Many of you know I’m in Savannah, Georgia this week. Havin’ a great time, but I just know I’ve gained 12 pounds or so. Not sure I’ll fit into any of the clothes I brought with me for the flight home. I might have to fly there naked.

Yes, I would feel awkward, but that’s not all together different than I felt flying here, as I was the recipient of a very personal pat down at my local airport after failing to get through a metal detector because I stupidly wore clothing with metal built into it.

You don’t want a pat down at the airport. In front of people. By someone wearing latex gloves. Who’s not afraid to put hands where you generally don’t want hands to be in an airport in front of people.

Anyway, today’s agenda included a visit to two sites featured in the movie Forrest Gump. One of them was the building where they filmed the opening scene (from its rooftop), where the feather floated through the air and landed at Tom Hanks’ sneaker while he sat on a bus stop bench.

The other site I wanted to see was where the bench was located. Both were in or near Chippewa Square.

I knew from earlier research that the bench was built specifically for the movie, constructed of fiberglass, and relocated afterward to the Savannah History Museum.

But what I wanted to see was the exact spot where the bench sat for the filming.

Could I find it on my own? No.

Was there a marker for it? No.

Savannah, get on that, OK?

But, curiously, there was a tour group of people standing around this thing. Taking pictures of it, with a tour guide talking at length about it out of earshot.

Chippewa Square concrete post

Every person standing around it took a picture from the top down. It had to be something. Surely, you wouldn’t take a picture of something so boring as a concrete post unless there was some history behind it, right?

When the crowd cleared, I ran over and yelled to Dave “It must be something! It has to be it! It’s an important marker!”

“I think it’s just a post,” replied Dave.

“But everyone took pictures of it! I have to take a picture of it! I’ll find out later what it is,” I insisted.

Did I ever find out what it was? No.

Did I ever find out where the bench did sit for the movie? Yes. I asked a pedicab driver where it was, but was too embarrassed to also ask if there was significance to the post.

You know, because I didn’t want him to tell me I was as dumb as one.

For the record, here’s where the bench sat.

Chippewa Square Forrest Gump bus bench

And for you trivia buffs, they had to reverse traffic around the square for the movie. Normally it runs counter clockwise, but they needed the bus door to open at the sidewalk. This meant forcing traffic clockwise for the duration of filming.

If anyone knows what that concrete post signifies, there’s a reward in it for you if you tell me.

Stumble it!