★明知/故犯★

Location of Fadó

In midtown Atlanta there is a wonderful place named Buckhead in which you can enjoy your wonderful nightlife. Buckhead is home to a number of pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels, making it a great destination for vacationers, tourists and local residents. I visited the last “standing” pub called Fafó on Peachtree Street in the heart of Buckhead, interviewed several people and got some firsthand information.

During the trip to Fadó in Buckhead, I found that the Buckhead is changing now. I chose Fadó as focal point, because to this small pub, there has been lots of things happened over the past 11 years.  

Decoration there

Kieran McGill, the CEO of Fafó has grown up in a family pub business back in Ireland. When he and his partners opened their first Irish pub in Atlanta in 1996, they had a very clear mission in mind - to create a "real" Irish pub, which combine the best of the old with the best of the new. At the time, many of their concepts were considered risk, and much of the furniture and decoration were imported from  Ireland. Finally, Fafó survived. Much of Fafó’s success has been built upon their good food and good drink in a friendly and comfortable environment. In Fafó, you can experience Kieran McGill's personal vision of Victorian-era Dublin, as well as the finest Irish and European draft beer.

  Celebrating World Cup football. Photo by Rob Skinner

Atlanta has a sizeable Irish population, ranking 7th in the nation. If you asked any resident in Atlanta, most of them would tell you they have some Irish relatives. Fafó is an Irish Pub and Restaurant; there, Irish and European can enjoy the live Irish session bands during the week. Via satellite, enthusiastic spectators can watch live soccer and rugby games. Annually, some big events are also celebrated in Fafó, such as Halloween, St.Patrick’s Day and Oktoberfest.

However, drunk people cause many trouble to Buckhead community. Darren, a Buckhead resident told me that. On the Internet, I found a person who called himself Tom. In his blog, he said, “I discovered my girlfriend making out with some Scottish dude at Fafó and got into a hairy barfight. The police were called and I spent one night in jail which resulted in a homemade cross tattoo on my right fist. ” However, the manager of the Fafó, Kevin, does not think so. From his perspective, the local government blamed on the pubs, bars and clubs for the safety problems. However, it is the police who are lacking of manpower that causes the problems. But the local government shortened their business time.

Violent event is not the only reason. According to a report on America's top cities, Buckhead is one of the "nation's best subcities, “Buckhead, where affluence, prosperity and entertainment commingle, is one of Atlanta's most attractive business areas.” The Atlanta Journal says, “Appreciation is getting out of control. Atlanta is going nuts. The people who want to live in Buckhead will pay anything.”

  Pubs and Bars closed down

So the current situation is, not only Fafó, but also other small businesses located on Peachtree are facing the same pressures from both the government and the local institutions. Most of them closed down or moved to another temporary location. Darren said it was the word on the street that Fafó is going to close down. Local government are tired of these small businesses not only because the safety problem but also because they add less value to this area than big businesses do. Demolition of many of the former bars and buildings along 　　　　　　The Future of Buckhead Peachtree Road in Buckhead Village have already began in July to make way for an $800 million development of posh shops, boutique hotels and condo residences. The purpose is to change Buckhead from an entertainment-orientated to an economy-orientated community. During my visit to Fafó, I even found customers wearing very formal suits. The majority of the customers are not longer young people.

  Flyer three months ago

Three months ago, Fafó’s flyer was “Fafó, stays open in Buckhead”, but last month, it was, “”Fafó—the last ‘staying’ pub in Buckhead.” Maybe several months later, there would be no flyer and no Fafó at all. Nina, a waitress of Fafó told me that they were actually moving to a new location about one or two blocks away and three months later, the last standing Pub in Buckhead, Fadó, will move out of this area.

   2.送别的机场似乎很大,对于送别的路程来说缺太小
   　飞行的路程似乎很长,对于思念的时间来说缺太短
   　沉默的内容似乎很多,对于母亲的叮嘱来说缺太浅
   　入关的坚强似乎很坚定,对于分别的泪水来说太脆弱 　

   3.给Andy打电话
   　他已经离开了亚特兰大.......
   　朋友，就像一道门
   　打开了就关不上
   　无论你在门里还是门外......

   1.（这是我每天可以看到的景色，用相机照下了 ——  一个我住过的地方。）

    站在Courtyard的阳台看风景，面对着楼下的汽车模型，安静的夜色，爱听的音乐，风很凉……

    我又开始找一些旧书来看，一页又一页。佩玛.丘卓《当生命陷落时》，贾平凹的《月迹》，龙应台的《野火集》。   

    2.早上起来突然想外出散步。在一个地方呆久了，总是不想再走了，即使是在很困倦的时候。

    离开嘈杂，逃离视线，我带着我的音乐在街的两头游荡。

    穿过Marietta Pkwy, 在Fairground转了个弯, 最后止步在Rosewell。秋季的大街到处都可以找到被落寞遗弃残留下来的气息，两旁是出租待售的矮房，偶尔看到摇椅和在安静的一动不动的风车。喜欢这样的天气，很安静。

    穿过很长的街感觉有点冷，踩在叶子上的脚印，错落里有点乱，生活就是这样，来来回回，反反复复，错落里有点乱，我只能边走边想!

   　旻告诉我，她终于发现自己已经撞得头破血流，疲倦不堪了。我半开玩笑地跟她提起了三草定律。她执意说除了后一句“天涯何处无芳草”，其他都不适合她。旻是个坚强的女子，独自生活让她相信，只要努力，命运一定会握在自己手里。

　　我承认，我和她不是同类，我的生活中有太多的无奈，我相信世界上有的事情即使尽力，最后留下的也还是无奈......

　　如果说命运掌握在自己手里，那么我们又掌握在谁手里？ 难道说是我们的就真的能把握住？而不是我们的就真的能强求得到么？

　　我相信世界有神的存在。神赐予苦乐：野花，野草，没人理睬，但雨水滋润它们，大地支撑它们，空气供它们呼吸，蜜蜂蝴蝶为它们传粉......神连这小小的一花一草都眷顾，更不要说他亲手创造的人了。

　　神爱子民，赐福给我们，但降祸给我们，引导我们发现生活的本质。身在陌生的环境，仿佛身处丛林，未知的危险和无助锐化了感官。生活开始丰富——我们发现了本来就有，以前并不在意的东西。亲情，友情，爱情开始膨胀，不是他们本身在膨胀，而是他们的真正价值开始得以真正的展现。什么生活？只能在中的苦中体会。

　　羡慕老哥，那种背着相机四处流浪的生活。我机械地模仿着，自虐般挑战自己的极限......

　　神从来没有让挫折远离我，我把它们一一收藏，时刻提醒自己要珍惜，哪怕是一点小小的幸福。能抽时间去看看电影，偶尔陪女友吃顿大餐，和朋友聊聊天，已经是很难得了。

1. “你现在有没有一种很无聊的感觉啊？觉得生活很机械化。。而且夜深人静的时候会有莫名其妙的失落感，有时候还会觉得很孤独。。。”Helena在网络另一端发来消息。

2.　妹妹的博客上，发现一篇关于我的日志:
　　今天去了哥的网页 原来已经在05年就开始有了 我这还是第一次去看
    （人就是这样 在身边时从不知道珍惜 
     忽略关心自己的人 是不是就是我们的强项？）
 
     哥说“从来没有忘记妹妹的生日，提前一个月从杭州邮购了一本限量版的《我就是刀刀》，还附有慕容引刀的签名。我就是刀刀——我一直是这么认为的，把刀刀送给妹妹，希望她能常把我带在身边。 ”
看着他记下我的生日“妹妹——5月22日（阳历）4月14日（阴历） ”
 
我哭了……很想他……
我知道自己最近很脆弱 总是会哭……
 
最近他好像很忙 在QQ上碰见总是没时间和我说话……
当然 我知道 就算说话 我也只是会和他贫嘴
 
不知道他什么时候回来 
但我想 在一起的时间总是越来越少了
很怀念小时候 寒暑假就会一起呆在姥姥家……
 
为什么身边的人越来越少了呢……
还有多少人会离开我？……

3. 阿都QQ签名最近一直没变“QQ上好友那么多，却没几个能聊的，我们变得陌生了么？”

a.　学会和自己生活，拒绝无聊，孤独，失落。

b.　多给家人一点时间，即便是贫嘴，也是难得的，家人永远都等着我的倾诉。

c.　难难难，道德玄
　　不对知音不可谈
　　对了知音谈几句
　　不对知音枉废舌尖

　　在讲求效率的时代，这是一种不浪费别人时间，不浪费自己时间的人生哲学。