Not all Flashbacks are Traumatic | Eastern North Carolina Now

Not all Flashbacks are Traumatic

/'flaSHˌbak/----a sudden and disturbing vivid memory of an event in the past, typically as the result of psychological trauma or taking LSD. (Google)

   If you will bear with me, I will try to bring this post to a point. Memory triggers of past events are often disturbing, but they don't always have to be regardless of what the Google definition above says.

   Last Saturday (10/14/2017), I attended a Willie Nelson concert with my wife and daughter. The event was at Chastain Park Amphitheatre , which is a small, outdoor venue in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. This venue is not about packing large crowds (6900 seating capacity) into a mega stadium. It is about a somewhat intimate event where the performance is the show and not the mass collection of money made by ticket sales. The Amphitheatre was first opened in 1944. Today it is where the less than mega acts play and that is what makes it special.

"For all but a few shows a season, tables are set up in the pit and lower part of the orchestra section. Tables seat six, and all six tickets must be purchased together. Those who do not purchase table seats are allowed to bring in tray-sized tables. Also for the table setup shows, food and drinks, including alcohol, are allowed to be brought in for consumption. Elaborate setups with nice food, tablecloths and candles are common. However, there are a small number of shows each season with a "rock" setup. Here there are no tables or carry-ins. Instead of tables in the pit, only rows of chairs are set up. Parking is limited, and traffic can be heavy on nights when the show is sold out."   Chastain Park

   At least two things are interesting about this location.

• Chastain is a non-smoking venue, which is contra-intuitive for a Willie Nelson Concert
• The amphitheater is located in what my dad called the "The Upper-Half" of Atlanta, which is to say the rich folks.

Willie and Family    The concert was fun and Willie sang many of his hit songs. His presentation was simple. Contrary to what you may think, there was not a haze of smoke over the crowd. He came on stage and sang one song right after the other with no banter or politics between songs. He played for an hour and half. If he had sung all his hits we would still be there. He finished with the old gospel "I'll fly Away." He left the stage with no curtain call. When you are eighty-four years old and have been doing this as long as Willie has, you get to do the show your way. I might add that Willie had a back up choir of about 6900 people singing with him.



Where does the flashback come in to this article?


Amphitheatre and Upgraded Horse Park, now with covered roof
   Well, Chastain Park also has a horse park,   (Chastain Horse Park)  where the rich people (Upper-Half) keep their horses.    Back in my childhood, dad would take my brother and I to Chastain to see the horse shows. Dad knew almost everyone in Atlanta, which in 1952 was a small city in rural south. Because of his job as a fireman, he had access to almost every facility in Atlanta. The big Atlanta Winecoff fire in 1946 illustrated that most of the buildings in Atlanta were not prepared for a largescale fire. After that fire, the City made a determined effort to inspect all buildings and facilities to improve the fire safety. It fell to the Atlanta Fire Department (AFD) to inspect each facility and make suggestions on fire safety issues.

   Because of that, Dad met many of the leaders of the city and often that allowed us access to the "Upper-Half" where we could as dad would say, "Hob-Nob with the Rich". My dad and brother had a love affair with horses. My brother is five years older than I am and had a double dose of Cowboy Saturday Matinees. Dad had bartered for a horse for Jim at the Stockyards in Atlanta. The stockyards were the place where the trains dropped off horses. It was here that those unfortunate animals were separated and classified. Some were destined for the farms outside of Atlanta and some were destined for the "Glue Factory." Dad had a one armed buddy there who called him with a tip that he had a horse that he thought would be a good pet for Jim. That is how we came to acquire "Ranger." Later dad was able to make a trade for a Shetland pony for me, which I named "Peanut."

   When the horse show came to Atlanta, dad would sneak us in the Chastain Park stable entrance manned by one of his police friends. We got to see the show from the "rail" just like a stable hand. Even the "Upper-Half" rich folk did not get that close to the horses.

   However, the horse shows at Chastain did not feature nags or rejects. They featured the top of the line thoroughbreds of the horse show circuit. One in particular was a Tennessee Walker named "Talk of the Town" that won most of the competitions. Talk of the Town was a reddish-brown Bay that had been gelded. Apparently, he did not appreciate the insult to his stud status because he had a boisterous spirit and was a handful for his trainers, but boy he put on a show when he was called to the post. He won the World Grand Championship 1951, 52 and 53.

   For those who do not know the story of Tennessee Walkers, a quick history of the horse and summary of his record can be found at this link Talk of the Town    The Prancing of a Walking Horse was a thing of beauty, but it was not a natural gate for horses. It had to be built up through training. In Today's environment, I suppose that training would be considered cruel and abusive by some, and perhaps that is a valid criticism and I should be properly chastised and guilty for enjoying the resulting prance. Here is how they were trained:

"The obvious solution to further extending the Walking Horse's gait was to add weight and height to its front feet. The weight was applied during training in the form of heavier chains around the horse's ankles. The height was supplied by increasing the layers of leather between the shoe and hoof. Such added weight and height prompted the horse to more action in front, which necessitated a longer stroke with the back leg. The combination of the front-end action and the rear-end stroke eliminated the lost motion of the Walking Horse's ambly gait, both in the flat walk and the running walk."


   Here is a link that shows the gate of a trained Tennessee walker.   Tennessee Walking Horse- Gaits



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   So, the few readers who are still with me here may asked where does the flashback aspect come into this long and convoluted story. As we were leaving the concert and heading toward our cars, we passed the sign pointing to the upgraded Horse Stables and Horse Park.

Flashback 65 years
   And for just an instant, I was a seven year old boy in 1952 with my brother and dad watching the Talk of The Town showing off his Gate to the "Upper-Half" and at least three lower middle class interlopers.