Peachtree Park Apartments

There are different train tracks that cross under Peachtree just north of Piedmont Hospital, near Benihana. In fact they are converting those tracks into the Atlanta Beltline walking trail. But back in the early 80’s I lived behind Benihana in the old Peachtree Park apartments. They’re still there. Not quite as hip as the Colonial Homes apartments across Peachtree, where all the cool Young Life leaders lived, like Cathy Gordon. I think Jeff Yearwood was one of my roommates at Peachtree Park, with Eddie Parker and Warren Hammonds.

Then Fred O and Cindy Pitts moved to Atlanta and he was on staff at SPdL again for a short time. They moved into the same apartment complex, across the courtyard. One time it snowed, and they were out in the courtyard making a snowman. Fred O saw me in my window and motioned for me to come outside. I shook my head NO. He motioned for me to come again, this time more emphatically. I shook my head more emphatically. He’d point down to the snow. Of course I finally went out to join him.

Their unit was right next to the tracks. Fred O taught a Bible Study there in his apartment. One night we were there sitting in a circle and Fred O was talking as usual. We could all hear a train approaching, getting louder at louder. Fred O kept talking, but started talking softer and softer as the train got closer and closer. While the train was right next to us, Fred O was moving his mouth, but not really saying anything. Then as the train finally passed Fred O started back talking shoftly, then louder, and finally back to normal once the train was gone. Very funny. Over 40 years ago.

The Peachtree Park Apartments are just across Peachtree Creek from Anna & Caleb's place. During Hurricane Hellene the water rose in A&C's backyard but didn't flood. But the creek did cause considerable flooding in the apartment complex, as well as across Peachtree at the renovated Bobby Jones Golf Course, all the way over to Collier Road, where Thomas & Holly's sprinter van was flooded.

Anyway, in high school Cindy had been a year ahead of me there at Central / Lanier. She was in the Sugar Bear marching band, and was drum major her senior year. My best friends Don and Chuck were in the band, and I knew most of the other members there as well. Cindy’s brother Paul was my age, and we played football together. Their dad was president of the Big Orange Booster Club one year, and my dad was president the next. I didn’t know Cindy well in high school, but knew she went to Wesleyan College there in Macon.

Then at Tech and SPdL I became buddies with Fred O. Eventually he came to me and asked “Dave O, is Cindy the girl for me?” NO, I said. Luckily for him, he didn’t take my advice.

Speaking of the Pitts, did you know that after Fred O retired they moved to be closer to one of their daughters. He was serving as an interim pastor. The church wanted to re-start as a new startup, and they wanted Fred O to be the permanent pastor, which he accepted. This just in the past couple of months. Fred O’s new church plant will be called Restoration Baptist Church of Indiantown, Florida. 

I hadn't been tracking the Braves new single A team that will be playing in Columbus this season. They're calling themselves the Clingstones, which evidently is a type of peach grown in Georgia. Guess they didn't want to steal the name Peaches from Macon.

Here are the caps. I'll continue to represent the Stripers.

Next time some yahoo interrupts a perfectly nice Greg Maddux praise fest with "Yeah, but Tony Gwynn blah blah blah". Here's the comeback: Maddux's winning percentage against the Padres was higher than against other teams. So Gwynn may have won some battles, but Maddux won the wars. So there.

 W / L  winning percentage

355-227 61.0% against all teams

018-010 64.3% against the Padres

337-217 60.8% against all other teams