Dine on history and grits
Location: Silver Skillet
Date taken: October 28, 2012
You can read about the history of the Silver Skillet on the restaurant’s menu, website or even walls. From the horse prints, good luck charms carried over from the first owner, to the autographed poster from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, the stories and praise for the Silver Skillet are numerous. But, if you really want to know what to expect at this 14th street Southern diner, check out the menu. When the menu categories include “Syrupy Things” and “Biscuit Specialities,” you know the meal will satisfy Southern tastebuds. Don’t be discouraged by the line out the door on weekends. It moves fast. This is not your leisurely brunch place. Eat, enjoy and let the next person have your booth.
Atlantan Jocelyn Connell
Location: CBS Atlanta News studio
Date taken: October, 27, 2012
Dead air. It’s a broadcast journalist’s worst nightmare. As a 16-year-old volunteer at her local radio station in Anniston, Ala., Jocelyn Connell found herself with dead air. Something had gone wrong with the sound board, so Jocelyn quickly grabbed the nearest news copy she could find and started reading it. A few minutes in, she realized it was the previous week’s news. She never made that mistake again.
Since then, Jocelyn has been filling the radio and TV air waves with news and information that impacts people’s lives. The two-time Emmy winner is currently a reporter and weekend morning anchor for CBS Atlanta News.
“I’ve always been curious about current events,” said Jocelyn. “I’m interested in how events impact people and directly impact the decisions they make tomorrow. I love being the first person to know something, and then being able to break it down for people. You never know what the day will hold, so you have to be adventurous and up for anything. But it can be so much fun.”
Through the course of her career, Jocelyn has covered serious events, such as the capture of Eric Robert Rudolph in 2003. It was her first national news event, and Jocelyn says being in the midst of such a big event was both nerve-wracking and an adrenaline rush. In Atlanta, Jocelyn covers breaking news, but she also gets to introduce Atlantans to fun and interesting happenings. She goes behind the scenes of Atlanta attractions, has stood atop a cheerleader pyramid during a fitness convention and raced a bed on wheels as part of a local non-profit’s fundraiser.
“I feel very content where I am,” Jocelyn said. “It had been a goal of mine for such a long time to be in the Atlanta market, one of the country’s largest markets and near family, and I feel blessed to be here. The launch of our new weekend morning show is a dream come true.”
You can see Jocelyn Connell on CBS Atlanta News every Saturday from 9-10 a.m., Sunday from 8:30-9:00 a.m. and during the week from 5-7 a.m. and again from 9-10 a.m.
Atlantan Scott Dupree
Location: Elevate art project by Randy Walker (assisted by Scott Dupree) at Woodruff Park
Date taken: October 28, 2012
“Racer” by Scott Dupree
Scott Dupree has discovered that if you work hard and are lucky, there’s a point in your life when it all comes together. As a child, Scott knew he would grow up to be an artist. But as an adult, he struggled to figure out what that looked like. He tried anything and everything related to art – sculpture and metal working, abstract and classic styles.
“It’s like learning how to walk,” said Scott, a graduate of the University of Georgia’s art school. “It’s a difficult part of the journey, but once I discovered what was personal to me, I realized it was what I had been doing my whole life without realizing it.”
Eight years ago, Scott finally hit his stride and found that his artwork was repeating certain elements, that each piece was continuing a larger dialogue. The foundation of Scott’s artwork is his drawings — drawings of himself in costumes. He adds paint, and suddenly they become still life theatre, examining the historical, social and political influences of our time.
Scott credits his unusual childhood for his curious nature and awareness of culture’s impact. His family lived in Marietta, Ga., for the early part of his childhood. But when Scott was 7, his parents quit their corporate jobs, sold their house, moved their sailboat to Florida and the family spent a year and half sailing up and down the coast. After that, they traveled around the country, living out of their car.
“Being so young and not having preconceived notions about the people I met was important ,” Scott said. “Those travels as a child have played such a big, big part in my work the past eight years. It gave me a solid backbone and avenues to work from.”
Scott’s artwork, which he describes as often “revealing and personal,” hangs in galleries, homes, restaurants and places of business. The new owners of his paintings frequently report back to Scott that his artwork generates conversation and questions.
“To hear that, it affirms what I’m doing,” Scott said.
Learn more about Scott Dupree and his art at www.sjdstudio.com. In January, you can view Scott’s work at the Cube Gallery in Cabbagetown.
Race a bed through the streets
Location: Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta‘s annual bed race at Atlantic Station
Date taken: October 13, 2012
If you are working on a “bucket list” or “things to do before I die” list, then I suggest going ahead and adding to it “race a bed.” Each fall, the Furniture Bank’s fundraising event gives Atlantans a chance to do something unique. Jump on a bed. Sure, that’s easy. Make a bed. You probably do that every day. But racing a bed through the streets … that’s one of those things you have to do at least once. So, sign up your team of 5 people (one rider, four racers). Come up with a theme (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Bed Thieves, Breakfast in Bed, Bed Bugs, etc.). Then put on your helmets and start running. Yes, helmets are required — beds on wheels move fast. People fall down. People fall off.
Find a perch to watch a parade
Location: Little 5 Points Halloween Festival and Parade
Date taken: October 20, 2012
The best thing about the Little 5 Points Halloween Parade is not the official parade itself — instead, the best part is the parade of dressed up people who walk up and down Moreland and Euclid Avenues. Kids and adults of all ages debut their Halloween costumes early at the Little 5 Festival. My favorite part of the day is picking a spot early in the afternoon, bringing a chair or spreading out a blanket and enjoying people watching. The parade, which features neighborhood businesses, can be entertaining as well (depending on the year). But, the residents and visitors who embrace the spirit of Halloween are the highlight of this annual event.
Take a history tour
Location: Party with the Past at the Margaret Mitchell House & Museum
Date taken: September 26, 2012
The name Margaret Mitchell House is sort of misleading for the large brick house that sits at the corner of Peachtree Street and 10th Street. Mitchell, a native of Atlanta and author of Gone With the Wind, never owned the house or occupied all of it. Her space in the home was Apt. 1, a tiny, one-bedroom apartment located on the bottom floor and facing Crescent Ave. Mitchell, who lived there with her husband for many years, referred to the building as the “The Dump”. Despite its negative nickname, this was place where Mitchell wrote her best-selling novel. Take a tour of the house and you’ll see the restored apartment and her typewriter (shown here). But the most interesting part of the tour is learning about the author herself — her career as a reporter, her uneasiness with fame, her work to provide scholarship to Morehouse students and the story of her untimely death.
Experience the adage ‘one person’s trash is another person’s treasure’
Location: My Favorite Place
Date taken: August 1, 2012
My Favorite Place is truly my favorite flea market in Atlanta. There are aisles and aisles of furniture, dishes, purses, sports equipment, books, toys, random collectables and the occasional mounted deer head — all stacked on top of each other. Unfortunately, the name of the store has resulted in numerous “Who’s On First” conversations over the years:
Friend: “That’s a great lamp. Where did you get it?”
Me: “My Favorite Place. It was only $13!”
Friend: “Wow. Nice deal. Now, where did you buy it?”
Me: “My Favorite Place. It’s in Chamblee near the car dealerships.”
Friend: “I realize this is your favorite place, but what is the actual name of the store?”
Me: “I am telling you the name — My Favorite Place!”
Atlanta Heydays 
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