Beth Dolgner, Writer and Editor

It’s gloomy and rainy here in Atlanta, and all I really want to do is brew a hot cup of tea and finish reading “The Hobbit.” However, one of my race teams might object since I have a press release to finish writing for them. In an effort to get out of my afternoon slump, I present two of my favorite YouTube videos. Both make me laugh every time I watch them, and might do the trick for getting me energized to write.

The first shows Atlanta Thrasher Eric Boulton, who tries to slide down the bench and misses by a few inches. The funniest part is the reaction from him and teammate Chris Thorburn. At least Boults can laugh at himself!

This next one is an interview William Shatner gave for Star Trek, only remixed and set to music. It is absolute genius. I first saw it at DragonCon, and it kept popping up all weekend like some sort of Sci-Fi Rickrolling. I finally downloaded the song to my iPod because it’s a great pick-me-up. I’ll warn you, the song WILL get stuck in your head. It played over and over in my head for two weeks after DragonCon. Considering I danced to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” for four hours at DCon, that’s a pretty impressive feat!

Now let’s get back to work, and don’t blame me if you find yourself asking, “Why is he climbing a mountain?”

Thanksgiving this year was anything but traditional. In fact, it’s the most unusual Thanksgiving we’ve had aside from two years ago, when we were thankful for warm Belgian waffles served on a street in Brussels. Ed’s a bit under the weather, so we passed on invitations from our neighbors and friends, figuring we’d cook up a meal at home.

After a lazy morning of watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Star Trek (“Captain Kirk is climbing a mountain…”), we were both feeling a little stir-crazy. Ed suggested a drive up to the mountains of North Georgia, so we set out in the late afternoon. Helen was our goal, but we were in no hurry. We took the scenic route and enjoyed the lovely late-afternoon views.

There were actually a few shops open in Helen, and after a bit of wandering we popped into the Old Bavaria Inn and Restaurant. I can’t go to Helen without craving schnitzel, and a heaping plate of Jager schnitzel and spaetzle hit the spot. To top it off, I had a Kolsch-quite possibly my favorite beer-to wash it all down. As I told Ed, at that moment I was very thankful for his ancestors’ culinary genius.

It was cold and dark when we left, and as we started our drive I pulled up Twitter on my phone. I had a notification that the International Space Station would be flying over our area at 6:39 p.m.: just 15 minutes away! We continued to drive until we found a stretch of road with no lights and a relatively clear view of the northwest (it’s tough to find a wide-open spot up in the hills). Finally, when I was about to give up, we saw the bright light of the space station whizzing by overhead. I got so excited I actually waved to the astronauts. Then, not far behind, there was another bright light speeding through the sky. The space shuttle Atlantis had been at the space station, but they undocked the day before Thanksgiving. They are already home as of this writing, so I’m glad we stopped for the rare opportunity of seeing both spacecraft at the same time. The whole experience only reinforced my desire to be an astronaut. Perhaps NASA will start a “Writers in Space” program?

In all, it was a most untraditional Thanksgiving, but a great one. And I must end with the words of Obi-Wan Kenobi: “That’s no moon. It’s a space station.”

An autographed copy of Beth’s Book, Georgia Spirits and Specters, is available here for only $17.00, including postage.

My birthday present from Ed showed up today. He had given me just one hint about it: “It’s really heavy, you’ll probably only use it a few times, but it will be really neat to have.” The 40-pound present turned out to be a Remington Standard Noiseless 6 typewriter. It officially ranks as one of the top three coolest presents he’s ever given me (the others being my Boba Fett painting and my game-worn Jim Slater Thrashers jersey). The typewriter is in great shape: one knob broke during shipping, but I can easily glue it back together.

And why is a typewriter such a great present? Ed’s reasoning was, “Well, you’re an author now.” That really does sum it up. I look at that Remington and picture Ray Bradbury, my literary hero, pounding away on the pay typewriters in the UCLA basement. Supposedly, Mark Twain bought an early Remington model and is credited as the first author to ever submit a type-written manuscript.

What it really comes down to, I believe, is thinking about all the authors who found success after typing away on a machine like that Remington. Sure, technology has changed and I do my clacking on a laptop now, but the sentiment is still valid: if they could do it, then so can I.

Ed and I recently returned from a brief but fun vacation in Copenhagen. A few highlights of the trip:

On the day we arrived, we took a short train ride over (and under) the sound to Malmo, Sweden. We window-shopped and had lunch there.

Malmo, Sweden

We got to pet this reindeer at the Copenhagen zoo. It was like petting a dog, only a lot more dangerous because when a dog rubs his face against your hand, you don’t have to dodge huge antlers that could stab you in the eye.

Sunday was busy, and included the Danish Resistance Museum (about Danes who fought against Nazi occupation during WWII), Rosenborg Castle and the Danish Armory. We also had the privilege of seeing Danish WWII vets laying a wreath at a Churchill monument.

Wreath-laying ceremony, Copenhagen

Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen

Our last day in Denmark was my favorite. We took the train to Roskilde, a Medieval town on a fjord, to visit the Viking Museum. The museum features five Vikings ships that were sunk in the 800s. They were excavated, preserved, and pieced together. After that, we reboarded the train and went to the little coastal town of Helsingor, which also had a lovely Medieval district. The real reason we were there was for Kronborg Castle. Started in the 1400s, the castle is where Shakespeare set “Hamlet.” The castle was closed the day we were there, but we got to walk around the courtyard inside the castle walls. We had the place to ourselves, and it was amazing and eerie all at the same time.

Viking Museum, Roskilde, Denmark

Kronburg Castle. No one there but us and the ghost of Hamlet's father.

Kronborg Castle, Helsingor, Denmark

Normally I would blame the Chatham Artillery Punch. However, it was still early in the night, well before our first sips of Savannah’s famous libation, and already we were laughing at all kinds of silly things. It’s typical of a Girls Weekend. Our latest weekend revolved around Halloween in Savannah. Four of us – Mom, Aunt Bonnie, my former roommate Elyse and me – packed into Mom’s apartment for two days.

The giggling began at dinner on Friday night. Our sober-faced waiter at Paula Deen’s The Lady and Sons wandered over just in time to hear Mom say, “He was the first homeless musician I ever befriended!” Cue the giggling. And yes, I admit, by the time we got to Bonnie’s “at least she gave it a shot,” we were already working our way through an Artillery Punch at the Shrimp Factory.

Saturday was packed. Our day started with a history and ghost tour by Kimber, owner of Discover Savannah Walking Tours and one of the DragonCon Thriller organizers. If you’re heading to Savannah, call her for a tour! We capped the tour with brunch at Huey’s, then I rushed to my book signing at Magnolia’s of Savannah on Bull Street. With the signing over, it was time to eat yet again. We went to the Sixpence Pub to satisfy Elyse’s eight-month craving for Guinness stew.

As evening settled in, we donned our costumes and jumped on a hearse for a ghost tour. We had a wonderful guide named Louis, and we had a good time waving at trick-or-treaters. We went straight from the hearse to a party thrown by Mom’s neighbors. The theme was “The Dark Side of Oz.” Remember those costumes I mentioned? We were Munchkins gone wrong. I was Slammer Munchkin (complete with a Munchkinland Penitentiary jumpsuit), while the other girls were Slutty Munchkin, Stoner Munchkin and Drunk Munchkin. The party was fun, our costumes looked great, and I’m already making plans for next Halloween.

A picnic brunch in Forsyth Park ended our Girls Weekend. We spent the trip discussing plans for the next “GW,” when we invade Paris!