Tampa, FL — It was so windy on Stone Mountain yesterday, a group of young guys pretended to be human wind socks, and one asked me if the cable car was closed because of the wind. Yep, and I pointed to the spinning cup anemometer on top of the Skylift which measures wind speed and explained that when the buildings are open the park ranger can see the digital readings inside. A friendly voice carried our way asking “can you take our picture?” As I moved to do so, she thanked me, and the goofball guys jokingly said “you’re welcome!” to her. Even the steadiest hand was no contest for the whipping wind, but I still gathered everyone together and gave it a go. Silly me, I first thought the USF on some of their sweatshirts referred to the University of San Francisco and that maybe they were part of a visiting sports team, but then we started talking, and the University of South Florida students explained the amazing reason they’re in Atlanta from March 11-17.



Instead of idling away their college break on a beach or bar-hopping, they chose to participate in a volunteer service trip through the Bull Service Breaks program at USF as part of Alternative Spring Break. The co-eds’ focus this week is on public health, specifically “senior independence and food security,” and they’re also offering gardening and music therapy at A.G. Rhodes Health & Rehab facility, riding along with Meals On Wheels Atlanta to deliver food to seniors, and helping Project Open Hand pack nutritious meals for ill, homebound, or disabled members of Metro Atlanta’s community. Not trying to sound twee, but it’s really moving that young adults from another state are here helping our senior community — and not because they were ordered to do community service! Plus, they were nice enough to let me me wax on like some kind of female Howard Zinn offering “a people’s history” of Stone Mountain for a few minutes!