Alabama

As we spend time in an area, regional differences always pop up to define the uniqueness of that place.  Upon entering Alabama, newspaper availability became an immediate issue for me.  I love to get the daily news…in print.  We have found that most major cities in Alabama publish papers three times a week…..Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.  Fortunately, nothing happens in the local-world market on any of the alternate days.  Newspapers, with one exception, team up with USA today, to get their hard hitting news. On important issues, the paper will have the two articles on the same news story printed in the same or different versions in a separate section.  This happens on several stories each day.  The only exception I have found is the Tuscaloosa news paper.  I assume this is because they are the capital city of the state and they are required by law to print a paper every day.  They print at least four full pages of Bama Crimson Tide insightful news in each paper.  Religious news is on the front page….or any page of the newspapers in the state.  There is no “religious” section, because religious news is news….The Tuscaloosa paper is not circulated around the state on Saturdays, even though they do print seven days a week.

We try to tour State Capital Buildings whenever we are close.  We had an opportunity to tour one of the alternative capitals in the city of Montgomery.  The building was mostly empty of furniture and people.  When we asked why it was so empty, we were told that all government agencies except the executive branch had moved out.  My guess is that they moved to Tuscaloosa to be near the Crimson Tide.  Most rooms do not appear to have any updating for 50-60 years…..probably since George Wallace was in there.  Speaking of Wallace, the tour guide in the capital told us that Alabama is coming out with an official piece of literature stating that when Governor Wallace was at the University of Alabama where black students were trying to enter, he was there to protect them and help blacks enter safely. As the tour guide said, it appears we (Alabama) are trying to re-write history.

As we tour civil rights-civil war areas, the question came to mind…What would have happened to slavery if we had not had the Civil war?  I asked several people that question.  Most said they felt that it would take something of the magnitude of the war to end slavery.  Some were clear that many in the South would never abolish it.  One younger lady said that slavery and civil rights in particular is something the “old people” just do not talk about.  She said that with younger people…she was about 40…… had little to do with civil rights….I came to the conclusion that in the long haul, we are lucky to have the civil war behind us, and we  are on the road forward.  This road will continue for several generations.

And the answer is……Yes……I feel much better now…..