Tuesday morning I had to drive 3 1/2 hours from Atlanta to Albany, Georgia for a visit with an elected official’s staff. I had lunch in Albany and while there used part of my lunch hour to take a photowalk in the city’s beautiful Veteran’s Park and the Ray Charles Plaza. In case you didn’t know, the late Ray Charles was born in Albany, and the city has a unique shrine dedicated to their favorite son. As you can see in the photos below, part of the plaza has a giant-sized piano keyboard.

The walk was a nice break before climbing back into the car for a 3 1/2 hour trip back to Atlanta. By the way, the first part of the title of this post “Hit The Road Jack”, was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks beginning the week of October 9, 1961, just over 48 years ago. I think my very favorite version of the song is from the 1989 movie “The Dream Team” where Peter Boyle and some of the other patients at a mental health facility sing it during a bus trip to a baseball game. If you don’t crack up when Boyle sings the chorus, I just don’t know what will ever make you laugh.