Talk of the Town - Sherwood six November 27 2002

Getting together in Morningside



Driving along
the oak-shaded Sherwood Drive in Morningside, one can’t help but be overwhelmed by the serenity of the street. The unique homes seem to fit like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. The speed bumps seem unnecessary — speeding above 10 rpms would disturb the idyllic Rockwell scene.

But it’s not all Saturday Evening Post. A leopard mailbox denotes the house where CJ and Lisa Young live with their two children, Lilly and Beau. They seem like the prototypical American family with two kids and a dog--but with a partying streak.

CL: You mentioned something about the “Sherwood Six.” What exactly is that?

Lisa: That’s what we and a couple of our other neighbors call ourselves. It’s three families with two children, each with one boy and one girl between the ages of 1 and 5. Right now we’re all working with 40 volunteers from three other communities on a fundraiser to replace the Sydney Marcus playground area. The city’s tearing it down because it’s unsafe, but not putting anything back in its place. So we decided to try and raise the money ourselves.

It sounds like you guys have a pretty close community here.

CJ: You have no idea. I grew up in the Ansley Park area, and, after moving to Sandy Springs for a while, I moved back here. There’s always people coming in and out of the house. My sister lives about 125 yards behind us, and we even have our pediatrician just four doors down across the street.

Lisa: Yeah, I was actually pretty embarrassed a little while ago because I was outside feeding Beau and having a margarita, and she came walking by. [Blushing.] She said it was OK to have one though.

How often do you guys get together around here then? Once every week or so? More?

CJ: I’d say every couple of days or so, at least. You just go outside to get the mail, then you see a neighbor, then have a beer. Next thing you know, you’re firing up the barbecue and some other neighbors come over and bring their kids. Someone brings over a bottle of wine, someone rents some movies, and you’ve just had a whole day right there, just from going outside!

Lisa: We also have planned events on the block, like our Halloween party, Fourth of July, or any holiday really. Also, everyone here is really involved with the community. I mean, take the fundraiser for the playground. We had to roll 5,000 flyers up, so we all got together. A few people bring over some bottles of wine, some food, and next thing you know we’ve had a party just rolling flyers!

CJ: And the bi-annual dinners.

Lisa: We’ve only had two of those, but they are cool. It takes place at three different houses, with one house holding the appetizers, the next the main course, and the last dessert. We usually don’t get to the dessert house until very late.

What’s “very late?”

CJ: Well, the last one went until about 4 a.m.

So, all these parties must lead to a tight-knit community?

Lisa: All these parties lead to kids!

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