Amid all the hullabaloo that

was the July 17 Peachtree City Council meeting, Councilman Murray Weed

finally was given consideration of his idea that Peachtree City adopt

an official motto. This, from the man whose campaign slogan in 2001 was

"Win With Weed."

But I don't disagree. A catch-phrase

or a punchline, if you will, that sums up what the place is all about

could do wonders for the image of the town.

Especially now. The timing

couldn't be better.

Think about it: You tell somebody

you're from Peachtree City, and what are the next six words you hear?

That's right DO YOU HAVE A

GOLF CART?

Butta-boom-cha.

What a tired old nugget, as

grounded in reality as it might be. It's time knowledge of Peachtree City

grew beyond its quaint alternative mode of transportation. Ditto the assumption

everybody makes that this is "where all the pilots live." And

as thrilling as it is to hear the words, "National Weather Service,

Peachtree City" everytime anybody between here and Soddy Daisy gives

the forecast, it's not positive reinforcement when it's always followed

by, "has issued a severe ..."

I thought the city had a slogan,

but apparently "You'll Love to Call It Home" was just an advertising

gimmick used by the old development corporation (which now, oddly enough,

brags on itself as "The Developers of Peachtree City").

So while the city does not

have a slogan, the city itself is, in fact, somebody else's slogan.

Clearly, something needs to

be done.

When Weed's slogan idea first

reared its head at the city retreat in March, it was decided that city

staffers would offer suggestions, and the three finalists were announced

last Thursday:

1. Peachtree City: America's

Premiere Planned Community.

2. Peachtree City: Planned

to Perfection

3. Peachtree City: Planned

for Perfection.

You probably noticed right

off, as I did, that all three slogans include the words "Peachtree

City," which is probably a good thing. Each contains the word "planned"

as well, and that's a real yawn of a word. Can't we do better than that?

Apparently so. City Council

agreed to open up the selection process to all residents.

This could get interesting.

A short, decent, to-the-point

city motto would certainly go far, something like, "The City Too

Busy to Hate."

What? That one is already taken?

OK then, how about, "The City Everybody Loves to Hate"?

For inspiration, look around.

Just about every local government or jurisdiction has some sort of motto.

For example, Fayette County schools are "Where Excellence Counts"

and the Fayette County Commission claims this is a place "Where Quality

is a Lifestyle."

Newnan is "The City of

Homes" and Griffin is "The Jonquil City." Athens, of course,

is "The Classic City." Thomasville is "The Rose City."

Elberton is the "Granite City" and Columbus is the "Fountain

City."

If we followed that line of

thinking, we'd be right back calling Peachtree City "The Golf Cart

City."

For all of you ready to go,

pen in hand, here is some inspiration: Netscape, the Internet search engine,

recently ran an online feature on all 50 state mottos.

Some of them I knew, like my

home state of Georgia: Wisdom, Justice, Moderation. Even you Yankees have

got to admit that's better than some 300-year-old war cry about not stepping

on a snake.

In fact, compared to a lot

of official state slogans, Georgia looks pretty darn smart. Here is a

sampling:

Alabama: We Dare Defend Our

Rights (Well, that explains a lot).

Arizona: God Enriches (Amen!).

Arkansas: The People Rule (Scary

if you've ever been to Arkansas).

California: Eureka ... I Have

Found It (But they still don't know what "it" is).

Connecticut: He Who Transplanted

Still Sustains (What?).

Florida: In God We Trust (I

think they stole that from somewhere else).

Hawaii: The Life of the Land

is Perpetuated in Righteousness (WHOOSH! As in, right over the head!).

Kansas: To the Stars Through

Difficulties (Come on, people, life isn't that bad!).

Maryland: Manly Deeds, Womanly

Words (Does Martha Burk know about this?).

Michigan: If You Seek a Pleasant

Peninsula, Look About You (Well, isn't that just at the top of everybody's

list?).

Missouri: The Welfare of the

People Shall Be the Supreme Law (So that's what they didn't want to show

everybody!).

New Mexico: It Grows as It

Goes (which is common for foreign countries like New Mexico).

North Carolina: To Be, Rather

Than to Seem (Everybody breath deeply and meditate for a moment).

Oklahoma: Labor Conquers All

Things (That wasn't a wind sweeping down the plain, it was Mao's army).

South Carolina: Prepared In

Mind and Resources/While I Breathe, I Hope (Forget understanding it, who

in the Palmetto State can read it?).

South Dakota: Under God the

People Rule (Apparently, there aren't many Baptists in South Dakota).

Washington: Bye and Bye (Should

it be, Byte and Byte?).

Wisconsin: Forward (How cheesy).

My final observation on writing

slogans: The best ones seem to be some interpretation or translation of

an ancient Latin phrase. But try as I might, I can't seem to find any

Latin representation of "Golf Cart."