2nd January: Georgia (US state)

Today is Georgia Ratification Day. Georgia became the 4th state to ratify the US Constitution in 1788. This post refers to Georgia the US state. If you want facts about Georgia the country, you'll find them here: Georgia (country).

1. Georgia was founded in 1732 by British Member of Parliament and social reformer James Oglethorpe. He wanted to use the place as a rehabilitation colony for prisoners who couldn't pay their debts. He believed they deserved a new start in a new place. The colony was named after King George II of England.
2. The Capital of Georgia is Atlanta, but the most haunted city in Georgia, and indeed, the US as a whole, is Savannah, according to the American Institute of Parapsychology. The city has had voodoo, plagues, wars, fires and habitation built on old cemeteries. It has a restaurant, called the Pirate's House which was once frequented by actual pirates in the 18th century and if all that's not enough, Savannah's airport runway was built on top of two graves. The runway incorporates the headstones. They are the only graves anywhere to be embedded in an airport runway.
3. Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi River. It has 159 counties - only Texas has more. It is home to the largest swamp in North America (The Okefenokee), the world's largest drive-in restaurant (The Varsity, Atlanta, with room for 600 cars) and the largest Hindu temple outside India.
4. Georgia is the only state with an official State Crop, the Peanut. The peanut is celebrated in Ashburn by the world's largest fake peanut. Georgia also produces Pecans and Peaches. Cordele claims to be the watermelon capital of the world, and Gainesville the Poultry Capital of the World. The state also produces the vidalia Onion, one of the sweetest tasting onions in the world.
5. Things which are illegal in Georgia: tying a Giraffe to a telephone pole; spitting on the pavement after dark; swearing in front of a corpse; eating chicken with a fork; or saying "Oh boy!" It's also illegal for Chickens to cross the road, so there goes a whole category of jokes you can't tell there!
6. The state fruit is the peach, which at first glance may explain why there are so many streets called "Peachtree". There are over 55 streets in Atlanta alone with the name “Peachtree.” There are more streets of that name in the city than there are actual peach trees. However, historians believe these streets were named after a Native American village called “Standing Pitch Tree.”
7. Famous people from Georgia include James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr, the only native Georgian to become the President of the United States, Martin Luther King Jr, Ray Charles, actresses Holly Hunter and Julia Roberts, Otis Redding, Gone With The Wind author Margaret Mitchell and Kanye West.
8. Georgia's state symbols are as follows: fish: largemouth bass; flower: Cherokee Rose; tree: live Oak; bird: brown thrasher; motto: "Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation"; song: Georgia on My Mind; marine mammal: right whale; insect: Honey Bee; reptile: Gopher tortoise; shell: Knobbed whelk; fossil: Shark tooth; mineral: Staurolite; gem: Quartz; fruit: peach; amphibian: green tree frog; vegetable: Vidalia onion. There's even a state possum, an animated character called Pogo.
9. Georgia was the first state to give women degrees (Wesleyan College in 1839) and allow 18 year olds to vote, in 1945.
10. Georgia has the only national forest in the USA to be situated within a city limits. The city is Rome, and the forest is Marshall Forest.

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Secrets and Skies

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

Part One of The Raiders Trilogy.

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