The Deep South Project

[dave lackey]

Tonight is Thursday night, a fine time for a mint julep. Fits right in with my next blog post, about an author from Atlanta.

So, whilst I contemplate the words that go along with the image, I will sit back and enjoy a Southern libation...

 

[venchka]

OK Dave. You're killing me. Whilst you were sipping your mint julip, I was working my buns off. 12 hour day. I won't complain. I am truly thankful to be fully employed.

I will complain about the photo of an MG-T? on your blog. No caption. No explanation. Just a photo. We want to know more.

Wayne

 

[dave lackey]

OK Dave. You're killing me. Whilst you were sipping your mint julip, I was working my buns off. 12 hour day. I won't complain. I am truly thankful to be fully employed.

I will complain about the photo of an MG-T? on your blog. No caption. No explanation. Just a photo. We want to know more.

Wayne

Ha! Funny timing, I was just finishing a mint julep when I saw your post...🙂...takes my mind off of being unemployed for 3 years 11 months.

Yes, the 1951 MGTD, and you're right, I forgot to mention the story behind the picture. My apologies for that lapse of memory.

The story is one of living the dream. The dream that started when I was first introduced to MGTDs when reading Road & Track magazines as a young teen. Dreams of owning and driving a real vintage sports car with the love of your life sharing the joy of piloting a proper motorcar while on some of the most scenic roads in The Deep South.

The dream that caught fire when my bride accepted my proposal of marriage and became more than a dream on our 35th anniversary. The plan worked perfectly. The plan was to retire from motorcycling and sell the BMW K1200LT to buy an MGTD for a week long tour in the Great Smoky Mountains. That is exactly what we did and I picked up the TD from the previous owner on the afternoon that our second grandson was born and drove it to the hospital in time to be present and accounted for when he arrived!

The plan was to keep the car one year and sell it. We drove that beautiful machine for almost two years before selling it and, although I would love another one, it will not happen even if I win the lottery. I just can't improve on a perfect 35th Anniversary Tour. Nor commuting to work everyday even in the winter in an MGTD. Nor letting our other toddlers play in the seat whilst I took pictures.

Ah, the glorious memories of the TD. I have many stories about living with this car including hair-raising drives and valiant avoidances of disaster on winding roads in the mountins...They absolutely crush the memories of the five previous MG cars I had before as well as the two Corvettes that I spent driving over a quarter million miles. Yes, those memories will never be in competition with another British sports car. It just wouldn't be right.

I lost my string back gloves but I still have my English driving hats. And I still have my custom made trunk for the rear rack. God surely must drive an MGTD in heaven....nothing else would do.:angel:

 

[venchka]

Now your are just being plain mean. Grinning.
Great story. Y'all are blessed.
The last time we were in Boone I watched two Healy 3000s cruise through Downtown no doubt on a cruise of the mountains.
Wake up Wayne.

Wayne

 

[dave lackey]

Yes, Wayne, we are blessed. Everyday when someone like you interacts with our own lives, it blesses us. Each morning upon awakening, it is a blessed event. We are so thankful.

The MGTD was an interesting way to live a dream for free. Yes, free! That car was purchased by my wife, I was the custodian, driver and mechanic...and it was lovingly owned for a good while, and sold for exactly what we had in the machine.

Purchasing beautiful things and owning them for free is an amazing experience. A blessing in itself as in my younger years, I would have never even thought about it.

Before recent life-changing experiences, I was so much older then, but I am wiser than that now.:angel:

 

[BlackXList]

A short while back, you were asking for people's perceptions of the south.

I saw this link today, a map of American stereotypes by state

http://blog.noupsi.de/post/28896819324/why-are-americans-so

obviously as stereotypes, they're based more in perception than reality, and I'm not assigning any validity to any of them, I just thought it seemed to tie into the perceptions question you were asking.

It also has the methodology on there which makes it clear that it's from google autocomplete results, rather than news stories etc, so it's solely based on perceptions/stereotypes, which may be fun to illustrate or counterpoint.

 

[dave lackey]

A short while back, you were asking for people's perceptions of the south.

I saw this link today, a map of American stereotypes by state

http://blog.noupsi.de/post/28896819324/why-are-americans-so

obviously as stereotypes, they're based more in perception than reality, and I'm not assigning any validity to any of them, I just thought it seemed to tie into the perceptions question you were asking.

It also has the methodology on there which makes it clear that it's from google autocomplete results, rather than news stories etc, so it's solely based on perceptions/stereotypes, which may be fun to illustrate or counterpoint.

Ha, ha....yes, it is funny. Thanks for that.

Thank God that Google is not a professional planner or the entire country would be zoned Industrial as not a single result was a positive.😱

And, yes, the project is indeed moving ahead every single day of the week. Whilst the blog is slowly working it's way through Georgia, a lot of research and shooting has been ongoing in preparation for the first of five photocentric travel tours.

Things should start to get interesting right about...now.😉

 

[BlackXList]

Hahaha on the surface they do seem a little dismissive, but I think it could be interesting to look at how some people would perceive some of those comments as positives

South Carolina gets "important"
Alabama gets "good" and "good at football"
and Texas gets "awesome"

plus to some people "conservative" would be a positive, and of course "weird" too, from different people's viewpoints.

and would certainly be fun to engage with, similarly with the State Pride map, and there's definitely something interesting to be seen between the cost of living and obesity statistics, is it a result of food being cheap and plentiful, or is it the type of food?

and that's ignoring any of the more negative aspects.

it is lucky that planning isn't based on the google autocomplete results haha, but it's an interesting resource as it lacks any one person's individual bias

 

[tjh]

Dave - Just saw your blog. Great! I'll check back frequently.

Tom

 

[dave lackey]

Dave - Just saw your blog. Great! I'll check back frequently.

Tom

Thanks, Tom!

HISTORY WAS MADE TODAY...and I had to update my blog....🙄

Seems that the Augusta National Golf Club, a private organization for 80 years, admitted it's first female members today....😎

 

[Bob Michaels]

...................... Seems that the Augusta National Golf Club, a private organization for 80 years, admitted it's first female members today....

And they just happened to be Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore. How about Virginia Rometty, President of IBM who is one of their biggest sponsors? I suspect Rometty said "F*** Y**" after they rejected her earlier.

 

[dave lackey]

And they just happened to be Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore. How about Virginia Rometty, President of IBM who is one of their biggest sponsors? I suspect Rometty said "F*** Y**" after they rejected her earlier.

Yes, sir, it should have been done long ago.... still don't think they will let riff raff like me in the gates to photograph the premises though. 🙄

But I could ask about an application for a membership for my bride, though, right?😛

 

[dave lackey]

Nothingness.

Photographically-speaking, it just means the same old same old... we are in-between seasons for a few weeks and are anticipating the next four months of Fall and the holiday season! Football! Festivals! Changes in the scenery! Outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, hunting, and photo ops galore...

My blog will take on a different personality as the seasons change.

http://davidbryanlackey.blogspot.com/

So, whilst in this languishing period of time, I would like to hear from you guys about how to make the blog itself better. It will be opportunity driven and that means it will be a long-term project. Plenty of time to refine it's direction as we go along.:angel:

 

[dave lackey]

Just a quick update.

Many days spent in doctors' offices and many more ahead make this photographer tired and weary. Yet, there is light ahead. With cooler Fall weather and many photo opportunities ahead, The Deep South project is beginning to get interesting.😉

Remember the old game, "Where in the World is ******?" It seems that I am engaged in a new version of that game as I work down the list of impressions previously made to help me structure this project.

Well, September will see me in central and southern Alabama. October will be the mountains of North Georgia. November may be Memphis.

Spring will be dedicated to South Carolina, southern Georgia, Mississippi, and New Orleans.

For now, I am entering into a most-curious part of discovering Atlanta. See my blog for details if you are interested. Right now, the sabattical continues but I will be checking back in periodically.🙂