Oboomacare 

Okay, remember, folks, it’s time again for Flagpole’s Halloween Scary Story Contest. I hope you saw the ad in last week’s Flagpole and are already hard at work. The DEADline is 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22. The rules are the same as always: Write a story of no more than 750 words, set it in Athens, and incorporate a special theme. This year, the theme is of course that horror stalking Georgia: Obamacare. Graphic stories are welcome, too; email [email protected] for the specs.

Prizes are $75 for first place, $50 for second and $25 for third. Winners will be chosen by a ghoulish panel of Flagpole editors. Winning stories will be published in the Oct. 30 Flagpole and, along with some of the other stories, online at flagpole.com.

So, get to work. Send your story to [email protected] or 112 Foundry St., Athens, GA 30601 by Tuesday at 5 p.m. And hurry! Our editors want blood.

An Update on Harold

Harold Williams

A visit with Harold Williams (CPA to the Stars) and his wife, Paula, at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta found him in his usual good spirits despite the paralyzing injury he suffered when he tripped in his office a month ago and broke his neck. Harold is undergoing physical and occupational therapy, and, at least for the short run, is learning how to manipulate a powered wheel chair in order to be able to get around. (He ran it into the door jamb leaving the room, but that’s off the record.)

Harold says of the outpouring of support and concern that he has received: “I feel every thought, every prayer, every good wish. If you don’t think they make a difference, you’re wrong”

He has high praise for the staff and facilities at Shepherd. “I’ll spend the rest of my life being an ambassador for this place,” he says. “The spirit here is just incredible.” Harold’s daughter Molly calls Shepherd “an angel magnet.”

As reported earlier, Harold is on a first-name basis and has given nicknames to half the people there. Staff and fellow patients spoke to him as they passed him in the corridor, and he greeted them with a smile and a quip.

Harold says that recently he was sitting outside in his wheelchair when a man rolled up and said, “You don’t know me, but I know you. I used to listen to you playing music at the Chi Phi house.” The man turned out to be James Shepherd, whose injuries in 1975, when there were no facilities in Georgia to treat him, caused him and his parents to found Shepherd Center, now the nation’s largest rehabilitation center of its kind.

Harold’s walls are lined with the cards you’ve sent, so send more. 419 Shepherd Center, 2020 Peachtree Rd. NW, Atlanta, GA 30309-1465.

See Art at Home

This Saturday, Oct. 19 brings local artist Chatham Murray’s annual home show, wherein you can stop by her house at 120 Barrow St. from 11 a.m. until dark, rain or shine, and see all her new paintings, which are also, of course, for sale. Chatham really goes all out with food and drink, and her home is itself a work of art, with its whimsically eclectic furnishings and paint schemes. Her show is always sort of a floating party and reunion of old friends, so here’s your reminder to include it on your Saturday calendar (chathammurray.com).