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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 12, 2009 — PAGE 3A
Marriage .cont’dfrom 1A
rafts carrying some of the terrorists had landed and then climbed a wall (it
was right across the sheet).
"It was eerie to think if we’d been there just six weeks prior,” he said.
But the Bleakeys say they weren't unnerved by the previous attacks,
comparing it to visiting New York City following 9/11. “We figured it
was probably safer than it'd ever been,” Greg said.
Their daughter, Elizabeth (Liz) had gone over earlier to be with her
fiance, Nachiket Kumar, and that left the Bleakleys, their son Joe and
three of their daughter's high school girlfriends, Andrea Bond, Ashley
Sobhani and Leah Hardman, (all 2002 Madison County High School
graduates) to make the trip just prior to the wedding day.
Though they found the plane ride exhausting, particularly Hardman,
who came from her cuirent home in Hawaii, the adventure itself was
great.
"We all just loved it,” Rebecca said. “All the people were great to us and
the food was marvelous."
The Bleakleys also marveled at all the sites they saw - from magnifi
cent opulence to dire poverty.
"But what struck us most was the traffic," Greg said chuckling. “There
was so much of it and there were no stop signs at all.” In addition to cars,
buses, motorcycles, etc. all cramming into the same roadway, there were
also cows, goats and other animals to contend with. "And the cows are
sacred, so you couldn't make them move and you definitely couldn’t hit
one," he said. But despite all that, they saw no bad accidents and mar
veled at how everyone seemed to tolerate the traffic jams without malice.
They say they never observed a case of "road rage,” no matter how hectic
it might get.
"There was just an attitude of cooperation there - it was chaotic to
us - but people there don’t seem to be angered by it, I guess they’re just
accustomed to it,” Greg said.
After landing in Mumbai, they took an overnight train trip the coastal
area of Goa, where the wedding was to take place.
"We were on the beach one day and a cow just walked right by us,"
Rebecca said. Liz, hearing it was good luck to feed the cows, followed it
and gave it some food.
They were also startled by the “mass of humanity,” everywhere, all
the time.
"We went out at 11 p.m. one night and the streets were still packed with
people who seemed to be shopping and eating," Rebecca said. Another
thing that struck them about the city of Mumbai was the pollution, the
lack of sanitation and the trash that littered the streets and byways. "We
think we have pollution and trash problems here, but we don't compare
to there," Greg said.
The train they took from Mumbai to Goa was “straight out of Casa
Blanca" Rebecca noted. “It was an interesting trip in a sleeping car," she
said. "Especially the toilets.” Luckily for them, the train was equipped
with "western” toilets as well as the traditional “Indian" toilets, which
were basically a hole in the train's floor to the railroad tracks below.
Though it was 85 degrees those January days, the humidity was low
and pleasant, allowing for a goigeous wedding on the resort beach.
"Goa is a destination like Cancun is for us,” Greg said.
The wedding ceremony was traditionally Indian, performed by a
Hindu priest, though there were some nods to a western wedding - such
as Greg walking his daughter to the wedding platform. There the couple
exchanged leis, which signified the "moment” they were married, though
it was followed by an exchange of rings. Rebecca pointed out that an
Indian wedding is typically the first time the bride and groom meet, since
the marriage is likely to be an an'anged one, though that custom is chang
ing in today's modem society.
The wedding itself was a three-day event (crammed into two days
because of their schedule) with lots of eating, drinking and partying, with
events such as something called a "sangeet"' held the night before the
ceremony to honor the bride and groom with toasts and skits.
"It was all very well organized and went like clockwork,” Rebecca
said.
The Bleakleys say their daughter and son-in-law met while both were
on a study abroad trip for biology students in Iceland four years ago. Liz
was there from UGA, while Nachiket was there from a college he was
attending in Minnesota.
"We thought, it's a long distance relationship and they're from different
cultures, it probably won’t last," Rebecca remembers. "But we re sure
glad it did - he’s a great guy.”
"He really is a great guy - everything we as parents would want for our
daughter,” Greg said.
Luckily, the couple now live and work in Atlanta, so the Bleakleys
don't have far to travel to see them.
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Drive-by art
Madison County artist lands billboard spot
Perry McCrackin’s “Peppermint Float” painting was one of five entries win
ning an Athens billboard spot in the Lyndon House’s “Art in the Air” contest.
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County artist Perry McCrackin had
to cater to a different kind of audience this time
— one motoring by at 60 miles per hour.
McCrackin’s “Peppermint Float” painting
was one of five entries winning an Athens
billboard spot in the Lyndon House’s “Art in
the Air” contest.
Over 40 artists entered.
McCrackin, 49, opted for the peppermint
theme because it offered the contrast needed
for the limited viewing window of highway
speedsters.
“When you drive by a billboard at 50-60-70
miles per hour, you have to be able to look at it
and know what it is,” he explained.
The painting is now seen through the wind
shields of hundreds daily on a billboard just
north of Athens on Hwy. 441.
McCrackin, who has lived near Danielsville
for 10 years, said the painting will rotate to dif
ferent billboard locations throughout the year.
Right now, “Peppermint Float” isn’t placed
in his normal route of travel. McCrackin works
at Normal Town Salon in Athens and com
mutes in on Hwy. 29.
But others have taken notice.
"Everybody likes the peppermint,"
McCrackin said. “There’s a few people who
have seen them in the evening. They say it
looks really good at night.”
Of the five winners, this Marine-tumed-
hairstylist is the only artist with no formal
training.
The other four held art degrees in various dis
ciplines. McCrackin says he’s predominantly
self-taught, painting off-and-on when he was
younger, before quitting to serve a four-year
stint in the Marine Corps.
However, he’s re-intensified his efforts in the
last five to six years and is focusing on portrait
art currently.
Though he’s earned highway-traffic notori
ety with “Peppermint Float,” McCrackin says
he’s not resting on his laurels.
“You’re only as good as your last painting,”
he said.
Republicans to hold Madison County convention
The Madison County Republican Party will
hold precinct mass meetings at 9 a.m., Saturday,
March 14, to elect delegates and alternate del
egates to the Madison County Republican
Party Convention.
The county convention will convene at 10
a.m. that day at the same location to elect
delegates and alternate delegates to the
Congressional District Convention and to the
state convention.
Additionally, the convention will adopt the
Rule of the Madison County Republican Party
and elect officers for the 2009-2011 term.
Both the precinct mass meetings and the
county convention will be held in the com
missioners’ room at the Madison County
Government Complex located at 91 Albany
Avenue in Danielsville, Georgia.
All Madison County residents who are legally
registered to vote and believe in the principles
of the Republican Party are urged to participate
in this process, organizers said.
The 10th Congressional District Convention
will convene at 10 a.m., Saturday, April 18, at
the UGA Center for Continuing Education in
Athens.
The Georgia Republican Party State
Convention will convene at 2 p.m., Friday,
May 15, in Columbus. The agenda will include
officer elections.
For further information contact Bruce
Azevedo, Chairman of the Madison County
Republican Party at 706-296-3834, or by
e-mail atAzevedo@negia.net.
Republicans to meet
with sheriff Feb. 21
The Madison County Republican Party will
hold its monthly meeting at 8:30 a.m., Saturday,
Feb. 21, at the Madison County Library.
Sheriff Kip Thomas will speak on the sta
tus of Madison County from a departmental
perspective. Breakfast will be served prior to
the meeting. A $3 processing fee will be col
lected at the door. Call 706-296-3834 for more
information.
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