boiled nuts

Midtown and the Highlands had a slew of activity this week, most of which I missed due to prior commitments and travel. Besides the homicide/suicide at the Bank of America building Friday, there were several shows in the vicinity, including a live performance at the Plaza that had fans dressed up like characters from Adult Swim while crowding the sidewalk. Traffic from the annual Inman Park Festival/Parade spilled over and the Tour de Georgia crossed through on Sunday.

Events are a part of any city and while I try to avoid them because of the banal nature, I feel obligated to take photos because they still affect the community. Ponce itself doesn't have anything in the way of festivals or events but pieces of other gatherings tend to overlap and I hope to include them, even if like the Pride Parade, they only cross the street for a moment.

One thing I did manage to get around to was paying a visit to Raymonds food stand at the corner of Moreland and Ponce. The stand is an overgrown shack with buckets of tomatoes, watermelons, and assorted garden foods. The signature product however, is boiled peanuts. According to the hand painted sign, Raymond's Boiled Peanuts are world famous.

The last two times I went up there the nuts were out of stock but my third trip led to the purchase of a bag of regular and a bag of cajun for a buck each. Unfortunately, I could not find Raymond for an interview and the vendor assured me he was not Raymond. The nuts are served hot from the vat and distributed in plastic bags. I carried them home and got many looks from passing drivers since carrying two clear plastic bags of soggy nuts is not a common accessory. At home, I unwrapped and tried both types. I prefer cajun style. Next time I'm going to meet Raymond and have him divulge more of his nut tactics.

yardwork

The residents of the Correction facility tend to the grounds around the campus on a daily basis. Despite what notions some people have about convicts, it's probably the cleanest lot in the area.

o'malleys

A couple months back I noticed they had gutted the back of the twin spaces at the corner of Kennesaw and Ponce. The space on the right was O'Malleys, which was apparently a tiny pub that fell into disrepair. I didn't find much info about it, sans the fact it was once a pub back in the day. The structure rests on one of the worst corners on Ponce, a spot frequented by dealers and hookers. One of the first times I was propositioned for drugs was shortly after walking by the bordered up doors of O'Malleys.

This past week construction workers finally began overhauling the site. They have stripped the roof and rear as well as torn up the foundation. When I walked by they had begun to pour concrete and touch up the back of building. I took a few frames with my rangefinder. One of the things I love about a small old film camera is that people tend to pay less attention to me when I'm not hauling a big digital.

highland & ponce

I completely missed a couple good photos recently while out just rambling the street. I ran into a mother and young girl walking back from a daycare. The girl had the biggest milk mustache I'd ever seen and I tried to get a photo. The mother consented but the girl completely turned on me and began trying to squirm and wiggle out of my frame in protest. I tried to be nice but she spurned me and I had to retreat and thank the mother for the opportunity.

Later I was up at the library when a homeless man tried to walk out the door with the bathroom key. The security guard gave chase and he threw the key in her direction, ricocheting it off the glass entry door. She picked it up and held it over her head in a menacing fashion while the man berated her. He screamed, calling her a racist and some other choice words. I wanted to get a frame of the confrontation, but I left my camera in the car. After a lot of heated yelling between the two, the man gave up and wandered back east up Ponce and the guard returned to her post at the library. If you've ever been to the Ponce library, you're familiar with their no nonsense policy. If a cell phone goes off, the security guard will hunt you down in the stacks and make you shut it off. I've always been worried I'll forget and get an earful from the guards.

After missing out on those photo ops, I'm just going to post this snap of the intersection of Highland and Ponce adjacent to the Briarcliff.

tony gordon

open/closed

A few years back I began taking pictures of stores that left their open signs on even though they were clearly closed. The theme has been an ongoing thing as it's rare to find and I don't always have a camera with me. We were walking back from Chico & Chang's when I saw this neglected one at the KFC.

This is a quick update because I'm still toiling over my first multimedia post. I finally digitally recorded a full interview and have spent the last two days trying to get compatible files and programs for my computer. Despite being almost brand new, it still takes five different upgrades and shortcuts to get anything to work on my Mac. With any luck the multimedia interview will be up soon. My fingers are crossed.

cuba libre

Another story I've tried to pursue is the influx of Cuban immigrants. I've heard rumors that the neighborhoods just north of Ponce between Piedmont Park used to be a common location for new arrivals from Cuba in the 60's and 70's. The two Cuban restaurants there are a good indicator, but I can't find much real evidence.

I interviewed a first generation Cuban-American a couple weeks ago. He spent several years on Ponce but could not confirm the neighborhood history. He knew of many Cuban nationals who regularly met in the northern parts of the city but none in the Midtown-Highlands area. My best bet at this point is to try and hit up the restaurants and see if anyone can lend me a hand. If anyone else has info about the Cuban neighborhood history, drop me a line.

I'm still trying to work the kinks out of my voice recorder. My hope is to have an audio slideshow up next week by breeding good old film with digital technology. Somewhere George Eastman is rolling over in his grave.