Georgia on my Mind

Thanks to the great Ray Charles, a Georgia native, for the title………I was going to turn this into a profanity-laden, spit flying, indictment of progressive states, especially California and Illinois, that are rapidly turning into governmental clown cars. But the tide is going out, it’s in the 70’s and it’s a nice day for a walk on the beach and fresh shrimp at Stingray’s. We can afford to enjoy the day, because Savannah, our adopted home, and the state of Georgia, is run by responsible adults. In fact, they’re glad we’re here. Because I’m a retired cop, almost all of a police, fire, or military pension (even though it was earned outside of Georgia) is not taxed under Georgia state law and the small remaining % is taxed at such a low rate it’s not even worth talking about. It’s their way of saying thanks for your service. Georgia’s bills are paid, they have a surplus in the bank, and rather than waste the surplus on pet projects, all the taxpayers got a rebate. The roads and bridges are in good shape, and services and facilities are top notch. Republican Governor Brian Kemp is firmly in charge, and he takes no shit from either Trump or Biden but is on the same page as both our Democratic U.S. Senators, when it comes to Georgia’s economy and the welfare of all Georgians. We chose to live here; it wasn’t an accident. Like everything else we’ve done as a couple, it had a certain organized disarray to it. We had twelve great years in SoCal, made some great friends, did a lot of cool stuff, and have priceless memories of SoCal and Mexico. But California was changing, and it was time for the gypsies to go. We flew into Norfolk, Virginia, rented a car, got on Route 17, put our left shoulder on the ocean and started south exploring towns. We got to Savannah and knew we’d found our home. Ann saw music, theatre, arts and culture, I saw a big poster for a rattlesnake roundup and as they say, the rest is history. It provided the genesis of Ann’s acting career and kept me off the streets. When we got back to SoCal and told friends we were moving to Savannah, a couple of them damn near had heart attacks. Because, from a trendy, California point of view there’s that old suuuthern downside, right? Georgia is just a bunch of stupid rednecks, too much Lynyrd Skynyrd, too much stock car racing, too many guns, too much beer, too many shrimp boats, too many loose women in cut offs and cowboy boots, etc. etc. etc.…..right?...Yeah, and around here, the first words you hear out of a kids mouth are “Sir” and “Ma’am”, strangers passing on the street say, “good morning”, and people stop to help total strangers. We’re nothing like a sophisticated, progressive state where nobody would dream of lighting up a cigarette, everybody knows their place, nobody acts up and they don’t have to make all those pesky decisions because the government does it for them. It was amazing after they all came and visited Coastal Georgia, attitudes changed, and a couple wanted to move here. Savannah is a living history book, and it has a long history of smuggling, piracy, ghosts, voodoo, scandal, and bloodshed. The city has a sense of humor and has always tolerated a scandal and a scoundrel with a raised eyebrow and the shake of the head, there’s never a dull moment in this town-during the Civil War, the ladies of Savannah plied General Sherman with liquor and sexual favors to keep him from burning the town. Most cities try to hide scandal and tawdry behavior, Savannah gives it a drink and sets it up on the front porch. Lady Astor once described Savannah as “…a beautiful woman with a dirty face…”