HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

There's a bit of a double-meaning for Wednesday, Nov. 4th....It was the 35th Birthday Celebration for Charis Books and More, AND it was my own birthday(and I'm not saying which one it was for me).
I was honored to get to Emcee the event for Featured Poets for the kick-off to AQLF(Atlanta Queer Literature Festival).
The visionary Franklin Abbott, incredibly dedicated Megan Volpert and Collin Kelley(co-directors of AQLF) and many others created a festival that is already surpassing previous festivals.
Reading on Wednesday night were, in order:Your host(me),Malika, Kristyl Dawn Tift, Alice Teeter, Louisa Merchant, Maudelle Driskoll(who was generous in giving us her time, after Sharon Sanders had to cancel), Charlene Ball, Libby Ware.
I ended the evening with a few newer poems of my own, and to round out the evening, Ken J. Martin, who treated us to some soulful music and his warm voice.
We had a very attentive audience, and approximately 50 total present, which is super!
Special thanks to all the performers, and to Charis Books and More, for sharing their celebration, and space with us(AQLF).And big hugs to Dan Morrison, who kindly filmed the entire event, and snapped a few pictures of some of us.
Afterwards, several of us landed at Brewhouse Cafe', a British pub, for decidely un-British food(wings, Greek salad, gyros, burgers)and quite a round of conversation--politics, the defeat for LGBT in Maine, and what-do-we-feel-about-President-Obama.(Me? I'm in the please-give-him-time-camp)
Thursday night(only a few hours ago, as I type this), a wonderful mix of styles at Outwrite Books' presentation of "My Diva: 65 Gay Men On The Women Who Inspire Them", a landmark piece of literature incorporating essays(some quite poetic!)by gay men recounting the influence or mentorship of a certain woman(icons, all!) in their lives.
Well-known poets Cleo Creech and Collin Kelley were featured contributors, along with the dynamo who launched this collection, Michael Montlack, as well as featured contributors Reggie Cabeco, and Jim Elledge. Delightfully, wickedly funny, and deeply poignant as well, I know the book(which I immediately purchased) will be as affecting as the reading was!
Props to Philip Rafshoon, owner of "Outwrite Books", for his great space, and his full, unending support of our(LGBT)community!
Coming up? Too many events to list, but read all about them, at the official AQLF site, below!
http://www.atlqueerlitfest.com


Peace, kids.

PRIDE MAY BE OVER, BUT AQLF IS JUST GETTING STARTED!

Hi there, kids!
First, an update on "Lend Me An Ear", the amazing production I was fortunate enough to be involved in, one week ago! What fun we had. I got to play "Laurine" in "A Logic Named Joe", an episode of the long-running 1950's radio-show, "Dimension X".
Director Jon Hayden is great, as are Doug Kaye and Barry Stoltze, veteran directors for this annual event, which is performed by area SAG/AFTRA/AEA talent, and benefits the Atlanta Community Food Bank. The New American Shakespeare Tavern is generous in allowing us their marvelous space for rehearsals and performance.
The "Dick Tracy in B-Flat" was a stand-out piece! As was "Whispering Streets". I was unable to see every piece, since I had to be backstage to ready myself for my own performance, but was happy to get to see several of the sketches in our repertoire.
Special Thank-Yous to Kathy Higgins and hubby Dan, who came from faraway Marietta to see the show.
Dan Morrison, who attended, and supported with photos of some of my pals, afterwards--big THANK YOU!
I was thrilled to see pal Mack Anthony in attendance,(Mack worked alongside me at the old Academy Theatre here in Atlanta, in the mid-1980's), who now works as a teacher; he also sponsors the Gay-Straight Alliance, at Lakeside High School.
Speaking of gay....
Gay Pride was celebrated this past weekend in Atlanta, but.....
HotLanta is about to get a lot hotter!
The Atlanta Queer Literary Festival will be underway with events beginning with a dance for young LGBT tomorrow (Tuesday) night, a Wednesday evening poetry event at Charis Books & More(yours truly will be hosting) which will kick-off their 35th Anniversary as well, the fabulous Collin Kelley as a Featured Author at Outwrite Books on Thursday evening, Staceyann Chin and Manil Suri giving lectures at Emory on Friday, with their keynote speeches and an after-party on Friday night, all-day workshops and readings from local and national LGBT poets on Saturday, and the grand finale', parties and music, on Sunday!
And remember that the world-premiere of the award-winning play chosen by Larry Corse will be playing every night, Wednesday through Saturday, in Candler Park, at the First Existential Church(known as "First E.")There will be featured poets and performers before the play, each night, too!
Special shouts-out and props to all the AQLF Planning Committee Members who've made this year's Festival a winner:
Franklin Abbott, a true visionary.Collin Kelley and Megan Volpert, who are the dependable "backbones" of the AQLF and wonderful team-players, along with Cleo Creech, Cal Gough, Dustin Brookshire, Yolo Akili, Larry Corse.
For all the exciting details, hit the AQLF, below!
And find us on Facebook, too!
http://www.atlqueerlitfest.blogspot.com
I have links to AQLF and Charis and Outwrite, see column labeled "Poets, Bloggers, and Others", to your right.
Enjoy the week!
Peace, kids.

WHY I'M STILL ADDICTED TO FACEBOOK.

Georg of the blog, "Washing Without Getting Wet",(see link in my "Poets, Bloggers, and Others", to the right of this column) asked for me to address what Facebook means to me. So, here you are, Georg...
Facebook is the new blog.
Why? Because it's self-expression, and instant gratification, and it's instant connection--often to people(old friends, ex-co-workers, etc.) I've not seen in (literally) twenty years or more!
In the past week I've been able to argue politics with two sweet folks who I used to see on a regular basis, back in the late 1980's. One is a lovely woman who is a performer like me. The other is a young man who is a supporter of performers and artists, and both apparently, are very conservative in their politics, which very much surprised me. It's been really interesting to hear from two folks I knew for years, but about whom I knew very little(unless they've radically shifted politically since then, which does NOT appear to be the case!).
I've reconnected with a gorgeous red-haired woman who was a best pal in the 1980's with me, as I worked two jobs and struggled to be heard, to be understood. Sherry T. is the strong, self-actualized woman I expected her to become.
Fabulous!
I truly feel humbled by the folks getting in touch with me from long ago(ex-beaus, old friends, grown children of moms I know, etc.)and feel quite lifted-up, and buoyed by the kindness and interest shown me, and my written words.
If you're not on Facebook, you should be.
In my opinion, Facebook is:
*the new blog
*the new town-hall
*the new community-organizer
*the new best-friend
*the new lover
In my case, I'm so addicted, that Facebook might also be my "drug of choice".
I don't want to neglect this blog, because "Lisa Allender Writes" has been good to me. YOU dear readers, have been good to me!
Join me on Facebook, too, so we can have a real, intimate relationship. I promise it'll be good for you, too! ;)
Find me at Facebook, using "Lisa Nanette Allender", or simply use my Auto-Link to Facebook, to the right of this column.
Peace, kids.

FLEEING FACEBOOK!

I am (recently) often remiss in updating my blog. The cure? Probably I will have to begin limiting my Facebook-time. (sigh).
It appears my excitement over Facebook has become a bit of an obsession. I deliberately ignored Facebook most of this weekend, and ended up forgetting to check my e-mails, too! Not good.
So here's what I did, instead of Facebook-ing all weekend.
On Saturday, Hansoo and I attended The Cumming Greek Festival. Smaller than the Atlanta Greek Fest, but with a cozy feel, room to walk around without huge crowds, lovely vendors with jewelry, coins, cosmetics, paintings, etc...
and the food! The same great variety of veg-friendly entrees and meat(lamb, beef; chicken and pork are offered, too)selections one would see at Atlanta Greek Fest, but the Cumming Greek Fest gives you much larger portions!
Great desserts(I loved eating baklava, after over 6 years of not being able to consume it!) and pastries(the kourabiedes--Greek Easter/Wedding-cookies were mouth-watering-ly good!), too.
The past two days have been very chilly, and even a bit rainy, but that did not dampen our enthusiasm.
On Sunday, we attended the Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta(GRRA)'s Annual "Retriever Romp" at Blackburn Park in Dunwoody, to show support for this marvelous rescue-group, and to show off our sweet "Louie", our quickly aging, but still smiling Golden Retriever, who we adopted from GRRA, way back in October, 1998!
Our newest little love, "Afton" was in fine form. A German Shepherd who we adopted from "Big Canoe Animal Rescue" this past (2009) June, she seemed delighted to see so many "other Louies" running around.
Special thank you to Julie, the GRRA volunteer who shot a few pics of us and to whom we shared our joy of doggies!
Also, big hugs to the owners of "Emma Jo", formerly known as "Journey", a lovely Golden they adopted, after she was saved after being found discarded(with puppies)in a dumpster! While her puppies did not survive, Emma Jo has, and she is a sweetheart!
God Bless all these folks who open their homes--and their hearts!!

COMING UP, SOON:
*"Voices Carry", the annual Atlanta event which features poets from around the world.
I'll be updating with all the details, very soon!
*"I See Straight People", a spoken-word and poetry benefit for the AQLF(Atlanta Queer Literature Festival),
I'll have details on this soon, too!
*"Lend Me An Ear", the annual charity event at New American Shakespeare Tavern, with radio plays performed live, by SAG/AEA/AFTRA talent, and proceeds from ticket-sales going directly to The Atlanta Community Food Bank, to feed hungry families.I'll be featured as "Laurine" in "A Logic Called Joe", in an episode of the sci-fi series, "Dimension X".
Interested in attending "Lend Me An Ear"?
Here's the scoop:
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The 6th Annual ''Lend Me An Ear!''
This year's theme: "A Six-Pack to Go!"- A 6 Part Olio

A benefit for the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

Don’t miss this fabulous evening of Old Time Radio presented live on stage by over 30 local members of AFTRA, SAG, and Actors Equity! Come join in the laughter as we celebrate America's Golden Age of Radio with some of Atlanta's finest actors and voice talent. The evening will include the folksy VIC AND SADE starring Bill Tush of the TBS Tush Show; broad comedy with THE JOE PENNER SHOW; a soap opera with WHISPERING STREETS; light mystery with MR. & MRS. NORTH; science fiction with DIMENSION X; and a musical spoof with DICK TRACY IN B FLAT.

Doors open to the public at 6:15 PM and English fare and beverages including beer and wine will be available. General Admission is $15 (plus $3.00 service fee for online sales) and all proceeds go to Atlanta Community Food Bank! Seating is first come, first served. There is public parking at Emory Midtown Hospital (formerly Crawford Long Hospital), show your ticket stub for a discount!

Come join in the laughter and celebrate
America's Golden Age of Radio!
Happy Imagining!

Monday, October 26, 2009 at 7:30 PM
New American Shakespeare Tavern
499 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30308
Phone: (404) 239-0131
Website: www.aftra.com/locals/atlanta.htm
Map & Directions
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Peace, kids.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER!

WOW! I woke up this morning at around 6:00, fed my "furry babies"(my older male Golden Retreiver, "Louie", and new doggie, female German Shepherd, "Afton") and clicked on "The Today Show" to see what I hoped would be an entertaining exchange between Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera when the NASA "Shoot The Moon" program blasted into existence today. Instead, "breaking news" appeared as the familiar "Today Show" music cued up...."Presdent Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize!"
Congratulations to our esteemed President. To the progress he's already making, in changing hearts and minds, not only here in the USA, but around the world.
And although he had been in office only twelve days when the deadline for nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize was reached, my belief is that the international community is rewarding him (and us!) with this honor for his peace-filled, peaceful beliefs, and his by-now-famous efforts to secure the peace he has the audacity for which, to hope!
And to the Republicans, Conservatives, and haters who just seven days ago, claimed the world did not respect President Obama(ridiculously based on the US not getting Chicago selected as a host city for the Olympics. The city of Rio was chosen, frankly, because Brazil's head-of-state made a compelling argument that South America has never hosted any Olympic game), please take time to chew slowly, as you eat. your. words.

Article from AP, below:

____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________
President Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize
By KARL RITTER and MATT MOORE, Associated Press Writers Karl Ritter And Matt Moore, Associated Press Writers

OSLO – President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in a stunning decision designed to encourage his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism.
Many observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline and has yet to yield concrete achievements in peacemaking.
Some around the world objected to the choice of Obama, who still oversees wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has launched deadly counter-terror strikes in Pakistan and Somalia.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee countered that it was trying "to promote what he stands for and the positive processes that have started now." It lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen the U.S. role in combating climate change.
The peace prize was created partly to encourage ongoing peace efforts but Obama's efforts are at far earlier stages than past winners'. The Nobel committee acknowledged that they may not bear fruit at all.
"He got the prize because he has been able to change the international climate," Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said. "Some people say, and I understand it, isn't it premature? Too early? Well, I'd say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now. It is now that we have the opportunity to respond — all of us."
The selection to some extent reflects a trans-Atlantic divergence on Obama. In Europe and much of the world he is lionized for bringing the United States closer to mainstream global thinking on issues like climate change and multilateralism. At home, the picture is more complicated. As president, Obama is often criticized as he attempts to carry out his agenda — drawing fire over a host of issues from government spending to health care to the conduct of the war in Afghanistan.
U.S. Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele contended that Obama won the prize as a result of his "star power" rather than meaningful accomplishments.
"The real question Americans are asking is, What has President Obama actually accomplished?" Steele said.
Obama's election and foreign policy moves caused a dramatic improvement in the image of the U.S. around the world. A 25-nation poll of 27,000 people released in July by the Pew Global Attitudes Project found double-digit boosts to the percentage of people viewing the U.S. favorably in countries around the world. That indicator had plunged across the world under President George W. Bush.
"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," Jagland said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made no secret of his admiration for Obama, called the decision the embodiment of the "return of America into the hearts of the people of the world."
But Obama's work is far from done, on numerous fronts.
He said he would end the Iraq war but has been slow to bring the troops home and the real end of the U.S. military presence there won't come until at least 2012.
He's running a second war in the Muslim world, in Afghanistan — and is seriously considering ramping the number of U.S. troops on the ground and asking for help from others, too.
"I don't think Obama deserves this. I don't know who's making all these decisions. The prize should go to someone who has done something for peace and humanity," said Ahmad Shabir, 18-year-old student in Kabul. "Since he is the president, I don't see any change in U.S. strategy in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Obama has said that battling climate change is a priority. But the U.S. seems likely to head into crucial international negotiations set for Copenhagen in December with Obama-backed legislation still stalled in Congress.
Lech Walesa, who won the prize in 1983, questioned whether Obama deserved it now.

"So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is still at an early stage. He is only beginning to act," said former Polish President Lech Walesa, a 1983 Nobel Peace laureate.
"This is probably an encouragement for him to act. Let's see if he perseveres. Let's give him time to act," Walesa said.
Unlike the other Nobel Prizes, which are awarded by Swedish institutions, the peace prize is given out by a five-member committee elected by the Norwegian Parliament. Like the Parliament, the committee has a leftist slant, with three members elected by left-of-center parties. Jagland said the decision to honor Obama was unanimous.
The award appeared to be at least partly a slap at Bush from a committee that harshly criticized Obama's predecessor for his largely unilateral military action in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The Nobel committee praised Obama's creation of "a new climate in international politics" and said he had returned multilateral diplomacy and institutions like the U.N. to the center of the world stage.
"You have to remember that the world has been in a pretty dangerous phase," Jagland said. "And anybody who can contribute to getting the world out of this situation deserves a Nobel Peace Prize."
Until seconds before the award, speculation had focused on a wide variety of candidates besides Obama: Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, a Colombian senator, a Chinese dissident and an Afghan woman's rights activist, among others. The Nobel committee received a record 205 nominations for this year's prize, though it was not immediately apparent who nominated Obama.
"The exciting and important thing about this prize is that it's given to someone ... who has the power to contribute to peace," Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who won the prize in 1984, said Obama's award shows great things are expected from him in coming years.
"It's an award coming near the beginning of the first term of office of a relatively young president that anticipates an even greater contribution towards making our world a safer place for all," Tutu said. "It is an award that speaks to the promise of President Obama's message of hope."
Obama is the third sitting U.S. president to win the award: President Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 and President Woodrow Wilson was awarded the prize in 1919.
Wilson received the prize for his role in founding the League of Nations, the hopeful but ultimately failed precursor to the contemporary United Nations.
The Nobel committee chairman said after awarding the 2002 prize to former Democratic President Jimmy Carter, for his mediation in international conflicts, that it should be seen as a "kick in the leg" to the Bush administration's hard line in the buildup to the Iraq war.
Five years later, the committee honored Bush's adversary in the 2000 presidential election, Al Gore, for his campaign to raise awareness about global warming.
In July talks in Moscow, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed that their negotiators would work out a new limit on delivery vehicles for nuclear warheads of between 500 and 1,100. They also agreed that warhead limits would be reduced from the current range of 1,700-2,200 to as low as 1,500. The United States now has about 2,200 such warheads, compared to about 2,800 for the Russians.
But there has been no word on whether either side has started to act on the reductions.
Former Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, said Obama has already provided outstanding leadership in the effort to prevent nuclear proliferation.
"In less than a year in office, he has transformed the way we look at ourselves and the world we live in and rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself," ElBaradei said. "He has shown an unshakable commitment to diplomacy, mutual respect and dialogue as the best means of resolving conflicts."
Obama also has attempted to restart stalled talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, but just a day after Obama hosted the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in New York, Israeli officials boasted that they had fended off U.S. pressure to halt settlement construction. Moderate Palestinians said they felt undermined by Obama's failure to back up his demand for a freeze.
Obama was to meet with his top advisers on the Afghan war on Friday to consider a request by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, to send as many as 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan as the U.S war there enters its ninth year.
Obama ordered 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan earlier this year and has continued the use of unmanned drones for attacks on militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a strategy devised by the Bush administration. The attacks often kill or injure civilians living in the area.
Nominators for the prize include former laureates; current and former members of the committee and their staff; members of national governments and legislatures; university professors of law, theology, social sciences, history and philosophy; leaders of peace research and foreign affairs institutes; and members of international courts of law.
In his 1895 will, Alfred Nobel stipulated that the peace prize should go "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses."
The committee has taken a wide interpretation of Nobel's guidelines, expanding the prize beyond peace mediation to include efforts to combat poverty, disease and climate change.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee decided not to inform Obama before the announcement because it didn't want to wake him up, committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said.

"Waking up a president in the middle of the night, this isn't really something you do," Jagland said.

___

Associated Press writers Ian MacDougall in Oslo, Celean Jacobson in Johannesburg, George Jahn in Vienna, Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland and Jennifer Loven in Washington contributed to this report.

___

On the Net:

http://www.nobelpeaceprize.org
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Peace, kids. Peace!

UPDATE ON LISA NANETTE ALLENDER.

UPDATE ON ME?
Lots going on, kids, beginning with my successful audition, just last week, for the 2009 version of "Lend Me An Ear", the annual stage event featuring SAG-AFTRA members, to benefit The Atlanta Community Food Bank.
I'll be playing "Laurine", described as a "Femme Fatale Southern Belle", in an episode entitled "A Logic Named Joe", of the sci-fi series, "Dimension X". It is probably unnecessary to even mention this, but I am sooo thrilled to have such a juicy role!
All the sketches are adapted from old-time radio-shows, and are mystery, sci-fi, romance, intrigue, comedy...and this year, they include a musical version of "Dick Tracy"--with my dear friend, Yolanda Asher, playing--who else? "Tess Trueheart". You go, woman!
I am thrilled to be working for the first time with director Jon Hayden, and am delighted that directors Doug Kaye and Barry Stoltze are once again directing many pieces in this collection. Get the full details, here, and updates, almost daily--at my Facebook Wall. PLEASE "FRIEND-REQUEST" me, using "Lisa Nanette Allender" so you can be in the loop! You'll see the Auto-Link to my Facebook Wall, to the right of this column. Simply scroll down 'til you see "Lisa's Links" and click on "Facebook".

I'll have updates on the turnout for my CAbi (Carol Anderson by invitation) Show(presented by eternal friend, Coral McGhee) & Party, in my next post.
Want to know what CAbi is? Check it out, at:
www.coralmcghee.cabionline.com



Peace, kids.

An Overflow Of Heroes.

Trying to stay dry.
I'm certain everyone has heard by now about the serious flooding throughout Georgia that occured the past several days. Whew!
We live on a Greenway which has a large creek running through it. The creek has overflowed, but fortunately, our house is situated on a bit of a hill, so we are without flood damage. No other homes in our neighborhood were damaged, either. But in other ares, many lives were lost, and homes were damaged, or lost completely, in the wake of these rains. I heard yesterday on WXIA, 11-Alive News, that there has not been rain, like this, in over 500 years!
What's remarkable about the recent floods, is not the tremendous damage done, but the spirit of cooperativeness, and kindness we see examples of, everyday. A local tv station that features a "Hero" segment every night, offered everyone a chance to be a "Hero" by encouraging us to buy school supplies for the children of a doomed local public school(the school, Clarkdale Elementary, was completely submerged by the rising waters), and this same station(WXIA-11 Alive) will then distribute the supplies.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution ran an article detailing the devastation at this local elementary school. Read it, below:

_______________________________________________________________________________________
Forget classes at Clarkdale
Students will have to study elsewhere, as recovery will be long
By D. Aileen Dodd and Gracie Bonds Staples



Healing will be the primary lesson for Clarkdale Elementary students Thursday as they return to classes in two different schools, separating a family of children and teachers who survived a life-threatening flood.

Counselors will report to Compton Elementary and Austell Intermediate bright and early to provide assistance for those who need it. School supplies donated by Cobb County Schools families from across the district will be doled out generously.

On Thursday, buses will fan out across Cobb County picking up Clarkdale students as early as 6:30 a.m. to get them to their schools on time. Stops will even be made at the Cobb Civic Center, where some families who lost their homes are bunking.

“Every one has been working the past couple of days from sun up to sun down to figure out how to help these students,” said area Superintendent Ed Thayer. “We didn’t really have a place where we could put everyone in one building ... [but] your child will be in the same class. We will take care of your child.”

Students in grades k-2 will report to Compton, and those in grades 3 to 5 will go to Austell Intermediate. The children may be divided, but the school will still be together in spirit. Students will have the same classmates and the same teachers.

Cobb Schools administrators reassured more than 500 parents who gathered for a meeting Wednesday night at Ewing Road Baptist Church in Austell that the transition would be as smooth as the circumstances allow.

“You saw the pictures of the building — it is devastating,” said principal Marjorie Bickerstaff. “You all, we’ve lost a lot of stuff. We didn’t lose a child. The loss of a child or a staff member would be something none of us could deal with.”

Earlier Wednesday, Cobb School Superintendent Fred Sanderson visited Clarkdale. “It’s devastating to see the building, and what’s happened here. It’s going to be a long time recovering.”

Bickerstaff told parents that evacuation of the school was well-organized.

On Monday, the water in the parking lot was rising above the principal’s ankles and all she could think about was her kids — more than 400 of them were still in the building.

Cobb County Schools transportation officials had been monitoring the fury of the storm. They learned that 92 roads had been closed and the situation at Clarkdale was getting serious.

Third-grader Alivia Thompson was practicing addition and subtraction in math class when the water began to cover the playground. She said some kids broke their pencil points on purpose so they could look out the window at the river building where they used to play.

Eraina Drain, a transportation supervisor, came on campus and saw the water moving over the bus port and spilling into the parking lot. She called the cavalry. Eight yellow buses were standing by at Garrett Middle School.

By 12:30 p.m., the principal announced the evacuation of the school. She told parents their children reacted quickly.

The buses had to take the long way to Clarkdale because of flooded streets. Students were worried about getting wet and leaving their belongings behind.

“They were scared,” Alivia said. “Some of them were crying.”

The school was evacuated in 15 minutes. “I don’t think they could have done any better,” Drain said.

PTA president Veronica Johnson agreed. “They got the children out — that’s the greatest thing,” she said.

Bus drivers who worked second jobs stayed put so they could rescue the kids from the flood. Parents, administrators and staff hailed them as the unsung “heroes” of the day.

Parents and teachers said the school was like family.

“Whenever there is a problem, there are no questions asked, everyone just pitches in to help,” said Sheila Geyer, a parent and teacher at the school for the past seven years.

Bickerstaff said she has received calls and e-mails of support from across the country, from Alaska to New Jersey, with people wanting to donate time or supplies.

Summer Butler, a mother of three who lost her home and valuables in the flood, bought a Wal-Mart gift card for her child’s teacher for school supplies. The educator was distraught when she called her to tell about post-flood plans for students, Butler said

“She had lost her husband to lung cancer three weeks ago,” said the mother. “She told me she had lost everything she loved in a month. When I asked if there was anything I could do to help, she said, ‘Just bring your daughter to school.’ ”


Staff writer Mike Morris contributed to this article.
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I hope everyone is safe, and those of you reading about Atlanta and surrounding areas, please keep us in your thoughts and/or prayers.
Peace, kids.