Journal Entries
SAVANNAH
Posted Jul 23, 2002
I've now been in Savannah for two years. They seemed to fly by reasonably quickly, unlike time in Los Angeles, which dragged on year after year and felt more like decade after decade.
It's an interesting town, and those people who only know it through "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" aren't really getting the full story.
Savannah is cheerfully happy being completely out of the American cultural loop. The best description I can give this town is 'insular' in the best sense of the world.
A good friend told me when I moved here that "You are going to the last original place in America. It has its own culture, its own music, its own dances, its own cuisine, and it will share them but does not really wish to change them."
It's a pleasant place to look at, with inviting squares, a bustling and busy waterfront, a large park, and lots of fine old houses with beautiful gardens. There are also some very run down sections as well but even in the short time I've been here, Broughton Street (the main business stem) has seen a tremendous change in its fortunes and the renovations keep marching South. The town's good fortune is that it is not only a major port, but also the home of a huge art school. The students bring a much needed touch of youth to the downtown; Savannah could easily have remained a haven for rich homes but a shell otherwise.
At any rate, I think that this city deserves an entry in the Guide, so perhaps I'll write one. I wonder, are there any other HGTTG aficionados in the area?
If so, they are invited for drinks on the two terraces...so do write...
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Latest reply: Jul 23, 2002
Living in the Deep South
Posted May 16, 2001
I am truly amazed to see that my previous life in L.A. has receded so far into memory that it seems almost as everything that I did out there really happened to someone else in another lifetime.
L.A. is, of course, the armpit of the nation, but it does seem as if I really did die in that car accident and that I am speaking of someone else when I show the films or refer to events that took place before 1999.
(I was in a near fatal automobile accident in December of 1999 and told my employers that I was leaving the city immediately after finishing my contract, which I did in August of 2000. Disney treated me with great kindness during my recuperation. I got back to work as soon as possible, which didn't hurt, unlike my leg and pelvis and ribs.)
I am actually doing my first career retrospective in Denver in August of this year. This makes me feel as if I am pronouncing my own eulogy.
Savannah is a very odd town and it is reported to be rife with voodoo. People who mention this do so with a perfectly straight face. There is definitely a presence here. I wouldn't say that it is the Land of the Lotus Eaters, but crab boil, devil crab, and Georgia ice cream (grits) are a pretty fair substitute for the waters of Lethe.
It is incredibly beautiful and I do like the people. There are undertones (why else would the best known book about the place be a murder mystery?) but the fact that it is so out of character for the city made the book notorious.
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Latest reply: May 16, 2001
Fred, the Incontinent Hamster
Researcher U173197
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