Tag Archives: inspiration

Mardi Gras vibe inspires survival for Cajun and zydeco dancers in Atlanta

Date: February 11th, 2013, 2:47 pm

Carolyn Barbay of Atlanta climbed out of the grief she had over losing her husband by re-discovering the music of her home state of Louisiana and learning the Cajun two-step and waltz.

Instead of driving eight hours, she only had to travel a few miles to the Knights of Columbus Hall at Buford Highway near Lenox Road, home of the Atlanta Cajun Zydeco Association’s monthly fais do do (parties) featuring a live band playing authentic swamp music.

She found a tribe bound not by blood, geography, language, culture, ethnicity or religion, but by a deep love of the forward-driving, accordion-centric sounds of Acadian music from Louisiana.
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Posted in Inspiration, Life Changes, Michelle Hiskey, Transformation | Tagged Atlanta, Ben Smith, cajun, cancer, dance, death, inspiration, louisiana, mardi gras, recovery, resilience, SaportaReport, survival, transplant, zydeco | 3 Comments

Counting squirrels adds quirk to Inman Park

Date: January 7th, 2013, 6:53 pm

By Michelle Hiskey

In the 1880s, a dreamy question created the east Atlanta neighborhood of Inman Park: “What if… the streetcar connected downtown with a posh suburb?”

Today, a funky obsession has connected neighbors there: “What if all the squirrels came down from the trees and attacked us in an apocalyptic nightmare?”

From the imagination of local writer Jamie Allen came the acorn that grew into the Inman Park Squirrel Census. From this nutty (to some) idea unfolded a modern fable, a tale of harnessing curiosity and technology to transform how we see our surroundings.

Grounding their wildlife watch is some hard cash: through the social media incubator Kickstarter, the squirrel census recently raised $9,000 to form an LLC and print and sell vintage-style posters of where the squirrels are. Continue reading →

Posted in Inspiration, Michelle Hiskey, Saporta | Tagged Atlanta, census, community, connection, Inman Park neighborhood Atlanta, inspiration, kickstarter, Michelle Hiskey, social media, squirrel, writer | 5 Comments

Urban Atlanta youth use muscle, risk to master complexities of the harp

Date: December 10th, 2012, 6:59 pm

Of all the instruments, one of the biggest and heaviest, most expensive and most exotic is the harp. A performer must play each foot and hand separately, using everything but pinkies to create the ethereal notes.

That is the muscle behind the dreamy soundtrack of the Atlanta Urban Youth Harp Ensemble. Most of these young musicians have overcome major disadvantages to master the instrument’s complexity, earn gigs at local weddings and events, qualify for college scholarships and position themselves for professional music careers.
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Posted in Atlanta, Inspiration, Michelle Hiskey | Tagged Arthur Blank, Atlanta, Atlanta Public Schools, City of Atlanta, east lake, Fulton, inspiration, Maria Saporta, Michelle Hiskey, poverty, urban, Urban Atlanta Harp Ensemble | 1 Comment

Jeff Galloway: For health and success, schedule frequent breaks — and there’s an app for that

Date: September 10th, 2012, 9:09 am

Traffic alert: On Thursday at 7 pm, 16,000 people will run and walk 3.1 miles of closed streets in downtown Atlanta.

Jeff Galloway started this annual event — now called the Kaiser Permanente Corporate Run/Walk and Fitness Program — 30 years ago. Its growth paralleled that of Galloway’s path from elite runner to widely-traveled motivational speaker and corporate coach.

After the 1972 Olympics and winning the first Peachtree Road Races, Galloway’s reach and impact widened as he focused on the deceptively simple key to running and achieving any long-range goal.

Pacing.
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Posted in Atlanta, Inspiration, Michelle Hiskey, Self-Help, Self-improvement, Transformation | Tagged Atlanta, inspiration, Jeff Galloway, kaiser Permanente, Maria Saporta, Michelle Hiskey, running, transformation, Westminster | 6 Comments

For a Roswell girl, Hawaii is a positive state of mind

Date: June 25th, 2012, 8:00 am

Allison Tilly wanted to go to Hawaii.

No was her mom’s answer. She hoped Allison would just drop the idea. She and Allison’s dad were divorcing, and they were moving. A fancy vacation wasn’t in the budget.

Allison, 8 years old, is the baby of the family — imaginative, stubborn and persuasive. She rounds up her older brother and sister to play games she’s made up.

Hawaii obsessed her. Her mother relented a bit.

After you graduate from high school, Melissa Tilly said.

For 8-year-old Allison, that meant paradise was 10 years. For her mom, it seemed even farther than 4500 miles.
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