Out Of The Darkness at Piedmont Park

Yesterday, I participated in the "Out Of The Darkness" event held at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, on Sunday, November 7th. This event had about 600 attending and the weather cooperated with us perfectly. It was cool enough for us to not have to worry about over heating, (or even breaking a sweat). The course was a mixture of both the walking trails that circles Piedmont Park and the old avenues that use to crisscross the park. The route was just under 2 miles in length and we walked it twice.

I decided not to travel with the team that I had signed up with because it depended on how the mood struck me as to what I would have done after the event and if I had rode with them then I would have had to ride back with them or if any of them rode with me then, again, I would have had to return them.

I drove to the College Park MARTA rail station and parked there. I was to ride the train to the midtown station and it would have only cost $4 for a round trip. Well, MARTA had changed their system. You have to buy little cards, which will expire instead of getting the tokens as of days of yore. The card cost an extra 50 cents. Slick. Therefore, I got my card with round trip and made my way down to the platform and my timing was right. The train had just pulled up as I descended so I was able to board without waiting. The ride was only 15 minutes and uneventful. The trains do now have TVs set up and depending on where you sit as to which station you have to watch, with no sound.

I got off at midtown and made my way to the park. Midtown station is located off of 10th St. between Peachtree and West Peachtree St. We were to meet at the 12th St. entrance of the park so I only had to stroll about five blocks. I got there in time enough for the ceremonies, which consisted of speakers of the organization, and then we started our walk. The groups or teams, most had tee shirts with their team names on them. Since I had never met any of my teammates before, I was looking around for them and was trying to ID them by their tee shirts. I didn’t see anyone with a Team Crossroads on their tees.

Also at this same entrance, they were filming The Change-Up (2012). We weren’t in the filming and with the lighting screens that they used none of us walkers were able to see much of what was going on. I asked an Atl. PD that was standing by if he knew the name of the picture or if it was for a television show or series.

Folks came with their children and Folks came with their dogs, on leashes. I talked to one man who was just steadily being pulled along by his golden retriever. I told him he should have worn roller skates and allowed the dog to do all the work. Moreover, as I walked amongst them I keep an eye out for my team. As with any type of event like this, very few travel at the same speed and as soon as we started spreading out a bit I was able to move forward to try and see if any of the Team was up in front. No luck.

We did have some cheering section at various points amongst the route. They brought smiles to our faces and were a nice little bit of encouragement. In addition, we even had a bag-piper along the route. Also, there were others there that do what is normally done in parks on a beautiful Sunday afternoon; strolling, picnicking, playing, dog walking, photographers taking landscape portraits, and so on. We had a few artists out there wailing away on guitars and it made for a very pleasant time.

A course I took picture, but I forgot to take 10 sets of spares for the battery monster that I call a camera and the one set didn’t last too long.

After the event, I rested for a moment and thought about how I’d liked to spend the rest of the evening and what I was going to do about my dinner. I knew that there were some eateries along the route back to the Midtown station and I was going to look them over as I returned. And I did but nothin’ caught my fancy. At Midtown, I thought of one restaurant around Hapeville but then I realize that it’s been that long since I’ve eaten at the Varsity. Generally, if I can’t remember the last time I’ve eaten there then I’m due for some chilidogs, so, I just strolled on down to North Ave and the Interstate for the Varsity. It was only 1.5 miles away. And then the North Ave MARTA station would be only three blocks away.

A course I had my usual, two chilidogs, onion rings, and a coke. Afterwards I boarded MARTA and returned to College Park. I walked out to my truck, got in and tried to start it. Notice that I said, “tried”, cause it wouldn’t. I turned the key and the engine turned over but wouldn’t catch. I thought, “hmmm, this never happened before”. Usually the truck starts on the first try. So, I tried it again, and it wouldn’t. Then I tried it a half a dozen more times and it still wouldn’t. By this time I’m talking to the truck. “Why here of all places?” was the gist of what I said. And no, I don’t talk ugly to my truck. Other folks trucks, yes, but not mine. I popped the hood and check to see if anything was missing or loose but everything looked fine. I sat back down in the truck and just happened to look over at the passenger door and notice that I had failed to lock it before I left. I did a quick inventory of the truck’s continence to make sure nothing was missing and then I checked the center console for some items I keep there to make sure they weren’t taken and Lo and Behold; there was the ignition key, were I had left it.

My truck has an anti-theft ignition system that you have to have a special key for. I never take that key with me because if I were to lose it then...
So, when I park. I put it somewhere in the truck that is safe. I have a key made for the door, that is what I take with me, and by the way, that’s what I tried to start the truck with.

Now, there has been two “stories” in circulation about that special key with the microchip in it. One is that if you try to start the vehicle with out it then you need to get a technician to reset it so you can start your vehicle again. And the other one is that, “No, it just won’t start unless you’re using the proper key”. I took a chance to find out if the second one was true and sure enough, it was.

So, I headed home and when I was pulling out of the MARTA station, I was behind an SUV with Coweta plates on it. I notice that inside the SUV there were a lot of folks. Might this be my lost team? On the interstate, I pulled along side, glanced in, and recognize a couple of faces from the walk. There was a mini-van in front of them that they seem to be following also had Coweta tags. So, I pulled along side them and recognize more faces. I notice they were wearing a teal tee shirt and knew that I had taken some photos with those teal shirts in them but I never saw anything that had “Team Crossroad” on them.

When I got home, I downloaded the picture from the battery monster and looked through them; I found pics with those teal tees in them and did a close up. Lo and Behold, on the front of one of the tees, plane as day, was Team Crossroads. However, it wasn’t on the backside of the tees like so many of the other teams had.

Oh, well... maybe next time.