A wonderful stay in Atlanta! January 28 - 31st

   We had a fabulous stay at "DenMark" house in Atlanta with great and generous friends, Dennis and Mark. It was a very social time and lots of fun.

   We drove from Charlottesville, taking Route 29 through western Virginia where we were not too far from Appomatox. We drove through a very poor area in South Carolina, too. The highway was lined with many churches, (you could see a church in the rear view mirror as you approached the next one, rather like a church relay system), gun shops, "Title for Cash" shops, pawn shops and "adult" shops. So many contradictions. We also passed what was billed as the "largest Confederate store" in the South. The sign said that the "new Confederate calendars" were just in. Clearly, we did not stop, imagining that Dylan Roof who murdered people in the church in Charleston had probably stopped there. Chills up the spine.
     We arrived at Ansley Court in Atlanta to be greeted by Dennis. The weather was surprisingly chilly, but sunny. Mark R had to attend a fund raiser for a woman running to be the mayor of Atlanta and when he came home we had a homey spagetti dinner and stayed up late chatting.
      On the next day, a Friday,  Mark, Dennis and I spent the entire day chatting. I spent a few wonderful hours in their study with the fireplace going and a book in my lap, although more talking than reading was actually done.
     But, in the evening, we went to the condo of two of their friends, Rusty and Matt and then out to dinner.

Atlanta Skyline from Rusty and Matt's

I had roasted root vegetables and Mark had salmon. Mark R's salmon came raw and it took so long to get it replaced that Mark R did not get to eat! It was ridiculous. I know that it would not have happened with Nick in that kitchen.

Mark, Sean, Hillary, Rusty, Matt, Mark, Dennis

     From there, we walked from there to the Alliance Theater where we saw the play, Disgraced, which won a Pulitzer in 2013. Central to the plot is the difficulty of being an immigrant and assimilating to the American culture. The main characters were a husband and wife; Amir was a successful lawyer, born in Pakistan and raised a Muslim. He changed his name and his history to disguise his heritage. He professes to have left Islam behind. His wife, a white middle class American artist, has "discovered" Islamic art and has incorporated the design and symmetry into her work. She hopes to have a major art show. Amir's nephew who has also changed his name (to Abe) is re-identifying with Islam and has begun to question America's anti-Muslimism and actions in the Middle East. He asks Amir to help defend an imam who is in jail. Amir does not want to get involved, but pressure from both his nephew and his wife does convince him to attend the imam's hearing. This affects Amir's relationship in the law firm where he had hoped to be made a partner. The firm finds out about Amir's deception about his past and pass him over for a fellow lawyer, a black woman. She is married to the Jewish art dealer who Emily, Amir's wife, hopes will show her work. It is a well-written play with many thought-provoking lines. The author gives the audience no easy answers and plenty to ponder. The woman who played Emily is a friend of one of the men we attended with (Hillary). There was a Question and Answer period afterward for which much of the audience stayed.

Stage of Disgraced

    Afterwards, we walked to Joe's Bar where we all talked about the play.

Joe's Bar

    Then  - home.
   Another highlight- Mark R has a Tesla and we had fun driving around. It has huge acceleration; we have rarely felt such a G-force!