I grew up just north of Atlanta but my Dad owned a large auto salvage company in downtown Atlanta called Georgia Salvage. Sometimes I’d get to go to the company and work in a ten year old kind of way. I’d tag parts, record bills, and answer the phones. But my favorite thing was collecting trinkets from the junk cars on the lot before they got crushed. It was a massive lot and hundreds of cars for the picking. In fact one of my kittens came from the salvage yard! My Dad saw its head pop up in the rear window just as he was about to lower the boom. He saved it and brought it home to me and it was my favorite cat. I loved it at the junk yard.
Georgia Salvage was in the worst part of downtown Atlanta. Crime filled and sketchy pretty much describes the surrounding neighborhoods. There were constant break-ins, steak outs and a fair share of police interventions. Guard dogs would get poisoned and parts and cash were stolen often. But none of this intimidated my Dad and Mom. My Dad had some rental property downtown as well and he’d send my Mom to collect rent. She was never afraid.
One time my Mom picked up two young boys that were walking the streets downtown. They got in the backseat of her car and as she was driving she asked them where they were going. When they told her the juvenile detention center she made them put their hands on the headrest in front of them and told them she was on the Grand Jury and patted her hip as if she carried a concealed weapon (never had one in her life). She was however on a Grand Jury case but of course that didn’t mean anything in that situation. She said their eyes got as big as saucers and all she could see were the whites of their eyes. She felt the same way they did. She gave them a little sermonette about God loving them and then put them out at the detention center and burned rubber getting out of there.
You live and learn.
I thought I had learned to be street smart with my growing up in Atlanta stories however when I went back for a visit last week I found myself falling for an age old street trick.
Sophie brought a friend with her on this trip to Atlanta and we all got enamored at the giant ferris wheel smack dab downtown on Lucky Street. We decided on a whim to park and ride. We found the perfect parking spot right next to the ferris wheel and it looked free. As we pulled in I noticed a man sitting on all his stuff further down the street.
I decided this was the time to explain to the girls that this poor man was homeless and lived on the streets. Sophie quickly said, “Then why does he have an iPhone and a cordless charger in his hand?” I said, “Hmmm..good point. I can’t explain that but anyways, he’s homeless and that’s sad.” I was kind of hoping for a moment of pause, reflection or possibly even prayer for the homeless guy but instead the girls busted out of the car and headed towards the ferris wheel like a typical normal human. I told my Mom to lock the car as soon as I got out. But apparently she didn’t feel the need.
The homeless man started saying something to me as I got out of the car. I couldn’t hear him so I walked towards him and he told me I had to pay for parking. Confused, I asked him where I was supposed to pay and he kindly offered to take my payment. Then said something about taking a picture of my license plate. That’s when I got scared and ran back to the car and told my Mom, in her unlocked car with the windows down in downtown Atlanta, “Mom, we have to pay for parking here.”
She rolled her eyes and said, “You talking about that man up there? He just wants your money, honey. Go take the girls on that ferris wheel and I’ll deal with him if I have to.”
So I left my 81 year old Mother in her unlocked car…… wait for it…….reading her Bible and daring that man to come charge us for parking. Ya’ll, I’m not even kidding. Shouldn’t it bother her that she has a broken foot and an injured knee and that her walker and wheelchair are in the trunk of the car? And I love that the answer is no. My Mom rocks!
*spoiler alert: the man never said or did anything else. Maybe he was very very afraid of us. LOL!
I left Mom and got the girls checked in and onto the ferris wheel and then waited for them below. I was so excited for them because it was just the perfect scene – the girls seeing downtown Atlanta (Sophie’s friend for the first time ever) from twenty stories high! Together as besties. Just so very fun. It brought back memories of me and my best friend doing some of the fun stuff downtown Atlanta.
Where I stood I could see their faces perfectly when they came on the downward loop. They were having a blast. For a short moment I was so into the moment that I lost track of the fact that I was in public. In my mind I was on that ferris wheel with my bestie but my body was on the street jumping up and down and waving like a crazy woman to the girls up above. And that’s when I snapped back into reality and caught eyes with a young black man that came out of nowhere. I was so embarrassed and before I could make a dive for the car he said, “You’re too happy for your age.”
I totally didn’t know what to do with that statement. I was thinking, “Dude, did you just call me old because I’m pretty sure you just called me old. And possibly fat and you might have even called my Mama ugly.” But all that came out of my mouth was, “Seriously man, how old do you think I am?” He took a second look like he was really thinking about it and said, “I’m going with 36.” Unable to hide my smile I said, “Ohhhh God bless you young man. You just made me even happier!” As he was walking away he said, “Wellllll, how old are you?” And I told this total stranger my real age.
And those are my Atlanta stories.
The end.
P.S. Sophie took this picture for her Daddy and brother and titled it “Buns of Steel”
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