Meet the people I am working with....

Thursday, some of the staff and I went out to a restaurant/bar on the Reservoir to say "good bye" to Sharon, the circulation manager here who is having neck surgery in Texas early next week. Several staff members couldn't join us but meet: Vera on the front left; Lynn on the front right, Jody in the sleeveless white blouse, Chris, the "big guy" and single copy manager right next to Jody, Jody's husband, called "Hook" across from her also in white and Sharon, who you cannot see very well in this photo.

Jody Hook and Hook are married. Jody is the Operations Manager who also is responsible for circulation and production here and in Hattiesburg. Sharon, the circulation manager is seen here in the black sleeveless top and she has already left for Texas. Lynn, our office manager is in the blue top and her husband, Rick is next to her. This is the couple who ran home my first night here to get me towels, washrag and sheets so I could sleep and bathe.

This outdoor bar is super wonderful. We were watching people fish, drive up to the bar/dock to get refreshed and we were able to watch the ducks as well. Had fried green tomatoes, fried mushrooms and chicken wings for snacks. And I had merlot in a small plastic glass...interesting how they served the drinks and in what they were served. Some of us got glass, some plastic and some, styrofoam.


I am having issues...air conditioner doesn't work and Mike, my maintainance guy is johnny on the spot and is working on it. Wouldn't matter so much except we are in the midst of major storms and tornadoes and it is muggier than all get out. Oh, not to mention, my windows are all locked with some special mechanical arm which won't allow people to open the windows...from the inside or outside best I can tell. Also cannot open my balcony sliding glass doors. Only way in our out is to break the glass or exit the door. Pray every night that there is NO fire.

Vicksburg and more....

After I visited the battlefield at Vicksburg, I went into town to see what I could see. Most everything, including the gorgeous mansions were closed but there were several interesting buildings around. This old fire station had lots of class...no idea if it is still being used. No one was on the street and nothing much moved except near the casinos...big gambling country.

The old train station was down near the river and this porch and street light which is very hard to see but thin and beige colored in the middle of the rounded part of the brick work was quite interesting.
And the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Station, which includes the above rounded portico was very interesting. It is now a museum and I would have liked to enter it. Maybe another day.

Today, I went out to dinner with the marketing director and I had a creole shrimp and grits meal with diced red onions and red peppers...very yummy indeed.

I went off to mystery shop one of the kiosk vendors who was supposedly selling subscriptions at a Kroger store about 10 miles from the paper. I found the store...but no vendor. Going to try to see him/his group in action tomorrow. Went to a news budget meeting and that was interesting...for the front page of tomorrow's paper, the editors discussed an article on salt, as in, we are eating too much of it; a story on executions and another on the nursing shortage. I asked how these topics fit with their target audience's interests...they stopped the meeting and we had only really started discussing the best line up of stories.

I find driving here a bit challenging. The highway is well organized but poorly marked. Exits are announced at the exact point you need to exit...so if it is a left exit off the highway and you are in the right lane, you either can die, cause an accident or go up to the next exit. I am taking the "cheat death" option and trying to get off at the right exit because I have one way to get anywhere and am afraid I will get totally disoriented. Working so far.

Have to figure out where I will go next weekend. I am thinking I should go to Red Bluff to see the bluff, which is all I guess there is there or begin doing parts of the Natchez Trace. We shall see.

Vicksburg was surrendered on July 4, 1863 after 47 days under siege. The Vicksburg National Military Park was an incredible experience for many reasons. The graves lined up reminded me of Arlington; the Illinois monument you will see below had a wall of those who died, reminding me of not only Dachau but most recently, the genocide wall in Kigali, Rwanda. When will we learn??

This is a restoration of the USS Cairo, named after Cairo, Illinois. The Union needed to get control of the Mississippi and take control from the Confederates. The ironclad USS Cairo was sunk in 12 minutes in the Yazoo River which runs into the Mississippi. No one was lost in the sinking but this was the first recorded "torpedo" made of glass and gunpowder to sink a ship. The USS Cairo had 13 cannons and also had the youngest soldier aboard, a 14 year old kid last named Yost. 1/3 of the soldiers aboard were foreigners and 1/3 came from Illinois, in the Cairo area.

There are 47 steps leading up to the Illinois Monument, one for each day of the seige. And there are three inscriptions at the top from leading Illinois forefathers: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Governor Gates. This black area which you cannot read is the wall of those who gave their lives for their country from Illinois.


And this is the Michigan Monument. Each monument commemorates a state, an infantry group, a battalion and areas of the park commemorated a specific battle...the most moving to me was Union Trench.

A quote from Ulysses S. Grant on the Illinois Monument.

I didn't realize that Vicksburg was amidst the rolling hills. Graves and monuments are found in every crevasse in this park. I left to go check out the town of Vicksburg and found I was thinking of our men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The South....

I liked this sign I passed in Vicksburg. Went to see the battlefield and some Antebellum Mansions but no one told me the whole of Mississippi closes down on Sunday. I do have many photos to share...but first, Carthage and the Barnett Reservoir.

A church in downtown Carthage, MS. I walked all around the quaint town and then stopped at a Dollar General which I saw. I needed a few very inexpensive items for the apartment and thought I could pick them up cheaply there. As I got out of my car, a black man asked if I was lost. I told him I knew right where I was but thanks...and went into the store after hearing that there was another Dollar General on the other side of town. I got inside and realized he was graciously telling me that I might feel more comfortable on the "other side" of town. I was the only white person inside, in the parking lot and in Piggly Wiggly where I next stopped.

This is a gigantic reservoir near my apartment. Absolutely gorgeous and there were tons of sailboats out yesterday and men fishing everywhere...Richard would have enjoyed this spot a lot.

I met Mike, a maintainance man here at the apartments yesterday at the laundry. I don't remember if I mentioned that talking with Mike for the first 30 seconds made me consider what language he was speaking...had to shake myself and remind myself that he was speaking English and that I had to listen carefully. I am enjoying the accents and especially enjoying the incredible friendliness of everyone. I got turned around in Vicksburg and am sure I shouldn't have been where I ended up but I saw a group of angry looking young men standing in the middle of the street...so asked them how I could find 20 East. ALL of them began talking and pointing and one young man said...one person talk slowly to her. So, one guy did and gave me perfect directions which I thanked them all for. They were laughing as I pulled away and probably said something like, "dumb ass."

Today, I met James our other maintainance guy who was banging on my neighbor's door for 10 minutes. I opened my door and he said, "I know they are hidin in thar." He was right...the neighbors finally came to the door. Both maintainance men were mytee friendly and mytee hellpful. You have to read that and say it like it is spelled. I am even finding that I am saying, "yes ma'am and no sir" to people. And Jerry, the friendly Wal-Mart greeter aught to be working down here. His accent is perfect for Mississippi and I found him with Logan and Kenz' help in Davison. A woman told me I had a "mytee purty" pair of shoes on yesterday.

Jackson, MS

It is spring here in Jackson and the weather is gorgeous...so are the flowering shrubs and plants which are everywhere. Major pollen also so tons of people are sniffing and dripping but I am enjoying the sunshine and the season.

I am staying in a two bedroom apartment, with one bedroom completely empty. This is my dining room/office which is small but serviceable. This is NOT Eddie's home in Kigali but it also is NOT Diana's cell at KIST either. Spartan but workable. My kitchen which has very little in it. Tonight I made a hamburg but had no flipper and the pan I was given, which is new, had the teflon cook off and I guess affix itself to my burger. Wondering if that is safe to eat??? Notice the coffee pot...along with a pot and pan, came sharp knives and a coffee pot. What more can a woman want?

My living room and note the TV. It just got hooked up to cable today so I can watch some TV this weekend. The Comcast guy is my new best friend...he has been here three times and today was the first time he could enter the apartment. And he kept his sense of humor.

The white car you see below is the car I am using and the upper right apt. balcony is mine. I cannot go out onto the balcony but the place is nice and I went out for a walk in the neighborhood after work today. Loved being out.

This morning I was listening to my usual country radio and heard an advert for Morgan and Morgan, a law firm in Ft. Myers. First, I recognized the voice and then the spot. Very interesting.


I am hoping to get into town this weekend and try to see something...hit a museum or find an event to attend. Oh, and I have to hit the laundry mat here in the complex...been forever since I went to a laundry. Another cultural experience! Guess I have gotten used to hotel staff or the maid doing the wash when I am out of town. Taking a book to read or I will go for a walk while it is churning around but I did clean out my purse to see if I had quarters to use.

Learning more about how we do things in Gannettland now. Another cultural shift but I am meeting wonderful people and I am finding that people have had to become much more resourceful to get their jobs done. More coming this weekend.

Jackson, MS

Still no time to get out and see anything but last night, I went to dinner with an old friend, Dave Hollingsworth and we laughed and exchanged stories of old and new experiences. Good to catch up and he took me to a lovely restaurant, Char and I had a seafood creole grits dish...sounds odd but very very tasty.

My work day yesterday was one of exploration...what do we do, how, why and who is supposed to be owning the work. It was a day for simple suggestions for easy improvements. Enjoying meeting new people and learning how "we" do it these days with more limited resources.

Was reminded this morning as I showered that I wanted to mention that the builders who created the bathroom had midgets in mind. The shower head hits me mid-back so washing one's hair is a bit interesting indeed. I have just a shower liner, no real curtain and I have taken to shutting my bathroom door, just in case someone wandered in??? because I can only imagine what it looks like...large woman showering and contorting to get all body parts wet, lathered and rinsed with a low hanging shower head.

Folks went out and bought me a coffee pot, sharp knives and pots and pans. Now, I have to go shopping to buy food that I can cook. Everything here right now is cold and can be eaten by hand. Oh, and I have a TV but no connection to cable and cannot get any stations or sound. But I HAVE a TV. And people make fun of my working in Third World countries. HA...never been received quite this way before. Gotta laugh.

Time to get dressed and head out to work. Will aim for photos in the next couple of days.

Jackson, Mississippi

So, after waking up before 4 a.m. and getting on a plane in Ft. Myers at 6:10 a.m., I flew to Philadelphia where I had to get my Delta boarding passes after running/walking five concourses away only to return to get on my flight...back to Atlanta. After Atlanta, I finally arrived at 3:30 p.m. MS time. I am pooped. The good news is, the woman who picked me up took me by the apartment I will be staying in before going to the Clarion Ledger. The apt. is workable IF one does not want a coffee pot, pots and pans, shower curtain, clock, TV, radio and internet. I am sitting outside cadging someone;s connection right now.

Lynn, the lady who picked me up and her husband, Rick, brought me some sheets and towels so that I can shower...yup, went out and bought a pan to boil some eggs and to make instant coffee in the morning. And got a shower liner and rings...and one cannot buy wine here in this county unless you want Arbor Mist or Mad Dog 20/20. Cannot sell beer and wine at the same location.
So, I thought a diet Coke might work in lieu of a glass of wine which I really really need.

I met Jody, the woman I will be working with but just for a moment. We will meet tomorrow morning. Cannot wait. Oh, no knives either. Had to use my nail clippers to break into the shower curtain package. Having egg salad sandwich and mini carrots for dinner tonight.

Met a real life cowboy who runs the rodeo circuit and he had the coolest boots, belt and matching wallet which stuck way out of his back pants pocket. He lives here when he isn't riding and roping.

Interesting building architecture here...and a museum right by the paper. We shall see what tomorrow brings.

And do not misunderstand...Heidi is still mending and I haven't talked to her today but called. Keep me in the loop folks. I am worrying.