generate revenue. They were the only way in those days. Jeff really dove into creating and voicing these spots. He’d always enjoyed great commercials, and what was required to make them
work. Working the morning show left him plenty of extra time to pursue auditions for freelance voice work. Once he succeeded in getting some really big accounts in the region, more exposure meant more attention from agents…locally, and nationally. Long-time Atlantans may remember the HiFi Buys spots voiced by Jeff. The first national TV account he landed was for Fresca. “National” translates to “huge” in the voiceover industry. While home for the summer in New York, Jeff pounded the pavement and had dozens of auditions… but turned up nothing. He still pursued his dream. After leaving 96 Rock, Jeff went back to New York, and won two of four auditions. One of these led to network TV. “Network”
means “huge,” too! He never looked back. Based in Atlanta, Jeff spent a lot of time over the next several decades commuting to New York to do voice work and network TV. He was heard by millions. Jeff has slowed down a bit, but he is still one of the most respected people in the voiceover world, both as a talent and a person. I called this article “The Voice of Winter.” Now you know it has nothing to do with the season. Jeff Winter is voice actor. Many voiceover people are doing admirable jobs, but true voice actors take their gifted instruments to much higher levels. Not only with audio commercials, but anywhere a recording of a voice is needed. Maybe you’ll be fortunate enough to hear Jeff.
AUGUST 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com
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PEOPLE
Former Gov. Nathan Deal: ‘people don’t want to compromise on anything... you have to compromise’ There’s no retreat to the rocking chair on the front porch for former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. Since leaving the governor’s office in 2019, Deal, a Republican, has started a political consulting firm with former chief of staff Chris Riley and begun teaching a class in political science at the University of North Georgia. And he’s worked hard on staying healthy. Deal started his career with a private law practice before becoming a prosecutor, judge, state senator and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia’s 9th District. In March of 2010, he resigned from the House to run for governor. He served two terms. Atlanta Senior Life contributor Mark Woolsey chatted with Deal and his wife, Sandra, recently at their home in Demorest, which is north of Gainesville.
agencies? [In my teaching job,] they allowed me to design the class as I saw best. So what I did in broad terms was I decided that young people needed to understand things that are below the surface, the things that are not
Q. Looking back on your eight years in office, what are you most proud of?
Q. What’s been keeping you occupied since you departed the Gold Dome? A. Ten days after I left office, I was on the operating table having surgery on my back. I had never had major surgery. I went through physical training and am now continuing with a personal trainer. The result of all this is that I have lost over 30 pounds and that has helped quite a bit with mobility. {My new business with Chris Riley] is not really a lobbying firm. It’s consulting. We did not want to get into the lobbying aspect. Chris has been running the operation and doing an excellent job. Much of it is just consulting with people wanting to know how to deal with state government. What agencies should they contact? What information should they be prepared to present for requests they’re making of various state
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they have very little conception of how state government works, which is through agencies and departments. I was very fortunate to get people who work in those agencies and departments to speak to my classes.
normally found when they read the traditional textbooks. Such as, we all know about the three branches of government, but do we know the historical basis for how that came about? So I decided to go back into early English history and hit the highlights about principles and how they involved, and then brought them up to date. Q. What did you find in interacting with the students? A. What I discovered is that most young people don’t know how state government functions. Most of them know we have a governor. Some of them know we have a lieutenant governor but they’re not real sure what a lieutenant governor does. But
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A. For most people, when they think about my administration, they think about the tremendous criminal justice reforms we were able to make and we did so beginning in the very first year of my administration. They truly were revolutionary for our state and have actually been copied in many other states and to some extent the federal government has picked up on it in their legislation. When I came into office in January of 2011 we were still in the middle of the Great Recession. Georgia was one of the last states to come out of it. We had to decide what to do to keep the economy afloat. I made the decision early on that we were not going to tax our way out of the situation, [but] we were going to grow out way out of the situation. And that’s exactly what we saw happen. In 2013, we were named the Number One state for business. We had never had this distinction before, and we did it without raising taxes.
Q. Any regrets? A. Well there are always regrets of things you would have liked to have done and didn’t accomplish, but those are very few. Q. Could you talk about the jobs piece of growing our way out of the recession? A. What we started doing was asking employers if they still had jobs, even with a 10.6% unemployment rate. The answer we got back was that yes, we have jobs available, but too many people don’t have the skills we need to fill those jobs. I set out with a determination that we were going to eliminate that. We were going to educate people. We were going to fill the jobs that were available and the job needs of the future and train our young people to fill those jobs now. Q. How do you think your successor, Brian Kemp, has done as governor? A. He has had a very difficult time because of the circumstances that have confronted him. He has done a good job in my opinion. He’s trying hard. It would be difficult for anybody in today’s political climate to be able to do any better in my opinion than what he has been able to do. Q. How do you feel about the fractured state of the Republican party in Georgia and across the country? A. It would be difficult for anybody who claims to be a Republican to be happy with the circumstances they find. I think you’d find anyone from the highest educated political analyst all the way down would say that unless your party is united, you’re not going to be
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successful. You cannot be a splinter group. I think the one thing missing in this environment, that’s also missing from the political environment as a whole, is that people don’t want to compromise on anything. Rarely do you find one solution that’s going to suit everybody. That’s why you have to compromise. I mean compromise is the way we got our government, honestly. Q. What could be done to re-ignite that sense of compromise? A. My wife has the answer to that and I’m going to ask her what her advice is. Sandra Deal: I would say you can always be nice regardless of what the situation is. You don’t have to be ugly to people to disagree with them or be angry at them.
Q. How do you think Georgia handled the pandemic? A. I think they handled it about as well as could be expected and better than most people expected. I think with Governor Kemp that’s been one of his strong points quite frankly. He had confidence the people of Georgia would do what they needed to do and, by and large, they have. He was in a position to lift the mask mandate before most other states and not have calamitous results from that. Q. What’s your feeling about the controversial new voting law endorsed by Republicans and opposed by Democrats in Georgia? A. My feeling is that we ought to let a federal judge make a decision on it. That’s what we have courts for, and all of this business of trying to prejudge
what a judge will do with it, I think is very improper. I mean everybody can speculate but the truth is a judge is going to look at the details of it. I think it was very improper for the AttorneyGeneral of the United States to preface his comments about filing the lawsuit by saying the intentions of the General Assembly were to do such and such, which is to suppress voter registration, etc. That’s not something that a prosecutor should say. You’re trying to prejudge the intentions rather than the effects. A judge won’t look at the supposed intentions of the Legislature, but the effects of legislation they passed. Q. Any comment on the merits of the legislation itself? A. There again I don’t know. I wasn’t involved in any of it and haven’t really studied it to any
great extent. Q. What should Georgia be doing to keep moving forward as a state? A. It’s a challenge for every generation and every administration. I think we are very fortunate in that we have a lot of basic ingredients in our state. We have a good work force. We have a lot of assets. We need to focus on those, analyze those assets, and use them to our best advantage. We do have social issues, but that’s not unique to the state of Georgia. We just have to deal realistically with those issues. The only way we can do that is to listen to each other. You can’t demagogue on either side or bully on either side. You need to find where you have common ground.
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PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
A half-dozen life lessons learned from jigsaw puzzles these days Joe Earle is editor-at-large and has lived in metro Atlanta for over 30 years. He can be reached at joeearle@reporternewspapers.net
I had intended to stay busy in retirement doing Important Things I Couldn’t Do Before, but it turns out my timing was bad. As I wound down, COVID wound up. And because of the pandemic shutdown, I couldn’t leave the house for days or even weeks at a time. I had to find things to fill the time while sitting at home. I turned to a little gardening and cooking, to watching TV (thank you, Netflix) and to other hobbies I had set aside back in the days when work and kids demanded more attention. One of those pastimes turned out to be jigsaw puzzles. I rediscovered the joys of puzzles before the pandemic, but once shutdown started, the idea of piecing together little squigglyedged pieces of cardboard into some kind of picture became really compelling. Why? you ask. First, jigsaw puzzles are a huge time suck. You open the box, start fitting pieces together and then next thing you know, hours have passed. Sometimes, it seems like even days or weeks have passed.
If I really get into a puzzle, I can forget snacks, naps, even TV detective stories. Second, like most puzzles and games, jigsaws provide little bursts of happiness every time you get a right answer. I can sit there for long, anguished minutes staring at a pile of pieces and then — boom! — two squiggles of cardboard magically fit together and my brain releases a little spritz of the chemicals that momentarily produce elation. And with puzzles made up of more than 1,000 pieces, those spritzes happen a lot. Over the past 15 months, I’ve assembled all kinds of jigsaw puzzles. I’ve pieced together pictures of seashells and trains, planes and automobiles. I’ve remade high art by assembling tiny pieces of paper into paintings of heaven and hell
by Hieronymus Bosch and wheatfields by Vincent Van Gogh. I’ve created popular art visions of classic record covers and of posters advertising the National Parks. I’ve even traveled to big
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cities by conjuring a Paris street scene and New Yorker magazine covers depicting, among other things, summer at the beach, fall in Central Park and a street market on a busy city block. I’ve learned a few things along the way. Jigsaw puzzles are great teachers. They impart patience, self-control, jolts of temporary self-esteem and can make you ponder deep philosophical questions such as, “Why am I still sitting here staring at these puzzle pieces when I could be watching detective shows on TV?” Here are a half dozen life lessons I picked up while puzzling. 1. Don’t give up. The answer is in there. Don’t sweat it if things don’t seem to gel at first because every piece has its place. Unlike the real world, jigsaw puzzles make sense. You are bound to figure it out eventually. 2. You’re probably going to be disappointed anyway. Nothing is perfect. Rule Number One applies only if you’re assembling a new puzzle fresh out of the box with the shrinkwrap plastic cover still tightly bound around it. If a puzzle has been through other hands, all bets are off. Some pieces probably already have been lost and the pieces that remain in the box may not even be from the same puzzle. (See Rule Number Three.) 3. Some old puzzles will never be finished. Something is
bound to have been lost. Once you place that last piece from the box, you’ll find an annoying hole smack in the middle of the puzzle crying out for one or two more pieces. 4. Don’t worry about missing pieces. If they were in the box when you started, they’re on the floor somewhere or stuck in a shirt pocket and they’ll turn up eventually, weeks or years after the puzzle’s done and put away. When they do, of course, you won’t remember which puzzle they belong to, so you’ll just stick them in a convenient puzzle box for later. (See Rule Number Two.) If they weren’t there when you started, never mind. The whole process was doomed from the start. 5. Enjoy the attention. When you’re working on a puzzle, everybody secretly wants to be you. No matter what people say about how you’re wasting your time, you can see how envious they are every time they stop by your workspace and, when they think you’re not looking, furtively stick a piece into the unfinished puzzle. 6. Don’t fret about the time you spend on puzzles. That time cannot be spent better by doing something else, no matter what anyone tells you. To fill those long hours, you’d just watch more detective shows on Netflix. And that wouldn’t release nearly as many spritzes of those feelgood chemicals. Happy puzzling.
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PERSONAL SAFETY
Avoid being a victim of ‘victim-compliant’ crime STAY SAFE Steve Rose is a retired Sandy Springs Police Captain, veteran Fulton County police officer and freelance writer. He is the author the book “Why Do My Mystic Journeys Always Lead to the Waffle House?” and the column “View from a Cop.”
Here are some reminders that we should be vigilant and use common sense with a healthy dose of “polite skepticism” to avoid becoming victims of some kinds of crime. They are what could be called “victim compliant” crimes. That means the poor victim made the crime easier to commit by not taking simple precautions.
Distraction
A couple lost over $100,000 in jewelry to thieves who posed as tree trimmers. One of the two suspects knocked on the couple’s door, informed the wife they were trimming next door, and as such, wanted to make a courtesy call.
The woman agreed to accompany the man to the back yard to check it out, while at the same time, suspect number two knocked on the door, and other entrances, in case someone was still inside. Hearing nothing, the suspect entered the home, locating and stealing the jewelry. Fortunately, as in the case of most crooks, they could not handle prosperity and cops arrested the pair in New Orleans. Although the ending is happy, the fact is, the M.O. is not new. Distract the victim while number two commits the crime. There are dozens of tree services, so I believe a homeowner’s first question should be, “What company are you with and why don’t you just leave me a card?” Do not take the tour, and if this scenario plays out for you, call 911 and report the suspicious activity.
‘Slider’ car thefts
Slider crimes take place at gas stations when the driver of a car is pumping gas or goes inside and leaves a car door
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open and, in some cases, leaves the keys in the ignition. The bad guy “slides” into the passenger side if it’s open and steals items from the car or the car itself.
Other thefts from cars
A man reported that he left his wallet on the front seat of his car while he was at church. Upon his return, the wallet was gone and the driver’s window broken out. The crook used the credit card at a nearby station. Another theft at the church resulted in a woman’s purse taken from the back seat of her car. A few simple steps could have thwarted these thefts. In fact, we could eliminate all sorts of property crimes if we did not give thieves the opportunities to commit them. When you’re pumping gas, lock the doors, especially the passenger door, and remove the keys from the car if you go inside. It’s so simple. Almost all items stolen from cars were removable or could be better secured. Laptops, purses, and wallets left in the seat are open invitations to someone who would not mind
breaking your window to get to them. Leaving a wallet in plain view provides a thief with an opportunity and little risk— unless lightning struck the crook. If your car has a trunk, use it. Crooks will not take the time or make the noise prying open a trunk. If you don’t have a trunk, have a system. For instance, use the lift seats in the back to create space underneath to store your items. With tinted glass, it is difficult to see inside, and that helps, but having nothing on the floorboard to see is better. Remember, most thieves will move on if they don’t see something to steal. A compliant victim is one who leaves a purse open in the shopping cart, or cars unlocked at night, or passwords lying around, even neglecting to install protection software on your personal computers. It sounds easy but consistency is a brick wall for some, including me, but it remains the king for a successful crime-prevention plan. Have a plan and be consistent.
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