Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Sherman's March to the Sea

As of February 13, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Steps: 1,282,074
Miles: 545.76


As I enter the swampy lowlands of Georgia my thoughts turn to me being a Yankee in the deep south.

I consider myself a pick-n-choose history buff, that is, I pick and choose bits that I find interesting and leave the dry, dull stuff for others.

But say "Georgia", and you cannot escape history. Perhaps you see Peaches, Peanuts, Coca-Cola, Scarlett O'Hara or Ty Cobb. Explored by the Spanish Conquistador Hernando de Soto in 1540, one of the orginial 13 colonies, named by the British, the "Province of Georgia" in honor of King George II, site of Revolutionary War battles - Georgia joined the Confederacy on January 18, 1861.

The "Lost Cause" lives on there.

My Virtual Walk will take me through 112 miles of Georgia ending just north of Savannah. --Georgia, has seen many walks on many types. Marches by civil rights activists and counter-marches by the Ku Klux Klan. But, there was another walk that will be long remembered.

On November 15, 1864, Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman began a campaign that would see some 60,000 men march 300 miles from Atlanta, Georgia to Savannah "scorching the earth" and destroying railroads, bridges, public buildings, and consuming the food of the people that lived along the way.

This brutal form of warfare may have helped end the Civil War, but it generated much hardship and bitter feelings, feelings that linger on today, with time only slowly erasing them.

I think to myself, I will tread lightly and strive to leave only the faintest of virtual footprints while enjoying the peaches and peanuts, and slaking my thirst with a cold diet Coke.

6 comments:

Deanna said...

Peaches and peanuts? Hmmmmm... I'll have a diet coke please!

Intense Guy said...

*serves up da Punkn a nice tall, refreshing, diet coke with caffeine and ice*

. o O (What is the point of Diet caffeine-free Coke??)

AliceKay said...

I'll take a coke too (regular one for me, please)as long as you're getting one for punkn and yourself.

One of our feed customers is named Ty Cobb. (he's not the famous baseball player, tho)

Btw, I didn't remember that about General Sherman. (told ya i didn't like history in high school) Thanks for today's lesson. :)

Intense Guy said...

*serves up Alice Kay a nice tall refreshin' real coke from a classic shaped green bottle with just the right amount of ice*

*puts some fresh roasted, lightly salted peanuts out on the bar while he is at it*

I think Ty Cobb might be the next Blog entry :-)

LadyStyx said...

I've had more than enough Coke this week...how about a nice refreshing glass of sweet tea...or maybe a nice mint julep?

Yummy ...roasted peanuts with *just* the right touch of salt on em.

Intense Guy said...

Wall, ya'll know its jawyah, so ah reckons ya'll kin have a nice tea or a mint julip.

Ya'all take you-uns pick al-rat?