June 22, 2009 The town where love begins

Michael Ballew sent me a nice email and invited me to sit in the Tallapoosa Masonic Lodge sometime. I am proud to be a 32 degree Scottish Rite Mason and am a member of Bartlett Lodge #139 F & AM in Hiram. My uncles were Masons and my mother and grandmother were members of the local chapter of the Loyal Order of the Eastern Star. I noticed there is so much misinformation about the Masonic Lodge and very little real knowledge about the oldest fraternal organization in the world founded by King Soloman. Mozart, George Washington, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Red Skelton were all Masons. I wish more young people would try to become members. My deepest regret is that I was almost 40 before I became one. I salute the Tallapoosa Masonic Lodge for their annual charity golf event that honors a great man that was our next door neighbor Ray Hitchcock. I now live in his house that he and his wife Virginia build back in the 80s. Ray and Virginia made sure I always had a great Christmas when I was a boy. Virginia's fried chicken and corn bread were world class. My refuge from the harsh reality of bumper to bumper traffic, the threat of violent crime, and big city rudeness is that house that once was the home to the Hitchcocks. My girls Presley and Callie love Tallapoosa because they can play in the yard, ride bikes, and just be themselves here. That is a great selling point of our city is that we have always retained a certain friendly charm that can't be duplicated in a large metropolitan area. My prediction for the next 10 years for our town is that people are going to get fed up with metro Atlanta and suburban sprawl and come find the solitude and quality of life offered in Tallapoosa. My crystal ball also says the houses for sale now are going to be bought up and fixed up and that new housing starts are going to climb dramatically. I also think that commercial development will see a rise. Tallapoosa should take a chapter from the Georgia town up ne ar Chattanooga that is known as the place where you can get married with no problems because the town has the ability to handle it all. Dolly Parton told me that is where she and her husband of 4 decades Carl Dean got married. George Jones and Tammy Wynette were two more of Country music royalty that said "I do" in Ringgold, Georgia. Why can't the wedding chapel on Lyon Street turn into wonderful and memorable place to get married for people who would drive to Tallapoosa to get married. Market our city as the town where love begins. I bet local business folks would like it. Tommy Allen I bet could supply all the flowers and there are some entrepreneurs could provide catering, wedding cakes, and maybe even a horse carriage. I am sure there are photographers in the area that would love the work. Tallapoosa also has some beautiful houses that could host weddings. There are a couple of beautiful houses on Bowden Street, one that has been the home of two former class mates would be the perfect settings for a beautiful and memorable wedding. We could also try to market out town as a great place to spend an anniversary weekend. I am wondering why Tallapoosa has never had a bed and breakfast inn. Some of you remember we once had a Burger Inn but it really isn't quite the same. Think of how this idea could draw people that would spend money here locally, eating in our restaurants, shopping in our stores, staying in the local lodging establishments and truly make Tallapoosa as "The Town Where Love Begins". I see opportunity for this wonderful place I call home. It is just an idea, and I am sometimes wrong.