First stop today is the Martin Luther King centre. I was escorted, through a particularly ugly bit of town, by a homeless chap by the name of Ernest. He approached me and asked "What I was doing here?" Not in a confrontational way, more concerned for my safety. He was nice and just wanted to help out. I was happy for him to be there and plus I couldn't shake him off. Having emerged from the the dodgy area, that had been lined with homeless people, many of ethnic origin, you enter the area protected by the National Park Service. Ernest scooted off with the change I'd given him to feed himself (or get a hit) and said he'd be back to walk me out (like the 'nam).
The protected area is notably different, being very clean and full of tourists (of non ethnic origin). It all seems a bit bizarre to me. Are people blind or do they just not want to see what's around them. The area was protected in 1980 to preserve the areas in which MLK grew up 'for the inspiration of the future generations' (that's what the blurb says). The area contains the house in which he was born, a visitor centre and museum, the church he preached in and also his tomb. For me the experience was spoiled by the surrounding area, not because of the fear, but because so little seems to have been done to improve the situation. All this occurs within 2 miles of the where the Olympic stadium was and right on the doorstep of where the one of the most important civil rights leaders was born and grew up. The Memphis Civil Rights Musuem has more to it and is more immotive. This is just a little clinical.
When I was done, needless to say, there was no sign of Ernest. He was either filling his belly or in crack heaven. That's my contribution to the problem, but it meant I had to walk back to town myself (saving myself $5 in the process).
I headed for the Georgia Dome, which I thought was the Olympic Stadium because everyone raves about it. It turns out that it was opened in 1992 and although it was the not the main stadium, it did host the gymnastics, handball and basketball tournaments for the 1996 games. It's also hosted 2 Superbowls and numerous other events like monster trucks. The stadium is part of a complex of convention centres which is the real reason why people come to Atlanta (because the companies they work for send them here).
Anyway I haven't seen a stadium for a while so I booked a $6 tour. The tour consists of all the normal stuff like seeing the observation deck, the press area, the skyboxes, the posh seats, the scum bags seats, the locker room and then a walk on the field. The turf is this new kind of astroturf that feels like real grass and no longer damages you. Anyone who has had an astroturf burn will know how much they hurt. I burnt my chin once, but that's a whole other story.
I digress, the stadium holds a massive 72,000 people and is the biggest stadium with a cable supported roof or something like that. It cost $214,000,000 to build. Wouldn't that house 72,000 people? It's a great facilty and there really isn't a bad seat in the house. It's not the most lavish I've seen, but it's very practical.
I was a little peeved that this wasn't the Olympic Stadium and even more surprised when they told me that the stadium had been cut up and made into a rounders field. I had to go see. Bizarrely there's no metro stop at the Olympic Stadium (I should stop calling it that) so you've got to walk. I don't suppose the people who came to Olympics were excited about that. I walked under the bridge that hold the Olympic rings and where the flame was lit (now it's rotting away).
The first thing you see is a car park that has been made to look like a rounders stadium (diamond and all). On closer inspection it turns out that this is a memorial to the old home of the Atlanta Brave's (Americas oldest rounders franchise). In the middle of the car park is a plaque (in the shape of baseball) where Hank Aaron hit his 715th Home Run. They actually went to the extent of imploding the old stadium and making it into a memorial car park for the new stadium. This place is crackers.
Question - What would you do with an Olympic Stadium? Would you cut it in half and name it after a media tycoon? That's what Atlanta did. If you look at the plans of the original stadium it was always the idea to have it as a rounders stadium. Now it's called Turner Field. Named after Ted Turner the head man of Turner Media, producing CNN, TNS and other stuff. Wonder how many pockets of the Olympic committee he lined. At least it's being used for something and it isn't left rotting, but I think it stinks.
Walking back up Olympic Way all the quotes on the columns stuck in my throat. I wonder what Atlanta got from the games and I question the motives of the Olympic movement. It appears that everyone in Atlanta has forgotten the games, but what have they got to remember them by. Half a stadium, a rusting candlestick and a park that is still being redeveloped 7 years after the games finished.
Atlanta isn't a good example for the Olympics. What it does have, is 2 Hooters and people being cleansed by preachers in the streets. I think my feelings for Atlanta probably sum up my feelings for America. It's got a lot of good things, it's got a lot of bad things and it would probably be more enjoyable in another country. Anyway I'm leaving tonight for Houston, Texas.
I walked to the Greyhound terminal at 16.00 for my 21.30 bus. I headed so early mainly because I had run out of things to do, partly because I have an inbuilt insistance on never being late for anything (thanks Dad) and also because it's best not to be out at night (that goes for all of America).
They weighed my bag today and it's 50lbs. It suddenly struck me that I'm carrying 50lbs of dirty laundry. I brought about 7 days worth of clothes and I haven't done any laundry since Kissimmee so you do the sums. Note to self - 1st task in Houston is to find a washer.
Although the Atlanta terminal is big it's a bit ramshackle (even for Greyhound). They load the buses in the road and the baggage claim is outside in a tent. I wonder if that's a reflection of the number of extra tourists that the Olympics has brought.
It would have been a boring 5.5 hours had we not been royally entertained by Atlanta's version of the dancing queen (a 60 year old with a walker prancing about the terminal). The cheese has definitely slipped off the cracker. It was very amusing. You couldn't make eye contact with anyone else in the terminal without laughing.
