Friday, April 19, 2013
Are you a native Gwinnettian? Share your story with us!
The Nortons, Britts and Snells of Snellville, Tullis' and Berrys of Dacula, the Nashes, Deals, Moons, (it's beginning to sound a little bit like a Hobbit convention...), and a host of other "first families" have all contributed to the greatness of Gwinnett County for decades, if not centuries. If you're a member of one of the first families, or know someone who is, share your story with us! Either post in the comment section or email the editor at Crystal.Huskey@patch.com. You can also post the story as a blog. Marlene Buchanan, a Patch reader and former columnist, wrote a piece a while back about Jack Britt, a Snellville resident and member of one of these original families. We'll share the story here: "Jack Britt is one of the most …
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Stronger and blacker than the heart of Satan? Or do you prefer ninny water?
Everyone who drinks coffee wants it prepared just so. Sandy Williams and Mark Manning from Parkview High School brewed triple-strength dark roasted Starbucks. When you think of black coffee, it will NEVER be as black as that. Their coffee was stronger and blacker than the heart of Satan. They called my coffee, “Ninny Water”. I admit my coffee it isn’t as strong as theirs, but you don't have to chew mine. The spoon in mine will not actually dissolve. It does pit the spoon pretty badly. Snell’s cousin Charles will sometimes drink a cup of my coffee. When he does, he adds water to it. I don’t understand. This is a man that craved coffee as he was recovering from cancer surgery. He was on a feeding tube and the only thing he wanted was coffee…
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
“[Humphrey Bogart] was endowed with the greatest gift a person can have: talent. The whole world came to recognize it.” -John Huston
Happy New Year, y’all! I recently read a biography of Humphrey Bogart, who has always been one of my favorite actors. I don’t know what made him appeal to so many people, but he did. In real life, he was charismatic as a tough guy with a funny sense of humor and a magnetic personality. "Casablanca" is one of my favorite movies. Bogart is the bad guy/hero who is as clearly defined as a person with integrity and conscience. These attributes might serve each of us well as we go into 2013. This is a new year and I was thinking of things that one does at the beginning of a year. Last year was a hard year for my family. What should I do for this New Year? Should I set goals, resolutions? What do I want to accomplish? I certainly don't want…
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Marlene Buchanan has the honor of knowing Santa personally.
I told you once that I was older than dirt. I taught Elvis in high school and I attended kindergarten through graduation with Santa Claus. Yep. I remember Santa when he didn’t know what a whisker was, let alone how to grow a beard! You know, Santa is not born Santa Claus. He has to be chosen for that job because of his kindness and love for children. David Childs was tapped to be Santa Claus quite a few years ago. From the beautiful white beard and rosy cheeks to the loving personality and deep heartfelt laugh, David is Santa. Santa David is a very generous, gregarious man with the tender heart of Santa Claus and the true Christmas Spirit. Childs was chosen as Santa because he embodies the ideal we all hold of that delightful being, and he…
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
And it takes the hair elf to get him ready!
Meet Sheila Lentz, Hair Elf to the brightest star of them all -- Saint Nick! Sheila has been a hair dresser for 34 years. When Santa saw her beautiful work on the hair of so many people in Snellville, he knew he had found his Hair Elf. Slipping in and out of chimneys in the dark of night, I bet he sees a lot of things, but he appreciated Sheila’s talents with hair. Santa must be fluffed and puffed each day before he meets his public, and Sheila is the master Fluffer-Puffer for the area. Santa Claus and his magic elf meet early in the morning to get him ready to face the day. The man has a lot on his mind. He can’t worry about his hair. Trained as a cosmetologist at Dale Strepple’s on North Highland Avenue in Atlanta, Sheila has a true …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
You don’t know what celebration is until you get a group of women who have beat breast cancer together.
There was a wild time in Old Snellville on Thursday, Oct. 25. Angela Benton, Beverly Rutledge, Dr. Tracey McElveen and Jason Martin are familiar faces to all of us who are dealing or have dealt with cancer treatment through Radiotherapy Clinic of Georgia on Presidential Circle. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, RCOG invited all its BC patients to a Ladies Night Out. About 60 women and a few very brave men attended. Margaret Murphy, Regional Director of Operations of RCOG, was the hostess supported by an outstanding cast. Scott Lynch handled many of the arrangements and was the go-to person for the evening. Beverly Rutledge, Office Manager, and nurse Angela Benton, my personal angel during my time under the gun, pulled the …
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
An ode to dark spaces and the ones who call them home.
There is a grave disturbance in the atmosphere around my house. It is time to change the closets over from summer wear to winter clothes. Don’t you hate it? I hate it more than changing to Daylight Savings Time. Do y’all remember Agatha Tarantula and Mavis Merry Widow who help to protect all my furniture and finery with lovely detailed spider webs? Let me now introduce you to Agatha’s second cousin, Ariadne, a lovely young thing new to our abode. Ariadne has moved into my shoe cupboard. I say “cupboard,” but it is actually a very old “kitchen safe.” For those of you who are not blessed with southern heritage, or who are too young to appreciate it if you are, let me explain. A safe is where people would place food that needed protecting. …
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
It has been a year since Marlene Buchanan's ordeal with cancer began; now, she reflects on the good that has come out of it.
You know, we make friends under the strangest circumstances and in the most trying situations. It is part of the resilience of the human spirit, I think. Nearly a year ago my ordeal with cancer began, and it has been a terrible year, but a couple of great things have come out of it. I met some terrific people at the radiation clinic, and I am recovered...mostly. Marquetta Ryan, Barbara Foster, another woman I shall call Sheila, and I met and became friends sitting in the reception area of Georgia Radiation Center. We shared our tears and fears and knew the true meaning of exhaustion. I don’t care how prepared you think you are when you enter a treatment center, you always have trepidation. Dr. Gargus and his staff are the kindest of people…
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Marlene is having a birthday, and she boldly embraces the years. At 63, she says there's no use trying to avoid it.
I don’t know why people make such a big deal about birthdays. Little kids have the right idea. Celebrate. Eat cake and ice cream, yell and scream. Enjoy every minute of it. Of course, I know adults who will eat cake and ice cream and yell and scream. But they are lamenting their ages. Take a woman who subtracts ten or fifteen years. Look at her body, her hands, the little crinkles at her eyes, the bunions on her feet. You know she’s lying. Folks, spackle can only do so much for you. And, plastic surgery is expensive and it hurts. Doris Day used filters on cameras to disguise her freckles and wrinkles. Do you have the kind of money where you can hire lackeys to run ahead of you holding gauze netting in front of your face? When you are a…
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Dr. Jessica Chen keeps you on pins and needles.
(Editor's Note: Due to Election Day coverage, we are running the Hey Y'all column this week on Wednesday, November 9.) I met Dr. Jessica Chen when I was exploring acupuncture and massage for those old nagging aches and pains. You know the ones that we actually created in our youth, when we thought we were invincible. You remember being young and doing those fancy dives at the swimming pool? How about those times when you picked up 50 pounds as if it were five? Remember catching that pass playing football in the back yard? Playing basketball and even though you were only 5’5”, you thought you could slam dunk? The only thing that was slammed dunked was you. Yeah, my back hurts thinking about it all, too. I got a two for one deal with Dr. …
marlene buchanan
7:49 pm on Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Thank you all. I will greatly miss writing for the patch. I have met some really wonderful people. And Brenda, I think I still have a few of those biscuits around if you need any landscaping stones. more ›