Alabama: Visiting Camden

**Map Photo Credit**

Husband and I rode along with the in-laws to Camden, Alabama. It was a three and a half to four hour drive. I slept the entire way. If I had thought about it, I would have taken a pillow because when I arrived in Camden I had all kinds of kinks in my neck. Anyway, Camden is a little town southwest of Selma. History enthusiasts might recognize the town of Selma because it is the location where Martin Luther King, Jr. organized thousands of non-violent demonstrators to march on Montgomery back in the 60's. That is some serious history in this part of Alabama.

This is my second time visiting Camden. We are talking backwoods - deep - South - hear - the - whispers - of - slaves - from - centuries - past - Alabama. I am amazed at how isolated it  is. I know that seems strange coming from me being that I live in Hawai'i, which IS thee most isolated place on the planet. Thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean separates Hawai'i from all other land masses. Camden is another story. There is land everywhere. Poverty too. The last time I was there was back in 2009. Honestly, not a thing has changed. The Piggly Wiggly reminds me of the small IGA(Independent Grocery Association) grocery store that was in the town I grew up in.

My father-in-law's connection to his family reminds me of how my mother was. While we were in town, we visited with his mother whom we call Madea. She is very sickly and she suffers from dementia. She goes in and out of coherence. When we first arrived, she didn't recognize any of us. We hung out at the house for a little while. Madea's faithful pup, Lil Bit, was there to entertain us.

After a while we went out to get something to eat at a place called Dallas Soul Food. According to google, it's located on Claiborne Street. The left plate pictured is mine. Starting with the bottom left - smothered pork chops, potato salad, black eye peas on rice. The potato salad was a bit much. I tend to like a plain potato salad. This one had too much additions from sugar to sweet relish and pimentos (I'm guessing). I feel like I can make most of what I ate on that plate better but I was hungry and I devoured it all. I had a side of greens to go with it also. The plate on the right is husbands. He had ribs, yams, black eye peas and greens. Heaps of southern hospitality by the girl who served us.

After a late lunch, we headed to my father-in-law's uncle's house. He had broken his hip and was not recovering well. How my F-I-L attends to his family reminds me of how my mother used to do the same. No matter where we were, she always made it a point to see family. I think I should be more like that and return to the ways in which my mother taught me. Anyway, Uncle Charlie's wife is just the cutest lady. Her home is heated by a wood-burning furnace located in the living room. As soon as you open the door, the smell of the smoke hits you. It was a very humble home. I can't recall her name right now but I know it will come to me. Her dedication and love for her husband was very endearing.

When we returned to Madea's house she was wide awake and ready to talk. As soon as we walked in the door, she started hollering at us. We went to her room and chit chatted with her. She knew all of us including me. I love-love-love how she tells everyone, "You look fine. Big, fat and fine." It just rolls off her tongue. Madea has a booming voice that fills the room. She has beautiful skin and she has to be in her 80's, maybe even 90's. No wrinkles. Dark, flawless skin. They say she may not live long but she's been hanging on for a quite some time now. I'm just glad we were able to visit with my extended family. Who knows when I will find myself in Alabama again?

This visit was just for the day but this small post skims the surface of my experience there. I really could go on and on about the different people and events that happened this day. Please enjoy my pictures from Camden, Alabama (with my watermark on it). Click on the picture to see a larger pic.

This is the Courthouse/Library/Tax Collector all housed in one building. I love that. Their building serves all of Camden, maybe even all of Wilcox County.

 

Husband says this sign has been up since he lived there. I had to capture it. I wish I could see pictures of my grandmother's home. When she passed, her will directed the attorneys to sell the home and the profits be split equally between her children. This was one of the driving stories behind my desire to snap some pics

 A rear view of Madea's home.

Photo Blog: Alabama Cotton

This pic has nothing to do with Cotton... it got uploaded on accident. It's still in Alabama though. I think it's a great shot.

I just love the way this field looks. the colors... Ahhhh... cotton -- beautiful!!

Operation: Vacation Alabama: Day 02

Today was uninteresting.

I went to bed late last evening. Woke up early. Waited two hours for husband to wake up. We finally got out of the house at 10am. Headed to Starbucks to get some caffeine in the system. It's my way of dealing with the jetlag.

Husband and I packed really light for this trip... so light, in fact, that I only packed one t-shirt with the express purpose of buying new ones here. That led me to Target where I hit the clearance rack and came away with a bunch of tshirts for $3 each. Can't beat that!

We closed out the day at the local Middle School football game. I am a big football fan... especially in small towns. I love hearing the bands battle each other, the way the cheerleaders scream at the top of their lungs for their school, the way the parents  of the players coach from the sidelines. I love it all. It reminds me so much of my own high school experience with football games. It's so nostalgic. Even now, as I sit here and write this post, I am anticipating my alma mater's football game this evening that will be streamed live on oc16.tv @1230am central time. Yes... I am really sitting here waiting to watch Kahuku High School versus Farrington High... true rivals for decades.

It was a very beautiful day today. It was hot. The skies were blue... the only thing missing was a cool breeze. The silence of the country is very "centering." As we drove around Madison County today, I admired all the cotton fields. Some fields are fully mature while others are green and still developing. I didn't have my camera handy but I will tomorrow as I travel about. When husband and I lived here back in 2009, the simple cotton plant had me intrigued. I dedicated an entire post to it.

My in-laws home is bordered by a patch of trees. In the day, it is dead silent. At night, a strange thing occurs and suddenly that patch of trees turns into a cacophony of sound. Husband says it's crickets. Me? I don't quite know what all the noise is. As we took a late night drive to find some midnight munchies, we discussed what things must have been like during the era of slavery. I am completely obsessed with that portion of American history. My heart feels heavy when I think of it and maybe that's part of the reason I couldn't be here in the south for very long. It's like the souls of the deceased and murdered slaves call to me. The sorrow of those times haunts me. So our midnight munchy mission had us discussing how lonely it must have been for runaway slaves. They had NOWHERE to turn. There were no safe havens for them and EVERYONE was an enemy. The loud cacophony of insect noises added to the fear and loneliness of runaway slaves. We see movies like Django and feel triumph that Django escaped and triumphed but is that really an accurate depiction of that era? Hardly.

Oh, Alabama -- what have ye in store for me tomorrow?

Operation: Vacation Alabama: Day 01

Direct flight.
HNL - ATL. 10 hours.
The on-flight entertainment is quite extensive. I enjoyed two episodes of my current obsession - The Good Wife. I watched Iron Man 3. I watched a couple of excellent TED talks. I eavesdropped on an 82-year old woman that was leaving Hawai'i to return to work. Vacation was over. Her son had just purchased a home in Kapolei and that it was beautiful. When I heard her say 82-years old and still working -- that got my attention. She was as chipper as can be and introduced herself to everyone that she made eye contact with and then proceeded to have a 10 minute conversation. It reminds me of my father, who will be 71 at the end of the month and he will probably be the same as that 82-year old woman. I hope to be as healthy as my father is when I'm his age. Heck, I wish I was as healthy as he is right now. **sigh**

As I waited for the flight in Honolulu, I had noticed a marine in her Class A uniform. I casually asked my husband if soldiers/marines/sailors/airmen have to travel in their Class A's. He was clueless. His reason was because he's been out of the military for nearly 10 years and a lot could have changed. Before we landed in Atlanta, the pilot announced that we were carrying the remains of Corporal Robert James Tate and he was being escorted by Lieutenant Amy so-and-so. The pilot disclosed the nature of Corporal Tate's death. He was a Prisoner of War whose remains were recently recovered in North Korea. I was so moved by the act. I instantly thought of all the political manipulation that is ever present through all generations of time. My heart went very tender in those moments as they unloaded the remains of Corporal Tate. Delta Airline employees drove a cart with a trailer covered with the American flag and moved Corporal Tate along. The ceremony was very moving and I'm grateful that I was able to witness it.

4 hour layover in Atlanta. The husband and I just people-watched. I was tired as heck but determined to stay up instead of falling asleep and having other people-watchers observe how terrible I looked. After 10 hours in flight, very little sleep while aboard, I was feenin' for a bed and some serious shut-eye. We had breakfast at BoJangles.

ATL - HSV. 1 hour. The flight was ridiculously empty and my husband was not trying to sit in his own row. Ugghh! So we were stuck together through the entire flight. I should have just moved to lay down in the row across him. Ahhh but it was only an hour so I guess it was fine.

Yep. It took 15 hours to get to Huntsville, Alabama. Roll Tide! Glad to be here

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In other news...
Husband is a federal worker and is on furlough since the boneheads in D.C. manipulate the heck out of us. Tulsi Gabbard released a statement saying she would not take her salary until this furlough fiasco gets figured out. I wish all members in the Senate and the House would do the same.

While I'm criticizing the government, I do have a high level of distrust for the leaders in D.C. Alllll the alphabet-suit agencies and the ever-expanding government makes me wanna throw up. Citizens need to wake up and realize the error of our leaders and the institution as a whole. If I had to put a label on my political ideals, I would lean toward being an anarchist, which makes this "government shutdown" a manifestation of my persuasion but..... well... I'm not as prepared as I think I am for a total government shutdown. First I need some guns. Then some food. My 72-hour kit is just not gonna work. I need a stable food supply and water supply. **sigh**

Alabama: Autumn Impressions

Temporary photo blog... my amateur photo's of Fall in Harvest, Alabama.

Alabama: Cotton Impressions

In previous visits to Alabama, I had never laid eyes on a cotton field. I suppose my visits were not in sync with cotton "season". The sight is one to behold. These pictures hardly do it justice. Yet, even as beautiful as the scene may appear, as intricate and perfect the plant is, as mezmerizing the field of white may be, I only associate it with one thing: The Euro-American slave trade. Of course, the closest thing to my body is cotton. The same is probably true about you. Our clothes, the sheets and blankets that we wrap around us, the towel we dry ourselves with, the swab that you clean your ears with, the gauze you attend wounds with; all these items and more are made of cotton. I'm not ignoring all the fantastic uses humans have found for cotton. I'm not even ignoring the miracle that the plant really is. I'm simply stating that when I see this cotton field, I immediately think of the United States most illustrious infatuation with it and capitalism.

Some scholars and historians believe that the America's had its own species of cotton before the British imported cotton from Smyrna. There are accounts that point to the Aztec people being experts in the art of processing and dying cotton for clothing. The Chinese were said to use it in limited quantities. (Why would they want to use cotton when they had a monopoly on silk for quite awhile?) Also, the Persians were quite successful in cultivating cotton as well.[1] When the British brought it to the "New World" is when cotton's ugly history began.

Let me just quote from a book by George McHenry, The Cotton Trade[2]:

It is fortunate for the blacks as well as the whites, that the cotton business sprang up, for the sons of Africa do not flourish in a state of freedom, and without the cultivation of the leading staple of commerce there would not have been sufficient occupation for them.

A poet by the name of Preach appeared on Def Poetry Jam. He presented the poem, Cotton (Explicit). I was moved by the issues he covered in such a short period of time, in so creative a manner. A particular line that I was drawn to says, "Still we cotton-pick. Oh yes! From store racks now instead of fields..." Preach expresses his dissatisfaction with capitalism, materialism, and consumerism. He connects the literal cotton fields of 150 years ago with the metaphorical cotton fields of today found in the chase for materialistic things. He asserts that we, as consumers of the latest trends, are making someone else richer and once again become the builders of someone else's wealth.

Cotton! So simple a plant yet so miraculous in how it provides for humankind. Though I negatively associate it with the subjugation of the African family of yesteryear, I know it is a gift from God.

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Sources:
[1] William Rhind. A History of the Vegetable Kingdom [electronic resource]. Blackie and Son. London. 1857. (Pg 406)

[2] George McHenry. The Cotton Trade [electronic resource]. Saunders, Otley, & Co. London. 1863. (Pg 12)