This entry was posted on 2/27/2010 10:04 PM and is filed under uncategorized.
Today, I made a "daytrip" up to Dalton, Georgia, to attend the annual Dalton Hamfest and hang out with my "ham" buddies.
Being the roadgeek that I am, I took the camera with me to shoot some road photos. Admittedly, I only shot a few since I was up there more for ham radio stuff and hangin' out with friends, but I did get to shoot a photo of a big green sign along I-75 southbound approaching Exit 333 (GA 52/Walnut Avenue/Dalton).
For those of you who think only of carpets when traveling to Dalton, well, you may be missing a very special attraction... the
Georgia High School Coaches Hall of Fame!!! Don't believe me? Well, folks, here's your sign (pardon the quality)...
Now you may be thinking to yourself, "Wow! A high school coaches hall of fame! Gee, perhaps
my old high school football coach, "Moose" Bruiseovich, has been inducted? You know, my wife has been wanting to go to Dalton to get some new carpet for our house. Perhaps I can drop her off at one of the many carpet outlets there and then make my pilgrimage to the Georgia High School Coaches Hall of Fame (GHSCHOF)."
Suddenly, you find yourself saying to your wife, "Hey, babe, you know that new carpet you always wanted for the living room? Get ready, 'cause we're goin' up to Dalton!!! WOO-HOO!!!"
As you approach Exit 333 on I-75, your heart begins to race as you finally see the big green sign for the GHSCHOF. You pull off the exit and drop your wife off at the first carpet outlet... and soon afterward, you arrive at this illustrious shrine to those Georgians who have gained immortality in the field of high school coaching.
Will you find your beloved "Coach Moose" enshrined there? Maybe... but then, maybe not. Perhaps the good folks who run this illustrious shrine have somehow overlooked "Coach Moose".
Having been to this "mecca", you pick up your wife, load up the new carpet in the back of your truck, and head back home down I-75... with a renewed sense of purpose... to have the venerable "Coach Moose" inducted into the GHSCHOF. Meanwhile, your wife is happy that you thought so much of her to take her to Dalton to get that new carpet. It's a "win-win" for both of you!
Seriously, folks, a
HIGH SCHOOL COACHES HALL OF FAME?!!! WTF?!!! Music Hall of Fame? OK. Golf Hall of Fame. Sure, why not. But
HIGH SCHOOL COACHES?!!! No disrespect meant toward those who coach any high school sport, but hasn't someone gone a little bit overboard with Halls of Fame?!!! For that matter, why does Georgia (or any other state, for that matter) want to blow our tax dollars on Halls of Fame that could (and should) otherwise be funded privately? Just the cost of erecting a roadsign for these Halls of Fame is a fair chunk of change in and of itself. Any cost related to any Hall of Fame (including signage) should be funded privately IMHO.
Yes, Virginia, there is more to Dalton than carpets... and even their beloved Georgia High School Coaches Hall of Fame. IIRC, there was that little unpleasant thing that happened around 1864 we call "The War Between The States". You know, that thing where this guy from up north named Sherman and thousands of his closest blue-coated friends decided to go through Dalton on the way to Atlanta and kill some gray-coated guys in the process? Yeah, that thing. Were there any high school coaches that fought on either side of that war? I don't know. Perhaps so. After all, both sides (Union and Confederate) needed some good coaching, so they called up all the able-bodied high school coaches. Regretfully, it was a hardship on those poor high school sportsmen left behind on the "home front", but what would a good war be without some high school coaches gallantly leading their troops on the battlefield. IIRC, the Union scored more touchdowns than the Confederates did.
That's it for now. Thanks for reading and please come back again.
