Atlanta Senior Life - November 2022

LEADING THE WAY

Voted Cobb County’s Best Assisted Living & Retirement

“We’re honored that both Sterling Estates Communities have been recognized as ‘Best of Cobb’ for Retirement Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care again in 2022. I’m proud to say that it’s the 4th year in a row we’ve won these awards and an awesome tribute to our staff members. We’ve been serving seniors in greater Atlanta for over 25+ years now...we invite you to come and experience what sets us apart.” Marshall Gill, COO & Partner, Sterling Estates Senior Living Communities Come See What Sets us Apart

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“What I’ve learned is that all communities talk about wellness and socialization... but they don't have the that Sterling Estates has. No one can match what Sterling provides for their residents. My parents are thriving at Sterling Estates... Bet yours will too."

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On the Cover

The Grande Dame of Dining Out Food critic Christiane Lauterbach roams Atlanta seeking the next great meal

By Dyana Bagby

Christiane Lauterbach would rather eat an Oscar Meyer hot dog slathered in German mustard than a seasoned sausage that costs ten bucks.

“I would never say one duplicates the other,” says Lauterbach, the renowned restaurant critic for Atlanta magazine who is not afraid to share her opinions — glowing and critical — about the city’s dining scene.

“But nobody talks about the ratio of price to pleasure … there is a simplicity factor,” she says, explaining the difference between a cheap, tasty mass-produced hot dog and a chef-made, tasty hot dog.

“But I do love hot dogs, they are one of my vices,” she adds with a chuckle. This is pretty high praise from someone who served nearly 20 years on the James Beard Awards Committee tasked with selecting the best of America’s food culture.

Lauterbach, who says she is “70ish,” was born in Paris. Her mother abandoned her when she was an infant and she was raised by her father and a stern grandmother. As a child, she wandered the streets of Paris and discovered a world of architecture, parks, and food.

“I was a very lonely kid growing up in a very big city,” she says. “So, when you don't have anybody and you live in Paris, you walk incessantly. And you look at stuff, you follow your own intuition.”

The young explorer observed what her family could and could not afford, and she was very interested to see what other people were eating. She would taste the free bites of food handed out by vendors, noticing the textures of a pâté or a pastry, for example. She also began paying attention

to how different foods made her feel — excited, warm, sensual.

These emotions come back to her still today when she writes about dining.

She continued her explorations and moved to Munich, Germany, in her 20s and then later to New York City. She eventually settled in Atlanta where her husband attended Emory Law School. In

the early 1980s, she helped found Knife and Fork, the premier guide to local restaurants that was mailed to subscribers.

The popular newsletter is currently on hiatus after nearly 40 years. In Knife and Fork’s heyday not too long ago, however, it caught the attention of Jeff Bezos who advertised subscriptions to the newsletter on Amazon. He

didn’t ask Lauterbach before doing so and didn’t have copies of Knife and Fork. Lauterbach angrily sent him a letter demanding he take her product off his website. He did.

“He listed it for so much more money than it really is,” she says, anger in her voice. And she adds, only half-joking. “It is worth living long enough to see him die.”

Christiane Lauterbach at the Daily Chew in Morningside-Lenox Park.

(Photo by Isadora Pennington)

Although she has lived in Atlanta since the 1970s, Lauterbach identifies solidly as a Parisian.

“There's many, many cultural differences between Americans in general, but of course between Southerners and where I come from, where we are the world champion of pessimism,” she says. “I'm an admirer of many things about the South but I still feel like I'm an odd duck at times.”

People here are mostly shocked by criticisms of anything, including some of her negative reviews of restaurants. She’s received death threats. But Lauterbach cannot write what years of experience in the global food scene has taught her.

“I can't lie. I don't lie,” she says.

“I don't think there's anybody who does what I do,” she says. “I have eaten more meals at more restaurants than anyone in Atlanta. The main concern nowadays has been the lack of

opinion journalists — that nobody expresses strong opinion. It's all descriptive.”

In the past several years, only two restaurants stand out to Lauterbach for their fine dining experiences: Lazy Betty in Candler Park; and Japanese restaurant Mujo in West Midtown, where she said she had her best meal in 20 years.

One of the terrible things about being a food critic, she says, is being only interested in the extremes. If a meal is very bad, food critics can have fun writing about the disaster. Peak experiences at a restaurant also help words flow.

“What's happened in the middle is not all that fascinating to us,” she says.

“But I have to remind myself all the time that it is people's real lives. I think whatever your critics or your customers say, it doesn't matter all that much in terms of economics,” she says.

Lauterbach's famed Knife & Fork newsletter mailed to subscribers.

There are plenty of bad but incredibly successful restaurants there are many very good but not as successful restaurants, she says.

“Whatever my influence is … I say to the restauranteurs it is best

Dining out for Turkey Day

By Collin Kelley

While traditional turkey and dressing will be on many menus this Thanksgiving, the bird is not the last word. Why not try Japanese, Turkish, or French food? Many Atlanta restaurants will be open for the holiday offering something for all tastes. Be sure to check OpenTable.com or with your favorite restaurant to see what their plans are for Thanksgiving.

South City Kitchen Midtown: Turkey Day reservations are going fast, so get yours today at southcitykitchen.com.

5Church Midtown: A Thanksgiving Buffett is on the menu at 5churchatlanta.com.

STK: The Midtown steakhouse will be serving up Thanksgiving in its dining room and for takeout and delivery. Visit stksteakhouse.com for details.

Tiny Lou’s: Head to the Clermont Hotel for a taste of France on Turkey Day. Reservations are going fast at tinylous.com.

Ray’s in the City: Seafood is on the menu at this Downtown eatery. Reservations at raysrestaurants. com.

Truva: Virginia-Highland restaurant offers up Turkish food at truvahighland.com.

Nakato: This Buckhead favorite will be firing up the hibachi for Thanksgiving. Visit nakatorestaurant.com.

to listen to your cash register.

“But I guess I am addicted to knowledge and to mastery,” she says. “Mastery is important. … I want people to know I am still looking out for their best interest.”

Hard Rock Café: The Downtown tourist favorite is cooking up a Thanksgiving at exploretock.com/ hardrockcafeatlanta.

The Sun Dial: Zoom to the top of the Westin Peachtree in Downtown for a special Thanksgiving dinner with a view. Reservations are required at sundialresaturant.com.

HOBNOB: Head to Atlantic Station for a three-course Thanksgiving meal. Reservations at hobnobatlanta.com.

Petite Violette: Dine out on turkey and all the trimmings. Reservations at petitevioletterestaurant.com.

Star Provisions: A la carte Thanksgiving to go with all the fixins. To order, visit starprovisions.com.

Peace Bell rings to honor Jimmy Carter’s 98th birthday

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By Dyana Bagby

“The magnificent bell once again delivers beautiful sound in all directions, the wondrous resonance returns to the ultimate realm of peace.” — From a prayer to dedicate the Peace Bell Tower.

Former president Jimmy Carter celebrated his 98th birthday on Oct. 1 and received the gift of an ancient, Japanese peace bell ringing for the first time in decades.

The more than 500-pound bell tolled during a ceremony the day before at the Carter Center to dedicate the Peace Bell Tower. The bell tower, a gift from the Japanese community to the former president and Georgia’s former governor, is an ornate structure carved from 150-year-old Japanese cypress trees by Japanese carpenters. The beams were shipped to the U.S. and constructed over the summer on the grounds of the Carter Center by local and Japanese carpenters.

Jason Carter, grandson of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter and chairperson of the board of trustees of the Carter Center, spoke at the ceremony. He said his grandparents are grateful for the symbol of cooperation and friendship between Georgia and Japan.

“But I have to say on the eve of his 98th birthday the thing that he would have appreciated the most,

and that when he comes up here next he will spend his time doing, is looking at the craftsmanship,” he said. “Because he is at heart a woodworker and this is a beautiful tribute and personal tribute for him.”

Last year, Kazuyuki Takeuchi, consul general of Japan based in Atlanta, brought together leaders of the Japan-America Society of Georgia, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, and the Japan External Trade Organization. He wanted to build a lasting symbol of the friendship between Japan and Georgia.

“This tower is my dream come through because of its symbol of the friendship between Georgia and Japan is so instrumental for the relationship between the two in future development,” he said at the event.

He also noted the location of the peace bell and tower at the Carter Center is where the Freedom Farmers’ Market takes place yearround on Saturdays.

“I’m aware that every weekend a farmers market is at this location,” he said. “My wish is to hear the bell ring with laughter and joy every week as the symbol of peace and friendship in the future.”

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A ceremony was held Sept. 30 to welcome the Peace Bell to The Carter Center. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)

Devastating hurricane strikes beloved island

A disaster waitingto happen

My father worried every year that a deadly hurricane might hit Sanibel and harm the island and the house he and my mother built there in the early 1970s.

He was well aware they had chosen a site on the beautiful but shifting sands of a barrier island, vulnerable to storms and the sea.

acknowledge at the moment, Ian’s devastation could have been much worse.

Climate change

More than 90 percent of the excess heat from global warming over the past fifty years has been absorbed by oceans, which is where storms gain strength. Higher surface water temperatures allow hurricanes to reach high sustained wind levels. Warmer oceans also make the rate of intensification more rapid. Globally, oceans have warmed an average of 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit in the past century and their surface temperatures continue to rise.

ABOVE THE WATER LINE

On an overcast morning in mid-October, my journalist son Charles Bethea boarded a small boat to reach the shores of Sanibel Island—three miles across the choppy waters of San Carlos Bay on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The causeway to the island was in pieces, damaged by 150-mile-per-hour winds and extreme storm surges that washed away portions of two man-made islands connecting spans of the bridge.

In my heart and mind, I was with him, waiting anxiously to learn the extent of the damage from Hurricane Ian: the nightmare storm called historic for its intensity. The maelstrom bashed the southwest coast of Florida on Sept. 28—the day my mother would have turned 102. My sister and I were relieved that neither she nor our father lived to see the catastrophic destruction of the place they—and we—so love.

Sanibel memories

In the late 1950s, when my family first vacationed on Sanibel, it was largely undeveloped. We loved the island's natural beauty despite the relentless no-see-ums and rustic accommodations. We collected shells on its beaches, visited the national wildlife refuge that comprises a third of the island, boated with friends, fished for snook, and painted watercolors of coconut palms waving in the ocean breezes.

In the backwaters of mangrove swamps, we waded barefoot—at times in waist-deep water— cautiously exploring the muddy bottom with our toes, seeking king's crown conches. We watched the ever-changing shoreline, altered through the seasons and years by wind, waves, and currents. My parents loved Sanibel’s wild nature—its red mangrove forests, flocks of roseate spoonbills, and rare junonia shells—and did what they could to help preserve it.

Until 1963, when the original Sanibel Causeway was completed, we took a ferry, then in operation for more than fifty years, to reach the island. We would race in our hot, unairconditioned car to make the last departure of the day after the long drive from Atlanta, my father ever certain we wouldn’t make it in time. We always did.

Fifteen years ago, a new causeway replaced and upgraded the original, but it was no match for Ian’s destructive force.

He also knew that nearby Fort Myers on the mainland had once been a maze of swamps and mangroves, prone to frequent flooding. It was all a disaster waiting to happen.

Yet, as the years passed, people continued to move into the region: one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. New houses were built and mobile homes were placed mere feet from the water, often on “land” created by developers who used dredge-and-fill methods. River bottoms, marshes, and lowlands were scoured for fill material to elevate building sites surrounded by artificial canals to manage drainage and create “waterfront” property.

Sanibel employed a different approach for its inevitable growth, one that in all likelihood saved lives and property from the wrath of Ian. Beginning in the 1970s, local officials and residents (about 7,000 people live on the island yearround) decided to work with nature to protect the island’s environment and curtail overdevelopment. Ordinances limited development and officials rejected engineered structures, such as sea walls; instead, living shorelines were installed with natural materials, and environmentally sensitive areas were preserved. Today, twothirds of the island is designated as conservation land.

Prior to its incorporation in 1974, when Sanibel secured autonomy to make land use decisions, county officials projected that 30,000 residential units could be built on the island: a sandy strip of land twelve miles long and three miles across at its widest with an average elevation of about four feet. Although it’s difficult to

Climate scientists say there haven’t been more hurricanes in recent years, but that, since 1980, storm intensity has increased. More storms have been major hurricanes (Category 3 or above) with an increase in those that undergo rapid intensification; they are also producing more rainfall than in the past—another result of climate change.

I finally heard from Charles the morning after his long day of reporting on Sanibel. Apocalyptic was the single word he chose to describe the wreckage. When Gulf waters submerged the island, the ground level of every building was ruined; where walls were still standing, interiors were filled with mud and mold. Smells were nauseating from broken sewage lines, dead animals, oily substances, and general decay.

Unable to reach my parents’ former house, which they sold in the 1990s, Charles serendipitously met a neighbor who showed him a post-hurricane photo. The sturdy concrete walls and roof appeared intact; however, the interior was a dirty wasteland like every other building in the neighborhood. The house my parents loved may have to be demolished.

Charles spoke to many people, all of whom said they hoped to rebuild, once insurance checks arrived. Will they erect the same expensive homes? Will the city of Sanibel adopt building codes requiring more storm-resilient structures?

Will new land conservation and restoration projects be prioritized? Perhaps the most important question of all: Does it make any sense to rebuild on a barrier island in the age of climate change?

Sally Bethea Sally Bethea is the retired executive director of Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and an environmen tal and sustain ability advocate.

Destruction on Sanibel Island, Florida. (Courtesy CNN)

Trees Atlanta’s new Westside headquarters to be a hub for environmental action

By Savannah Seydel

Trees Atlanta is nearing completion of its new Westside headquarters which will be named the Trees Atlanta Kendeda TreeHouse.

The new facility at 825 Warner Street SW is located on 2.9 acres of a former industrial lot facing the Atlanta Beltline’s Westside Trail. Trees Atlanta is transforming the largely concrete property into over 1.5 acres of restored greenspace and two large buildings to house their growing operations, community space, classrooms, and offices for themselves and three other environmental nonprofit organizations: The Conservation Fund, Georgia Audubon, and The Nature Conservancy in Georgia.

Coming TogetherUnder One Roof

The new Trees Atlanta Kendeda TreeHouse is equipped to tackle the urban canopy challenges of today and tomorrow.

The property was originally acquired in 2019, but construction was delayed due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trees Atlanta persevered and initiated demolition in August 2021. All of the old structure has since been removed, except for a former grain silo that will be incorporated into the new facility’s design.

Trees Atlanta collaborated with local architecture and design firm Lord Aeck Sargent to bring the organization’s vision of fostering collaboration, building community and inspiring action to life.

With 23,000 square feet of interior space, the new facility will accommodate both Trees Atlanta’s continued growth and staff from the Conservation Fund, Georgia Audubon, and The Nature Conservancy in Georgia.

The building includes all the necessary ingredients for building community among the non-profit groups and interested Atlantans: airy, open workspaces with big windows, generous wi-fi that extends into the greenspace, and easy access to the Atlanta Beltline and MARTA.

As Greg Levine, Co-Executive Director and Chief Program Officer of Trees Atlanta, walked through the construction site, he reflected that the four non-profit organizations “…

are community organizations that actively change the environment for the better.” And now, Levine says, they are creating the space for their community to come together to build solutions for Atlanta’s urgent environmental issues.

To realize this vision, they dedicated over 10,000 square feet of the main building and outdoor greenspace to community engagement and education. The first floor will feature several modular classrooms with garage doors that open into the surrounding greenspace, and a catering kitchen. Local environmental organizations and neighborhood community groups can rent the classrooms for free, but please note there is a small fee associated with bringing in food and drink or renting in the evenings.

At the heart of their mission remains taking action, which the design reflects. The front entrance of the new headquarters will lead one immediately to what will be the heavily trafficked volunteer check-in center and programming station.

“Volunteers are the center of the organization,” Levine said. “And so we wanted them to be the hub of the building.”

The building also features thermal, bird-safe windows, a comprehensive stormwater runoff management system to protect Atlanta’s creeks and sewer system, and a granite outcrop circle at the front entrance reclaimed from the Atlanta History Center. The team even gave up additional parking space to further expand the facility’s greenspace, which will boast over 200 new trees and thousands of plants.

Growing Risks to OurCity in the Forest

Levine understands that Trees Atlanta’s growth coincides with

growing risks to Atlanta’s tree canopy. “I wish we weren’t needed and that everything was going smoothly,” he said.

But their work is needed, desperately. The City in the Forest faces threats from many directions, namely increasing urbanization and climate change.

According to a 2018 report from the U.S. Forest Service, Georgia leads the nation in tree loss, with Georgia losing an average of 18,000 acres of urban tree cover per year – more than any other state.

Climate change exacerbates these conditions, with 36% of Atlanta’s native tree species diminishing

due to climate change, per a Georgia Tech study. In fact, some of Atlanta’s most popular trees, such as dogwood, sugar maple, and redbud, cannot withstand today’s prolonged heat and little frost-time, and must be planted sparingly.

How Atlantans Can Get Involved

Thankfully, Atlanta has a new hub and home for taking action on urgent local environmental issues in the Trees Atlanta Kendeda TreeHouse, which will be open to the public in early 2023.

Trees Atlanta is a nonprofit community group founded in 1985 by Marcia Bansley with the mission to protect and improve Atlanta’s urban forest canopy by planting, conserving, and educating. For more information on the TreeHouse, ongoing programming and volunteer opportunities, or ways to support the organization, please visit treesatlanta.org.

You may be able to help

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A rendering of the new new Trees Atlanta headquarters.

Meet the new editor of Atlanta Senior Life

EDITOR'S NOTE

Collin Kelley has been a jour nalist for more than three de cades. He’s also an award-win ning poet and novelist.

Hello! Some of you may know me as the editor of Atlanta Intown or perhaps you’ve heard me read from my novels or poetry around town. Starting with the November issue, I’m the new editor of Atlanta Senior Life

My first order of business is to thank my predecessor Joe Earle for his excellent stewardship of the paper for the past three years. Joe

is sticking around with his regular “Around Town” feature, starting with a story about a dedicated breadmaker helping fill the gap in Atlanta’s food deserts which is on page 11.

Although I’m not a senior citizen yet, I do have my AARP card. Let me tell you a little more about myself. I became editor of our sister

publication 20 years ago after stints with the Marietta Daily Journal and Neighbor Newspapers, The Sun Newspapers, and the Atlanta JournalConstitution. But becoming editor of Intown was my dream job, and it still is. Along the way, I’ve made lifelong friends, worked with some of the most dedicated journalists in metro Atlanta, and met some incredibly interesting people.

Not long after I arrived, I went to Cindy Wilson’s house to get a tour of The B-52’s archive and

watch her rehearse with her own band. Another time, Delta Burke of “Designing Women” fame kept me on the phone for nearly an hour –blowing off several other interviews – to talk about her favorite places in Atlanta.

Before I interviewed performance artist Laurie Anderson, I chatted with her husband Lou Reed. Forever foxy Pam Grier gave me one of the greatest hugs ever. I had the most delightful lunch with singer extraordinaire Candi Staton. I got to interview and share a Krispy Kreme with the legendary Broadway star Patti LuPone. President Jimmy Carter shook my hand and held it after seeing the old presidential campaign button on my jacket lapel.

I’ve also had the great honor to meet and share the stories of countless Atlantans who have also dedicated their time and efforts to our city – from politicians and non-profit leaders to artists and educators. They’ve kept me coming back to my desk for two decades. I am excited to bring my passion for journalism to this paper.

You might notice some changes to our editorial direction starting with this issue. We’ve been listening to readers and you’ll see more coverage of restaurants (including our cover story on Christiane Lauterbach, the grande dame of dining out), arts and entertainment, and home and real estate features.

Like most media outlets, we’ve embraced a “digital first” approach, so be sure to visit AtlantaSeniorLife.com for more news and features in a timely manner. We are also investing a lot in our email newsleter, all of which are free. Rough Draft, has become a morning-must read for subscribers, and the new Silver Streak is a weekly newsletter that will focus on this audience . Be sure to subscribe at the website above or by scanning the QR code on this page.

Our loyal readers and advertisers continue to make this paper possible every month. Please feel free to reach out at collin@ springspublishing.com if you have story ideas, comments, or concerns.

Let’s go!

Collin Kelley with Patti LuPone.

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How Hilde Friese conjured ‘real’ bread in metro Atlanta’s food wasteland

AROUND

Joe Earle is Edi tor-at-Large for Springs Publish ing. He has more than 45 years of experience with newspa pers, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and was Managing Editor of Reporter Newspapers.

Metro Atlanta was a different kind of place when Hilde Friese settled here in the 1970s. There were only a couple of interesting places to eat then, she said, and, at least when it came to bread, “it was a wasteland.”

She couldn’t find a decent loaf anywhere. Every store stocked some variant on Wonder Bread: bleached white slices without any bite to them. “I couldn’t deal with that cottony stuff,” she said.

So, she decided to do something about it. She started baking.

Friese, who’s 80 now, spent her childhood in a small town in southern Germany and grew up eating hearty bread. Her little town supported two bakeries and she learned to cook as a child. “I was raised in a family where your mother cooked and you helped.”

She later trained as a nurse and dietician, then followed the man she would marry to the U.S. His job in a

real estate investment firm brought them to Atlanta during the boom in the 1970s, and they settled in Stone Mountain.

To avoid feeding her kids grocerystore bread, Friese started making her own sourdough loaves. It wasn’t easy. “You couldn’t get whole wheat flour,” she said. She had to go to a health food store at Little Five Points to buy grain by the 50-pound bag.

She discovered that the park at Stone Mountain had an old grist mill set up to show tourists what farm life was like. She asked the man who ran the mill if he could grind wheat as well as corn. He said sure, the wheel didn’t care what it ground, and he started turning out flour for her. Soon, the mill was selling her bread to tourists and Friese found herself in the wholesale baked-goods business.

At one point, she said, she was cranking out 100 loaves a day from her home kitchen. That led to a commercial kitchen, which led to a shop. Eventually, the shop led to

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a restaurant now called the Village Corner German Restaurant Bakery & Tavern. Her son now runs it. Hilde stops by regularly to keep her hand in. She still does some of the baking and tinkers with recipes.

“After 48 years,” she said, “I can’t just sit here and talk. … That’s just not the way I am. That’s not me.”

Hilde Friese

Truth & Lies

Melissa Rivers channels her mother for new book

By Sammie Purcell

Everybody remembers the wild jokes and cracks comedian Joan Rivers would make onstage. But you might be a little less familiar with what she said offstage.

Joan passed away in 2014, but in her daughter Melissa Rivers’ new book, “Lies My Mother Told Me: Tall Tales From a Short Woman,” Melissa has a blast writing in her mother’s voice, making up lie after wild lie. Almost nothing in this book is true, Melissa told me. The falsehoods might stem from some kernel of truth – family vacations with Melissa, her mother, and her father, Edgar Rosenberg, or trips that Melissa’s son Cooper would take with his grandmother. But you’ll have to decide for yourself what’s true and what’s not.

Reporter Newspapers spoke with Melissa about her working relationship with her mother, living in Las Vegas as a kid, and her own comedy style. This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

You can hear Melissa talk about the book during the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta’s annual book festival. The event takes place on Nov. 5 at 8 p.m.

You talk about this a bit in the book, but how did the idea for this book come to you?

Everyone kept asking me, what would your mother be saying, you know, in these times. My writing partner and I started to write what we thought would be an article, or maybe an op-ed. We weren’t sure about what my mother would be saying about everything. We got into it and we realized, this is more than that. Then we were like, let’s write the history of the world according to Joan. Then we realized it would be more fun to sort of expand and open up the aperture and write about lies – you know, random lies. So, we just started making up these crazy stories, and it got us through COVID. It was definitely a lifesaver.

This book has a very interesting style. Is there anything in the book that’s true? How did you come up with the different lies you included?

What’s true? There are very general, broad strokes. You’ll say what’s true, and I’m like, well you know, we did have Thanksgiving dinner! [Laughs] The truths are very, very broad. I did spend a lot of time growing up in Vegas. My mom and my dad were friendly with Siegfried & Roy. So, there are little fun places of jumping off. But they’re very, very small. We just would think about what was funny. You know, my mother always hated when I had bangs. And we’re like, what could we tie that to? And we’re like, oh, you know, someone who got beheaded –

French Revolution! So we just started brainstorming about what would be funny.

I’m glad you mentioned the Las Vegas section. I can’t really imagine growing up in that environment as a kid. What was that like?

Different, obviously. But my parents tried to keep it as normal as possible. Like, during Halloween we would go trick-or-treating in the hotel, you know, things like that. As a kid, you don’t realize your parents have preset everything. So those little bits about that kind of fun in Vegas, they do stem from an actual memory of being in Vegas as a kid. I can imagine going back over your whole life with your mom is a pretty big endeavor. When you were looking back at these real memories and bouncing off of them to make up these funny stories, were there any memories you happened upon that were particularly funny or emotional?

I don’t think there was anything that was really emotional, because it’s a very light-hearted book. [Laughs] We were not doing a deep dive into my psyche, you know, in any kind of a Freudian way. I think the most fun things to think about were the different family vacations we took, and that my mother continued that whole thing with Cooper and “Grandma Week.” That’s all true, the places they went to are true. What happened, I hope never actually happened – granted I wasn’t there, so I’ll plead the fifth on that one. So, I think that was more fun, just to think of fun things we did or ridiculous situations.

This book is written in your mother’s voice. Was that a conscious decision to write from her perspective? How does your real comedy voice compare to hers?

How did I decide to write in her voice? Because by writing in her voice, I could get away with a lot more. It wasn’t me saying these things, it was her saying these things. It made it very freeing.

How are our comedy styles different? Mine is actually much more like my father’s, in the sense that it’s very dry. I think that comes from the red carpets and all those years working with my mother. It’s much more reactive rather than proactive, and a lot more of finding the funny or the ridiculous in particular situations. Does that make any sense?

I think so. You’re looking at something that’s mundane and figuring out what’s funny about it, is that a good way to describe it?

Absolutely. Or ridiculous. And my mother would too, I think it’s just a different dryness.

You worked a lot with your mother on quite a few things. I work with my dad a lot – we’re both musicians – and I know that working with a parent can sometimes be a little tenuous when you have two different relationships going on.

We like to say, “challenging.”

Yes, exactly. I wondered if you had advice or perspective on how you navigated those two intertwining relationships.

Pick your battles. Pick your battles, because when you are living with your parent or spending a tremendous amount of time with your parent, I found I would revert back to teenage behavior.

The last thing I wanted to ask – and I’m sure you’ve been asked this before – but, what do you think your mom would have thought about the book>

Oh, I think she would have loved it. I think more than anything, she would have been annoyed that she didn’t think of it. You know, I know my mom. She would have been like, “Damn, why didn’t I think of that?”

Your Next Home Could Be In… Smyrna

By Collin Kelley

Where is it? In Cobb County, less than a half-hour drive up I-75 from Downtown Atlanta in Cobb County.

What’s the history? The area that is now Smyrna began as a religious encampment for pioneers in the late 1830s. Like most Georgia towns, Smyrna began to grow after the Western & Atlantic railroad came through. Sherman burned most of the settlement on his March to the Sea during the Civil War. Smyrna was incorporated in 1872. The town’s

next growth spurts would happen during World War II when the nearby Bell Bomber plant produced B-29 planes and again in the 1950s when Lockheed took over the plant to manufacture aircraft. Its nickname is the “Jonquil City” for the thousands of flowering plants that bloom along streets and in gardens.

What’s happening there now? Smyrna was ranked 44th on Money’s 2018 survey of “Best Places to Live in America” and has become a popular suburb of Atlanta. Along with endless dining and shopping possibilities,

the downtown area has Village Green (home to the library, community center, and city hall) is a frequent gathering spot for events. Market Village – a mixed-use development of townhomes, retail, office, and lots of restaurants (Atkins Park, Shane’s Rib Shack, Village Sushi, Zucca Bar & Pizzeria).

What about outdoor activities?

Smyrna has more than 20 parks and greenspaces. You’ll find swimming pools, golf courses, athletic fields, playgrounds, and passive space for picnics. The city is also building out a series of trails that loop around the city and you can also jump on the famed Silver Comet Trail in Smyrna.

What about homes? There’s a mixture of styles and sizes, but you can get a condo in the $250,000 range and expect to pay in the $300,000s to nearly $1 million for a single-family home. As of press time, there were more than 200 homes for sale in the city as the market – and prices – have slightly cooled down from earlier this year.

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Smyrna Community Center (Photos courtesy City of Smyrna)

Silver Comet Trail

Cirque du Soleil’s 'Kurios' is a steampunk delight

– except they’re upside down. The main acrobats begin stacking chairs both up and down trying to reach the candelabra – and each other. It’s a dizzying, gasp-inducing moment as the acrobats scale the wobbly chairs.

The second act opens with a troupe of alien-like fish bouncing and somersaulting in a giant net stretched over the stage – gaining impressive air as they jump higher and higher. Two impressively muscled men perform an aerial duet that sends them soaring out over the audience.

The steampunk hand reappears to become a stage where a funny finger-puppet show is screened on a giant lantern suspended above the stage. And then there’s an extended bit of audience participation where a young woman is pulled on stage to contend with an actor who impressively – and hilariously –transforms into a cat.

By Jacob Nguyen

If you commute along the Downtown Connector, you might have noticed the giant, white circus tent in Atlantic Station’s event lot. That can only mean one thing: Cirque du Soleil is back in town.

I attended the opening night of Cirque’s “Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities” on Thursday already knowing what to expect, but delighted by what I saw just the same.

The famed Quebec-based circus – created almost 40 years ago – has multiple touring shows, and although each has a different theme, Cirque never strays far from its classic acrobatic and aerial roots.

I’ve seen other Cirque shows, including the high-energy “Volta” in 2019 – which added parkour and BMX-style bike riding to the mix – but “Kurios” is a much more traditional circus, albeit with a steampunk and David Lynch sense of production.

Cirque shows typically have a loose storyline, and this one required a quick internet search as the show started to see exactly what this one was all about. It actually doesn’t matter, but for the curious: a 19th-century inventor creates a machine that opens a

tunnel to a strange new world and a train full of oddities spills out in his laboratory.

The set crackles with oldfashioned lightbulbs, music comes from old Victrola phonographs, and a diminutive woman named Mini Lili – who speaks French and lives in an elegant apartment inside the overcoat of a character named Mr. Microcosmos – appears unexpectedly like a “Twin Peaks” fever dream.

The high-flying stunts kick off with a woman riding a bicycle before it suddenly takes flight and she performs a series of tricks high

over the stage.

A ringleader presides over a misbehaving group of invisible circus animals, followed by contortionists who cavort atop a giant steampunk finger – did I mention there is A LOT of steampunk aesthetic in this show? – and then the evening’s first big set piece gets underway and will, literally, have you seeing double.

A group of characters is having a jolly dinner at a large round table at center stage when the candelabra levitates. High up in the big top amid the lighting rigs, the same group appears to be having dinner

The acrobat who climbs atop a rolling, wobbling bowling ball and series of platforms – both onstage and lifted high above it – surely has nerves of steel and no fear of heights.

The finale of the evening sees a large group of acrobats leaping from shoulders, seemingly running in mid-air, and performing other butt-clenching stunts that could easily end in a broken bone or three. They make it look fun and effortless, and their precision in these stunts is beyond impressive.

I’ll add a special note of praise for the live singers and musicians who accompany the scenes with a blend of whimsical circus-style tunes and what sounds like tango music. I actually went back and listened to the soundtrack on Spotify after the show.

“Kurios” is playing through Dec. 24, so there is plenty of time to grab a ticket. It’s perfect for the whole family. This is a Cirque du Soleil performance I would happily see again because there is so much to see and admire for both its simplicity and energetic performances. “Kurios” definitely earned the extended standing ovation it received at the end of the show. Cirque du Soleil might be familiar, but it never ceases to amaze.

Photos by Jacob Nguyen

An Incredible Life: Horst P. Horst at SCAD FASH

By Isadora Pennington

Inside the gallery of the SCAD FASH museum in Midtown, an incredible array of large photographs line the dark walls. This exhibition, Essence of the Times, showcases over 80 works by the internationally renowned late fashion photographer Horst P. Horst that spanned his career from the 1930s through the 1990s.

Originally born in Germany in 1906, Horst graduated from college and found his way to Paris where he studied under famed architect Le Corbusier. In 1930 Horst met, befriended, and started a relationship with Vogue photographer Baron George Hoyningen-Huene. He would occasionally pose for HoyningenHuene and assisted him on shoots.

Together, the pair traveled to England and met Cecil Beaton, one of the photographers who worked with British Vogue. Inspired, he began an association with Vogue and published his first full-page ad for a perfume company later that year. The first gallery exhibition of his works opened at La Plume d’Or in Paris in 1932 and the reception quickly elevated him to a position of

fame and esteem. His background in architecture and passion for arts, in particular surrealism, helped

to elevate his work from purely commercial to true arts. Salvador

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‘Fashion in Color’ by Horst P. Horst

Dali was one of Horst’s closest friends, and his influence can be seen in some of the portraits from those years. When Huene retired, Horst became the Photographer in Chief at Vogue in 1935.

Horst found success in Paris, working in a shared multi-story studio and production house along the Champs-Elysées, until the Nazi invasion forced him to flee the country. It was not safe for him to stay in Europe as a gay man. In 1939 he took one last photograph at the end of a shoot before packing up his bags and catching one of the

very last ships leaving for America. Corset by Detolle for Mainbocher shows the model in the midst of undressing when the news broke that the Nazis were invading the city, and she began to cry into the crook of her arm. The result is haunting and beautiful.

“This is my favorite, the story of leaving France, he really took the last boat coming out of Paris,” said Director of Fashion Exhibitions Rafael Gomes. ”It’s such a beautiful story. He used this prop here so many times and even brought it to America with him. It is touching, it was his goodbye to France.”

When he made it to America he changed his name from Horst Paul

invites

and

Albert Bohrmann to Horst P. Horst in order to evade capture and distance himself from his German heritage. He settled into New York City and met Coco Chanel who he greatly admired and began photographing her work which he continued for the next three decades. Horst quickly became one of the photographers of the stars.

This exhibition is particularly important not only because of his artistic talents but also because these works teach viewers about the historical events that took place during his career. One visible change is the switch from black and white to color, while other details might be harder to notice. During WWII, when Americans were restricted to certain fabrics and details in order to preserve efforts to outfit soldiers in the field, Horst’s works reflected those rules in his photographs. You can often also find red, white, and blue peppered into his pieces from the wartime period of his work.

For more information, visit scadfash.org.

“For the students, this exhibition is very important because we are not teaching fashion or photography history– we are teaching history in general. They have the chance to learn so much about composition, and it’s also such a great example of how you have to adapt with the times to be still in your game. He kept working all these years, he was always updating and capturing what was going around in the time. This is a great inspiration for the students and a big motivator to create and experiment,” explained Gomes.

SCAD FASH is a teaching museum, and with all things they endeavor to curate exhibitions that tie in to the lessons the students are learning in their classrooms. Visitors

to this exhibition will find that these works are moving and captivating. An excellent use of composition which relied on his background in architecture led to thoughtful pieces that use shadow, light, and angles to not only sell products but also entice the viewer to stop and stare for a while.

Visitors can expect to see icons of fashion, film, and high society in Horst’s photos including Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, Diane von Furstenberg, Elsa Perretti, Vivien Leigh, Marlene Dietrich, Salvador Dalí, Gloria Vanderbilt, Iman, Patrick Kelly, Yves Saint Laurent, Halston, Karl Lagerfeld, and Diana Vreeland. The exhibition is on display through April 16, 2023.

Yuval

Michael Fleming

Ensemble by Horst P. Horst

Corset by Detolle for Mainbocher by Horst P. Horst

By Isadora Pennington

The High Museum of Art is debuting the first exhibition surveying the work of photographer Deana Lawson, showcasing 58 works produced over the past two decades.

The pictures are large, with figures that are nearly full-size who often gaze out confidently toward the viewer.

“Deana is one of the most exciting photographers working today,” said Assistant Curator of Photography Maria Kelly. “Her works straddle the line between photography and contemporary art.”

Lawson is an artist and educator based in Brooklyn, New York, and her works are known to explore topics of intimacy, family, spirituality, sexuality, Black culture, and identity. She has won numerous awards including the Hugo Boss Prize in 2020 for achievements in contemporary art. This show comes to Atlanta from ICA Boston and MoMA PS and PS1 and is the last stop on this collection’s tour. The High Museum has been on the list waiting for this opportunity for at least two years, which was plenty of time to build anticipation and excitement.

This show is unlike many other photography exhibitions that have been shown at the High Museum of Art. Not only are there crystals in corners of the space which have been positioned there to “keep the energy right” but also “clouds” of 4×6 prints from pop culture, history, and Lawson’s own family. In one smaller room a film is projected on the wall, with found footage juxtaposed with chanting music, and on the wall is a hologram that is so convincing it can actually trick viewers into thinking the glass is revealing a hole in the wall.

Kelly pointed out the expressions on the subjects in these images that look back at the viewer through the glass. “It doesn’t really allow you to be a passive voyeur of the images,” explained Kelly. “We think of photography as us looking at it, not it looking at us. With these images, it’s very much an encounter with the person who is in the portrait and I think that’s important.”

There is a pervasive sense of the importance of family and lineage in Lawson’s works. Showing the intimate inner worlds of her subjects they invite viewers to stop and linger, taking in the number of details captured by her large format camera. “You can kind of get lost in these images with everything you can see and read,” continued Kelly. “You have to really come in to experience it in person. You can see these works online but seeing it in person is such a different revelatory experience.”

Deana Lawson is on display at the High Museum through Feb. 19, 2023.

Deana Lawson Collage

A tour of Georgia folk art

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 and places throughout the state.

Georgia has long had a rich heritage in Southern folk art, which is enjoying a renewed interest.

Over the years, the Peach State has produced a bumper crop of nationally renowned folk artists, most of them self-taught. In recent years, preservationists, art lovers, and others have undertaken efforts to safeguard and revitalize the artists’ works, quaint studios, and homemade “galleries” and make them accessible to the public.

Here’s a quick guide to some folk art destinations in Georgia:

Paradise Garden

Paradise Garden is the fanciful, religious-themed creation of Howard Finster, a self-taught artist and beloved banjo-picking Baptist minister. At age 59 in 1976, Finster claimed to have received a vision from God to create 5,000 “sacred works” of art. He completed that task in 1985 and then went on to produce nearly 47,000

Paradise Garden

The Castle at Rock Garden

Pasaquan

Atlanta Folk Art Park

more works before his death in 2001. His art consists of colorful, detailed paintings and sculptures often with Biblical messages. His 4-acre Paradise Garden features eye-catching attractions such as the "Bible House," "the Mirror House," "the Hubcap Tower," "the Bicycle Tower," "the Machine Gun Nest," and the five-story "Folk Art Chapel." As Finster and his art grew in popularity, critics called him one of the most important folk artists of the 20th century. The legendary rock band R.E.M. used Paradise Garden as the setting for its 1983 music video for the single "Radio Free Europe." Finster subsequently painted the cover art for R.E.M.'s next album, Reckoning. 200 North Lewis Street, Summerville, GA 30747. paradisegardenfoundation.org. Tickets range from $5-$15.

Pasaquan

Pasaquan is the 7-acre “visionary art palace” of the late eccentric folk artist Eddie Owens Martin (St. EOM). A sharecropper‘s son, the self-taught Martin, born in 1908, began creating Pasaquan in 1957 and continued working on it for 30 years. His often bizarre art has been called “equal parts mysticism, geometry, and snake handling.” Pasaquan features mystic sculptures and six major structures, mandala murals and more than 900 feet of elaborately painted masonry walls. Martin also converted his old farmhouse

into an art gallery. Columbus State University now owns Pasaquan, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

238 Eddie Martin Rd., Buena Vista, GA 31808. pasaquan.columbusstate. edu. Suggested contributions, $10 adults,$5 seniors, and $3 students.

Rock Garden

Tucked behind the Calhoun Seventh-Day Adventist Church, the Rock Garden is filled with more than 50 miniature castles, churches, villages and other structures made from tiny rock pebbles. With its whimsical folk art, the garden has become a popular tourist attraction. 1411 Rome Rd. Calhoun GA, 30701. exploregordoncounty.com/directory/ the-rock-garden. Free admission.

Atlanta Folk Art Park

Originally built by the Corporation for Olympic Development in Atlanta (CODA), the park is the reclaimed empty spaces in Downtown above the I-75/85 Connector. It features outdoor works of notable regional folk artists, including Eddie Martin and Howard Finster. In addition, Atlanta’s High Museum of Art also displays works by Martin and Finster and other Southern folk artists.

Intersections of Piedmont Avenue, Baker Street, Courtland Street, and Ralph McGill Boulevard. Free.

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