Monday Musings – 12 February

On this date in 1733, James Oglethorpe and 114 companions scrambled up a 40-foot bluff overlooking the Savannah River and founded the colony of Georgia. According to the Georgia Historical Society, the purpose of the 13th (and last) of the British colonies was to serve as a buffer between Spanish Florida and the English colonies. In time, Georgia grew to become the largest colony east of the Mississippi, but as a buffer against those pesky Floridians, it wasn’t very effective. Mercer University recruited me out of St. Petersburg, Florida in 1967 to play basketball. And in 2004, Georgia once again allowed me into the state to manage a 700-acre park in Albany.

So, Georgia is on my mind—because it was a chance visit to the Atlanta Zoo in the late 1960s that launched my zoo career; because I have a master’s degree from UGA; and because I am a lifelong fan of the Atlanta Braves. I’ve now lived in Georgia for more than 20-years and I don’t intend to leave. So, pardon me if this old Florida cracker doffs his hat in honor of Georgia Day this February 12.