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ATLANTA PRIDE 2003 (June 27-29)

FRIDAY

I arrived in Atlanta around 7:30 and headed directly to Piedmont Park to meet Lee. He was in the park practicing with the band he directs, the Atlanta Freedom Marching Band. Ironically, it also started raining during their practice, so everyone was huddled up under a small shelter, but the music they were playing still sounded good. Soon after, Lee and I headed to to his house to clean up for the evening, and then met up with some friends of his at "Joe's o Juniper" in Midtown. Lee lives smack-dab next to the park and the restaurant, so everything was within walking distance.

Because of Pride, the place was packed. We didn't get our food until about 10 and left around 11. We had planned on heading out to the Red Chair bar, but we were informed that the line was a mile long and there absolutely no parking left. It was getting late, and we were tired, so we opted to stay in the rest of the right.


SATURDAY

I probably got more sleep then I needed, but Lee and I didn't get out of bed until a late 11 AM. Lee was a great host and made a breakfast full of omelets and waffles. Around 1:30, we headed to the park so he could play his french horn in the quintet he is a member of. While he was playing, I met a few friends of mine from Charlotte as they happened to be passing by the gazebo. I then went along with some other friends from Charlotte to walk around the park and enjoy the event. Actually, we ended up heading to the place they were staying and watched "Clueless" while some of them rested and ate lunch. After the movie, I headed back to the park to join Lee. We had to go back to his place before dinner to return the horn.

That evening, Lee and I met up with my other Atlanta friend Rik for dinner at "Tavern on the Park". We sat outside, but soon the clouds rolled in and we had to move inside as to not get soaked. we hung out at the restaurant for a while enjoying the company and talking about the weekend. And since Lee and I were unable to make it to the Red Chair the night before, we decided to make a go of it again that night. Luckily, we got to the bar before a line formed and before all parking was lost. We hung out with my Charlotte friend Richard and a few other friends Chad, Rob, Mike, Jason, Scott, and Eddy. A little drama ensued between Mike and Richard, but I just watched the play unfold before me. They all decided to leave around midnight, so Lee and I took off as well and headed to a circuit type party hosted by Electra. Actually, it was pretty lame. So 2 hours and $25 later, we left. We would have headed over to Blü, but Lee had to direct the band the next morning in the parade, so we just went to bed.

SUNDAY

Lee headed out early to get ready for the parade. I slept in and sat around the house until a little after noon. I headed out with my camera to meet up with my Charlotte friends to watch the parade. The plan was to watch the parade and have a cook out. But as most plans go, things change or are fouled up in some way. The procession finally made it in front of the apartment around 3. We had the grill warming as the parade made its way past us. There were a few notable entries in the parade. Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin was in the parade, as well as Delta Airlines. Tragedy almost struck though when the grill caught on fire and threatened to engulf the apartment in flames. Luckily, a fire extinguisher was handy and we were able to put out the flames before the fire-trucks had to be called. Paramedics did have to respond to an incident on the parade route though. Right in front of the crowd, a man fell off an old fire truck onto the road. The driver, not seeing the man fall, drove on and ended up running over the man's arm. I had to look away from the impending disaster. Fortunately for the victim, an ambulance was less than a block away and a stretcher was dispatched to his location. The parade was held up for about 15 minutes as onlookers watched the man treated. After they wheeled him away though, the festivities resumed without delay. Of course by then, the mood had pretty much been squelched (no pun intended).

The parade ended and I headed to the park to meet up with Lee. We walked around a while and then headed back to his place so I could pack for the trip home. After stopping off at a pool party to tell goodbye to Rik, I drove home.