I’ve been lax here after one decent inaugral bit. Shame on me; my excuse is travel and work. But that’s not even an excuse given the fact I’ve been connected most all the time. Maybe I should blame social-media fatigue and take 2010 off…
Anyway, I just finished an interesting trip from Chicago to Asheville, NC, my hometown.
Interesting in the sense that it was punctuated by bad weather, heartbreaking football results (at least for my fantasy league standings), a detour to Oak Ridge, TN, where my Dad worked during and after WWII and then dealing with the aftermath of this, maybe one of the best “Hey turn on the camera and let’s see what happens” moments in recent history. And yes, they’re still digging out and no, there aren’t great detour options.
But at the risk of sounding like a Chamber of Commerce geek, it’s worth it to be in Asheville. Why?
Because it’s a beautiful town set in a beautiful mountain location, with a downtown that’s kept many great old buildings, and a progressive feel that translates into more cool things to do, see, eat and drink than a town this size would deserve, normally. But Asheville isn’t a normal town by any stretch.
I also feel like a whore for giving this place even more publicity, because as some stoned millionaire rock star once pointed out, “you call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.”
Still, this one posting hopefully won’t bring on the next tsunami of moneyed hipster-wannabees, or drop a Starbucks on every alternate corner, or force the kids out of the drum circle. But maybe it will.
It’s a bit like announcing to your barroom friends: “I have the most awesome girlfriend in the world!” and waiting to see what happens 3 months down the road….
Anyway, more later. I have video to shoot and a road trip to Athens, GA. I hear things about that place…
James Hyatt 
Mr. Hyatt. I would like to know some personal information about you to find out if you are worthy of some information that i think you would like to know. If you are between the ages of 60 and 64 or if your father is between these ages, it would be very helpful if i could get this information for my records.
Thank you
Sincerely
Douglas from Alabama
Douglas, hi. I’m in my 40s. Dad would be in his 80s, but died of leukemia in his 60s. His doctors were certain his exposure to radiation at Oak Ridge caused or at least mutated his disease… if that’s where you’re heading to.