Gris List: Selfies, Maconites and compelling facts

Seven selfie hot spots

1. The  Macon Christmas Light Extravaganza. With more than a  million lights, it attracted an estimated 800,000 people downtown during the holidays last year. If you want to be popular on Poplar, strike a pose inside the giant ornament on the corner at Third Street.

2. Coleman Hill. There are many spectacular views overlooking the city, but Coleman Hill is among the most iconic. The blend of a historic downtown against an urban backdrop has inspired photographers for decades. (The gazebo between the Woodruff House and Mercer Law School is also a favorite spot).

3. Cherry trees in Third Street Park. In the spring, picture yourself under the canopy of beautiful Yoshino blossoms. They are camera-ready and cover-worthy.

4. Overlook at Amerson Park. It’s worth the walk to the southwest corner of the park loop, at the beginning of the horseshoe bend in the Ocmulgee. You’re high above the river, and the view is spectacular. (You might have to be patient with this one, though. The park has been closed because of flooding from last week’s storm).

5. Lighted downtown alleys.There are strings of lights in the Cherry Street alley between Second and Third that make some of the coolest “selfies” and “ussies.’’ (But do try to avoid strolling down dark alleys at night).

6. The Macon sign at the corner of Poplar and Second Street. If you smile and say “cheese,’ in front of the five large and colorful letters M-A-C-O-N, you will have a  personal postcard.

7. There are plenty of neat murals downtown – at the foot of Poplar Street and on the side of the H&H Soul Food Restaurant. Also, plant yourself in front of the giant “Where Soul Lives” on the backside of the Southern United Building near the Douglass Theatre.

Five dudes you might not know were born in Macon

1. Jack McBrayer, Emmy-nominated actor from “30 Rock.” (He is also appearing as a kidney patient in this week’s episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.’’

2. Chip Minton, Olympic bobsledder.

3. Buddy Greene, singer/songwriter who wrote the lyrics to the Christmas song, “Mary, Did You Know?”

4. Sam Edwards, adult voice of Thumper, the rabbit from Disney movie “Bambi.’’ (He also played banker Bill Anderson in “Little House on the Prairie”).

5. Jerry Pate, professional golfer who won the U.S. Open in 1976.

 Six compelling facts about Macon

1. The late Janet Reno, who was the nation’s first female U.S. attorney general, had Macon ties. Her mother, Jane Wood, was from Macon. Reno’s grandfather, George Washington Wood Jr., had his law offices at the corner of Mulberry and Cotton Avenue above what is now Lawrence Mayer Florist. (And before that, Young Drug Store).

2. Playwright Tennessee Williams was distantly related to Macon’s Sidney Lanier, one of the most influential poets of the 19th century. His middle name was Lanier. Williams wrote parts of his play, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” on one of his many visits to Macon.

3. There is a trap door on the floor of the stage at the Grand Opera House that was specially made for the disappearing act of Harry Houdini, the renowned magician/escape artist.

4. The first Georgia-Florida football game was played at Central City Park (now Carolyn Crayton Park) in 1904. The rivalry was then moved to a “neutral” site in Jacksonville. (Florida does not recognize the Macon game in the storied series, but Georgia does.)

5. Bowden Golf Course on Millerfield Road is the former site of Miller Field, Macon’s municipal airport. The fairways at holes No. 1 and 10, form the old runway.

6. Macon  cotton entrepreneur Wallace McCaw created a vegetable shortening from crystallized cottonseed oil he called Flakewhite. He sold the formula to Procter & Gamble in 1909 and it became Crisco, a staple of American kitchens.