Good Day Atlanta viewer information: March 2, 2021

ATLANTA - Georgia youth: "Dyslexia is my Superpower!": 

They say necessity is the mother of all invention. And in the case of a Facebook video getting a lot of views these days, a local mother needed to send a message.

"Dyslexia's very misunderstood, and I wanted to write something that would help people understand just how brilliant our children are, just how talented and creative they are, and that they can do anything that they put their minds to," says Meagan Swingle.

Swingle is a volunteer with Decoding Dyslexia Georgia, a network of parents working to improve the lives of children with dyslexia. Because they couldn’t advocate at the Georgia Capitol in person this year, Swingle wrote and the group posted a two-minute video featuring around 80 Georgia youth.

"There are dyslexics in every single classroom, in every single grade, in every single school," says Decoding Dyslexia Georgia state leader Tina Engberg. "And for these kids to be able to raise their voices and shine like they did ... it has such power."

One of those kids is 11-year-old Kyler Smith, who proudly shows off his book in the video.

"My book is called 'I Define Me.' It's supposed to inspire other kids who have dyslexia ... or any other learning disability," Smith says. "So that they cannot feel ashamed, because dyslexia or any disability they have is their superpower."

Six-year-old Reagan Van Arnam is also featured in the video; her smile is impossible to miss.

"It's fun to me because you get to meet a whole bunch of people just like you and you get to meet new friends that are like you," Van Arnam says.

And with more than 12,000 views so far on the Decoding Dyslexia Georgia Facebook page, that list of new friends just keeps growing. 

Le Macaron sweetens up Alpharetta’s Avalon:

Three and a half years ago, Lisa and Dave Amundsen were searching for their second chapter.

"My husband had left his job at a large company here after 26 years, and we kind of looked at each other and said, 'What's next?’" Lisa Amundsen says, remembering.

The answer can be summed up in two French words: Bon appétit!

Today, the Amundsens own the two Alpharetta locations of Le Macaron French Pastries, a national chain of more than 60 French pastry shops. Their latest is a bright pink permanent kiosk at retail and dining destination Avalon, which just opened a month ago and is the first of its kind in Le Macaron’s history.

"We opened our first location at North Point Mall, which is much, much larger than this one," Lisa Amundsen says. "[We] reached out to Avalon once we got situated, and said, 'Here's what we want to do, how do we make it happen?' And so, they suggested a kiosk."

It’s only 90 square feet, but the kiosk serves up a surprisingly vast lineup of macarons, all handmade by a French chef. And just in case you don’t know exactly what a macaron is, Lisa Amundsen has a short answer ("It's the French Oreo") and a longer one.

"They're actually little meringue tops and bottoms," she explains. "They're made with almond flour, so they're naturally gluten-free … and then inside, my chef chooses to do a homemade chocolate ganache, a homemade jam, or homemade buttercream.  So, depending on which flavor you select, is what the inside will be."

Amundsen says chocolate and vanilla are always the most popular flavors for the sweet little sandwiches, but other customer favorites include red velvet, rose, and bubble gum.

Although planning for the kiosk began before the pandemic, Lisa Amundsen says the open-air, take-and-eat concept couldn’t have worked out better.

"It was a little scary to open now, but again, everybody was so appreciative of what we were doing and very supportive of our efforts, so I'm really happy we did it."

Le Macaron Avalon is currently open from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and noon to 7 p.m. on Sundays.  For more information, click here.

All you need to know about allergy season with Dr. Stanley Fineman:  

It's not your imagination. Spring allergy season has arrived early. Friday's pollen count spiked past 800, the highest so far this year. 

Dr. Stanley Fineman with Atlanta Allergy and Asthma joins Good Day with allergy relief and how to tell the difference between allergies and Covid-19.  For more information click here.

Ricky Garcia on Good Day Atlanta: 

He's a triple threat: an actor, singer and dancer. Ricky Garcia may be best known for his role in Disney's "Best Friends Whenever" and for being a member of the boy-band Forever in Your Mind, which was created on FOX's the "X-Factor." 

Right now you can catch him on Netflix's hit movie-"Finding Ohana." The 22-year-old is also releasing new music to mark the beginning of a chapter for his music career. 

For more information on Ricky Garcia follow him on Instagram @realrickygarcia.

Poached pear recipe from Marc Pollack:  

Marc Pollack is an Atlanta developer who pivoted from development to homelessness advocacy and co-founded the Atlanta Affordable Housing Fund.  When in quarantine, he discovered one more passion - cooking - and he decided to put all his recipes in a cookbook to benefit the homeless. 

Pollack joins us with a recipe for making poached pears from his cookbook "Chez Marc's Quarantine Cookbook." For more information click here. 

Radio personality Ally Lynn joins us to talk about Read Across America.  For more information follow her on Instagram @heyallylynn. 

Ken Coleman offers tips on accessing what he calls the "Hidden Job Market:  For more information on Ken Coleman click here.

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