Bike tours of the world unite!

You have nothing to lose but your chains!

Oh, wait! We don't want to lose our chains!

I've was in Atlanta last weekend, at a conference with a group of bike tour operators from around the country.

Back in the day, I had to attend conferences, meetings, continuing legal education and seminars. I remember feeling like I'd been chained to my chair ( there's that word again...).

This conference wasn't like that. Conceived by the owner of Bike Tours of Atlanta, Robyn and Doug put together a weekend full of great topics of interest.

Folks came from Denver, Philly, New Orleans, Nashville, Knoxville and Atlanta. Oh yes, and Franklin.

Robyn, the consummate hostess, welcomed us to her cool loft in an old candy factory for the meetings and provided home-cooked breakfast, lunch and snacks.

After the morning's agenda, it was time for a pick-me-up--a bike tour of Atlanta. There were 23 of us--including 4 of her guides. What a great tour! Oakland Cemetery, eternal home of Margaret Mitchell,among others, Cabbagetown, Little Five Points.

Dinner first night at Atkins Park, Atlanta's oldest restaurant. Second night, Agave, great Mexican.

I'd never really explored Atlanta before. I have a new appreciation for Atlanta's unique neighborhoods.

Fun weekend! And learned a lot too.

Lizzie's War: Inspired by writings from the past

I haven't blogged in awhile because I've been busy writing my new book, Lizzie's War.  When the book opens, Lizzie is an 11-year-old Franklin,Tennessee girl, and as you'll quickly learn, is a member of a family divided by the war. It was often said that the war pitted father against son and brother against brother. In this case it was mother against son, and brother against sister.

After the first chapter, which is set on November 30, 1864, the day of the Battle of Franklin, we return to 1860 and Lincoln's election. From there we see how the war unfolds, from Lizzie's perspective.

I am constantly reading and learning about the nation's greatest conflict. A lot of information is available about the war. In fact, more books are written about the Civil War than any other subject. Locally, in Franklin, we've had many accounts written over the years. One description--and it may well be the first one aside from a few newspaper stories--came from 19-year-old Fannie Courtney, Lizzie's sister. Fannie, like her mother, supported the Union. In April, 1865, she was asked to write a report about the condition of the hospitals in Franklin for the U.S. Sanitary Commission. We know the basic story of the battle, but it's writings like Fannie's that fleshes it out.

"About half past three I was sitting at the dinner table, when I heard the roar of artillery...I ran into the yard to listen...The bullets were falling so thick it was unsafe to remain any longer...I hastened to the cellar with the rest of my family...."
 
You get a real mental picture from passages like that.

I was lucky enough to have a wonderful illustrator for the book, Sam Whitson. He was able to capture the essence of my writing. Amazing, as I think you'll agree. He also did the cover art.

Here's the passage that goes with this illustration:

Lizzie walked toward Main Street where the streets swarmed with soldiers, horses, supply wagons and big guns such as cannons. A stranger, a boy about 12 years old, sat on the ground, leaning back against the low stone wall around the Presbyterian Church.

“You must be a drummer boy,” Lizzie told him, noticing a snare drum on the ground next to him.

“Yes,” he said listlessly. “I’m trying to sleep. We marched all night and the day before to get here.”

     “Would you like something to eat? My mother will feed you breakfast.”

     “I’m mighty hungry,” the boy said, suddenly wide awake. “But my brother told me not to leave this spot.”

"I’ll bring you food. Wait right here,” Lizzie offered.

The boy sat up straight as Lizzie ran home. She returned a few minutes later with two ham biscuits.

“Here. Take this. If you need more, my house is right there.” Lizzie pointed behind her. “My mother will give you whatever you want. I’m going to visit a friend.”

The boy grabbed the food and wolfed it down. The last time Lizzie looked, he was running towards her house.

                                            *******************************

 

Lizzie's War is suitable for children grades 3 and up. Adults have told me they liked it too--that it wasn't too juvenile for them. Here's what Rob Cross, from the Battle of Franklin Trust, wrote:

"At last, a literary masterpiece has been written on Franklin, Tennessee's Civil War story, from the necessary perspective of a child. Margie's work interweaves fact-based stories from the children who lived in Franklin, from the time the Civil War begins, all the way through that 'day of days' November 30th, 1864. Lizzie's War gives readers of all ages (especially children) a remarkable, tangible story that arrests the imagination and never lets go." 

Lizzie's War is available in Franklin at Carnton Plantation, Carter House, Lotz House and Landmark Booksellers, and on Amazon. 

 

 

Cannon Census, or it's easier than you think to lose a cannon.

For no reason except that one day about a month ago I noticed we have a lot of cannons in Franklin, I started counting them. I got up to 11. Seriously, I had no idea. 11.  I forgot about it until today when I thought about it again and decided to take pictures of all of them.

Here's where I am on the cannon count.

Everybody knows there are four cannons on the square. These are on loan to Franklin which the mayor discovered in 2004 when contacted by the Department of the Army inquiring as to the whereabouts of the cannons loaned in 1906. Fortunately, he was able to provide exact documentation of the cannons' location: 

Cannons 1-4

Heading west, I spotted this one. It's at Veterans Park at Five Points. Historic markers there relate the visit of President Andrew Jackson meeting the Chickasaw Tribe under the Indian Removal Act of 1830 but I don't believe this cannon had anything to do with that.

  Cannon 5

I parked at the archives to take close up pictures and discovered this one sitting undercover near the entrance to the archives. Fortunately it's not loaded or those folks would be in trouble.

Cannon 6

Walking around to shoot (ha! no pun intended) the second one from the top, I spied this guy. I guess it's a cannon--I don't claim to be any kind of an authority on heavy artillery so I'm not sure. But it's close enough.

Cannon 7

Heading south on Columbia Avenue, is the Lotz House cannon accompanied by a pyramid of cannonballs. (Next hunt: cannonballs). They brought this here in 2008 when the museum opened.

Cannon 8

Carter House also has a cannon but I didn't get a picture of it. That would be Cannon 9

 This is the cannon at Winstead Hill, Cannon 10.

Which leads me to, where's Cannon 11? Did I miscount before? And I'm actually missing 2 cannons since I didn't see Cannon 7 the first time I counted.

Hmmm...where are those two pesky cannons?

Franklin on Foot is now Franklin on Food!

We had our first food tour today in downtown Franklin and it was a success, if I do say so myself. Four visitors from Michigan (and one local) sure thought so. But don't take my word for it. How 'bout I let the pictures tell the story!

First stop: Chapman's II for Southern Hospitality Salad with grilled shrimp, edamame, watermelon, mandarin oranges and a hoisin vinaigrette dressing. Corncake madeleine. Gwen added a fruit cup with poppy seed dressing as a surprise.

Next stop Papa Boudreaux's for gumbo. Yumbo is all I can say! Guy, the chef, told us about the super secret recipe he developed. Kristie, who was born in New Orleans and just moved to Franklin, said it's better than anything she's had there. That's high praise!

 Next to Franklin Mercantile with host Graeme--like Guy a Louisiana native. Those Louisiana boys know how to cook! The Merc serves soup, salad and sandwiches so sampled Southern specialties pimiento cheese and chicken salad with fruit tea.

55 South is next on the menu with chargrilled oysters and garlic bread. Sam is our main man there and is always entertaining.

Puckett's! Of course. Our not-to-be-missed restaurant on 4th Avenue (and Nashville, and soon in Columbia, and another one on Main Street).  Pork barbecue slider with cole slaw and fried green tomatoes. Does it get any more Southern than that?

Actually it turns out fried green tomatoes aren't originally Southern at all. But since the famous book by the same name, they've been adopted by Southern restaurants. Max makes sure everything comes out just right--and it always does! 

Dessert! Chess pie from Merridee's. The best! Our happy visitors went home with full bellies and happy memories of our wonderful Franklin restaurants!

.

The best way to understand a place

If you really want to get to know a place, walk it. Sure, you could drive around with a guidebook and a map. Or you could hop on a tour bus where the driver doubles as the tour guide. Maybe even a big red double-decker bus with a fresh air observation deck. Or you could fly over in a commercial jetliner at 33,000 ft. You just don't get that much out of it. 

Trevi Fountain, 2010

My most memorable experience visiting an unfamiliar city was Rome, 1976. I was attending a junior year abroad program in Florence. Art History Professor Gunther Stamm announced a field trip to Rome, and directed us to meet at the train station at 6 a.m. When 6 a.m. arrived, I was the only one there...well, besides Gunther. So Gunther and I went to Rome, just for the day.
 
We walked the entire city, from the train station to St. Peter's, to the Colesseum and Roman forum, and the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain, Piazza Veneto and the Spanish Steps. It was my first time to see the Sistine Chapel, and it was before the ceiling was cleaned. We descended into the Forum, and stood on the spot that Brutus stabbed Caesar, checked out the poured concrete at the Pantheon, and ascended the Spanish Steps. All the while my tour guide/professor Gunther gave me a semester's worth of education in one very long day.

I didn't go back to Rome until 2010. But it all felt familiar. Because of that one very long day back in 1976. By the end, yeah, my dogs were barking. But there was plenty of time to rest on the train ride back to Florence.You gotta walk.