I know this week has been unusual in different ways for everyone in metro Atlanta.  I've been getting up 2 hours earlier than usual (2 A.M.) to get to work 2 hours earlier than usual so that I could ride in with good friend, neighbor, and co-worker Mark Arum who's had to get in earlier to do traffic on WSB TV.  Wednesday was definitely the roughest day I found for walking up the hill on my street that Mark couldn't maneuver because of the ice. My driveway that's on a steep hill was pretty clear, but the bottom and street were very icy so I decided to trek across the bottom of my next door neighbor's yard.  That worked great until I encountered their driveway which was not clear at all -- in fact, it was a solid sheet of ice.  I paused, put my left foot on the concrete...nothing.   But when I moved to put my other foot on the driveway, my left foot started sliding out. I got my right foot down on the ice and, as I obviously overcorrected, it started sliding the other way.  As I started to go down into a crude split, I bent my legs, leaned forward, and put my hand down on the ground so I was imitating a Center on the football field sliding sideways down a hill.  Thank God it was dark out as it was 3 a.m. so, as far as I know, no one saw my hilarious move.  But I didn't fall!!  Safe! 

It was quite a relief and change of pace to get out last night to see Beauty and the Beast at the Fox.  It was opening night and I had planned to take good friends Beth and Teague and their 5 year-old daughter Emmie Grace.  Beth and Teague had only gotten back to Atlanta yesterday afternoon after having to change flights to get back home from attending the championship game in Tuscon, so I figured they might not still be game to go.  But we braved the still-messy streets to get downtown to see what is suchafunshow!  If you've got kids it's the perfect way to wrap up a snow week that only kids could love, but you don't have to be a kid to love this show.  With great music and outstanding performances, we were absolutely mesmerized for a couple of hours. There are some terrific special effects, and top-notch vocals from the cast.  The story is a wonderful one, with lots of humor and lots of heart.  See it at The Fox Theatre tonight through Sunday.  Note that if you already have tickets and couldn't make it to last night's (Wed.) or tonight's (Thurs. ) show because of the weather, you can exchange your tickets at the Fox box office or at Ticketmaster for another performance this weekend.  Get all the info at 404-881-2100.