Gris: This year, it’s the real thing
Almost as soon as I walked into the Grand Salon at the Macon Marriott City Center, a gentleman from Falcon Heights, Minnesota, was all over my tie.
He was curious about the colorful, 19-inch piece of silk hanging from my neck.
“Cherry blossoms,” I explained. Lots of them.
I admitted the tie was quite busy, even loud, with five shades of pink and four shades of green on the palate. (I have to be careful not to attract bees when I wear it.)
“If you think this tie rocks, you should see the one I’m wearing at the fashion show on Thursday,” I said. “No blossoms, but it’s probably visible from outer space.”
The “Road Scholars” began arriving at the Marriott on Sunday afternoon. I spent almost an hour after dinner telling them stories about Macon and the Cherry Blossom Festival.
There are about 30 in the group from nine states -- Colorado, Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida, Massachusetts, Illinois, Minnesota, New York and Ohio. They are here for five days, taking in all things cherry. By the time they leave Friday morning, we may have every snowbird in the flock wearing pink.
Of course, the real reason I had on blossom neckwear is there are many years when I find myself apologizing for all the bare trees at the beginning of the festival.
It’s no fun when you travel 1,700 miles to find a big “NO” at the end of Yoshino.
So I trot out the blessed tie that blinds and tell them this is what the trees are supposed to look like. It makes them laugh and feel better. Well, maybe a little.
I didn’t have to resort to any gimmicks this year, though. For the first time in years, the blossoms arrived on schedule. In some parts of the city, they were welcomed as early buds. No tardy slips were issued.
As usual, the fickle weather of March -- Mother Nature’s most psychotic month -- has had a grip on the festival. Blue skies and sunshine one afternoon. Dark clouds, puddles and shivers the next.
I congratulated these Road Scholars from places like Westerville, Ohio, and Lantana, Florida. They picked a good year to come. The four scholars from Massachusetts, who endured the state’s snowiest winter on record, are probably happy just to see a blade of green grass.
Nationally, the Road Scholar program is celebrating its 40th year of offering educational and affordable tours to seniors. I was relieved to see the name change. When Carolyn Simpson, the former local coordinator, asked me to speak to an Elderhostel group about 10 years ago, she assured me it wasn’t a mob of angry old folks. (I could have sworn she said elderly and hostile.)
Now the renamed organization is in the capable hands of area coordinator Cassie Lee Napier, of Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, with group leaders Beth and Faron Thompson, of Bonaire.
For the past two days, our Road Scholars-in-Residence have been busier than ... well, at least three of my popping ties.
Monday, they had a crash course on 17,000 years of history at the Ocmulgee Indian Mounds. They dined on stage at the Grand Opera House and took a tour of the Hay House.
Tuesday, they visited historic Milledgeville and the Old Capitol and Old Governor’s Mansion. They made it back to see the flower displays at the Federated Garden Club on College Street in Macon.
They watched the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes” Tuesday night to get ready for their trip to Juliette, where part of the movie was filmed. Of course, lunch Wednesday will be at the Whistlestop Cafe, with a side trip to Jarrell Plantation on the way to Central City Park.
They will hit the Cherry Blossom Trail on Thursday -- when many of the trees will be at their pinkest peak -- followed by visits to the Cannonball House, Woodruff House and Sidney Lanier Cottage.
Among my favorite parts of the festival is hanging out with tourist groups experiencing the springtime charm of Macon for the first time.
For the lean years, I keep my blossom ties as backup backdrops.
The good news for this year’s festival is that they are a fashion accessory, not a substitute.
Contact Gris at egrisamore@macon.com.
This story was originally published March 24, 2015 at 10:43 PM with the headline "Gris: This year, it’s the real thing ."