Seeing Southern
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    • Easy Like Sunday Morning | Jimmy Carter
    • Easy Like Sunday Morning | Jimmy Carter | Part 2
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    • Her Story | Dolly Parton
    • An Author | A Dream Comes True
    • His Story | Andrew McCarthy
    • His Major League Story | Clint Frazier
    • Ann Chapin | Holy Inspiration
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    • His Musical Story | Brent Cobb
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    • His Story | Private First Class Lloyd Carter
  • Two Coots Travel
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    • Seeing Alabama >
      • Make It Mobile, Mardi Gras
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      • 6 Hours in Flagstaff
      • Postcards from Route 66
      • The Legacy of Route 66
      • Planes, Trains, Automobiles
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      • The Clinton Library
      • Rock Town Distillery
      • Moss Mountain
      • Tales from the South
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      • Happy New Year Road Trip
      • Heading West, Key West
      • People and Places of Key West
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      • Hot Blues on a Humid Georgia Day | Blind Willie McTell
      • Thomasville Rose Festival + Due South
      • It's Who We Are: Storytellers
      • Telling Stories in Young Harris
      • A Colonel and a Governor
      • It's All About the Blues
      • Time for 'Shine in Dawsonville
      • Climbing Higher at Aska >
        • Favorite Aska Recipes
      • It's All About the Animals | Georgia Wildlife Center
      • A Walk to Remember
      • Boys and Their Toys | Tank Town USA
      • Apple Pickin'' at Mercier Orchards
      • A Family Affair | Georgia Mountain Fair
      • All Aboard | Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad
      • Shrimp (and Grits)
      • The Blues of Blind Willie | 2014
      • A Fresh Look at the Prince
      • Taking Home the Golden Onion
      • The Farmhouse Inn | Hundred Acre Farm
      • Tally Ho! | Belle Mead Hunt Club
      • An Inspirational Childhood | Gena Knox
      • Top Southern Chefs Dish Tailgating
      • Pure Southern Sweetness | Sorghum
      • Celebrating Gone with the Wind
      • When in (Georgia's) ROME
      • A Slice of Buttermilk Pie | Yesterdays
      • Mud, Sweat and a Few Tears
      • Georgia's Sunflower Festival
      • St. Mary's | Georgia's Pathway
      • Get Fired Up In Macon
      • A Splash in the Historic Heartland
      • Cakes & Ale
      • A Sweet Onion of a Time
      • The Old Sautee Store
      • Cumberland Island
      • Fun Behind the Lens | GAC
      • Monroe Girls Corps
      • The Destruction of Tara
      • Dawsonville Moonshine Festival
      • Oktoberfest in Helen
      • Blairsville Sorghum Festival
      • The Battle of Chickamauga
      • One Ball | Two Weddings
      • The Battle of Tunnel Hill
      • The Battle of Resaca
      • Happy Plus 2 | Father Luke
      • Jason Aldean | Night Train | Sanford Stadium
      • The Makin' of Round Here
    • Seeing Louisiana >
      • Here's What Hope Looks Like
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      • Come for the Lobster Roll
      • The Soul of the Coast
      • Two Coots Travel Maine
    • Seeing North Carolina >
      • Tasting Sylva: Come for the Beer
      • Watching Paint Dry | See Rock City
      • The Super Bowl . . . of Sorts
      • A Total Eclipse of the Sun
      • The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad
      • Getaway to Bryson City
      • Running For The Pot Of Gold
      • Mama to Son | Harris Leatherworks
      • The Earthy Balance of the Yadkin Valley
    • Seeing South Carolina >
      • The Lowcountry of South Carolina
      • A Taste of Gullah
      • Left Hand, Right Hand | Zipline Hilton Head
      • Siesta at Sonesta
      • A State of Euphoia 2013 >
        • Taste of the South | Euphoria
        • Find Euphoria in Greenville
    • Seeing Tennessee >
      • Soggy Bottom Boys Reunited
      • Graceland
      • The Magic in the Holler | Gatlinburg
      • Working Class Art | Robert Alewine
      • What Would Wilma Maples Think?
      • Storytelling Festival
      • Smoky Mountain Fireflies
      • Robert Tino's Appalachian View
      • Love's Farewell Tour | International Storytelling Festival
    • Seeing Virginia >
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      • For the Love of the Train
      • A Night with the Salem Red Sox
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      • Hitting the Trails in Logan
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        • Only on Osa
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        • Two Coots Go Greek
        • The Poet Sandlemaker
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        • Aboard the S/V Mandalay | Windjammer
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        • A Wee Little Travel for Two Coots
        • Day 1 | Dublin > Kilkenny
        • Day 2 | Kilkenny > Kenmare
        • Day 3 | Kenmare > Dingle
        • Day 4 | Dingle > Doolin
        • Day 5 | Doolin > Westport
        • Day 6 | Westport > Donegal
      • Seeing Ireland 2017 >
        • Belfast North
        • County Antrim & Giants Causeway
      • Seeing Italy 2017 >
        • Salerno and the Amalfi Coast
        • Sicily
        • Castellemmare del golfo
        • Over my Shoulder | Suzanne's Journey
      • Seeing Mexico |Viceroy Rivera Maya
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a wedding day 

6/22/2013

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Picturethe bride and groom and friend, jack.
my step-son is getting married today.

most days with this event penciled on the calender summons parties and gifts, generous offerings of congratulations and hopeful promises for a long and healthy future together. a day which lies at the end of a multitude of months full of incessant planning and soul-searching for the perfect dress, the perfect flower, the perfect location - all of which those of us who are married knows does not exist anywhere except in the bride's mind. and that's okay, too, for everyone deserves that unicorn-fairy-tale-love-so-much-it-hurts moment.

from what we've been told, it hasn't been months in the making, but a few weeks, but nevertheless, an adventure that is all-consuming. there's not much i know of the bride, only her name and her profession. not sure how long she has known the boy, but it's never long enough. although by sheer convention, i should know much more about the groom, but i do not. and that is why this day starts with queries rather than stretches of exaltation.

when you have children, you never expect to the be on the sidelines, looking on as other characters engage in the moment at hand. you expect to be in the heat of it all, raising glasses, offering hugs . . . receiving hugs. all those milestones that your parents experienced with you - first dates, graduation, first car, first job, marriage, birth of children - they told you they couldn't wait for you to experience the same. you agreed as if this romantic succession of episodes would be your fate as well. consequently, these illusions were made even more remote by mistakes, free-will and just damn stubbornness and human nature.

do we continue to stand on the sidelines?  sometimes, you have to, but that doesn't decrease the amount of love or pride or hopefulness that all parents have for their children on special days like today. no matter if time or distance has been the winner, you never turn loose of the quest to be a part of their lives. they have no clue that every single day that we breathe, they are part of our lives.


we wish joy and prosperity, and all those things you hear as glasses are clinked at receptions around the globe. although we won't get the opportunity to declare our dreams for you, we share them here. know that as each day passes, we'll be praying that your fairy-tale includes white horses and castles. as it should be.

and our hope lives on that, somewhere in the world - in texas, in australia, in jersey, and even upstairs - that they will grasp the importance of including us in celebrations that are, in reality, all about them. it's a joy - and regrettably, a sorrow -  that they really won't grasp until they have their own little ones - who poop, laugh, run, jump, scoff, fight and leave.




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ten tips for writers

6/19/2013

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michael hastings, the rolling stone writer that blew open general stanley mcchrystal's lack of guidance during his tenure in afghanistan, died this morning at the age of 33.  although most will remember him as the journalist who brought down the four-star general, he is remembered this morning in reporting circles as one who dug for the truth and lived to write about it. his pursuits kept his readers informed, thus doing his job with every tap of the key.

last year, he gave ten tips to reddit for aspiring journalists. here they are. i think there are a few calling for my attention, too.


Okay, here’s my advice to you (and young journalists in general):
1.) You basically have to be willing to devote your life to journalism if you want to break in. Treat it like it’s medical school or law school.
2.) When interviewing for a job, tell the editor how you love to report. How your passion is gathering information. Do not mention how you want to be a writer, use the word “prose,” or that deep down you have a sinking suspicion you are the next Norman Mailer.
3.) Be prepared to do a lot of things for free. This sucks, and it’s unfair, and it gives rich kids an edge. But it’s also the reality.
4.) When writing for a mass audience, put a fact in every sentence.
5.) Also, keep the stories simple and to the point, at least at first.
6.) You should have a blog and be following journalists you like on Twitter.
7.) If there’s a publication you want to work for or write for, cold call the editors and/or email them. This can work.
8) By the second sentence of a pitch, the entirety of the story should be explained. (In other words, if you can’t come up with a rough headline for your story idea, it’s going to be a challenge to get it published.)
9) Mainly you really have to love writing and reporting. Like it’s more important to you than anything else in your life–family, friends, social life, whatever.
10) Learn to embrace rejection as part of the gig. Keep writing/pitching/reading.
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like mother, like son

6/3/2013

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Picture
the beginning of ty's photography journey - elder mill bridge in watkinsville, ga. - june 2, 2013
i love being a mom. i love being a mom especially when i see my children exhibit manners, try new adventures, comfort a friend, say 'thank you' and 'you're welcome'. i'm not one of those southern moms who require their child to say 'm'am' for i just don't think it's a necessary requirement of etiquette. plus, it makes me feel very old. so, that is not a word i push, but i do push being respectful and being polite. i don't have time for the 'you should know i appreciate you' or 'i shouldn't have to say it' - well, of course you have to speak up. there's no agenda. no hoops.  just plain ole' manners. there's no substitute - or excuse -  for that.

my son has been watching my husband and i fall head over heels in love with photography. he's seen the amazing photographs we've produced. trust me, they've been a long time coming - and we have miles to go - but my son is impressed. "mom, give me pointers," he said this weekend. "let's go riding and you show me how."

nothing inspires me more, nothing makes me do the 'yippee' dance like my son liking what i do and wanting to do it as well. and i'm sure he doesn't understand how proud that makes me. and he won't until the day his son or daughter says that to him. he'll remember when he staggered with his mom through the waist-high grass to get a shot of an iron horse, and he got one good one from about three dozen clicks. that was a good day. it was a great beginning.

so, yes, children, there are words you have to say. words we as parents want to hear simply because they are the favorable fit at the precise moment. thank you for wanting to do what i do. thank you for reminding me even though you hated to be corrected when you didn't acknowledge a good deed, you learned what you should do.

thank you - for your deeds and your words.



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    Picture
    Whether it is exploring this amazing world or being content on my own piece of real estate near Athens, Georgia, I'm spinning stories and fashioning tales from a Southern perspective. As an editor and writer, I get to meet incredible people and share their stories. As a photographer, I get to cement these moments in time. As a wife and mother, I'm always excited to see what's around the next corner, For it's anything but ordinary.
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©2013-2019 Seeing Southern, L.L.C. All images and text appearing on this website are the exclusive property of Judy and Len Garrison d.b.a. Seeing Southern, L.L.C. unless otherwise stated. Two Coots Travel, Judy Garrison Writer, Seeing Southern Photography, and Full Circle Fotography are part of Seeing Southern, L.L.C.
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P.O. Box 277, Farmington, Georgia  30638 | SeeingSouthern@gmail.com | SeeingSouthernPhotography@gmail.com

  • Seeing Southern
  • Seeing Southern People
    • Easy Like Sunday Morning | Jimmy Carter
    • Easy Like Sunday Morning | Jimmy Carter | Part 2
    • The Last Backyard Juke Joint in America
    • The Causeway Storyteller
    • A Love Letter to a Moonshiner
    • Her Story | Dolly Parton
    • An Author | A Dream Comes True
    • His Story | Andrew McCarthy
    • His Major League Story | Clint Frazier
    • Ann Chapin | Holy Inspiration
    • Her Story | Juette Logan Hill
    • His Musical Story | Brent Cobb
    • Her Story | Julia Elizabeth Synder Nobles
    • Florida Georgia Line | Georgia Theatre
    • His Story | Private First Class Lloyd Carter
  • Two Coots Travel
    • With Gratitude | Top Travels >
      • With Gratitude + Our Top 5 Moments of 2018
      • With Gratitude + Our Top 5 Moments of 2017
      • With Gratitude + Our Top 5 Moments of 2016
      • With Gratitude + Our Top 5 Moments of 2015
      • With Gratitude + Our Top 5 Moments of 2014
      • With Gratitude + Our Top Moments of 2013
    • Seeing Alabama >
      • Make It Mobile, Mardi Gras
    • Seeing Arizona >
      • 6 Hours in Flagstaff
      • Postcards from Route 66
      • The Legacy of Route 66
      • Planes, Trains, Automobiles
    • Seeing Arkansas >
      • The Clinton Library
      • Rock Town Distillery
      • Moss Mountain
      • Tales from the South
    • Seeing Florida >
      • Happy New Year Road Trip
      • Heading West, Key West
      • People and Places of Key West
    • Seeing Georgia >
      • Hot Blues on a Humid Georgia Day | Blind Willie McTell
      • Thomasville Rose Festival + Due South
      • It's Who We Are: Storytellers
      • Telling Stories in Young Harris
      • A Colonel and a Governor
      • It's All About the Blues
      • Time for 'Shine in Dawsonville
      • Climbing Higher at Aska >
        • Favorite Aska Recipes
      • It's All About the Animals | Georgia Wildlife Center
      • A Walk to Remember
      • Boys and Their Toys | Tank Town USA
      • Apple Pickin'' at Mercier Orchards
      • A Family Affair | Georgia Mountain Fair
      • All Aboard | Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad
      • Shrimp (and Grits)
      • The Blues of Blind Willie | 2014
      • A Fresh Look at the Prince
      • Taking Home the Golden Onion
      • The Farmhouse Inn | Hundred Acre Farm
      • Tally Ho! | Belle Mead Hunt Club
      • An Inspirational Childhood | Gena Knox
      • Top Southern Chefs Dish Tailgating
      • Pure Southern Sweetness | Sorghum
      • Celebrating Gone with the Wind
      • When in (Georgia's) ROME
      • A Slice of Buttermilk Pie | Yesterdays
      • Mud, Sweat and a Few Tears
      • Georgia's Sunflower Festival
      • St. Mary's | Georgia's Pathway
      • Get Fired Up In Macon
      • A Splash in the Historic Heartland
      • Cakes & Ale
      • A Sweet Onion of a Time
      • The Old Sautee Store
      • Cumberland Island
      • Fun Behind the Lens | GAC
      • Monroe Girls Corps
      • The Destruction of Tara
      • Dawsonville Moonshine Festival
      • Oktoberfest in Helen
      • Blairsville Sorghum Festival
      • The Battle of Chickamauga
      • One Ball | Two Weddings
      • The Battle of Tunnel Hill
      • The Battle of Resaca
      • Happy Plus 2 | Father Luke
      • Jason Aldean | Night Train | Sanford Stadium
      • The Makin' of Round Here
    • Seeing Louisiana >
      • Here's What Hope Looks Like
    • Seeing Maine >
      • Come for the Lobster Roll
      • The Soul of the Coast
      • Two Coots Travel Maine
    • Seeing North Carolina >
      • Tasting Sylva: Come for the Beer
      • Watching Paint Dry | See Rock City
      • The Super Bowl . . . of Sorts
      • A Total Eclipse of the Sun
      • The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad
      • Getaway to Bryson City
      • Running For The Pot Of Gold
      • Mama to Son | Harris Leatherworks
      • The Earthy Balance of the Yadkin Valley
    • Seeing South Carolina >
      • The Lowcountry of South Carolina
      • A Taste of Gullah
      • Left Hand, Right Hand | Zipline Hilton Head
      • Siesta at Sonesta
      • A State of Euphoia 2013 >
        • Taste of the South | Euphoria
        • Find Euphoria in Greenville
    • Seeing Tennessee >
      • Soggy Bottom Boys Reunited
      • Graceland
      • The Magic in the Holler | Gatlinburg
      • Working Class Art | Robert Alewine
      • What Would Wilma Maples Think?
      • Storytelling Festival
      • Smoky Mountain Fireflies
      • Robert Tino's Appalachian View
      • Love's Farewell Tour | International Storytelling Festival
    • Seeing Virginia >
      • National DDay Memorial
      • For the Love of the Train
      • A Night with the Salem Red Sox
    • Seeing West Virginia >
      • Mountains Set to Music
      • Travel South in Charleston
      • Hitting the Trails in Logan
      • West Virginia in Black and White
    • Seeing the World >
      • Seeing Bermuda | Bermudiful Bermuda >
        • 10 Days | 2 Coots | 1 Paradise
      • Seeing Canada >
        • The Rising of Noelle-Ange
      • Seeing Costa Rica >
        • Pack Lighter, Travel Better
        • Outside the Box | Medical Tourism
        • Only on Osa
        • Eating My Way Down Calle 33
      • Seeing Europe | Amsterdam Ramblings
      • Seeing Greece >
        • Two Coots Go Greek
        • The Poet Sandlemaker
      • Seeing Grenada 2016 >
        • Aboard the S/V Mandalay | Windjammer
      • Seeing Ireland 2016 >
        • A Wee Little Travel for Two Coots
        • Day 1 | Dublin > Kilkenny
        • Day 2 | Kilkenny > Kenmare
        • Day 3 | Kenmare > Dingle
        • Day 4 | Dingle > Doolin
        • Day 5 | Doolin > Westport
        • Day 6 | Westport > Donegal
      • Seeing Ireland 2017 >
        • Belfast North
        • County Antrim & Giants Causeway
      • Seeing Italy 2017 >
        • Salerno and the Amalfi Coast
        • Sicily
        • Castellemmare del golfo
        • Over my Shoulder | Suzanne's Journey
      • Seeing Mexico |Viceroy Rivera Maya
  • Southern Diary
  • Len + Judy
    • Seeing Southern | Affiliates & Partners >
      • Travel Market
    • Seeing Southern Photography >
      • 2018 | Behind the Lens
      • 2017 | Behind the Lens
      • 2016 | Behind the Lens
    • North Georgia Moonshine
    • Portfolio | Editorial & Photography
    • Media Kit
    • In Your Words | Seeing Southern
  • Contact