Way institutionalized

The longer I live in Valdosta the more I am convinced that I have been institutionalized, except no one has told me yet. Picture in your mind the looniest looney bin ever in existence and top it with unbelievably hot and humid summers and you have Valdosta.

I don't know exactly when the feeling came over me but I've come to realize that I don't like living here; Valdosta and just about everything about it drives me crazy. My first inkling that I wasn't going to like this place was when I was five years old, living in Illinois, and my father announced that we were moving to Valdosta. My response was to get sick to my stomach. Sure we were an Air Force family but this had been my home all my life! Where the hell is Valdosta anyway and why should I be excited about the change? With a shaky beginning like that, this town has had an uphill battle trying to win me over. And it never succeeded.

Elementary school was no improvement. There I was a "yankee," dismissed to the sidelines, hopelessly condemned to a life of looking in from the outside. That is not anyway to endear a newcomer. Not that it ever seemed to bother the spawn of the local aristocracy—throwbacks to the pre-Civil War era (or the war of northern aggression as the natives like to refer to that nasty business). Don't for a second think that mentality had fallen by the wayside either. But honestly folks, get a life; the South isn't going to rise again and all that confederate currency is never going to be worth more than the paper it was printed on...except possibly to a collector. This is where I say, "Bang head here."

Yes, this place has driven me to the point of madness. The trouble is some people would say that it was a short trip. I have a gun and I'm looking for a tower. There's one across the street in the courthouse. I think they used to use it to hang people, but I could be mistaken. Of course the building I'm in is one of the taller one's in town and the old hotel is just a block away. Not to worry though, this is south Georgia—everybody's got a gun or knows someone who does. That reminds me of the saying on the back of our t-shirts, "I want to dance in the streets with a gun." Yeah that's the ticket.

Donna just got a yummy looking slice of Misssissippi mud pie. It looks delish! I had mango cheesecake, but I need to feed my choco addiction. I just took a long, leisurely sip of a freshly brewed cup of coffee and it made my senses come alive. I guess it's the little pleasures like fresh coffee, chocolate desserts and good friends that keeps me on this side of insanity and makes life a little bit better.