We had a great night’s sleep and turned our attention to using our last day in Atlanta wisely. We had gambled and booked flights to Mexico City on the off chance we would beat DR Congo. The gamble paid off. But first Kirsty had a BBC interview to do.
I’ve been to Atlanta a few times when the videogames show E3 was here, but it was another new city and state for Kirsty. We were impressed by the ‘Southern Hospitality’ which was pretty evident not least the contrast between cab drivers in Atlanta and those in New York. We had three amazing cab drivers, all quite different and all big advocates for Atlanta even though they had all relocated here from other states, two having come from New York and the other from Detroit.
Donald, no irony please, picked us up from the airport and was so laid back, literally, he was in the back seat with us. With his bandana, Prada shades and jewellery, he reminded me of Layfayette from True Blood and his looks and mannerisms really rammed that impression home. He appeared a tad cold on the current US president to say the least. He loved Atlanta as ‘you can choose your pace in this city brother’ and never wanted to leave.
Rod had what could only be described as a massive 4×4 come truck cab with an array of internal disco lights. He was a big man, with a booming but warm voice. Rod and I discussed the reasons why he loved Atlanta and for him it stemmed from the fact that in his words, Atlanta was the first city in the South to ‘open up’ as a result of the Civil Rights movement. Major US corporations had decided to locate their headquarters here for sound business reasons, something I had not ever realised. CNN, Coca Cola, Delta Airlines, UPS, Home Depot and more were major employers and contributors to the city. Rod was hilarious and just laughed and laughed when I asked him what he thought of the US president. ‘Huh, we stuck wid him now for a few more years, but he’s gone soon, he just wants to make as much money as he can, he don’t care about us’. When I suggested that the word buffoon was potentially applicable, he guffawed so loud it made me jump out of my seat.
Ronnie was a whole different story, but equally hilarious. He picked us up in his Tesla and in between rally driving around Atlanta, he asked Grok some questions. ‘Hey Grok, I am with some Brits and they are asking me about their football’. Grok then proceeded to tell us that we were ‘tea sipping Limey ***s and we loved a game played by ponces who can stand being hurt’. The three of us laughed so loud we forgot to notice the speed we were driving at. When I asked X about his views on you know who, he burst into laughter and told us both that he was a complete ***t.
On a serious note, Atlanta was the birth place of Civil Rights campaigner Martin Luther King Jnr, which all three of the boys and Mitch who we met up with at the match, had specifically mentioned. There is a big memorial park and significant buildings that featured in Martin Luther King Jnr’s life.
So we decided to visit the The King Center which was in Downtown. We went there via the MARTA and had a 15 minute walk from the King Memorial station. This was properly Downtown and I am not sure Kirsty was that comfortable walking. It was so incredibly hot and humid, and as we found out later, the hottest day of the year so far in Atlanta, never great for anyone’s mood!
We saw the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Jnr had preached to his congregation and the row of houses that he lived in as a young boy.
His actual house was being restored, due to open on Independence Day on Saturday, which was a shame as we missed it by two days.
The Old Fire Station housed a lot of artefacts on a temporary basis as the main visitor centre was also undergoing refurbishment. All in all it was well worth visiting given the historic significance of Martin Luther King Jnr and the Civil Rights Movement in the US.
I can remember watching the news as a very young boy when the reports of his assassination came through on the BBC. Something about Martin Luther King Jnr resonated with me at a very early age and I remember my Mum telling me about the racial discrimination in the US back then. She told me that Martin Luther King Jnr’s mother had told her young son after he had been prevented from mixing with his white friends, ‘you are just as good as them son’. That stuck with me and I think it meant something special to my Mum who had suffered discrimination as a young girl at school during the war given she was Italian and the Italians had started on the wrong side in that war.
At his funeral, his coffin was transported on a simple donkey cart and over 20,000 people paid their respects and lined the streets. The man who had always said that all protest must be non-violent met a violent death, but his example and inspiration was key to the Civil Rights Movement making key changes to equality that the country and the people so desperately needed.
Kirsty and I then indulged ourselves and took a driverless cab back to Midtown to meet Colin and watch Spain demolish Austria 3-0 in a great sports bar called Midtown Hudson Grille.
Two more games to watch, a real thriller between 41 year old Ronaldo’s Portugal and 40 year old Modric’s Croatia. It ended up 2-1 rather controversially with VAR again but delivered the best second half of the tournament so far.
Mexico City awaits now and a date with destiny.
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