General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forumsthe state by state speak your mind about...alabama
Last edited Mon Jan 30, 2012, 01:45 AM - Edit history (3)
hi
welcome to this experiment
i am a floridian proudly
i am a southerner proudly
i am also a hard working democratic party volunteer proudly
in my red town,in my red county, in my red state
every day knowing that little to no headway will be gained put our heads down and run into a brick wall
i will be honest i expect no congratulations it is done with purely selfish motives
i want my world to be better
i have noticed a trend of what i can only describe as angry dialouge when the south is discussed
so i would like to propose a series of threads i will initiate each day the subject of each to be: the states in alphabetical order
this will allow us all to speak our minds on the values of each state
our first state is
Alabama
i have been there
the people were kind and the food was good
everyone i met at least pretended to make me feel at home in a faraway place
blue neen
(12,328 posts)I was only there once as a 12 year old child, visited relatives who lived there. We had a great time.
I don't know enough about the state to comment further, however I really like your idea behind starting this thread.
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)someone said someone should do a state by state post series and let everyone say whatever they wanted to make themselves feel better
so i did
thanks for taking part
hootinholler
(26,449 posts)I think this will be very interesting. Maybe one a day instead of one a week?
Thanks for stepping up.
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)i will fix it
hootinholler
(26,449 posts)But thinking about it, it would move better a little quicker
I don't know, I wonder what people think about the rate? It's not like it's my decision or anything like that
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)feel free if you see me dropping the ball to jump in or pm me so i dont forget
i wanna see where this goes
FlaGatorJD
(364 posts)I would have to say it was prettier than I expected in the country.
. . . and I would be remiss as a fellow SEC fan not to congratulate them on their NCAA football national championship.
I don't see any reason to rehash all the terrible civil rights history, as we seem to get a pretty good regular dose of that here by others, and I'll let them own that negativity.
oh yeah . . and Go Gators
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)by far
i found a famous place that was pretty good and a dump that made me wanna kick my daddy guys ribs were like music
honey bbq sauce oh my lord i wanna go to huntsville right now!
edited to ad go you gator
my wife was class of 96 graduated with danny wuerrfel
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,719 posts)I'm glad you have!
And that the people were kind and the food good...That means a lot when you're far from home.
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)across from the courthouse in huntsville
its in a converted gas station so there are few seats
they had sweet cornbread though
my only complaint
i just keep seeing south bashes and figured we would just go through every state and whoever wanted to sat wahatever could
let everyone get it out of their system
i may edit the title to draw more comments
Arctic Dave
(13,812 posts)Worked with guys from there. They loved their catfish fishing.
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)yumm
gulfcoast shrimps
bbq shrimp fried shrimp cocnut shrimp sauted shrimp shrimp scampi boiled shrimp shrimp gumbo.......
catnhatnh
(8,976 posts)...but you gotta love the music from Muscle Shoals...
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1437161
RZM
(8,556 posts)This and 'Southern Man' were the reasons why Lynyrd Skynyrd dissed him.
Never been there myself, though I plan on doing so as soon as I can.
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)it is pretty and freindly
Tuesday Afternoon
(56,912 posts)lacrew
(283 posts)I resent how some people, who have never even visited, portray it in movies. I also resent that some of my friends who have moved away feel 'too enlightened' to even call it home. It is called 'Alabama the Beautiful'...and it lives up to the slogan.
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)wonderful visit
i got a police escort to wonderland ribs in huntsville
i got a rental at the airpost the lady said it has no tag but tell them susan at the airport told you it was ok
so i told him what she said
he looked at the rental papers and said ok
where you going he said
wonderland for ribs we said
follow me and off we went sirens and lights
barbtries
(28,811 posts)tell him susan said it was okay. lol
TroglodyteScholar
(5,477 posts)...I left it as soon as I could, and there are still plenty of things about it that I hate. That said, it is a beautiful place and the people really are wonderful for the most part.
One thing I notice that's different between the deep south like Alabama and the midwest where I live now...the racism here is much more overt. In Alabama it survives mostly in the privileged class and in "big talk" from little rednecks. But when it comes down to it, poor white people and poor black people in Alabama seem to get along just fine. It's just kind of understood--unspoken--that the real struggles are based on class, not race.
I would never deny to anyone that I was born there. It made me who I am.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)So you never have to scroll pull-down menus like those poor bastards in Wyoming.
Mopar151
(9,999 posts)"The Little Zoo That Could" on Animal Planet. Those folks had heart, and the amimals were family. But, at least once a show, someone would exclaim "Ah tell yew whut..."
And I'm a big fan of racing's Alabama Gang - Bobby Allison is a great storyteller, and with those guys, you did'nt have to embellish a thing!
hep em out yall
http://alabamagulfcoastzoo.org/
hootinholler
(26,449 posts)Where old families still hold real power over the local landscape.
The whole Don Seigleman travesty.
Foothills of the smokies in the north.
Mobile "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" Bay. The I10 bridges through the bayous that feed the bay.
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)still go through a tunnel into mobile?
hootinholler
(26,449 posts)SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)hootinholler
(26,449 posts)I grew up riding through tunnels yelling for the driver to toot the horn. I haven't been in Alabama in 20 or so years.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Her male relatives were big men in politics back in the 30's..one of got the tunnel named after him at some point.
murielm99
(30,765 posts)I remember Birmingham. I liked the city.
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)as i recall
a very rich man had built a palatial home with a front that was viewable from the main road nearby
he had built the home so each passerby could see his splendid home
a business rival bought all the land fronting the main road and built another mansion designed in a way as to hide the other mans home from view
love the south
XemaSab
(60,212 posts)in 7 counties there, including an astonishing 86.9% in Macon County--home of the Tuskegee Institute.
By way of comparison, Obama got 84% in San Francisco and 85% in Manhattan.
Lugnut
(9,791 posts)I have a few online friends who live there. I think I would like the food. I love BBQ - ribs, brisket, etc. - and my favorite fish is catfish.
Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
If Arkansas didn't have that silent 's' added to the end there would have been four
countryjake
(8,554 posts)Jeopardy anyone?
petronius
(26,604 posts)Especially if he makes any mention about going to Louisiana...
<-- pretend that's a banjo
OffWithTheirHeads
(10,337 posts)the Martini's wear off. I think this is a fabulous area for us to discuss!
Liquorice
(2,066 posts)piedmont
(3,462 posts)Excellent fishing-- freshwater and saltwater
Road rage is almost non-existent (except for Birmingham).
Home of The University of Alabama, a good public university with the best football team in the nation.
Dismals Canyon-- a speck (85 acres) of virgin forest in a privately owned park.
Generally friendly people (if you don't rile them up about politics or their favorite football team).
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Why is that important?
Because private forestry is a BIG deal here. Every 2nd person I run into is a forester at one stage of their lives, or part time.
(Alabama's land consists of 22 million acres of forest, which is 67% of total land area.)
People LOVE the land here, and take care of it, value it.
Alabama is amazingly green year round.
Gardening here is more a matter of keeping the greenery at bay then of "trying" to grow something.
I love feeling like I am living in the woods even when I am living in a small town.
Alabama is mostly rural, actually, huge swaths of land with only 4 "big cities"
( plus that Gadsden/Anniston area over there on the Georgia line).
You can drive around for days and not hit any serious traffic, once you are out of the major city areas.
Miles and miles and miles of 2 lane roads with breath taking scenery.
Alabama ranks second in the area of its inland waterways.
and rates 2nd in the number of F-5 tornadoes in the country!
Pop. is only 4,800,000 thereabouts.
And people really are friendly and helpful.
I CHOSE to live here, had to move away for a few years, and chose to move back when I could retire.
Half of my life I lived on the West Coast, but this place is deeply home to me.
First thing my next door neighbor said when she welcomed me to our current neighborhood was
" Oh I DO hope you are a Democrat!"
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)A beautiful and powerful memorial designed by Maya Lin, the same artist who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Info and photos:
http://www.splcenter.org/civil-rights-memorial
trof
(54,256 posts)Grew up in Birmingham and was there for the 60s civil rights movement.
I remember Bull Connor and the dogs and fire hoses.
Fortunately we've made a lot of progress since then, but we still have a way to go.
Racial prejudice is still deeply rooted, ingrained in some, especially among rural and poor/undereducated whites.
But I think it gets better with each subsequent generation.
I'm proud to serve as campaign treasurer for the first black woman to be elected to our city council.
Physically, Alabama is a beautiful state. Foothills of the Appalachians in the north down to the snow white beaches on the Gulf of Mexico.
I live on a lovely, almost pristine, bay just north of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Every day I see Great Blue Herons, cattle egrets, ospreys, pelicans, all manner of gulls, porpoises, deer, foxes, and yesterday a bald eagle roosted for a few minutes in a tree in my back yard.
People are generally friendly and helpful.
The day we moved in a couple showed up at our front door with a bouquet of fresh picked flowers and a bottle of wine to welcome us to the neighborhood. Never had that happen while living near Chicago or Boston.
I thought "Yep, I'm HOME again."
I left the state in my 20s to pursue my career.
I returned in my 50s.
We've made progress on many fronts, but there's still a lot of room for improvement.
Y'all come see us!
MrScorpio
(73,631 posts)The food comes in three basic flavors; sweet, salty and greasy.
They fly the Stars and Bars proudly
Sometimes from the back of pickup trucks, driving around parking lots.
Birmingham's not too bad, but Montgomery is a dud.
The people are generally friendly
They do know Southern Hospitality in that state.
In 2003, I went down there for military training for six weeks. I left Alabama with the following observations:
1. I was fortunate to be stationed in Virginia.
2. I liked Atlanta when I crossed over to Georgia a few times.
and 3. Now I know why Great-grandparents fled Alabama 70 years ago.
FlaGatorJD
(364 posts)Any old hippies out there?
This is one of the those old Southern rock songs that stirs up the Southerners . . .
and probably helped to keep the civil war lovers on both sides going too.
FlaGatorJD
(364 posts)The songs lyrics also give you a little tour of Alabama.
trof
(54,256 posts)A warm spring evening with a fragrant and salty breeze coming off of Mobile Bay.
A huge marble floored, colonnaded, dance floor.
Young men in tuxes and pretty young women in ball gowns.
And the orchestra playing "Stars Fell on Alabama".
I'll never forget that night back in 1960.
FlaGatorJD
(364 posts)I think I can smell the salty air . .
That was a few years before JB covered it.
Maybe it was a little more like this Billie Holiday version:
Thanks for sharing
trof
(54,256 posts)Point Clear, Alabama.
Google it.
Yeah, yeah...I was a 'frat boy'.
Some of us moved beyond that.
The Genealogist
(4,723 posts)I may be awful for saying it, but I like Ricky Nelson's version of it.
FlaGatorJD
(364 posts). . and it's even got the lyrics.
It's singalong
The Genealogist
(4,723 posts)MineralMan
(146,333 posts)It was in 1965. I was in Birmingham, where I listed to Dr. King speak after walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. As a 19 year old young man from California, I was made to feel very welcome by the people who were also there to hear Dr. King. I was made to feel extremely unwelcome by everyone else I encountered there.
I have never returned to that state.
Generic Other
(28,979 posts)From someone who signed himself a real racist. It was graphic and disgusting. This was in response to an article I wrote for my school paper celebrating MLK Day.
bluestate10
(10,942 posts)slackmaster
(60,567 posts)The heat was off, there was a huge gap under the door, everything was filthy, and the only channels on the TV that worked were piping in amateur porn.
I'm sure there are much nicer things to do in Alabama.
snooper2
(30,151 posts)It's a real close tie with Arkansas but still dead last...
bluestate10
(10,942 posts)The gulf coast of the state is vastly different from the interior. The governors in the state had been becoming progressively more moderate until the current one.
bvar22
(39,909 posts)My wife and I spent a year researching the best places in America to buy land for the purpose of Living as Sustainably as Possible.
Our search included a number of parameters such as:
*Bubble-Proof investment
*Available clean water,
*Fertile Land
*Inexpensive unspoiled property
*Low property taxes
*Long growing season
*Low Winter heating costs
*Adjacent National Forest and protected Wilderness
*Wild Game
*Low Cost of Living
*No close Urban Areas or Factory Farms
Alabama & Arkansas were two of the locations that came up frequently.
We eventually chose Arkansas because the property included a natural spring.
We moved here (Ouachita Mountains) from Minneapolis in 2006, love it,
and recommend it to those who wish to live as sustainably as possible.
Different strokes, I guess.
Tsiyu
(18,186 posts)A couple of years ago, went to a great big hippie party there on a couple hundred acres in the woods. Saw a band named "Electric Codpiece" whose male members jammed on stage all wearing women's lingerie.
Almost got drowned in a cave during a torrential rainstorm in Little River Canyon many years ago.
Made it out.
A few years after that, got stuck in an icestorm accompanying a friend to his U of SA Medical school interview in Mobile. Made it home.
Alabama has some beautiful country. And as Clark Howard will tell you - cheap airfare out of Birmingham
csziggy
(34,138 posts)Tsiyu
(18,186 posts)Nothing like a big sweaty guy in a tight red bustiere jamming on the guitar!
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)Also drove around Mobile in the rain, once. I liked it better than Mississippi, so that's something.
11 Bravo
(23,926 posts)(and they've been known to pick a song or two).
COLGATE4
(14,732 posts)on a M.A. at U of Alabama. My memories:
1- Hot as hell (no A/C in the dorms)
2- Stink from paper processing plant next to U of A/ Tuscaloosa
3- Some of the nicest, kindest people I've ever met
4- Evangelical University professors hosting a born-again "Come to Jesus", complete with hymns at faculty cocktail
5- Lots of pick up trucks with lots of gun racks and lots of Confederate flags
6- Great down-home cooking
arbusto_baboso
(7,162 posts)That's the only part of that state I ever saw.
DisgustipatedinCA
(12,530 posts)It wasn't my favorite state.
I was impressed with the inexpensive lodging prices.
I think the geography of the place is interesting, from the red hills in the north to the flat gulf shore in the south.
College football seems to be considered with dead seriousness in the state.
I have a tendency to lump AL, MS, northern FL, and other surrounding places into one. This isn't fair on my part, but it is how my brain organizes things.
I would like to know more about the history of the state, and some of the notable people from Alabama.
I won't use this space to slam the state. I think you have an interesting concept for a series of threads, one per state, and although it's clear that Alabama isn't my favorite place, I'm not attempting to be cruel or regionally-bigoted or anything like that with my post.
thank you.
liberaltrucker
(9,130 posts)I lay my head in Pennsylvania at the moment, but Alabama will always be home.
My family lives there (Carbon Hill, Walker County to be precise) and my ancestors
are buried there. As will I some day.
It has it's political problems, of course, and I don't expect that to change in my
lifetime. Still, it was a great place to grow up in the 60's and 70's.
I'll be visiting my family for a week in March. I can't wait.
countryjake
(8,554 posts)smallmouth bass I've ever seen probably still swims in the Tennessee River there.
A truly wily creature, gives ya the hairy eyeball whilst spitting out whatever bait you try on the hook.
bluestate10
(10,942 posts)Alabama is a complex state. Surprisingly, it is one of the southern states that I see ultimately going blue, although that seem impossible now.
I have no love for southerners that hoist the confederacy on a pedestal. Nor do I respect southerners that fly the confederate flag, or even respect it.
Even during the most horrible depths of segregation, there were people in Alabama that stood against dehumanizing african americans. Even though I would hang southern traitors, I acknowledge that the south has far, far more people that respect and love their country.
former9thward
(32,082 posts)I had a job working for the U of Alabama (Roll Tide!) which took me to every part of the state. The people were the friendliest of any state I have lived in (and I have lived in quite a few!)
proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)She's a great Democrat.
Bucky
(54,070 posts)Otherwise I can't tell it from Mississippi (except that Alabama isn't as fun to spell)
AlAbAmA
A capital "A" looks a little like a ladder, I think.
Ladder-letter, skinny letter, ladder letter, fat-letter, ladder letter, crawling letter, ladder letter.
Well that's the best I can do on short notice.
NoGOPZone
(2,971 posts)the alma mater of one of my in laws.
barbtries
(28,811 posts)never been there so i'll see you again at CA and NC
quinnox
(20,600 posts)Just the fact its part of the South is bad enough.
bvar22
(39,909 posts)Springhill College.
Small college,
great teachers,
beautiful campus.
The Jesuits are hard to beat for an education.
The state itself is beautiful and sparsely populated.
A good place to consider for anyone wanting to move back to The Land and live sustainably.
Inexpensive, pristine property
Low property taxes
Fertile land
Plenty of clean water
Long growing season
Low Winter heating costs
Excellent Hunting & Fishing
South Alabama is a short drive to some of the most beautiful beaches in the World (Pre-BP).
North Alabama a short day trip to the Smokey Mountains.
hughee99
(16,113 posts)Usually in the summer, so it is quite humid and the kind of thunderstorms you don't see in Massachusetts, but the people have been very nice and the food has been very good.
I went into a store where one side was all Auburn stuff and the other side was all Bama, and the guy seemed surprised that I got my nephew a shirt from both. I guess it's usually one or the other, but hell, we're from Massacusetts, probably 700 miles from a legit college football program, so people around here don't know the difference.
Vanje
(9,766 posts)Boiled peanuts
The Genealogist
(4,723 posts)Between 2000-2009, as I was exploring, then attending, Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, I drove across Alabama, I would guess a total of probably two dozen times, from Houston County in the very SE corner of the state, to Marion County in the NW part, on US 231 to I-65 to US 78 (now I 22). I've been on 1-10 for its entire length through Alabama, and I-20 between Birmingham & the Georgia state line. In short, I have seen quite a bit of Alabama. I found some things appealing. For the most part, I would say life moves slower (well between Montgomery and Birmingham, people drive like bats out of Hades!). There is some beautiful scenery: pine forests and quaint towns.
Too many years of stereotypes, movies, tv and horror stories led me to believe, as I drove across the state the first few times, that any time a corrupt law enforcement officer was going to pull me over and a corrupt judge was going to sentence me to 10 years in a work camp for speeding or jaywalking. Reality: I never had a single bad experience with a person in Alabama. The people are generally courteous, they go about their business like anyplace else. The roadside rest areas were cleaner and more attractive than they are in most other states, in my experience and have pleasant buildings for the restroom/tourist pamphlet/snack machine buildings. Further, most larger towns are really not all that different from other parts of the country in terms of what they look like or seem like; there are Wal-Marts, and Shoney's, McDonalds and Days Inn. The greatest oddity I found in Alabama, really, was the traffic lights. At some intersections, there are these single red lights along with the rest, that have a white strobing light surrounding them, that blink as the light is getting ready to change. You can easily see from a distance what is going on at the intersection before you ever get to it; if anything these were more helpful.
liberal N proud
(60,346 posts)Took donughts from a cop in Florence Alabama when she woke me up. I was sleeping in my car a parking lot.
My experinces with people in Florence was mixed, some were accomodating others were less so. The cop with the donughts was very friendly and later that day when I needed to get out of the parking lot, she stopped all traffic to let me out.
Drove along the coast through all the beach towns, before Katrina.
Mr Dixon
(1,185 posts)It was okay around post
The women were very nice which was good
Food was good
Cops were okay didnt mess with me
Almost got jumped by some crips outside the waffle house
Clubs were good
Cab fare okay
Would not want to live there it seemed to be regressing
Little Star
(17,055 posts)I often day dream about visiting every state the US. I look up the tourism sights and Alabama State has a nice one.
Take a look:
http://www.alabama.travel/
Being a senior I'm always looking for scenic drives and Alabama seems to have a wealth of them:
A Circle of Colors
Covered Bridge Trail
Food & Wine Trail
Alabama Birding Trail
Alabama Black Belt Nature and Heritage Trail
Alabama Civil Rights Museum Trail
Alabama Scenic River Trail
Civil War Trail
Fall Color Trail
Hank Williams Trail
Native American Trail
West Alabama Hunting and Fishing Trail
Alabama's Hunting & Fishing Trail for People with Physical Disabilities
Saturday Walking Tours
Alabama Antique Trail
I also like how they layout their regions:
http://www.alabama.travel/cities-towns/?path=cities-towns
Alabama sounds lovely. Maybe someday I will be lucky enough to see it with my own eyes!
SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)you could drive an aircraft carrier into it
GoCubsGo
(32,095 posts)I don't remember much about it. From everything I hear about Alabama, it sounds a lot like the state where I live, South Carolina. And, like every other state, it has its good aspects and it's bad aspects.
csziggy
(34,138 posts)Mom's ancestors arrived in Alabama between 1817 and 1834 and were among some of the earlier settlers. Many of them were Baptists and helped establish the Baptist church in Alabama. One was famous for being instrumental in starting the Alabama Baptist Convention and encouraged the formation of the Southern Baptist Convention. He was also an intolerant man and objected to slaves teaching each other the Bible. And he owned a lot of slaves.
A lot of my ancestors and their relatives fought and died in the Civil War. Because many of them were slave owners who needed slaves to run their farms, they lost a lot of wealth after the war. By the time Mom remembers, most were poor dirt farmers or had lost their land completely and worked other jobs.
The good memories I have are from visiting my relatives. They were nice to a little girl and her sisters. The bad memories I have are from the racist comments they'd make, not realizing those little girls understood what they were talking about and what they meant.
Mom's grandfather had owned a large house in Selma - by the time I saw the house many of Mom's aunts and uncles lived there in their retirement years. The house was on the river about five blocks from the bridge in Selma where the horrendous Civil Rights movement confrontation with the Selma police took place. After that incident, visiting my elderly relatives had a bitter edge because we had to drive over that infamous bridge every time.
While the incident did not happen in Alabama, it was my mother's eldest brother from Alabama who made me face the stark racism of many of my relatives and also made me question the value of Christianity and religion. Even though he was a minister, he told one of the most horribly vicious racist jokes I have ever heard. Even after fifty years, that memory makes me cringe. He told it to a group that included children younger than I was at the time. And nearly every one in the group laughed. I wanted to throw up.
I could not believe that a man who claimed to be a Christian would tell a joke like that and laugh. Ever since I have not been able to believe that religion is a good thing. That man, that minister, my uncle, the product of generations of ministers, is the main influence in me becoming an agnostic/atheist.
Now that I have studied the history and the genealogy of the family more, I understand that my uncle was the product of his environment but I also know that my mother, who was raised by the same parents, with the same relatives, in the same state, turned away from the Baptist Church and is a much more tolerant and compassionate human being than that "man of Gawd" ever was. Maybe it helped that she got out of Alabama as soon as she could.
As an adult I pretty much stopped visiting Alabama. I regret that I didn't visit my great aunts and uncles in their final years, but I don't regret being exposed to the archaic attitudes they had about people not like themselves. If I ever visit Alabama again, it will be solely to do genealogical research and nothing more.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)the esteemed Will Pitt grew up there.
It's also where the civil rights movement got its start, with Selma, Rosa Parks, etc.
And Mobile had Mardi Gras several years before New Orleans did. Plus, they throw Moon Pies at you along with the trinkets. Really.