georgia on my mind (and south africa)
shortly before i went to georgia to see president carter (did i mention we had lunch together? -- another time perhaps), a close friend of mine and her partner packed all of their things and moved to south africa -- my friend's homeland.
i knew that they had so much stuff to ship overseas, and i didn't want to bog her down with any lavish item for her to remember me by, so in a very sentimental moment, i asked her if there was anything i had that she wanted. i thought that would be more meaningful, anyway.
she looked at my wrist. she wanted the mickey mouse watch that i've worn since the mid 80s -- a silly present to myself when i was graduated from college.
anyway, i didn't think twice. mickey's telling time in a different time zone.
that meant i was watchless. okay, that's not entirely true because i have several watches, but mickey was the right fit for me. i wore him nearly every day. the other watches were for fun. mickey was functional. i needed another every day watch.
so i thought that when i went to plains, georgia, after church, i'd try to find a watch that i would forever refer to as my "jimmy carter watch." little did i know that plains, georgia is so small, there are hardly any stores at all. there are only two restaurants in town! (did i mention i ate with jimmy & rosalyn?)
there were a couple of storefronts, and one was a store that carried political memorabilia. lots of it. more than lots -- tons of it. roger and charles were urging us to leave soon, as atlanta was three hours away and we had dinner plans with charles' boss.
so i told them to just hold on. i went into the store and asked the proprieter if he sold any watches, instead of browsing all the shelves. he shook his head and said, "not really... what kind of watch are you looking for?"
i told him that i'd recently given my watch away and wanted something that every time i looked at it... it would say to me, "plains, georgia -- i got this watch in plains, georgia."
the proprietor walked into a back room and came out with a velveteen pouch. he said he'd ordered these watches at least ten years ago, maybe longer, and they never sold. he said the battery was dead, and he didn't even know how much to ask for it.
i opened the pouch, smiled a huge smile, and offered him $20 (that i had to bum from roger because he didn't take credit cards, and all i had was my debit card). he took it. i took the watch.
i knew that they had so much stuff to ship overseas, and i didn't want to bog her down with any lavish item for her to remember me by, so in a very sentimental moment, i asked her if there was anything i had that she wanted. i thought that would be more meaningful, anyway.
she looked at my wrist. she wanted the mickey mouse watch that i've worn since the mid 80s -- a silly present to myself when i was graduated from college.
anyway, i didn't think twice. mickey's telling time in a different time zone.
that meant i was watchless. okay, that's not entirely true because i have several watches, but mickey was the right fit for me. i wore him nearly every day. the other watches were for fun. mickey was functional. i needed another every day watch.
so i thought that when i went to plains, georgia, after church, i'd try to find a watch that i would forever refer to as my "jimmy carter watch." little did i know that plains, georgia is so small, there are hardly any stores at all. there are only two restaurants in town! (did i mention i ate with jimmy & rosalyn?)
there were a couple of storefronts, and one was a store that carried political memorabilia. lots of it. more than lots -- tons of it. roger and charles were urging us to leave soon, as atlanta was three hours away and we had dinner plans with charles' boss.
so i told them to just hold on. i went into the store and asked the proprieter if he sold any watches, instead of browsing all the shelves. he shook his head and said, "not really... what kind of watch are you looking for?"
i told him that i'd recently given my watch away and wanted something that every time i looked at it... it would say to me, "plains, georgia -- i got this watch in plains, georgia."
the proprietor walked into a back room and came out with a velveteen pouch. he said he'd ordered these watches at least ten years ago, maybe longer, and they never sold. he said the battery was dead, and he didn't even know how much to ask for it.
i opened the pouch, smiled a huge smile, and offered him $20 (that i had to bum from roger because he didn't take credit cards, and all i had was my debit card). he took it. i took the watch.