Wednesday, May 12, 2004
|
Wednesday, May 12, 2004 |
Dixie Divas and music of the 'Hooch'By RONDA RICH NACOOCHEE, GA. - On a summer Sunday afternoon, a handful of divas gathered among a host of others on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, a handsome body of sparkling water that cuts a winding swath through the red hills of North Georgia and lazily snakes its way over a hundred miles down through the valleys and past Atlanta. In its wake, it leaves enjoyment for those who tube it, raft it, ski it, boat it, swim it and fish it and, thanks to the formation of Lake Sidney Lanier, it provides drinking water for millions. Few American rivers, certainly none that belongs exclusively to the South, are more famous than the beautiful Chattahoochee that once separated the Cherokee Nation from the Creek Nation and later was used as a border between both nations and early settlers. The lyrical, gentle words of poet Sidney Lanier first immortalized the river in a gorgeous rhapsody known as “Song of The Chattahoochee.” Miranda is a culturally refined diva whose book shelves are cluttered with tomes of sophisticated poetry and high brow picture books filled with the artistic works of Monet, Renoir and Degas. Her love for beautiful works of art has led her to commit Lanier’s alluring tribute to memory and to heart. One day during a picnic by the river’s edge, she asked her three grandchildren if they knew the words to the “Song of the Chattahoochee.” Excitedly, the three youngsters squealed with delight, jumped up and started belting out the words to “Chattahoochee,” country singer Alan Jackson’s ode to the river days of his Georgia youth. Jackson’s tribute became a number one runaway best seller and established the songwriter as a genius. After all, it isn’t easy to find a word that rhymes with Chattahoochee. It takes creative brilliance to do that. James Dickey wrote a literary bestseller turned classic about the Chattahoochee, Burt Reynolds starred in the movie version and a nation of people would come to believe that Deliverance accurately portrayed the mountain folks who live proudly on the land that stretches to the river’s edge. It is a misconception, however, that did not hinder the strong flow of outsiders from buying up land and moving in to be near the Chattahoochee. Learning to correctly spell it, though, is harder than paying the property taxes on the land that has grown astoundingly in value. That summer Sunday afternoon, however, hearkened back to simpler days that the Chattahoochee knew before tourists, developers and Hollywood discovered it. Shoal Creek Baptist Church, on the heels of a week-long revival, had shown up en force to baptize the newly converted. In a line, 12 people of varying ages, joined hands and slowly followed the preacher and a deacon into softly rippling waters between a bend, shaded by massive hardwood trees, and a gentle shoal. And, as the Baptists practice, they were ceremoniously lowered into the water that represents a “liquid grave” and signifies that their sins have been buried and life begins anew. One young boy, surely not much of a sinner to begin with, zealously proclaimed, “I wanna be baptized and have my sins washed away!” Those who gathered sang “Amazing Grace” and “I’ll Fly Away,” said a prayer and formed a line to shake the hands of those dripping with the famous water. Watermelons were cut, fellowship was shared and barefoot children, without a video game or a high tech toy, played as their ancestors had. They grabbed a rope tied to a high limb of an oak tree, swung out over the deep part of the river and dropped into a joyous splash while others swam and toddlers waded. Laughter rang through the trees and merriment echoed among the sweet sounds of the river ebbing its way to a busier, noisier place. It was the most beautiful song of the Chattahoochee that anyone could ever hope to hear. [Ronda Rich is the author of “What Southern Women Know (That Every Woman Should)” and “My Life In The Pits.” She lives in Gainesville, Ga.] |
| What do you think of this story? |