Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
“Harold and the Purple Crayon” star Camille Guaty said that being cast as Junior Detective Silva in the film was serendipitous. “Becoming a mom was a really hard journey and I find it so magical that one of my first jobs as a mom was [this film],” the actress said from her Nashville home. “It has become one of my son’s favorite books. We read it at least five times a week. Every time he sees the policeman in the book, he says, ‘Mommy, that’s you!’”
“One of the first places we played together that was the most memorable and [that] we will never forget is Woodstock ’94,” said Collective Soul’s Ed Roland.
“I moved to London with my family when I was 10 years old and I attended middle and high school at the American School in London,” said Lauren Buglioli. “It was an incredible experience that definitely changed my life for the better, thanks to the people I met and experiences I had living there. I hope to go back to visit soon and for work one day.”
“I don’t necessarily remember the best shows, because the bombs always hit so much harder,” said stand-up comic and “Black Monday” actor Yassir Lester. “There’s plenty of fun shows, but my worst one was in a place called Mesquite, Nevada. A woman ran up to the stage to give me the middle finger during my set and said, ‘You f—— suck!’ That, and in Long Beach one time a dude heckled me just by saying, ‘Look at you with all that acne on ya face!’ Crowd loved it and I was devastated.”
“I remember taking the segregated train with my sister and our father from Montgomery to Atlanta.” said Martin Luther King Jr.’s goddaughter, Donzaleigh Abernathy. “I remember the train ride, the dirty ‘colored only’ bathroom and Uncle Martin and (his daughter) Yolanda picking us up at the beautiful old train station in Atlanta, which has been torn down.”
Born in the United States, musician Gu is 9 (ne Brian Kim) spent the first six years of his life in Maryland, where his parents attended graduate school. When the family moved to his parents’ native South Korea, he was in for a culture shock. “I said, ‘Mom, everyone is Korean here!’” he said. “I remember in kindergarten, some kids made fun of me for my (poor) Korean speaking skills. I felt like an outcast whenever anyone asked me to speak English for them. Eventually, though, I assimilated to the point where English became my second language.”
“Traveling has been a really big part of my upbringing and I’ve been fortunate enough to travel for different reasons,” says singer Eric Nam, 29. “I’d like to think that it has had an impact on my character and personality, which ultimately affects my music.” Born and raised in Georgia, Nam currently is on tour promoting his Billboard World Top 10 EP, “Honestly.” His song, “Float,” also is featured in the film, “Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation.”
“I didn’t really know what hip hop and rap was when I was in (South) Korea,” San E says. “And then I moved to Atlanta when I was in middle school and just naturally started paying attention to it, because it was everywhere. I was lucky, even though I didn’t think so as a kid. Atlanta has a lot of great musicians. The music scene is pretty diverse and I was just going with it.”
“Pretty Girls” author Karin Slaughter has a zest from travel. She says, “I do find that when I’ve done something unusual on a trip, like swim with the sharks in Australia or sit in a sauna in Finland, then jump naked into the iced-over Baltic, that it has given me an appreciation for the comforts of home. Nothing makes you love fried chicken and a warm biscuit even more than eating limp meat from a roadside stand in Croatia.”
Chef Gerry “G.” Garvin is an author and a James Beard Award nominee for best food personality. As the host of the Cooking Channel’s “Road Trip with G. Garvin” — currently in its second season — the 44-year-old Atlanta resident crisscrosses the country to find the best Southern-inspired dishes. His cookbooks include “Turn Up the Heat with G. Garvin.”