Done It!

Please pardon Flagpole’s excitement about moving into our new home at 220 Prince Ave., across from the Grit, the Bottleworks and Go Bar and next-door to the Catholic church. After 20 years down on Foundry St., this is a big change for us: better visibility, adequate parking, more space, windows and sunlight, lots more going on around us, and we’re still a short stroll to downtown.

Everybody pitched in for the packing and moving, none more than Publisher Alicia Nickles’ husband, Matt Alston: contractor, roofer, karate teacher, fine-arts painter and all-around hard worker—plus he has a big pickup truck. We wouldn’t have made it without Matt, who spent New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day moving the shelving for our archives and our year’s supply of Flagpole Guides to Athens. The shelving, of course, is boards and concrete blocks, lots of concrete blocks. Tons of concrete blocks. We determined, too, that a bundle of Guides, with their heavy, slick paper, weighs almost as much as a concrete block. So that was two days of backbreaking, fingernail-splitting labor, hearing only snatches of the Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl debacle on the truck radio as we stacked blocks in the bed.

We got moved in time to put together this issue of Flagpole after a lot of help from our Slackpole friends, who wrote most of our end-of-the-year double issue.

Now, we’ve got boxes stacked everywhere, and we’re unpacking with one hand while typing and dialing with the other. Soon, though, we’ll be back to our usual messy selves, and we’ll have an open house and invite you over to see us. Meanwhile, we’re still at flagpole.com, 706-549-9523 editorial, 706-549-0301 advertising and P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603 for mail. Let us hear from you.

He’s Back!

Athens’ fallen hero Harold Williams is back at home, though confined to his wheelchair with very limited ability to do things for himself. That doesn’t stop him from smiling and cracking jokes as usual but it means that wife Paula has a lot to do. Want to know how you can help out? One way is by taking them a meal every now and then. Thanks to Covenant Presbyterian Church where they’re members, you can easily pick a day to take your meal. Just go to takethemameal.com, put in the name “Williams,” and the password is “Harold.” The address, map and phone number are right there on the site, and Covenant suggests that you call before signing up, to make sure nobody else is bringing a meal that day.

Trivia: Harold is a huge fan of Mark Twain, and, come to find out, Samuel Clemens, in spite of his unorthodox religious views, was a Presbyterian, too. Somehow, that explains a lot about Harold: his wit, his grace under pressure, his good spirits in the face of adversity. A Mark Twain Presbyterian: what a combination! 

Still There

The fabulous “Landscapes Near and Far” exhibit at the the UGA College of Environment & Design’s Circle Gallery has been extended through Jan. 15. You’ve got another week to see Ouida Williams’ colorful, abstract landscapes and Barbara Mann’s exquisite metalwork. They’re two of our most accomplished artists and should not be missed. The Circle Gallery is in the former art building on Jackson St., and it’s open weekdays from 9 a.m.–6 p.m.