Scarlett: Atlanta!
Mammy: Savannah would be better for ya. You’d just get in trouble in Atlanta.
We all have an inner Scarlett. Just some of us show it more than others. For some it’s the ‘fiddle-dee-dee’ side, while for others it’s the ‘With God as my witness, I’ll never go hungry again.’ Then there are those ‘I’ll think about it tomorrow’ people and the ‘I must have loved you for years, only I was such a stupid fool, I didn’t know it’ types. I’m all of them rolled into one. Scarlett O’Hara has been one of my role models since I was 11 years old and my mom and Mark introduced me to the feisty heroine. I sat up transfixed, through every second of the nearly four-hour movie, while they fell asleep on either side of me. I quickly went on to read the book (very different, but just as good) and began collecting everything Gone With the Wind (GWTW from here on) I could get my hands on.
Come to think of it, it’s rather surprising I haven’t done this pilgrimage before now. I still love GWTW, although my obsession has calmed over the years. It doesn’t jump out at you when you walk into my house – there’s no GWTW room, just a couple of framed pictures here and there, and the collectors plates from my Grandmama. In fact, there’s just as much Wicked Witch (from the Wizard of Oz – she’s another kindred spirit – and 1939 was the BEST year for movies) as there is Scarlett in my collection. (Uh oh, reading that, someone who doesn’t know me may get the impression that I’m a Grade A B*$@… I like them because they are strong, independent women!)
My cousin Tara shares my love of GWTW so I begged her to meet me down here. We’re cramming in the GWTW stuff before her friend Delanie joins us, although we’ll probably visit a plantation or something like that with her, too. So I went from Montgomery, Alabama (where all I did was sleep and drive through – have to say it has the most colorful, vibrant fall foliage) to the Atlanta airport. After grabbing a quick lunch (Mullberry St. Pizza; it was delicious), we went to our first GWTW stop.
The Gone With the Wind Museum in Scarlett on the Square, Marietta, is actually one person’s collection. Dr. Chris Sullivan used his personal collection to create the museum which is housed in a former cotton warehouse. It’s a fun little place with an extensive collection of various foreign movie posters and versions of the books, along with everything from actors’ versions of the script and chairs from the set to the actual honeymoon gown Vivien Leigh wore in the movie. They have the film playing when you first walk in and the soundtrack filtered throughout, adding to the ambiance. It’s a great place for every true GWTW fan. It actually annoyed us that there were teenage girls asking silly questions that any real GWTW fan would know – but I guess everyone learns sometime.
Over dinner at Oceanaire restaurant (delicious seafood), Tara and I came up with a fabulous idea for a GWTW theme park, which we want to develop and pitch to Turner, who own the rights to GWTW. They’ll love it so much, they’ll hire us to make it happen. Hope y’all come to visit!
That was the end of GWTW for the evening – we blew the theme by going to see Megamind (yes, again. I love it and Tara hadn’t seen it). I even talked people in the ticket line into seeing it. I wasn’t at all surprised that all seemed to love it. If you haven’t seen it yet, go! We’ll continue our quest for all things GWTW on Day 67…
Amy's America 