by Dawn Taylor

Created on: April 29, 2008

We live in a quaint little town around the annexed metro Atlanta area. It's very historic (what part of Georgia isn't?). We have a cute little town square where you will find shops of all sorts from a little hardware store, antiques, art store, ice cream shop, the local realtor, to your friendly cookware store that offers lessons in how to be a gourmet. The pinnacle of this center is the clock tower, not unlike the one from "Back to the Future". It stands watching over the town and can be seen from almost any point in the city. The clock tower dates back to 1883. From one vantage point the weather vane erected atop this multigenerational monument resembles a cross and you would be hard pressed to think it were otherwise. You can go anywhere in town and get a feel of today but come into the square and pull up a piece of bench, a good book, a well packed lunch, or your camera, on a day as perfect as an April spring day and you will notice that you have stepped back in time. But how did we get to this point?

When we moved to this town I was very wrapped up in the details of our move. We came here from Sarasota, Florida a very cultural area. As a photographer I finally stopped to look around through my lens. I came to the square in town on a Sunday and saw a display that I could not resist. I stopped to get a picture and further noticed that not soul was around. We found out that the shops on the square (except one) are closed on Sundays (so Bible belt!), this was perfect because there would be limited parked cars in my shots if we came back on a Sunday to snap photos. I wanted to take pictures but the square is always so busy. Yet even in the bustle there is still a peace, but lots of cars and traffic.

We took a bunch of pictures from the park in the center of the square and then the shops around the square. Then we walked off the square down two streets (not intentionally but we followed our curiosity). We found all kinds of amazing finds. What life; what history; what beauty; what curiosity; what inspiration!

We wandered back down to the square via another street and stopped for ice cream (the only opened shop). Then we went down to historic Floyd Street. The Plantation Style houses on Floyd Street date back older than 1840 and the home owners offer tours of these works of art. We didn't walk very far down this street because we'd been out so long already and taken a couple hundred pictures but we walked a few homes.

What other town can you stand in the middle of the street and take pictures in the afternoon without fear of being run over? What town can you go out at 1:30 am and take photos in the middle of the town square standing in the street and not fear for life? We've been so inspired in our area, in our art. We live in a safe area and we're close enough to a major city so we can get, see, and do things that most never will. I discovered was more about the area in which we live just from a day out for pictures. I am in Heaven here in my little historical town and its country feel "know your neighbors feel". This is what America used to be. This is what America should be.

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