Category: Atlanta

When did you meet Mickey?
1974

Where did you meet him?
Morningside/Atlanta

Memory of Mickey
I’ve known the Nardos since the 70s when we were neighbors and in the same babysitting co-op. Some time around the late 70s or early 80s, Mickey and Sharon hosted a work party to prepare for the annual Pig Roast for the Morningside-Lenox Park neighborhood (MLPA). Mickey and Andy Lipscomb were a couple of the “old guys” who conceived of and implemented the event which required sleeping out all night in a neighborhood park where the pig was roasting in a hole and the men enjoyed the company of their kids, beverages and probably a cigar or two.

So at the work party, while others shredded the cabbage for slaw, or prepared beans, or BBQ sauces, Mickey and I were given the job of adding the best ingredient of the Brunswick Stew. We were charged with separating the “edibles” from the rest of the pig head that just came out of the pressure cooker. Andy, who was almost overcome by the odor after opening the cooker, stood in the background to watch. The smell was outrageous. The many undefinables that we dug out of the pot certainly were nasty, but when I pulled out a well formed pig ear, that almost was my undoing. In the middle of one of those uncontrollable, involuntary shudders, that often comes with a gag reflex, I looked up at Mickey. His look of steadfast resolve and calm demeanor, despite the gasp from Andy far behind in the shadows, stifled any negative response on my part. And so we both carried on without words until the pot was cleared with morsels and stuff divided.

I remember that look, that even hinted of his own revulsion; which helped me move on in spite of all my desire to do otherwise. I know that look has calmed me many times, over the years, when I might have preferred a different response besides steadfast resolve. That look changed my makeup forever. Thank you Mickey. It was an honor to know you.

When did you meet Mickey?
1973

Where did you meet him?
Family friend

Memory of Mickey
Mickey had a gift for talking to and listening to kids. He never talked down to them, never condescended.

I cannot express enough what a gift that was to the shy, dorky, awkward kid I was.

My earliest Mickey Memory: when I was still in elementary school, my parents had left me at the Nardo’s so they could go do some Mysterious Adult Thing That Was Beyond My Ken. I had brought a couple of library books with me, and prepared to hole up in a corner and read, as I often did when left to my own devices. I’d been reading for just a few minutes when Mickey said, “Let’s make potato chips! Come on.” I was amazed – I’d never heard you could do that at home, so I went. For the next hour or so, we sliced potatoes and dropped them in hot oil, then salted and ate them while they were still hot and crispy.

My parents tried, but couldn’t always connect with me about my passions. I had interests very different from theirs, so sometimes I felt I was speaking another language when I tried to share the excitement I had for things like comic books, D&D and the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Mickey was an adult that I could talk to about those things without feeling like a weirdo. Given the bullying I experienced in elementary school, that helped me overcome a lot of the anxiety I suffered as a kid and be a little more fearless than before.

When did you meet Mickey?
1978

Where did you meet him?
Morningside neighbors

Memory of Mickey
I love Mickey and Sharon and missed them sorely when they moved to Jasper. A favorite memory happened near Christmas in about 1980. I was in law school, just had finished exams. We wanted to go out with M & S to celebrate but we were leaving for my Grannie’s in Mississippi the following morning and had all our preparation to do, including hiding all of it from our almost 7 year old. Remember, for months I had no social life! Mickey said, let’s go to eat and then we will come back to your house and help you wrap all the presents. I couldn’t believe it! There were tons to wrap. He gave us the opportunity to have fun First and continue the fun talking with them as the gifts were wrapped. Those sweet angels!! Thanks always Mickey and Sharon for just being you.

When did you meet Mickey?
1975

Where did you meet him?
Morningside Egg Hunts

Memory of Mickey
I got to grow up around Mickey; in the seventies, he was one of the oddball grownups at the Lipscombs parties. In the eighties, he was one of the oddball grownups at the Flint Hill egg hunts, where I also grew up, and raised my own kids. I got to watch Mickey become one of the brilliant sages of the Pig Roasts, the Egg Hunts, and whatever else went on that drew together the tribes of Morningside, Ansley Park and Flint Hill.

Favorite memories vary from the weekend that he trashed his brand new jeep, down at Andy’s farm, giving everybody rides through the woods until he broke an axel or two, on up to the various times he helped show me how to slow down and just be there with my kids.

Oh, and he also, through one of his first websites, taught me about the zen of javascript, which was a good thing since I’d taken a job doing lots of that.

He was one of those, like Andy and Al, who were supposed to always be there; they were just fixtures in my life that I regret now too often taking for granted.

When did you meet Mickey?
1975

Where did you meet him?
Since Abby was a few years older than Broek (b.6/5/75) we were just starting to use the Morningside Baby Sitting Coop and you were toward the end. But it was thru the Coop that we met the Nardos. Jane Lipscomb invited a pregnant Chris while they potted at Callandwolde. I think that she was carrying Micah at the time.

Memory of Mickey
Tales of Mickey Nardo
While several stories come to mind, I won’t be able to tell some because I only heard them. Other tales focus on Sharon & Abby & less on Mickey. I shall add those only with editorial approval:

1. MLK Assassination & Mickey at the ER.
Since I heard about this once, I am not qualified to tell it.

2. Pig/Chicken/Goat Roast.
While we ate frequently, I went once to witness our sour mash marinated roasters Mickey, Andy, Bob & more, do their thing. Not qualified to tell this tale either.

3. 1st PC.
Identifying a need while Sharon worked for Carlsten Associates, she asked Mickey to help us embark on our 30 year journey toward the galaxy of IT. Without Mickey, this would have taken light years for us to get on board.

4. The Printer & the Pickup (Another told tale)
The morning after an all night down pour, Mickey went outside & discovered his printer floating upside down in the back of his pickup. Unphased, he fished it out, gave it a dog-like shake, commandeered Sharon’s hair dryer blew dry this high tech piece of plastic & ink. It worked fine afterward.

5. Touring Nardo.
When Jenny & her family were living on the heal of the Italian boot, we visited the Ionian Coastal City of Nardo. Way back when, Nardo hauled in the fruits of the sea and did their best to prevent the Saracens, Ottomans & the Venetians from hauling them off to row their galleys. Today, the Nardo’s population still fishes, tend to the piers for pleasure craft, welcomes boat loads of refugees from Africa, and loyally attends Fiat’s perfectly circular track for auto testing & racing.