If money, legal regulation, community response, politics and the laws of physics were no obstacle, what would you give the city of Macon for Christmas?
Send Us Your Answers
Every year as kids, Thanksgiving meant more than a big meal, some turkey and football. It was the beginning of the Christmas List Season. We’d gather up newspaper inserts and mail catalogues from Sears, Toys R Us and Service Merchandise to do research on just which toys we’d fantasize about for the ensuing weeks, imagining just what life would be like if Santa delivered on that remote control robot with the built-in radio and tape deck. Making a Christmas Wish List was the most exciting part of Christmas, aside from Christmas morning itself. It didn’t matter if our folks could afford what we wanted—or if we even ever got it. What mattered was the wishing, which is why we never asked for socks and underwear, no matter how much we needed them.
In the same spirit, we at The 11th Hour decided to put together a wish list for Macon that echoes the fun, imagination and near impossibility of those lists we made as children. Of course, we all want racial reconciliation and more jobs and a booming economy and other stuff that, frankly, can be a little boring and tedious. We turned to our friends and various community leaders to tell us what they want, for Macon, for Christmas.
Pictured Are Scott Bason, Chris Floore, Ruth Sykes
And Lester Miller
We asked them: If money, legal regulation, community response, politics and the laws of physics were no obstacle, what would you give the city of Macon for Christmas?
This is what they said…
Publisher, Brad Evans: “Downtown certainly needs more shopping, more parking, maybe a bar or two and a good sushi chef. But I think Dave and Busters could bring something Macon doesn’t have anywhere else and put it in downtown. People couldn’t go anywhere else in Macon and get that kind of experience. I’m not a big video game guy, but I think that Dave and Busters offers a place where parents can come and have fun at the restaurant—pool tables, etc.—while the kids can have fun playing games. I think one of the biggest problems plaguing downtown is that there isn’t a whole lot to do around here for parents and their kids.”
Editor Chris Horne: “After watching Valdosta State win the NCAA Div II National Championship this weekend, I decided Macon needs a college football team. We publish in Statesboro and Valdosta, and the one thing they definitely have on us is football. With all the unity that Reichert has brought Macon, it’d only make sense that we capitalize on it with a football team. We should take that unity and pick an enemy to pit ourselves against, every week from September until December or, hopefully January, choosing to rest our weary warriors through the warmer months. There’s something special about laying one’s civic pride out on the field, settling who has the best city or state or region by engaging in controlled violent combat.”
DJ Roger Riddle: “I want an arcade with a bar in it. This generation grew up on video games and now we’re old enough to drink.”
Mark Ledbetter, V.P. of Marketing for NewTown Macon: “I want a Plastic Fantastic, a record store in Bryn Mawr, PA that sells only records—the real stuff, like Wuxry in Atlanta, and I want enough money for Jack Black, John Cusack and (oh, I forget his name) to run it the first year. And I want The Spice Trader—a store in Toronto—that specializes in salts and teas, along with other spices.”
NOTE: We think Mark means actor Todd Louiso who co-starred in High Fidelity with Jack Black and John Cusack as audiophiles working in a record shop.
Ruth Sykes, VP of Media Relations & Marketing for the Macon Convention & Visitors Bureau: “My first inclination is to say—instead of something new—I would wish to have the Tubman Museum, Fort Hawkins and the Big House funded, completed and open for visitors tomorrow! In addition to my first and foremost wish, I'd wish for a Pottery Barn or Banana Republic type store, as well as a fun, major national restaurant chain like TGI Fridays or Cheesecake Factory to open in one of our historic downtown buildings as anchors to bring more shoppers and diners downtown, exposing them to all the incredible independent shops and restaurants already down here!”
Reverend Bill Hurdle, Campus Chaplain and Director of Church Relations at Wesleyan College: “I wish we had an Amish community in Macon. Maybe their horse and buggy travel would slow us down. Maybe their simple lifestyle would help us appreciate shelter, food, water, air and a family with whom we can share love. Maybe their pure Christian example would rub off on us and that would really change Macon.”
“Jami G” Gaudet, reporter for ABC Macon: “I would bring outlet shopping to Macon, like the Premium Outlets in Dawsonville, Georgia. I wonder how the Macon Mall will compete in the market once the new mall in North Macon opens. It seems to me that the Macon Mall will have to ‘reinvent’ itself. My suggestion is to create something that will compliment the new mall. Outlet shopping is popular nationwide—and when people come to Macon to shop, they'll have an alternative to retail.”
Lester Miller, attorney-at-law and local TV hero: “I’d like a Hard Rock Café—Paris, Atlanta, now Macon! And an international food court—one-stop shop for everyone in the office! We need Segue rentals, too. (These things look cool and it would be nice to travel to lunch without wasting to much time walking. And they don’t take up parking spaces either.) A ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card… just like the game except you can only use the card for minor violations and the city/county can split the money with their favorite charity. And finally, charity boxing matches—a new fight each month. How about starting with Charlie Bishop and Joe Allen? Up next… Ellis and anybody!”
Tina Dickson, owner of Ingleside Village Pizza: “A huge waterslide located downtown behind the terminal station. Maybe even THE biggest.”
Al Tillman, organizer of Unity-n-Community and president of Teeger Entertainment: “I want a Hobby Shop—trains, boats, cars, rental remote cars (there’s no current hobby shop in Macon)—and an RC Park for the non-traditional athletic families. It’d be an asphalt/concrete slab 200-300 feet round/30 ft. wide for remote control cars, to fly model airplanes, ride go-carts and four-wheelers, for skate boarders.”
David Poole, owner of Rivalry’s and The Hole Thang: Me and my sister have kicked around an idea for a 50's-style soda fountain geared towards families and teens as a place to go after school, after football games, etc. I think that would benefit the kids and the community by giving them a safe environment to hang out in.”
Chris Floore, Bibb Co. BOE Community Affairs & Public Relations Specialist: “My ‘wish list’ is for Downtown Macon: shopping centers, ‘big box’ department stores, chain and fast food restaurants, car dealerships, dance clubs, and gyms.”
Alex Habersham Publisher, Macon-Middle Georgia Black Pages: “I think that Cherry St is a sleeping entertainment GIANT. I would like to see a concerted effort toward planning and marketing that area to become a mini-Bourbon St. in Macon.”
Scott Baston, formerly of Moonshine Still, currently leading the News Architects: “I would build a drive-in theatre with the world’s largest HDTV set ever, and all it would show is ‘the bigger picture’. After that, I’d get a brand new boat from Bass Pro Shops so I wouldn’t have to paddle up shit’s creek any more. Finally, I’d install giant hamster wheels downtown so drunks could run for a while and get sober.”
Tom Ellington, professor and newly installed Macon City Councilman: “If money, legal regulations, community response and the laws of physics were no obstacle, I would bring Otis Redding here to do a show. Also, I would bring the world kazoo title back to its proper home.”
