A Classic City, 19 at Wild Wings, a Car Wash, Rock-Bottom Prices and Dicksian Dreams

Took a drive to Athens, GA with my room-mate who leaves town today. A farewell trip for both of us in a way. Being there was cathartic. The classic city defines everything an ideal city should have. Atlanta has always been a pretentious attempt to masquerade as a metropolitan/cosmopolitan progressive city, but has ended up as a confused melange of old town, sparse desert, ugly environs and desolate distances. As if the walk through classic downtown wasn't pleasant enough, we entered the Wild Wings Cafe for dinner. It being a Tuesday, they had a deal on their wings, which meant you could have twice the number of wings in an order for the price of a single order (and your choice of the two types of wings). I had a great mix of habanero wings and a mild ranch variant, with homemade bleu dips and celery. The jukebox blared out one hit after another and we left the place shortly after the karaoke had started. After a generous car wash we drove over to the Athens WAL*MART super centre (which is the biggest one I have ever seen) and relished the low prices and wide range of items. Desolate dark vegetation peppered with occasional bright spots that marked a Waffle House (the ubiquitous American milestone), a chain gas station, or a car dealer's lot (what a waste of power!). Just the qualities of a boring drive. We had music to keep us company, and the local radio station didn't fade out for quite a while after we entered Atlanta. The confused mix of meat I had ingested could only contribute to the eclectic obscurity of my dreams -- too involved and tiring to describe, except my house wasn't what it used to be, and neither did the occupants. Time and space had no meaning. All this cranial overload peaked (on schedule, as always) as the alarm clock launched into its cacophonous revival riff.