Atlanta

One of the greatest bars, ever, The Acme Bar and Grill at 3067 Peachtree Street (White building on the right), was our spot in the 90's. We did everything from consume Jell-O Shooters, to get on stage and sing with the house band, The Fundamentals. The Acme closed its doors for the last time on September 29, 1995. We cried.
This is the back entrance to the Acme, across the street from the East Village Grill. Dave took me here after my interview with the Braves in February of 1990 for luck. It worked, so we should have known we were on to something here...
This is the only known autographed T-shirt of the Acme house band, The Fundamentals. I am sure it is worth big bucks by now!
The Fundamentals in action on a Wednesday night in August 1992. Danny is singing, T-bone on bass, and Andy on drums. Those were some fun nights that became early mornings! Since I used to provide free Braves tickets for the guys, they used to give me free beer and Jell-O shooters. Those were the days!

Looking towards the city from Georgia Tech, the Atlanta skyline braces for a summer thunderstorm. Further down I-75/85 on the other side of the tall buildings is Turner Field, and to the right is Phillips Arena and the Georgia Dome.

On the left is the world famous Fox Theater in Atlanta. I have seen many performances there, but Phantom of the Opera is still my favorite. The summer movie series is terrific! In 1998 one of their movies was Gone With the Wind. The highlight was when Miss Pitty Pat yelled out, "Yankees in Georgia? How did they ever get in?" and the crowd roared! Well, we are in Atlanta....
One of the oldest, and nicest residential areas in Atlanta is Peachtree Battle. Peachtree Battle is a place where the kids still sell lemonade from sidewalk stands, and people jog around some of the oldest, and most beautiful homes in the city. This section of Peachtree Battle, pictured on the left, was the inspiration for one of Sam's moonlight drives home from the Atlanta Humane Society.
You will find me here every weekday from 5-6pm, on nights I don't have softball, at the Georgia Tech Student Athletic Complex. Swimming has been a blessing since running takes too much of a toll on my knees!
Of all the places we have ever played softball, Hammond Park was always home to us. When I wrote about Sam and the Atlanta baseball league he played in, I had Hammond Park in mind. These days they play flag football there instead of softball.
This is the park we play at in Chamblee on Wednesday nights. This is a view from the home team dugout, looking to the fence with the jersey numbers of police officers who have played at the park who were killed in the line of duty. The first night I played there, before I walked into the batter's box, I looked at the signs and tipped my cap to them, as a gesture of respect. I don't want to leave this place any time soon, but if were to pass unexpectedly, I would be extremely moved to have someone remember me this way.
Just down from Hammond Park are the King and Queen Buildings. They got their name because the top of the buildings look like King and Queen chess pieces.
Above is another softball park we have played many a game at. Blackburn Park, located just down from the Chamblee Park (right), saw us play many a Friday night game there.
Also down the street from Hammond Park is The Derby. We would drive over to The Derby after games at Hammond on fall Sunday's to watch the NFL games and have a beer as a team. I miss those days sometimes....