Cover Story: Farewell 2007

By eight people who usually aren’t asked to contribute to these year-in-review articles

Michael Vick. War. Mortgages. Crime. Grady. Drought. Genarlow Wilson. Wildfires. Drought.

2007 hasn’t been the worst year in Atlanta’s history, but as a short list of some of the year’s most memorable names and phrases makes apparent, it hasn’t exactly been peaches ‘n’ cream either.

Here are eight Atlantans who put the year in personal perspective.

 

Kedral Long, ticket scalper

How long have you been selling tickets?

Ever since I was 9 years old. We’re talking about 32 years.

What’s the best thing that happened to you in 2007?

Personally, it’s always great for me, because I’m a spiritual person. I believe in God first and foremost. Professionally? It’s super, man. I got baseball. God’s familiar with me. Everybody’s familiar with me in this ticket situation.

What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you?

They took Vick off the team. If it was Peyton Manning, he’d be playing Sunday.

You don’t think Peyton Manning would have been prosecuted?

Him and that judge would probably be playing golf during the off-season.

How has Vick being out affected business?

I wouldn’t even be able to talk to you guys. I’d be selling tickets. My kids are missing about two or three gifts off the Christmas tree. Unfortunately for all the guys, we all depend on this guy a lot. (Long holds up a Row 16, Section 117 with a face value of $99.) If Vick was playing, I’d ask $250 for it. Now, I’d take regular price.

What is your New Year’s resolution?

Get even closer with God.

 

Nicole Eimyatno, third-grader

What’s been your favorite thing about 2007?

Meeting new friends in the third grade.

What’s the most fun part of third grade?

We get free-choice time on Friday.

What’s the hardest part?

Long words. Like how to spell long words like “condensation.”

Where are you from?

Burma.

Do you remember Burma?

Not that much, because I was young. I know how my cousins look.

What’s your favorite part of being in the United States?

My family. And I like to learn math.

What other subjects do you like?

Dancing. Soccer. And social studies. I did a dance at U.N. Day in front of the whole class.

If you could change one thing about the world in the new year what would it be?

Stop the government in Burma.

What do you want people in Atlanta to know about you?

Burma is where I was born and where I’d like to be right now.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

Don’t watch TV and play games with my family like Monopoly.

And your wish for the new year?

For me and my family to go back to Burma.

 

Monica Wilson, bus driver

How was your 2007?

I had a great year, but some things in my life need to change.

What was the best thing about the year?

My pay raise.

What’s the one thing you want MARTA riders to know about your job?

They could take their beef to 2424 Piedmont MARTA headquarters and not to me, because I’m just the bus operator. My job isn’t easy. We are bus operators. We’re babysitters. We’re lawyers. We’re doctors. The lawyer thing is, “Let me tell you what happened to me last night. What you think I ought to do? Ray-Ray beat me up last night.” So, why you didn’t call the police on Ray-Ray?

Do you see the effects of the economy with your passengers?

Hell, yeah. Times are hard. Not everybody’s like me. I have a job at MARTA. You have your job at Creative Loafing. There’s a lot of people out there that lost their jobs. If you do the same route every day for a year and a half, you see people lose things – homes, jobs. You can tell when you look at a person everyday. All of sudden, if I see someone every day and her hair isn’t combed and her clothes aren’t clean, I know something’s wrong.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

I don’t do that. We don’t keep them. There are some things I want to change in my life. It’s gonna take longer than the first of the year to do it. It’s gonna take the first of the year, a couple of lawyers, and all that good stuff. Seriously.

 

Eduardo, day laborer from Mexico

Where are you from?

I’m from Acapulco.

How old are you?

Twenty-one. This is the second time I come here. The first time was in 1999.

How much did you pay to come to the United States?

The first time, I paid $1,800. A coyote human trafficker drove me to California with fake papers. This time, I got a permit for six months. I’m legal now. I have to go back in January.

Why are you here?

Looking for a better life. Everybody wants a better future. Everybody wants a better life.

How much money do you send back to your family?

When you make $400, you can send $300 and keep in your pocket $100.

What do you want people to know about you?

Sometimes people don’t understand. They’re just watching you and they’re like, “Fuck these guys, I don’t like them.” That hurts your feelings. What can we do? The world is not perfect. We’re trying to help our family and friends.

Will you come back after January?

I don’t think so. I always talk with my mom. She’s like, “If you don’t feel good over there, come here again. We can do better maybe here in Acapulco.” What I think to do now is save money and go back to school over there. I want to do it for computer design.

What’s your wish for 2008?

I want my family be happy and healthy. If you don’t have no money to send them, it’s OK. They don’t push me.

 

Luther White, on probation

Why are you on probation?

I was caught with no insurance and no tag on my car.

How long were you locked up?

About 16 days.

What do you think about when you’re sitting in jail?

You think, “I could have been out here talking to you.” (Laughs.) I could have been at the park, at a movie, out to dinner, at a car race, or riding horses.

How long is the probation and what do you have to do?

For a year. I have to report and pay my fine.

Why didn’t you have insurance?

I just didn’t pay it when I was supposed to pay. I didn’t have the money. I was paying other bills.

How’s 2007 been for you?

I’ve been unemployed. I was working with a truck company and the work slowed down. I’ve been doing part-time work here and there. Ain’t nobody really hiring. They’re talking about the first of next year.

How have you been able to get by?

My family’s been helping me out a little bit, and I’ve been doing little jobs here and there.

What’s the best thing that happened to you in 2007?

Going to church. Serving the Lord. I’ve been going all my life, but I had backslid.

What made you start going back to church?

Things were going pretty rough for me, and the Lord will make a way for you.

Do you have any New Year’s resolutions?

Find me a good job and stay on the good side. As long you do right, everything else will go right for you. When you do wrong, wrong will come behind you.

 

Walter Wilkerson, a slice of pizza

What’s the best thing about being a pizza?

It’s different from everything else. It’s fun. It makes sense out of everything else.

What do you say to people who say pizza is junk food?

Pizzas are not junk food. It can be a meal all day – lunch, dinner.

How’s 2007 been for you?

It’s great. It’s wonderful. It’s been a genius year.

What’s the worst thing that happened to you this year?

I fell down some steps.

Who are you supporting for president in 2008?

Hillary. Mrs. Clinton. She’s very positive. And I’m down for positive things.

Does she have a position on pizza?

I believe so. There are laws and licenses, and she has a lot to do with that.

If you could change the world in one way, what would it be?

I wouldn’t change the world. I’d leave it the way it is. I love it the way it is.

How would you change the city to help people?

I would open more shelters and feed more people. I can give away more pizzas. I gave one away yesterday. I don’t know the guy. He just looked like he needed a pizza.

Any New Year’s resolutions?

Sell more pizza. Be the daddy of the year. Stuff like that.

 

Caitlin Childs, sex-worker activist

How has your 2007 been?

I’ve had a lot of people in my life with health problems, so I’m looking forward to 2008 being a healthier year for people I love. I’ve been really busy this year. I did a fellowship with the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities for Georgia. I just wrapped that up and am looking for my next activist project.

What does being a sex-worker activist entail?

Most people don’t realize sex workers are their daughters, sons, neighbors, go to their church and work in other businesses they go to that aren’t sex-related. A lot of it is saying, “Well, actually, these people exist in your community and you like them. You just don’t know what they do for a living.”

Are there places that strip-club customers with a social conscience should frequent?

The Clermont Lounge is my personal favorite. You can see a lot of women from different places and different ages. The dancers are given a lot of freedom to be themselves at work. It’s the best place in the city to have a good conversation with a dancer.

What’s the best thing that happened to you in 2007?

I’m suing the Department of Homeland Security, and this year I found out we’re going to trial. I was arrested several years ago after an animal-rights protest at Honeybaked Ham. Just Google my name. You’ll find it.

What’s the worst thing that happened to you?

A very dear friend of mine was in a very serious motorcycle accident, but he’s doing much better now.

Do you have any New Year’s resolutions?

I would like to find a job that challenges me, that I get to leave behind at the end of the day and spend more time with the people I love. That way, you don’t have regrets when you find out someone’s hurt or someone’s sick.

 

Sharon “Scottie” Scott, bereavement coordinator 

How has experience with death and mourning at Hospice Atlanta changed your outlook on life?

I think that one of the things that happens is you become cognizant that you’re not given another minute or another second. So you try and make sure that when you have conversations with somebody, those are pretty complete conversations.

Are you more expressive to your friends?

I think I am – in telling people how much I appreciate them.

Does dealing with such serious issues on a daily basis change the way you respond to the news?

It’s a little hard to look at things that, in the scheme of things, seem trivial.

What do you think about Michael Vick?

It’s very difficult to think of someone abusing animals.

Does the hospice encourage people to make amends, to heal family wounds?

I think we think about the movies, about deathbed conversions. That doesn’t always happen. I think, pretty much, how you live is how you die.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

I just had a knee replacement, so I hope to be able to get back to walking at Stone Mountain. If I can do a couple of miles, I’d feel great about it.

 Farewell 2007: An audio slide show with Andisheh Nouaree and Joeff Davis