“I was seeking good stories from ordinary folks.”
I’m a big fan of NPR radio show, This American Life, and their most recent episode, Georgia Rambler, is an excellent example of why you should make sure to “tune in” regularly. I don’t want to give away any juicy bits, but if you give it a listen, you will definitely laugh and probably be quite touched. Here’s a brief synopsis:
In the 1970s a reporter named Charles Salter wrote a column for the Atlanta Journal called “Georgia Rambler.” He’d get into his car, head out to some small town, and ask around until he found a story. This week, nine of us go to Georgia to try it out for ourselves, in small towns all over the state.
The show kind of reminds me of the few weeks I spent back in January 2009 roaming round Georgia (as well as Alabama and Tennessee) shooting pics for my RED STATE exhibition at Leeds College of Art: driving all over the place, meeting stranglers, learning about old ways in a new world.
In addition to the down home storytelling and top notch investigative broadcast journalism, I just love hearing all the drawl. Apparently, as virtually everyone who meets me and finds out I’m from Georgia, I ain’t got no Southern accent anymore. I guess it rubbed off a long time ago. Anyway, if you’re on the same side of the Atlantic as I am these days and ever come across some decent deals to America, try to hit small town America – it’d be good for the soul.
Big thanks and a bear hug to fellow Georgia exile, Anna Abney Bartolini, for making certain I gave Georgia Rambler a listen.
