Beautiful Day in November
Beautiful Day in November
A Holidays Market in Crawford west of Athens.
After meeting up with two nature photographer friends yesterday just before complete dawn in the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia south of Athens to hopefully find and photograph FROST FLOWERS, which did know existed until Thursday afternoon with the official temperature was 33 F degrees I was game for another photographic adventure.
There was a photo and note from a writer friend of 21 years sharing that she and a couple of our mutual writer friends had a display table set up in Crawford, Georgia west of Athens hoping to sell their books.
Donna McGinty and Genie Smith Bernstein
During the past 10 to 15 years both have written and published fiction books and have had tables at many book fairs, arts & crafts fairs, the Oconee Holiday Market throughout Georgia. A couple years ago I joined them as a member of their group called: Southern Scribes and had some of my non-fiction books on "our" table at the Oconee Holiday Market.
Once again trying to get to Crawford for such an event I got lost. I have lived in Athens for almost 40 years and have driven to Crawford many times but the gray cells that contained the geographic memories have evaporate or turned into mush.
Once again I drove the way I thought was correct from Athens and ended up at the same convenience/gasoline store asking how to get to Crawford, The employees were very helpful and not the same ones
Off I drove to find Crawford once again follow the route they suggested. I also tried to use 3 or 4 of the GPS apps on my Android phone that I seldom use because I simply have not been driving anywhere I didn't know clearly how to find the past few years.
Finally as I drove through the beautiful sunlet fall countryside with the giant rolls of hay scattered in the fields. I past several beautiful farmhouses and a few new housing developments in what not long ago were also farm fields that would have had even more of those giant rolls of hay in them.
The voice on my talking GPS suddenly said you have arrived at your destination.
Actually I hadn't because I only typed in Crawford and tried to type in Chamber of Commerce and train station unsuccessfully.
So off to find someone in another convenience store to ask:
Why is the Fair?
Blank look on the face of the cute young store clerk.
Where is the train station? The Chamber of Commerce?
Maybe it isn't called a Fair. Perhaps a Holiday market..
She smiled her very friendly wide smile but her eyes
clearly said:
I have no idea what you are looking for.
It might be along the road to the left just past the stop light. It is the only stop light we have in town. You can't miss it.
I thanked her and off I went again in search of my friends and their book table at a FAIR in Crawford, Georgia.
Just past the only stop light I saw some tents and Christmas decorations and color to the side of the road surrounding what looked like a train station built in the 1850s.
Aha!
Impatiently I tried to turn right into the street only to discover it was a one way street heading towards me not in my direction.
Fortunately no traffic behind me so I could back up and correct my mistake and drove to the next sideroad and around the block until I found the last parking spot on the one way street.
Scanning 360 degrees for subjects to photograph I ventured towards the collect of canopies and the old train station they were surrounding.
I went into one tent enclosed on all 4 sides with clear plastic with maybe a dozen tables but no book tables
Then I walked past a variety of stalls on the grass near the road in the distance and back up to the platform surrounding the train station building. Once again no book tables.
Hello. I am looking for some writer friends who had a book table here.
Very friendly man in his 40s with a table selling small baked goods looked up, smile and said:
"They may be inside."
Once in side I walked past many tables traveling counterclockwise aroung the large interior space inside the train station that were displaying all types of Holiday type crafts and gifts.
No book table in sight.
Stopping at a table selling beautiful hand crafted note or scrapbooks I asked:
"Hello mame I sense you know what is here."
"I am looking for friends who have a table to sell their books."
No sooner than the word books came out of my mouth
I got a quick glimpse of Genie's smiling face in the distance about 30 ft away at the other end of the large space filled to overflowing with a couple dozen tables of Holiday ware and gifts in 4 rows, one on either side wall and two back to back in the center of the space.
There were 3, writer friends I have gotten know since August of 1997 when I signed up for Harriette Austin's MURDER AND MAYHEM FOR MONEY class. I had found their display table for selling each of their fiction books.
Donna, Billie and Genie
Once again Wandering Alan managed to find his destination only getting lost a couple times since I left my home an hour before in the southwestern part of Athens/Clarke County, Georgia.
A Holidays Market in Crawford west of Athens.
After meeting up with two nature photographer friends yesterday just before complete dawn in the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia south of Athens to hopefully find and photograph FROST FLOWERS, which did know existed until Thursday afternoon with the official temperature was 33 F degrees I was game for another photographic adventure.
There was a photo and note from a writer friend of 21 years sharing that she and a couple of our mutual writer friends had a display table set up in Crawford, Georgia west of Athens hoping to sell their books.
Donna McGinty and Genie Smith Bernstein
During the past 10 to 15 years both have written and published fiction books and have had tables at many book fairs, arts & crafts fairs, the Oconee Holiday Market throughout Georgia. A couple years ago I joined them as a member of their group called: Southern Scribes and had some of my non-fiction books on "our" table at the Oconee Holiday Market.
Once again trying to get to Crawford for such an event I got lost. I have lived in Athens for almost 40 years and have driven to Crawford many times but the gray cells that contained the geographic memories have evaporate or turned into mush.
Once again I drove the way I thought was correct from Athens and ended up at the same convenience/gasoline store asking how to get to Crawford, The employees were very helpful and not the same ones
Off I drove to find Crawford once again follow the route they suggested. I also tried to use 3 or 4 of the GPS apps on my Android phone that I seldom use because I simply have not been driving anywhere I didn't know clearly how to find the past few years.
Finally as I drove through the beautiful sunlet fall countryside with the giant rolls of hay scattered in the fields. I past several beautiful farmhouses and a few new housing developments in what not long ago were also farm fields that would have had even more of those giant rolls of hay in them.
The voice on my talking GPS suddenly said you have arrived at your destination.
Actually I hadn't because I only typed in Crawford and tried to type in Chamber of Commerce and train station unsuccessfully.
So off to find someone in another convenience store to ask:
Why is the Fair?
Blank look on the face of the cute young store clerk.
Where is the train station? The Chamber of Commerce?
Maybe it isn't called a Fair. Perhaps a Holiday market..
She smiled her very friendly wide smile but her eyes
clearly said:
I have no idea what you are looking for.
It might be along the road to the left just past the stop light. It is the only stop light we have in town. You can't miss it.
I thanked her and off I went again in search of my friends and their book table at a FAIR in Crawford, Georgia.
Just past the only stop light I saw some tents and Christmas decorations and color to the side of the road surrounding what looked like a train station built in the 1850s.
Aha!
Impatiently I tried to turn right into the street only to discover it was a one way street heading towards me not in my direction.
Fortunately no traffic behind me so I could back up and correct my mistake and drove to the next sideroad and around the block until I found the last parking spot on the one way street.
Scanning 360 degrees for subjects to photograph I ventured towards the collect of canopies and the old train station they were surrounding.
I went into one tent enclosed on all 4 sides with clear plastic with maybe a dozen tables but no book tables
Then I walked past a variety of stalls on the grass near the road in the distance and back up to the platform surrounding the train station building. Once again no book tables.
Hello. I am looking for some writer friends who had a book table here.
Very friendly man in his 40s with a table selling small baked goods looked up, smile and said:
"They may be inside."
Once in side I walked past many tables traveling counterclockwise aroung the large interior space inside the train station that were displaying all types of Holiday type crafts and gifts.
No book table in sight.
Stopping at a table selling beautiful hand crafted note or scrapbooks I asked:
"Hello mame I sense you know what is here."
"I am looking for friends who have a table to sell their books."
No sooner than the word books came out of my mouth
I got a quick glimpse of Genie's smiling face in the distance about 30 ft away at the other end of the large space filled to overflowing with a couple dozen tables of Holiday ware and gifts in 4 rows, one on either side wall and two back to back in the center of the space.
There were 3, writer friends I have gotten know since August of 1997 when I signed up for Harriette Austin's MURDER AND MAYHEM FOR MONEY class. I had found their display table for selling each of their fiction books.
Donna, Billie and Genie
Once again Wandering Alan managed to find his destination only getting lost a couple times since I left my home an hour before in the southwestern part of Athens/Clarke County, Georgia.
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