My Roots

Ringgold

When I tell people that I grew up in a small town in Georgia, they often ask how small. I always tell them that I really don't know. "Like, 100 people, or 10,000 people?" I honestly have no idea. I have finally done some painstaking Wiki research and am proud to report that Ringgold, GA has a population of 2,440. That is pretty small. The above picture is of our main street in Ringgold. I was a bit confused by that number considering that my graduating class had about 300 students. Was 12% of the population of Ringgold in my graduating class? Well, no. Most of the students lived in the county.

Catoosa County, GA. Population 53,282. This is a better reflection of where I grew up. I never really lived in the city limits of Ringgold.

I also lived about 10 minutes from Chattanooga, TN. Population 155,554. I lived closer to Chattanooga than to Ringgold. So maybe I'm not as much of a small town kid as I like to think. I take a little bit of pride in that identity, and let my southern drawl slip once in a while just as a reminder.

And now a few facts:
Dolly Parton and her husband as well as George Jones and Tammy Wynette were married in Ringgold, GA. People came to Ringgold to get married because the whole process (blood test, license, ceremony) could be done in about an hour.


Chattanooga has it's own celebrity stories. Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins) is from Chattanooga. He is rumored to return often and hang out at fine drinking establishments.
Chattanooga is also the hometown of Emmy Award Winner Leslie Jordan.

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What I was blogging 2 years ago

I took a drive out of the city yesterday with my family. I put a helmet on my favorite daughter, told the other one to hold on tight, and took off around 2PM. I went up to Art Street to do some shopping. There is a store there that is like a really great thrift store at home. I bought a few things, and decided to keep driving.

Over the ridge, I could see the harbor. It would be a really great view without the haze. Old roads wind down the side of the ridge through the farms. I tried to stick to the main path since I was nearly torn apart by a pack of dogs last time I went exploring.

It's a slightly eerie view of the Harbor.

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Saturday

Bike bike bike with the roommate to Andersonville for brunch with Mike.

Walk to Gethsemane to check out the spring flowers.

Ovehear the plant girl give her best zombie growl at Mike.

Stop by Edgewater Produce for 2 mangoes, 2 apples, 1 orange, some blackberries, and some red potatoes.

Bike bike bike back home.

Dinner at Dharma Garden.

Walk around to check out my neighboring neighborhoods.

Spring means people outdoors. Neighbors drinking Miller Light on the porch. Boomboxes on the front steps. Kids attempting a ballgame on the sidewalk. A rise in homicides. Trees budding, flowers blooming.

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89 going on 90

My friends and I nearly ran into a lady while walking to the bus stop on Tuesday. Maybe she missed us due to her nearsightedness.

"Ooooooh, I was looking for the bus and didn't notice these 3 good looking young people. I've got 5 grandkids you know, just like you. I'll be 90 in September."

My friend Melodie told her she looked great for 90 years old.

"That's because I have a lot of sex".

She apologized to me, the only male in the bus shelter. She seemed to think I was blushing. It was just the cold wind. Then she went on.

"Sex is the greatest thing. Sometimes you just forget where you are. I'll tell you something. My husband and my 5 brothers were in the war. When he would come home.....woooo. Sometimes I had to call in to work the next day. You know what I mean?"

We all got on the bus and rode together for a while. She got off near one of the big retirement communities. I like to think she's pretty popular there.

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