There's Nothing To Do In This Town....



  On a weekly or sometimes even daily basis, I hear a student or an adult make note of the belief that, "there isn't anything to do in Macon, Georgia.". While it is easy to jump on that bandwagon, it can also make one pretty miserable when it comes to liking where you live and that is just no way to get through life. So, I've decided to highlight some of the very neat and often either cheap or free things there are to do in Macon. A wise person once said that you are either part of the problem or part of the solution, so here is my small part of some sort of solution.

  For some reason, I love Macon, Georgia. I would say most if it has to do with memories, but the other portion is that Macon is actually a pretty neat town. Yes, I would rather live somewhere like Asheville, North Carolina, or Chattanooga, Tennessee, or Charlottesville, Virginia, or even Boulder, Colorado, but that is just not where God wants me. He placed me in Macon for college and He brought me back to Macon for a job. From the outside, Macon looks like the typical mid-sized Southern town. You've got the poor neighborhoods only blocks away from the "nice" neighborhoods, you've got your antebellum homes, you've got your dying downtown section, you've got your urban sprawl due to White Flight, you've got your big public schools, and you've got your private schools. However, just like most things, there is so much more to Macon than either the statistics or what meets the eye.

  And one of these things is Amerson Water Works Park. I cannot really say how much I love this park. It is located about 1.5 miles from my front door and it would not be an over-exaggeration to say that I go there sometimes three times a week. Amerson Water Works Park (AWWP) is operated as part of the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail. The dream or masterplan of this trail is to have a paved trail system that runs from Macon, Georgia to Jackson, Georgia, following the path of the Ocmulgee River, much like the paved trail systems: The Silver Comet Trail in Atlanta and the Chattahoochee Riverwalk in Columbus, Georgia. So far, they have only made it through some of downtown Macon and some a little north of downtown at AWWP.

      There is so much to do at AWWP and most of the time it will only cost you time. There are two very neat pavilions, grills, a handicap accessible playground (the only one in Middle Georgia), picnic tables, a canoe only boat ramp, large fields for walking or games, a small pond, and around 4 or so miles of shaded trails. In the winter months, the park is open to vehicle traffic on Saturdays and Sundays from 9-5. However, foot travel is open from sun up to sundown everyday of the week and no one really cares if you are there after dark as long as you know you are there at your "own risk" During the summer months, it is open every day of the week from 7-7 and on the weekends, there is an occasional fee of $2 per car in order to get into the park. Altogether, not too bad considering one movie ticket in Macon, Georgia cost around $8.50. 

     I go to the park with Jack and Lady often to let each of us stretch our legs and get what I love to call, some good ole' fresh air. Sometimes, we just walk. Sometimes, we run all the dirt paths and the road to the canoe launch until we all have our tongues hanging, wanting some water and a cool place to sit down. Other times, I drive the dirt paths and roads and let the dogs run their hearts out till I feel they've had enough. Mel and I put in our new canoe here and often in the summer when none of us can take the heat any longer, we jump in the car and head for the river to take a "dip" and cool off. And often times, you are the only one there and when you are running the dirt paths or canoeing down the river it is like you are somewhere else instead of a half mile or so from a sprawling town of 150,000. Take this week for example, I have gone there three times, I have only seen two other people there for a brief moment. I had several hundred acres of fields, woods, streams, and a river all to myself. On Monday night, Jack, Lady and myself ran three miles and watched the full winter moon rise over the Ocmulgee for free!

  Well, whether you are from Macon or not, I hope you will find your way to Amerson Water Works Park next time you are sitting around feeling bored (something I've never felt) and wishing you lived elsewhere. You don't! Get out. Search your town. Get some fresh air, some exercise, some natural beauty all for free or for a small fee at Amerson Water Works Park!


NewTown Macon - Amerson Water Works Park from NewTown Macon on Vimeo.

Hope to see you out there and then back here to see what else there is to do in this town,

David

 

For the Love of Music--4

   It is not often that I begin listening to a record and instantly feel as if someone took the mood from a great piece of writing and put music to it. I can actually only say this has happened a handful of times in my whole life. The first time this happened to me was during the summer of 2005 and I was sitting in a screen porch named Belvedre, eating a rushed lunch, watching it rain, and a friend leaned back in his chair and pressed play on an old cd player. I saw the cd cover and read the name and instantly thought the worst, but then the first note of the first song began to play and my opinions were instantly changed. The sounds that were coming out of the two, small speakers were something I had been wanting to hear for a long, long time. It was music that was both haunting and wonderful. It was both eclectic and perfect. The artist was Sufjan (SUE-fee-on) Stevens and the record was, Greetings from Michigan-The Great Lake State. It contains music that I hadn't heard from anyone in my then 25 years of life.

  Sufjan Stevens and his music are hard to define and that is maybe part of his draw. His music is an odd blend of folk, bluegrass, rock, big band, and Broadway. The songs are these grand canvases that may include all the musical styles at one point of the song. Many of the songs have no clear ending or may begin rapidly and lead to an almost whispering end. And the content of the songs reads more like an early twentieth-century novel than a musical record as the lyrics touch upon topics like faith, sin, redemption, a love for place, and a hope for something better.

     And all of this reflects the artist who is making this music and it is often odd because he is not exactly definable either. Sufjan is from an inter-faith family, but is a Christian. His first name was given to him by an Islamic cleric and much of his earlier music has a very Middle-Eastern feel. He got involved with RUF while at Hope College and a close listen to his music will reveal that link. However, the record, Michigan, is part of what Sufjan labeled as his 50 State Project and is about the state of Michigan. It was his idea to go to every state and write a record based solely on the information about every state. Since the release of Michigan, Stevens has released another full album and an album of "outtakes" based on the state of Illinois and there is much web-based speculation on which state might be next and many doubters say Stevens never meant to write a record based on every state. 

   Michigan, contains 22 songs and snippets of songs about the Great Lakes State. Stevens spent much of his life in the state and one can feel a very personal vibe for many of the songs. It is odd to listen to a record about a place. It really makes the state feel more alive than one would think that a place can feel. It also makes someone who has never been to Michigan feel as if they had and that to me may be the most powerful part about this record. It is not often that a song or even a record makes one feel as if they know a place they've never been. Stevens does this in both of his albums about states.

  I would recommend a listen to Sufjan Stevens. you may not like him the first time around, but I can probably guarantee that he'll grow on you. and if he doesn't you will at least respect him for the type of music he is making, his ability to play so many different instruments well, and the effort he puts forth both in the writing and playing of his songs.

Happy Listening,

  David

Baked Oatmeal--Several Memories and A "How To"

  Food is memory. Simple smells from the kitchen can bring back the fondest of memories. It makes food more than just food. And baked oatmeal isn't just a type of food for me. It is a dish full of both goodness and many, many memories. From the time I was 10 years old till I was 17, I spent every summer minus one with an organization known as Teen Missions International. Due to God and Teen Missions, I got to go to 6 of the 7 continents and visit 41 countries in one way or another. I will never forget any of the trips because they shaped so much of who I am and how I think about most everything. My time with Teen Missions is one of the top four events that have shaped my whole life. But this post isn't about that, really. It is about a food item that will in a very small way....change your life. Or at least that what the younger crowd is saying about everything from songs to food, so I guess for this post, I'll jump on the bandwagon.

  One of the most memorable parts about each of these trips was the food. Some of the memories are awesome: the ice cream in Germany, the one steak I had the last night in Madagascar, the rice in Bangladesh, the mussels straight from the ocean in New Zealand, etc. And some of the memories are not so great: the tomato soup during any weather, the kool-aid, the absence of food in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Madagascar. However, the food item that brings back the most memories is baked oatmeal. It was always my favorite during the two week training portion of each summer known as Boot Camp, and on the field, and at my Granny's house. See, being apart of Teen Missions and going was really a family thing for me. My uncle and aunt had led several teams overseas, my older cousins had gone several summers, my Granddad and Granny had led several teams, and my older brother had gone for several summers. And later my two younger sisters would go as well as my nephew, and last summer a cousin of mine went. It is truly a life changing event and I mean that in the most sincere and grand way. Anyway, my Granny was an awesome cook. The teams I always went on lost weight because the females were just okay at cooking and didn't have access to much food, but the teams my Granny and Granddad led gained weight because my Granny was so awesome at cooking and they were in Europe, not Southeast Asia or Africa! So...long story short, my Granny would cook my brother and I our favorite summer recipes. And baked oatmeal was always a huge favorite and she could make it like no one else.

  Well, over the last several weeks, I have really been getting into oatmeal. I started with just the quick oats from Quaker Oats and thought they were amazing and then I just bought McCann's Steel Cut Oats and feel as if I discovered a true breakfast treasure. And all this oatmeal got me thinking about baked oatmeal. I thought that my sister in law had the recipe, but sadly found out that she did not. I then remembered that my Granny had left me several of her cookbooks and I had placed them in the attic and had forgotten them, but due to the conversion of a craft/sewing room into a nursery, I have made multiple trips in the attic and rediscovered these cookbooks! Eureka!  And what made it even neater was that it had the measurements and proportions written in my granny's handwriting.

 

   So, Mel and I made a trip to our beloved, neighborhood Kroger and bought the ingredients, but not without the crisis of trying to decide which would do our baked oatmeal better justice: quick oats or old fashioned oats. And then I showed extreme caution and restraint and pulled my arm away from the steel cut oats. So, let's quit dragging our feet, dawn our aprons, and get down to making the best breakfast item involving oatmeal!

 Baked Oatmeal Ingredients and Proportions: 

This for an 11 x 13 Pyrex pan and gave me 7 servings of this delicious, breakfast item.

  3/4 Cup of Oil
  1 1/4 Cups of Sugar (White or Brown)
  3 Eggs
  3 3/4 Cups of Oatmeal
  2 1/2 tsp. of baking powder
  1 1/4 tsp of salt
  1 1/4 cup of milk

 

First combine the oil, sugar, and eggs.

After mixing the above well, add the oatmeal.

Then add the baking powder and salt. And continue mixing.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Now add the milk and maybe a little cinnamon. Mix well until all is wet.

Pour your sweet smelling concoction into the Pyrex pan and level it out.

This is what it should look like!

Then you put it in the oven for 30 minutes and go ahead and get your beverage ready!

 

Behold! Your breakfast pallet will never accept the bland again.

Happy eating and go ahead and start thinking about that second serving,

           David