I'm so happy to be in Madison, Georgia, a city fully in bloom. Dogwoods, azaleas, camellias, tulip trees. What's not to like about this? Do the people of Madison have any idea how beautiful their city is, as they drive casually through their hood? The trees are trumped by the homes, some selling for millions of dollars, before the crash, still beyond my reach now. Had Scarlett and Rhett had great-grandchildren, they'd now be ensconced in one of these antebellum homes in Madison, Georgia.The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center is a gem of a building, built in 1893 as a school. It sits back from the road, a sculpture garden gracing the lawn. My screening is in the old auditorium, a theatre in the round with wood walls and floors, old padded theatre chairs. The Sister's - a group of black women who live in Madison - are there in full. A book group has told its members to attend. And there are many locals. They all know each other and the reception is lively.
I always listen to hear whether the audience laughs at the places in the film where I want them to laugh. This Southern group laughs alot - they like to enjoy themselves. And here in Madison they are particularly fond of one line in the film: "Langston Hughes said he'd rather be a lamppost in Harlem than the Mayor of a town in Georgia".
Today, if Langston were alive he might change his mind. I can see him sitting on one of those antebellum porches in a rocker. And I can imagine Zora zipping through town in her red convertible. She would have felt right at home with her Sister's in Madison, Georgia, attending the screening, looking fine.
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