-Ralph Stanley
It's difficult to get to know a city that I haven't been to yet, even with the convenience of the internet.
My goal for this journey is to get to know each city I stop in at for its quirks, downfalls, and triumphs, but it's difficult when the majority of sites that pop up for it are tourist sights singing the praises of the town. I finally broke down and started searching "What is it like to live in Columbus, Georgia?" and what I found fascinates me.
Most of the people who responded to similar questions to mine from other people (those actually intending to move to Columbus) sung its praises much like the tourist sights. It's a peaceful, well-maintained community with good schools, quaint places to shop, etc. Then, suddenly, there appear comments about Columbus's "ghettos" and "declining economy" and before I know it that atmosphere changes completely and the poor question-asker and I are stuck in the middle of a battle between who actually lives in Columbus and who is an outsider sticking their nose where they shouldn't be and who lives in Columbus but hates it and then accusations that everyone trying to start arguments with negative comments is just bored.
So is Columbus not all that it is advertised to be? Is the picturesque downtown area really masking a crumbling economy and unsatisfied citizens? Or is the town so stubbornly well put together, so adamantly old southern that it is boring to some of its citizens? I can't help but think of the townspeople in The Ballad of the Sad Cafe who convince themselves that Amelia has killed Lymon just for something to do.
I know, I know, it seems a little predictable to visit Carson McCullers's home in Columbus, Georgia, but it's a good place to begin, right? Carson McCullers didn't spend much time here after her childhood/teen years were over and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe was written while she lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, but I can't help but think that an author's birthplace is a place that they always carry with them, whether as a burden or as a comfort. From what I have been able to research about Carson McCullers, she seems to have been haunted by isolation and insecurity, traits that sink into some of her female characters. Perhaps, in a town as picturesque as Columbus, it's easy to feel like an outsider if you yourself are not a classic southern belle, per say?
Before we explore any quirkiness that may exist in Columbus, Anna and I are going to splurge a bit in order to experience some real southern opulence. We are staying in the Rothschild-Pound House Bed and Breakfast. It's definitely pricier than any place we have stayed so far, but I chose it partly because one quote on its homepage from Cassandra M. Vanhooser at Southern Living said that "old homes can be saved and that beauty need not bow to progress". I find that line extremely interesting. Beauty need not bow to progress. Perhaps it can be used to describe Columbus's determination to remain a stately southern town despite its modernization?
I'll find a few more historical homes/ buildings of interest, the Springer Opera House might be a good place to start. While I'm there, I want people to ask about Columbus's view on retaining the "old South". I want to research whether or not they have many chain restaurants and outside companies pervading the city. I do know that Aflac and Lance Snack Foods are based there, but I'm not sure if the locals consider the big businesses a blessing or a curse.
I've already pinpointed Minnie's Uptown Restaurant as our food destination for the day. Yahoo! reviews on Minnie's (found here) range from raving to grudgingly satisfied to bitter-about-life-and-unimpressed, but for the most part this is apparently the place to eat in Columbus and, much like Amelia's store, puts on no airs like the rest of the city seems to. It doesn't have to advertise itself as a "proper cafe" as Carson McCullers would put it. It is simply a place with good food and friendly people at a decent price. To me, that is what southern restaurants are all about. 
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