It was the 11th month, 11th day, 11th hour - not in 1918, but 1984. Twenty years ago today at about 11:00 a.m., I said farewell to Oklahoma and began a move to Georgia. It was a classic trade -- red dirt for rednecks.
Our story really begins in the summer of 1984. I'd spent more than two years doing radio news in Enid, Oklahoma, and the situation was going downhill quickly. When the management cuts costs by asking the on-air staff to clean bathrooms, that's not a good sign....
I found out CNN Headline News in Atlanta was looking for news writers, so I mailed a resume and some writing samples. For those of you younger than 25 -- this was before the Internet. Back then, "e-mail" could have meant an enormous package.
I was a bit surprised when CNN Headline News expressed an interest in my work, and asked me to travel to Atlanta for an interview. The network even paid for my airline ticket -- well, half of it. The assistant to the boss forgot to buy me a ticket back to Oklahoma My credit card saved me from potentially staying overnight at Ted Turner's house.
The one-day round-trip between Oklahoma City and Atlanta marked my first time in an airplane. It was such a new experience for me that for awhile, I couldn't figure out the right way out of the Hartsfield Airport transportation mall. Yes, you DO have to go up an escalator....
CNN covered my cab fare to midtown Atlanta from the Atlanta airport, for an interview and a writing test. This test was done on an electric typewriter - the ones with ribbons you can only find now at locally-owned office supply stores, before
they go bankrupt.
Two months later in October 1984, the late CNN Headline News manager Paul Amos called and offered me a job. I didn't have to think about it long - because by this point, I had become THE radio news department. One person working long days and split shifts - sort of like some gift shops will do it for the next six weeks.
My new boss wanted me to start in Atlanta as soon as possible, but I had to give two weeks' notice at the radio station. I also had to prepare for the move - but I had some practice. The apartment complex required people to take dishes out of the kitchen cabinets every month, for bug spraying.
I still have a farewell pen-and-pencil set from KXLS-FM, given to me on my final Friday evening November 9, 1984. I also still have memories of a last trip to the newsroom the following night - and finding all the tape cartridges were removed.
I never have called the Smithsonian, to check into that....
With a mover arranged and everything in some semblance of order, I left Enid for Georgia on that Veterans Day Sunday morning. As I drove east on U.S. 64, the AM radio had Christine McVie singing, "I've been down, I've been used/ Now I know that I just can't lose." The words seemed fitting for me -- even if they were incredibly out of context.
I stopped for exercise at Oklahoma State University, on the way to Atlanta. This was when Jimmy Johnson was coaching O.S.U. football and becoming a famous name - and long before a NASCAR driver named Jimmy Johnson made many sports fans forget him.
I allowed two days for the drive from Enid to Atlanta, since a good deal of the trip would involve no interstate highway. My Sunday night stop for rest was a Holiday Inn in West Memphis, Arkansas. This was back when Holiday Inn's headquarters was in Memphis, not Atlanta - and WAY back, when it was considered a discount motel.
In November 1984, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at around 1,200. The Atlanta Falcons' quarterbacks were Steve Bartkowski and Mike Moroski - and I can't really say they "stood," because a losing season meant they were running around and getting sacked.
This BLOG SPECIAL EVENT continues tomorrow, with our arrival into Atlanta. But now let's check local highlights from Wednesday:
+ WRBL found a curious survey downtown, asking people for opinions on the Columbus Riverwalk. One question asks if you consider it the heart of the city. I suppose it could be - and I think that makes AFLAC the city wallet.
+ A bridge was delivered to Phenix City, to link two sections of that city's Riverwalk. I jogged on that path Wednesday night, and found a police officer guarding one of the sections. We don't need any engineering students from Georgia Tech coming here, and pulling pranks.
(The bridge was driven to Phenix City, after it was built in Fort Payne. Is this a case of "a bridge too far?")
+ Former Phenix City Mayor Peggy Martin was one of several new Russell County Commissioners sworn into office. At the pace she's moving up the political ladder, she may become Alabama Governor around age 90.
+ The Ledger-Enquirer reported Columbus Council voted to buy a mobile home park near Oxbow Meadows. Isn't this a great idea? People will be able to visit the new Infantry Museum, and feel like they're living a cut above soldiers in battle.
+ Instant Message to the Columbus Civic Center staff: Why didn't you post any information about the Universoul Circus on your web site until Wednesday afternoon - only hours before the opening performance? Didn't you notice that big tent in your parking lot?
COMING SOON: A "LaughLine flashback" recalling what we wrote about Yasser Arafat, who died (finally) Wednesday night....
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