Home Town Icon

As we approach the end of the summer, I still have some images of my last trip home (Marietta, GA) that are just lingering.  Even after five years living in Italy, a trip home still awakens those endearing, yet unrelenting, home sick feelings.  One of my last days before heading back to Rome, I visited a part of town that I haven't seen in over 10 years.  Arriving to the destination requires passing an icon of sorts.  Well, quite frankly, it is an icon, the icon of Marietta: The Big Chicken!  And I must admit that it was a sight for sore eyes; the 56 feet of steel have never looked better. 

In the summer of 1999 I wrote a spread on Marietta Square in the lifestyles magazine, Atlanta Citymag, noting the theaters, children's, vintage and antiques shops, along with the good eats, some of which I found again that Friday morning--  And others, such as Sugar Cakes, where I met my friend, Elizabeth Cossick (publishing editor of Little Black / Dress Little Red Wagon), for a perfect cup of coffee and a delicious fruit parfait.  BTW: Elizabeth profiled me in her magazine's summer "adventure" issue.  Mille grazie, E.!  

Yet, despite the passing of 10 plus years, the feeling of the square was still familiar--  A street view composed of southern architecture, colorfully painted clothing shops, bakeries and cafes along side an art deco style theater (The Strand).  And the park, green grass gleaming beneath the high noon sun, with the large water fountain freestanding as center piece, can't help but remind me of a line from that Citymag article: "[The] square still has the perfect balance of new additions and traditional Southern pride in the air."