September 10th and 11th

September 10th

Got up at 4:40 - I'd slept reasonably well. Taxi arrived at 5:30 and I reached Heathrow by 6:30. Taxi-driver was very talkative but strictly a one-way conversationalist ! Had breakfast, bought stuff for the flight, and got on the New York plane for a 9:30 take-off. Struggled on the flight as sometimes I get attacks of claustrophia on long flights and cannot relax my bladder muscle. I was really uncomfortable towards the end of the flight and spoke to a stewardess. She kindly moved me up to the front of the plane so that I was the first off !
Thank you Virgin.

One thing made me sad on the flight. On the row adjacent to me there was a middle-aged couple and the woman was a bit of a cracker ! They were holding hands and looked so happy together. It reminded me of the future I thought I had until that fateful night of February 12th 2011, when my world broke into little pieces. This trip is all about re-integration and re-orientation.  


After that little panic I was ok and caught the connecting flight to Atlanta ok. Spent most of the waiting period at JFK outside. On the connecting flight I got chatting to the woman next to me, who was a native of Atlanta. She gave me useful tips about driving and the traffic. I picked up my car and was wise enough to fork out an extra 30 quid for a satnav. This made my journey to the hotel very easy. I was in my room by 8 o'clock Atlanta time. Went out for some food and beer, and then (after a little struggle - in vain - to try and get the fridge working) I went to bed. Saw that England got a 0-0 with Ukraine, which is good enough.

September 11th

Slept well from 10:30 to 3:30, and then off and on until 6:30. Then had a bath and was down to breakfast c. 8:15. Breakfast is the cheapo continental type you get in the less-salubrious US hotels, but it did a job. Back up to my room and then out on foot to Atlanta.

It took me about 45 mins to get to the State Capitol, and after that I walked through the university area and then downtown. The weather was very hot and oppressive, and I sat down for a hour in Woodruff Park in the middle of the downtown area. I sat by a fountain and pool reading "Red Storm Warning', which Chris Mulli (my boss at work) had recommended to me. Its World War Three scenario is very appropriate given all the talk about Syria which is currently going on. That was a relaxing break, and then I went to lunch in a Diner. I wasn't all that hungry but went inside because I needed a slash.

After lunch I walked to the Midtown area and saw the Fox Theatre, where Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded "One More From The Road". I then walked on to Margaret Mitchell's house. She wrote "Gone With The Wind", and this was always my parents' favourite film, so I was thinking about them (they're both long dead) a lot. I was given a solo tour of her house and it was fascinating. She wrote the book because she had a foot injury and couldn't work, having formerly been a journalist. She was never intending to have it published, but a friend of a friend knew someone at MacMillans and tipped them off. It is now the largest-selling book in America after The Bible. It was interesting to see all the period furniture from the late 1920s, and the heavy old typewriter which she wrote on.

After that I got the MARTA train back, and then got lost on the final walk to the hotel. As I write this I'm pretty shattered, so I'm hoping for a sound night of sleep tonight. The plan tomorrow is to drive to Athens, which is about 100 miles. That's the home of REM, the B52s, and Pylon.