I just read that the official Metro Atlanta population (as of 2004) is 4,708,297. Until yesterday afternoon, I did not know where all these people lived.

Although the city of Atlanta recorded an official 2004 population of only 429,500, the metropolitan area of Atlanta is comprised of 28 counties, 110 municipalities and 8,376 square miles. (See http://www.metroatlantachamber.com/macoc/home/atlantafacts.shtml for more metro factoids.)

Yesterday, I had to pick up a coffee table at a furniture distribution center which was to my (and I'm sure other people's) sensibilities, a long way out of town. But when I got there, I found a road full of traffic backed up at numerous lights that all seemed to be red at the same time. Where does it stop? Well, it's hard to say. Atlanta has no natural geographical barriers -- there is no (gigantic) lake, ocean, or unscalable mountain range within a day's drive, so it may go on forever.

A recent article I read claimed that Metro Atlanta has gone down in history as the fastest-growing settlement anywhere on the planet. As I limped back home with my table, I surely believed that. But it was somehow comforting to know that I could have stopped anywhere along the way for a Moon Pie, single or double-decker.