By By James Crawford
News Editor
I continue to be amazed at all the interesting things I see here in Atmore. From the wide variety of knickknack shops that my wife insists on taking me to for the first time, to the fantastic Christmas Parade the other night.
Living in Tuscaloosa, a slightly bigger town, I thought I couldn't see a better Christmas parade, but I may have to rethink that idea. I really had a blast the other night with all the intricate floats and the candy, the gobs and gobs of candy.
I had never been to a parade before that threw candy at you. I felt like a little kid eagerly anticipating what would be thrown next and where it would land.
I've never been to Mardi Gras and that's the only parade I knew of that included the tossing of candy. Needless to say, my family, especially my little girl, are hooked.
Of course, I gave all that I collected to the kids around me if you can believe that.
The parade isn't the only fun thing I've been too here though. It may not sound like much excitement for a weekday night, but a couple of weeks ago, I was sent on assignment to cover the Atmore Historical Society Meeting at the library, where I met a great group of people from all around Atmore.
History interests me, so I was more than happy to go and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The society's guest speaker that night was Byard Swift, who gave a captivating history of the development of the turpentine industry and how it affected Atmore. If you're into history or the town's culture at all, you simply have to attend one of their meetings.
Another event I can't believe any Atmore resident misses is the Pow Wow during Thanksgiving week. My family and I had the pleasure of attending the big event at the Poarch Creek Indian reservation and had a blast.
We all enjoyed seeing all the dancing and the traditional garments decorated with feathers and beads. The people were all very nice and the wide assortment of vendors were more than my wallet could bear.
And, in the near future, I'm looking forward to seeing some of the theatre productions by the local theatre group. I've always loved watching a good play. Plus, I'm trying to get my daughter hooked on watching live productions versus the ever-present Internet and TV, which I firmly believe is rotting her brain to the core.
The more people I come in contact with and the more reading I do about Atmore, It seems amazing I haven't heard of the town before moving here.
With all the things you can get involved in, you can never run out of opportunities to expand your horizons and enrich your lives.
I encourage everyone to turn the TV off and attend a group meeting, take a walk downtown or take in a good play instead of the typical TV night.
You never know, you might like it and in the long run I promise it'll mean more to you than some soap opera or drama show.The memory of a great parade or play lasts a lifetime, compared to forgetting about a fake show the next day.
After all, no one talks about the fantastic TV show they missed, or do they?