Mel’s Corner of the World

I was out with a friend tonight and while I was driving home, I became the only witness to a head on wreck that killed 3 out of the 4 people. We were north of town and I had to stand on the side of HWY 29 by myself for over 10 min with the bodies laying about while I waited for help (it was late and very dark). It was very sickening. One man was ejected from his car (it flipped a few times) and I found him laying in a ditch.

Right now I am so upset that I can’t make it through the night. I keep crying. I felt so helpless and horrible. I think the shock is wearing off b/c now I feel nauseated and awful. In the second car, the driver died and the passenger (I think was a young boy- I couldn’t tell) was life flighted to the hospital.

The highway patrol showed up and I knew 2 of the 3 men who worked the wreck. Since almost everyone died, they didn’t need much information from me and since I was the only witness, they asked what happened and after I told them they said b/c they knew me they would contact me later.

Here is a special picture of Lisa…we will never forget! June 14, 2007

Last week I took the boys to Pensacola to visit with their grandparents. While I was there, I was able to spend a little time alone (doesn’t happen often). I went to the beach and to the mall. It was very good for me. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I didn’t want to come home.  I was laying on the beach, my car packed and ready to go, but I couldn’t force myself to get in the car and head back to GA.   Eight hours later, I called a friend and said, “You are going to have to make me leave. I can’t do it by myself!”  Thankfully, she talked me into leaving, even if I didn’t like it.  I miss the beautiful white sand and the green/blue water. It was so perfect!

Opening season is upon us and I am very excited. I know that may surprise some people, especially my husband, but I look forward to baseball season.

Here are the top 10 reasons why I love baseball season:

#10 There’s always a game on tv when there’s nothing better to watch.
#9 The attack on friends with thunder boomers.
#8 Braves – Night Games
#7 Tony has something to talk about, other than computers and NASCAR.
#6 Hot dogs, Nachos, and Cracker Jacks
#5 A day game is an easy way to get a suntan without much effort
#4 You can throw popcorn at will and blame it on someone else.
#3 New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, & The Home of the Braves
#2 Cute little baseball hats.

And the #1 reason I love baseball-
I can sit in the stands, yell at the umps, and know that I am right ’cause I was taught by the best!!!

COMING HOME??? I don’t think I really wanted to! I was having so much fun! Anyway, we boarded the bus to head to Macon, where we ate lunch at a bbq restaurant that I believe is called Scatterfields.

Then we were on our way to Ocmulgee Mounds in Macon. I have been to Indian Mounds before, but each one has a story to tell, so I was looking forward to seeing these as well. It was a nice long walk. The weather was cooperating, but after an hour, it was getting pretty warm. The guides were very nice and helpful. My friends and I talked about planning field trips in the future to go visit the mounds, or at the very least we will go back to pick up more information when we have more time. Personally, I didn’t even know they were there until recently! This was a great way to end the trip.

http://www.nps.gov/ocmu/

Another hour by bus and we arrived back home. The saddest part was saying goodbye to such a cool trip! After leaving everyone on the drive home, I reflected over the weekend and realized how much I had learned. I spent a lot of time trying to devise ways to pass along my experiences so that my students can benefit from them. That is the trick in all of this!
Well, we (as a group) will see each other again next month and I am sure we will have another adventure then. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

Woke up very early and very tired. Yesterday was very busy, but we have another wonderful day to look forward to!
1st- breakfast at the hotel (yum, yum)

2nd- Board the bus for the Massie Heritage Center. It was one of the first schools in the colonial Georgia era. My favorite part of this tour was the mock up of the city of Savannah where it shows the layout. I loved comparing the now & then pictures as well! They also have the classroom set up just like it was 100 years ago. It is truly a step back in time.

http://www.savannahga.net/tours/massieheritagecenter.html

3rd- We took city tours. One was of the cemetery and the other was of famous colonial houses. Our guides were very knowledgable and it was extremely interesting. The phrase to insert here: “Things are not always what they seem”. I could spend a lot of time on little details here, but I won’t bore anyone to death (pardon the pun). A lot of it was amazing just to look at and to realize the true historic value of what has happened on these grounds.
Also, Carol (our cemetery guide) told us that just because you are buried in Savannah, does not meant that you stay there. Scary thought. Hmmm, no wonder the ghosts tours are so popular!

4th- Lunch on the Riverboat. I must admit, I got a little sea sick being at the bottom level and trying to eat. The food was excellent, but I felt much better after I went on top and sat for a while. Nice view of the river! Wish it had lasted longer.

5th- Wormsloe Plantation- Nice place, not my favorite part of the day. It was great weather, although the gnats were bothering everyone. Very Marshy!

http://www.wormsloe.org/content/georgia/parks/wormsloe/

6th- Back to Savannah to the hotel to clean up for dinner at “The Lady and Sons” (Paula Deens restaurant). It was good and buffet style. I did enjoy the view out the window of all the people dressed to the hilt in St. Patty’s day attire!

http://www.ladyandsons.com/paula2.php

Finally, after dinner, we were cut loose again to roam the streets (haha). We walked to City market and then back toward the hotel, then down to river walk (again). My favorite part about the River Walk this night is that a lot of my friends were with us this time. I can’t seem to get the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” out of my head!!!!

We left this morning for Savannah, GA on a chartered bus. The driver was very nice and it was great to see all of my friends. Everyone seemed to be very excited as we chatted and played all the way to Savannah.
Here is a small break down of what we did:
1st- We went to Skipper’s to eat lunch in Darien, GA. There was shrimp, fish, chicken, lots of vegetables, cole slaw, salad, hush puppies, and Lady Godiva Chocolate cake for dessert.

2nd- We went to Fort George – very exciting! There were members from the fort who were dressed in colonial attire to welcome us and to do demonstrations throughout the tour. Very educational! Loved all of the presentations. Lots of “hands on” activities! http://www.gastateparks.org/fortkinggeorge/

3rd- Back to Savannah to check into the hotel and get ready for dinner

4th- Dinner at Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House in Savannah. http://www.mrswilkes.com/

Finally, after dinner we were cut loose to explore the city on our own…of course, with it being night, we stayed close to the hotel and only explored The Riverwalk. It was fun for everyone

Last year I started in a two year grant program with the above mentioned name. I thought it would be a nice little program to be a part of and that I would learn some new info along the way. Never did I think that it would turn out to be such a rewarding and satisfying experience. It has changed the way I teach and has in some ways, changed my life. I can honestly say that the program, sponsored by Henry County School System, has made me a better educator. The organizers have treated all of the participants professionally. I really love the fact that they have worked with many different partners to get us new resources that we can actually use in our class rooms.

In a few days, we will be going on a tour of Savannah. We are going to be treated to many new experiences (I hope). It will be for 2 1/2 days. I am very excited about going! I can’t wait to see all of my friends again from the program. It has been about 4 months and I really have missed the intellectual conversations that stem from our discussions. It is wonderful when you find a group of people who share your same interests and love of history!

Ok, we went to the Coke Museum and Art Museum today.
First, we rode the MARTA so we didn’t have to deal with traffic. It was a nice little ride. On the way home, we were able to talk with some business guys about episodes of the Office.

High Museum of Fine Arts- nice, weird, not at all what I was expecting. I had hoped it would be like the Art Museum in Montgomery. It was not. One huge wall had ONE painting that was totally black canvas with a red strip running through it. It looked like something I have done by mistake in my scrapbook. They called this “Fraquis Masterpiece”. I think I will try to design my own and have an art gallery in my hall. I may even let Tripp & Tate help.

Coke Museum- been before and loved the free drinks! Got to the gift shop where they were having a sale so I had to buy something. Now I am remodeling my kitchen in Coca cola colors and decor. Tony isn’t very happy about it but I did tell him that the red would hide all the spaghetti stains (that helped a little). What I need now is that ugly black painting with the red strip to put over my stove!!!

This is for my best friend, Amy, who lives in Shanghai, China, far away from all of her scrapbook materials.

Tonight I scrapbooked a page just for you. When you decide to move back to the United States, I will give you the page. It is full of pictures of the last time you came to Atlanta and stayed with us. It also has some of your China pictures that I downloaded off of the website you sent.

Of course, after I finished your page, I had to do a few more pages for school. I worked on the Creating A Nation, Seeds of Democracy book that I am doing for the grant that I am participating in this year. I am trying to catch up before I leave for Savannah in a couple of weeks b/c I will need to add those new pictures then. Plus, I will be in Williamsburg and Jamestown this summer. I don’t want to get behind on this.