October 24, 2026- Hana was dressed up,this noon, as we went as a family to a Vietnamese restaurant, in nearby Garland. She had already eaten her lunch, and contented herself with a couple of cucumber slices and leaves of lettuce. We adults had egg rolls, a stuffed rice pancake, shredded shrimp and spicy peanut on crispy rice and the central Vietnamese counterpart to pho. In our family practice, we shared these items.
Earlier, while my three loved ones were walking around Hoblitzelle Park, I took Sportage for a thorough servicing and got a haircut. The car has new wiper blades, fresh oil, brake fluid and a clean fuel system. I have a cleaned up noggin.
Hana was a bit thrown off by my cleaned up appearance, as she had been asleep when I got back from my errands. She pouted a bit, until she heard my voice and felt my hand on her arm. Then all was well again. When we went to the restaurant, she was quite sociable with the other patrons, especially with the other children.
HANA’S NOTE- I thought a strange man was in the house, when I woke from my nap. Then I heard Papa’s voice and everything was okay.
EXPANDING CIRCLES: Georgia- I have been in Georgia about a dozen times. The Peachtree State was the third state in which I ever set foot, outside of New England. That was in 1969, and it was only a short transit at Atlanta Hartsfield, between Columbia and Louisville, en route to Indianapolis, from Basic Training to Advanced Individual Training, at the beginning of my Army active duty. Georgia became much more important in the 2000s and 2010s, when my middle brother and his family lived in Newnan, about an hour south of Atlanta. Visits in 2007, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2022. either with the whole “Atlanta” family or just passing through, in their absence, have cemented Georgia in my heart. One of my nephews and his family still live in Metro Atlanta.
The turf- Georgia’s north is fully Appalachian, and serves as the starting point of the Appalachian Trail- at Springer Mountain. The Appalachian Plateau dominates the state’s northwest and the Blue Ridge, its northeast. The mountains are bordered to the south by Piedmont, a rocky area of rolling hills and dense forest. The Coastal Plain, alternating between rich, black soil and red clay, covers the southern two-thirds of Georgia. Peanut farms are common in the southwest and cotton farms, in the southeast. Okefenokee Swamp is a key wetland in the southernmost part of Georgia.and is a National Wildlife Refuge. The state is drained by the Chattahoochee, Savannah, Suwannee, Flint, Towaliga, Ocmulgee, Etowah and Altamaha Rivers, as well as their tributaries. Georgia has several lakes, most prominently Lake Lanier and Lake Oconee. Georgia’s Atlantic Coast features several of the Sea Islands, a chain it shares with South Carolina. Georgia’s Sea Islands include Cumberland, St. Simon’s, Ossabaw, Sapelo and Jekyll.
First Nations- Two nations, Guale and Yamasee, thrived in Georgia until the coming of Spanish and British colonists, in the late 17th and early 18th Centuries. The Guale, in particular, were mound builders and had longhouses, similar to other Mississippian Culture groups. They were forcibly converted to Catholicism, by the Spanish, who largely removed the Guale into Florida. The Yamasee were able to survive in the Low Country, a while longer, due to their alliance with Scottish colonists. They eventually clashed with colonists from Carolina, and were defeated in 1715. They then dispersed and were absorbed into the Muscogee Nation. Nacoochee Mound remains today, as remnant of the Guale Culture.
Georgia is the ancestral home of the Cherokee and Muscogee peoples, both of which were forcibly removed during the campaigns initiated by Andrew Jackson and continued by Martin Van Buren, from 1830-1841. Most Georgia First Nations people were removed by 1835, along the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma. Today, the State of Georgia recognizes the Cherokee of Georgia, Eastern Cherokee and Lower Muscogee Creek Tribe. These are not Federally-recognized groups, but are protected by the State.
Where I most feel at home- Americus, Newnan, Folkston, St. Simon’s, Dublin, Cairo, mid-town Atlanta.
Where I most feel at peace- Amicalola, Americus, Okefenokee
NEXT: South Carolina
