Lots of stimulation today in Alabama! Let’s start with the birthplace of Jesse Owens, the fastest man alive for many years, and the guy who really upset Hitler at the 1936 Olympics. He started out as a sickly child in Oakville, Alabama, the 10th child of a sharecropper family. He never actually used walking as an early form of locomotion. After recovering from a childhood illness, he just got out of bed one day and started running up and down the rows of cotton. And he never stopped running.Continue reading “Running, hearing, touching and seeing”
Uplifted in Alabama
That Don is amazing – planning our adventures and our path with such creativity. We began our day in Scottsboro, Alabama. Home to the sad story of the Scottsboro Boys (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottsboro_Boys), this is a sad little town.
The trail of gold and tears
We were in the foothills of the Appalachians the other day, and had the thrill of seeing the start of the Appalachian trail. Now wouldn’t that be a trip – walking from Georgia to Maine? I would do it, of course, except for the lack of hair dryers along the trail. (Please don’t write and tell me they have hair dryers conveniently located at each rest stop. Leave me my fantasies.)
At the same time, we saw the Amicalola Falls, supposedly higher than Niagara, but much much narrower. A small bridge goes right across it and it’s gorgeous! (Not Snoqualmie either, but a beautiful setting.)
Inside outsider art
Not all art exhibits come in fancy buildings. Yesterday we toured the home grounds of primitive artist Howard Finster, known as Paradise Gardens. Continue reading “Inside outsider art”
Cabbages and kitsch
What a day for tourism. We had lunch in Helen, Georgia. Now, if you were a Georgia mill town slowly dying, would it occur to you that remaking the entire town into a Bavarian village would put you on the tourist map? Well, if it did, you would be correct. Continue reading “Cabbages and kitsch”
Go Dawgs!!!
Oh come on, you know how crazy Don and I are for college football. Well, it’s in the water here in Athens, Georgia, home of football-crazy University of Georgia. Lovely town and a beautiful school.
The Antebellum Trail
We started our day in Madison, a Georgia town that Sherman spared. There are several versions of why. One, his college roommate, who lived there, asked him to spare the town, Two, he was having an affair with the roommate’s sister, who also lived there and he extended her that courtesy. Which one works for you?Continue reading “The Antebellum Trail”
Four stories to tell
Today was a busy one, spanning thousands of years of history. We started at the Ocmulgee National Monument, which contains Indian mounds and relics of Native American habitation from over 17,000 years ago. Thanks to our guy FDR, the area was properly secured and documented by the WPA/CCC in the 30’s. Continue reading “Four stories to tell”
Georgia on his mind
FDR loved Georgia, and he was particularly attracted to Warm Springs. He started visiting in 1924, having heard that the mineral springs here would be therapeutic for his polio. The repercussions were enormous, both for the March of Dimes, which FDR founded, and for all the programs of the Great Depression which benefited the farmers and the rural poor whom he came to know after he built a home there. Continue reading “Georgia on his mind”
In which we gain understanding
We saw two major landmarks today. The first is a symbol of horror to any passing student of the Civil War: Andersonville, site of one of most fatal and notorious prisoner-of-war camps. The Union soldiers there thought it a living hell, and over 13,000 of them died. The entire park is dedicated to all prisoners of war, and the exhibits are harrowing. Continue reading “In which we gain understanding”