By AWM

Seeing that most of us are adolescents in older bodies [Snicker], let’s revisit a staple of our elementary school days: Show and Tell.

Tell us about yourself… any special talents you have and what’s unique/interesting about where you grew up or where you live now.  My special talent is that I can freehand-draw Fred Flintstone.  I’ve had this “special talent” since I was around 10 years old.  How’d I acquire this unique aptitude?  Remember those wax paper/carbon toys where you used a stylus to imprint an image?  Well, the one I played with was a Flintstones thingy.  Here are 3 examples of the type of carbon imprint toy thingy I’m talking about.  

And here’s a rendition of Fred that I just knocked out in about 30 seconds.

Regarding interesting facts about where I live – Augusta*, GA – here are a few.

  • Augusta was established in 1736 by General James Edward Oglethorpe.
  • Augusta was named after Princess Augusta of Wales.
  • Augusta’s elite lived along Broad, Greene and Telfair streets. They were known as “Pinch Gut” for the corseted ladies who inhabited the area.
  • Augusta was twice the capital of Georgia.
  • The Medical College of Georgia was the state’s first medical school.
  • In the late 1800s, Augusta staked out a claim as a resort city. Guests included President William H. Taft, John D. Rockefeller, and Harvey Firestone.
  • President Woodrow Wilson lived in Augusta during the Civil War.   Boyhood Home of Woodrow Wilson | Augusta, Georgia (wilsonboyhoodhome.org)
  • Bobby Jones built the Augusta National Golf Club and hosted its First Invitational Tournament in 1934.  Heard of The Masters?
  • At least 10 Confederate generals were either born in the Augusta area, called it home at one time, or are buried here.
  • Two signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried in Augusta.
  • The Augusta Chronicle is the South’s oldest newspaper.
  • The Georgia Republican Party and the Southern Baptist Convention were both started in Augusta.
  • St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, built in 1749, is the third oldest Episcopal Church in Georgia.
  • Ty Cobb’s baseball career began with the Augusta Tourists in 1904.
  • It is rumored that George Washington’s dog is buried in Augusta.


*Technically I live in a suburb, but you get the idea.