Traveling Through

I know that this post has been a long time coming. I have finished the Southeast Tour, and I have to say that the last two weekends were blockbusters. Two weekends ago, I traveled with my mother and brother to Florence, AL, where we lived until I was eight. We watched the University of North Alabama homecoming parade (complete with new lions Leo III and Una) with friends from long ago and then headed to an Italian restaurant for a 7-year catch-up. It was wonderful to see such good friends again and to get to hang out with my family. After lunch, we toured campus with its new fountains and lion enclosure, drove past our old school, church, and home, and finished off the day with Rainbow Sherbet at Trowbriges. What a deal! Carl was very patient, listening to all of our reminiscing and only reminding us a few times that he was only one year old when we left, so no, he didn't remember that, and no, he didn't really care. We had a lovely time.

Last week was Fall Break at BSC, and I decided to make a work trip into a fun trip and visit Natalie in Jackson and Abbott in New Orleans. The drive was broken up by church visits along the way to prosthelytize for BSC and long phone conversations with my mother and Carrie. Natalie has a cute little apartment that she has obviously worked very hard to decorate. As she says "apparently, I have a very defined style." I also got to see some college friends of my parents with their now-almost-college-aged daughters. We hung out with her friend Joan on Wednesday night and then I got on the road again to NOLA.

I found NOLA after a 3-4 hour drive in the driving rain. To give you some idea of how hard it was raining, I drove about 60 the entire way, and I don't drive 60 (sorry, Mommy). Abbott lives on St. Charles Ave. in the middle of Uptown, and she took me to a cute little French bistro down the street. We then spent the rest of the afternoon catching up and watching Grey's. Jocelyn, her 2nd grade sister, had sent Flat Stanley to live with Abbott for a while as a school project, so we showed Flat Stanley the city--French Quarter, the levee, the zoo, and Tulane Law School, complete with beignets at Cafe du Monde. It was a delightful touristy day. That evening, we put Flat Stanley to bed early and then headed to the "Barrister's Ball," commonly known as the Law School Prom. It was held at the New Orleans Aquarium and was absolutely a blast. I got to meet Abbott's law school friends and we played until the morning.

When we finally awoke the next morning, I traveled back to Jackson, just in time for some QT with Natalie and then a little blues and BBQ at Natalie's favorite Blues cafe. It was a blast, and we met some very colorful characters. Let's just say that if you ever find a book titled Mississippi Queen written by one Ironing Board Sam, you ought to buy it--it will be a great read! Sam did eventually leave us and his autobiography so that we could hear a wonderful blues band. The next morning I went to church with Natalie and Joan, we took naps, and then I headed back home with a stop in Tuscaloosa at the Maharaja of India with Skye, who regaled me with stories of Michigan.

So, the Southeast Tour is complete with only a few small side-trips left to make. I have only a month left at my BSC job, and then I'll be heading to Murfreesboro for a while. So, if you're in Birmingham, be sure to catch me now. Still no news on the application, though I've made progress in getting my pre-departure information ready. Kelly is checking on everything again this week, and I am emailing and calling as much as possible. I'm almost ready!

Fill it Up Again

And now it's time for me to gush about the Indigo Girls! This week's installment of the Southeast Tour included a trip to Atlanta to see Emily and Amy at the Tabernacle. The venue is beautiful! It is an old church/opera house with stained glass windows, two balconies, and huge organ pipes behind the stage. The opener was Roman Candle, which was just okay, in my opinion; however, the Girls certainly made up for that!!

First, we were really, really close. Probably only 5 rows of standing people from the front. When they sang "Get Out the Map," Skye and I screamed at "Joni left for South Africa," and they looked at us! Yes, I'm a little starstruck, but it was really a wonderful concert. Highlights included "Shame on You," "Fly Away," "Fill it Up Again," and "Gallileo." We met up with the others afterward for coffee, and it was a generally fun trip.

Another highlight of this weekend was the birth of my first college friend's baby!! It's hard to imagine that someone with whom I've had sleepovers in the past two years is now married with a baby. It's also hard to imagine that I will always be an adult to that child. But she is beautiful, and we are all very thankful.

On the scholarship front, we are still waiting for an acceptance letter...I am working on finding things to give away to Rotarians, so if you have any ideas, let me know. I am thinking of calling the Birmingham Chamber, Vulcan, and Sloss. Maybe I'll have some "Moons over Homewood" to share with Johannesburg!

Freedom Train

I officially finished Long Walk to Freedom yesterday, and I am not quite sure what to do with myself now, frankly. A book that takes you more than two months to read sort of gets under your skin. While I attempt to find another book to fill the void (Top picks right now include Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott, Things Fall Apart by Achebe, and Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller. Feel free to give suggestions.), please enjoy these last few pearls of wisdom from Nelson.

Speaking of the celebration after his inauguration:

The day was symbolized for me by the playing of our two national anthems,and
the vision of whites singing "Nkosi Sikelel iAfrica" and blacks singing "Die Stem," the old anthem of the republic. Although that day neither group knew the lyrics of the anthem they once despised, they would soon know the words by heart.

Speaking of the struggle:

The policy of apartheid created a deep and lasting wound in my country and my people. All of us will spend many years, if not generations, recovering from that profound hurt. But the decades of oppression and brutality had another, unintended, effect, and that was that it produced the Oliver Tambos, the Walter Sisulus, the Chief Luthulis, the Yusuf Dadoos, the Bram Fischers, the Robert Sobukwes of our time--men of such extraofdinary courage, wisdom and generosity that their like may never again be known again. Perhaps it requires such great depths of oppression to create such heights of character.

And some random quotable quotes:

"People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite."

"Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me."

"To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."

Oh, and the best find of the week: Nelson is a Methodist. I think I'll just visit every church in the city, and surely I'll find him somewhere...

On the Road Again

The second weekend of the Southeast Tour was a certain success. It began with a visit from Skye and a delightful tea party with the gang (we still need a good name) and ended with a trip to Bonifay to see Uncle Maston and Aunt Eula Lee.

Uncle Maston and Aunt Eula Lee have just finished an addition to their new house, which belonged to their friends the Evanses. This only makes sense because at 90, that's just what you do. You renovate. Of course. I think the funniest comment of the weekend was "It sure was good we sold that other house, financially. Our retirement ran out seven years ago--who thought we'd be around this long?!" Uncle Maston still looks great and Aunt Eula Lee is doing pretty well herself. For 90, they're both considerably spry. We all enjoyed the visit, minus the Tivoli Inn stay (there are only 2 other choices, and frankly they're not choices).

Pictures will soon come.

Next week's update: This Friday's jaunt to Atlanta for the Indigo Girls concert!!