BLOGTOBERFEST13 (Day 23): Atlanta along the East West MARTA line and portraits of two women

MARTA VIEW OF ATLANTA. I will treasure infinitely the exclamation of one Atlanta teenager riding MARTA one fine day like this. As our train pulled away from the Georgia State station, she stood up and waved her hand over the Atlanta horizon saying, "THIS IS MY CITY"! My life immediately was heightened. Now, every time, I pass this part of the commute from my home in Decatur to Midtown, I whisper to myself, "THIS IS MY CITY." (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for tales of cities of those of us who live among the multitudes! Who are we in the vastness of time and space? How do our individual lives figure in a city of more than five million?

I have grown to love my city of Atlanta, especially after thinking I was moving to Albuquerque this past spring. I did not move. I stayed in Atlanta. Now, I am claiming this city as mine! How engaging it is when viewed with leisure from our public transportation system.

FIVE POINTS MARTA STATION. Often the skyline of Atlanta takes my breath away. It has character and beauty. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

FIVE POINTS MARTA STATION EAST LINE. Waiting for the long train, Indian Creek, takes between 10 and 15 minutes. Recently the digital boards which used to announce the time of the upcoming trains went "dark" in the stations, at least the ones I have been using. Why? There is no explanation of when this basic service will return. Why can't a large metropolitan city like Atlanta have working marquees for train arrivals? (photo by Hallelujah Truth)


The MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) is far from perfect. For this reason, it is not used by everyone in Atlanta. It has often derogatorily been called a "poor people mover" because those without alternative transportation means must use it presumably while those with cars drive.


I use MARTA regularly when I go downtown and find it a mixed bag--fascinating for people watching, less stressful than driving, but frustrating because of delays and unexplained, indefinite wait times.


I adore the view out the windows! For a girl who grew up on military bases and spent a portion of my life in the small university town of Auburn, Alabama, I continue to find this busy and burgeoning city an enigma. It is incomprehensible while being open and inviting. Atlanta is a dauntingly big welcoming city.

MARTA STATION LEAVING GEORGIA STATE. Looking south away from downtown Atlanta gives one the view down the interstate and a glimpse of the golden domed capitol building. Looking north out the other side of the train will give you the view in the first photo of this blog. However, this image was taken on an overcast day as opposed to the gorgeous sunny day in the other. (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

 

There are many places along the MARTA east/west line with character. Like this scene below.

CONTINUING EAST ON MARTA FROM GEORGIA STATE. Along part of the east line from the Georgia State station to Eastlake where I get off has former industrial sites and train car storage places. So much of this area of Atlanta has been getting reclaimed or used for films, including the next segment of the Hunger Games by author .... (photo by Hallelujah Truth)

In this city are personalities, creative people looking at the city and photographing it and its inhabitants (including me). One of those creative people is Lisa Alexander Streib, a woman I met almost four years ago. Here she is. Take a look.

INTRODUCING LISA ALEXANDER STREIB, PHOTOGRAPHER. Meet my friend Lisa Streib and check out some of her touch up work at her website Streibwerks. I had to include here various photos she has created for her Facebook profile page at different times of the year. This photo appeared around Halloween. (photo by Lisa Streib)

GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRING. Isn't she lovely? This Facebook profile page coincided with the High Museum's exhibit of Vermeer's painting this past summer. Clever, clever, Lisa!  (photo by Lisa Streib)

BLUE AUGUST MOON. This photo was on Lisa's Facebook page during August's amazing full moon 2013--it was called the blue August moon. (photo by Lisa Streib)

Lisa has been asking me for a while if I would be a photographic subject for her. In many ways, I thought she was kidding. Her requests seemed to me kind offerings meant to make me smile and feel better about myself. 

Well, since I am an EGG BABY at the CROSSROADS of my life, I finally said, "YES" to her most recent request to photograph me after we had lunch together. She really wanted to "shoot" me (ha ha). So this past Sunday, we went to the Oakland Cemetery here in Atlanta, a site which can be seen from the east/west line of the MARTA train (I have failed to represent it here in a photograph. Forgive me).

We Atlantans fit into this vast landscape. This is who we are. This is our city. Below is the first image that Lisa sent me from our adventures a few days ago stopping and posing alongside the mausoleums in Oakland Cemetery.

"RUTH." First of many photos of me--perhaps!  (photo by Lisa Streib)

That's Coffee with Hallelujah! SOUL BLOG with me and tell me what you think about our portraits, do they tell anything about the city we live in? Who we are? The age in which we live? What more do you know after seeing these images?