Catching Up

A big chunk of summer has gone past with very few blogs from Lilburn. Suffice it to say that life gets in the way sometimes.

After experiencing a birthday, a tooth extraction, and a painful back problem this month, the senior Atkins boy is finally beginning to feel a little more human. I've chosen to photograph only one these events. As you can see, he is the only one concentrating on his dessert.

One benefit of not feeling well at the Atkins home is that your loving spouse indulges you. This takes many forms. In our house it means special menus on demand (applies only to the male members of the family). This recently led to one of our summer favorites – Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches.

One of the best Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches we've ever eaten is served at the Tamarack rest stop along the turnpike in West Virginia. This is way more than a rest stop. It features gifts from West Virginia's best artists and craftsmen along with a restaurant run by the same people who produce the meals at the 5-star Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs. If you're ever on the West Virginia turnpike, stop at Tamarack. Order the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich.

Here is the Atkins family chef's attempt to reproduce this stellar summer staple:

FRIED GREEN TOMATO SANDWICHES

Make the sauce:
Melt 2 tbsp. butter. Add about 1 tbsp. flour and stir for about 1 minute. Add about 1 cup milk and a little salt. Cook and stir until thickened. Drop in pieces of American cheese and stir until melted. The amount of cheese depends upon how cheesy you want the sauce to be. Try about four slices, torn in pieces.

Prepare the tomatoes:
Slice green tomatoes at least ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little sugar. Let sit about 10 minutes. Dip tomato slices in milk; then in flour; then in beaten egg; then in bread crumbs. Fry in either olive oil or butter - about 3 minutes on each side on medium heat. Tomatoes should be slightly soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside.

Make the sandwiches:
Split good rolls in half (we like Kaiser rolls) and spread with mayonnaise (we like Hellmans). Add the green tomato slices and as much sauce as you like. If you want to be really decadent, add a few bacon slices (fried crisp of course).

Getting To Know You

Since the Atkins family is a small one, there aren't many cousins with whom to keep in touch. So it was great news when we learned that one of the few – Jeff Burns who lives in Ohio – had worked out a time to bring his wife of one year, Debbie, to Lilburn for a few days this month. It was our first opportunity to get acquainted with Debbie and to visit with Jeff as a mature individual rather than a son in his parents' household.

And what a treat it was.

Considering that we range in age from 83 to 19, counting Greg's friend, Hannah, it's nothing short of amazing that we never ran out of things to do or talk about. We talked from Sunday afternoon through Thursday morning. We talked from first thing in the morning till late at night. Scott and Jeff talked two nights in a row till our automatically timed living room lighting left them unexpectedly in the dark.

The Atkins Boys and Jeff talked about cars and guns and guns and cars and whatever else guys talk about. Jeff helped Carl bottle wine – his first experience with a corker – and learned first hand what it was like to participate in the landing in France during WW II. Debbie and Sallie talked about family history, different religions, and potential baby names. Debbie and Hannah talked about teaching and all of us talked about beautiful Hannah's decision to enter the Miss Georgia contest. And we saw a demonstration of Greg and Hannah's unique dancing style (she stands on his feet and he dances).

In between, we took in some sights that are unique to this part of Georgia. Since Jeff is quite a gourmet cook, we spent a morning at the DeKalb Farmers' Market browsing the aisles for food not often seen in Ohio. Let's just say that most of what we brought home was fresh produce. We did not ask the employees to kill and gut any exotic creatures from the sea or feel the urge to buy cans or bags of things we couldn't pronounce. We did get stuck in the bread and pastry aisle, though.

The next morning brought the exotic experience of attending the mid-day service at Lilburn's amazing Hindu temple, the largest of its kind in the USA where Debbie and I blessed ourselves along with the sari-clad women while Scott and Jeff sat cross-legged on the floor up front, surrounded by prone Indian men. Women definitely take a back seat in this culture and their devotion to marble statues is a bit of a puzzle to those of us whose religious roots are in rural West Virginia.

And, since Debbie has a particular interest in the Civil War, we visited Atlanta's Cyclorama, the largest painting in the world and one of only two such paintings that still exist. The Battle of Atlanta, enhanced by its well lighted diorama and excellent narration, gave all of us an up close and personal view of how the Civil War was fought and how it is still viewed here in the deep South. Just how far we've come as a nation was brought home by the fact that the story is narrated by James Earl Jones and our tour guide was an articulate young black man.

Our time together can best be summed up by words from the song, "Getting to know you, Getting to know all about you. Getting to like you, getting to hope you like me."

We did. We do. We think they do too.

First Degree

A ceremony of great pride took place on June 15, 2009 in Athens, Georgia. Greg obtained his Associate Degree in Automotive Technology.

The milestone he has reached enabled him to find a job this summer – something that many of his peers have not been able to do. He is working at Akins Ford, a large dealership in Athens and enjoying every minute of it.

This fall he will be continuing his studies toward a more advanced degree in Business Administration. Greg will eventually have an education that will prepare him for either a blue collar or a white collar career – something that may prove invaluable in these tough economic times since it is difficult to outsource automotive repair to India or Taiwan.

While talking about all of the activities associated with graduation, we suddenly realized that Greg is the first member of our family to achieve a degree beyond high school. His dad went to OSU for 2 ½ years. His grandfather was drafted into WW II while a senior and came back to finish in Buffalo, WV. His grandmother graduated from Point Pleasant High School and immediately went to work in Columbus, Ohio. None of Greg's great-grandparents were fortunate enough to have had a high school degree - a luxury that many, if not most, could not afford in those days - especially in the hills of West Virginia.

Just writing this made me realize how important it is these days to have a more advanced education. Doors do not open in today's world as easily as they have opened in the past when it was possible to have a successful career built by on-the-job training, hard work, and above average achievement.

Congratulations, Greg, for achieving this milestone. Our entire family is very proud of you!