Air Show

Uncle Bubba has drifted back to Montgomery and this weekend there's an air show. Being a heavily populated area of military bases, the show is a big deal. The news has warned of traffic issues and urged patience in getting around the city. Now if y'all have been reading this blog, you'll know the Uncle Bubba is not fond of crowds. It didn't take him long to decide that he'd be avoiding the area off the air show but would also keep an eye to the sky to perhaps catch an awesome sight of aeronautical daring. Uncle Bubba really enjoys flying and has soloed himself. This got him thinking, or should I say reminiscing about some great moments of his childhood. Growing up in a time that now seems so remote from our present techno-culture, it was a time of no cell phones, no PCs, no video games, and 4 stations on TV. Every so often little Bubbie's grampa would take him to the small community airport out beyond the boundaries of their town. He recalls his grampa strategically parking near some hangars and inviting him to get out of the car. Bubbie would poke his little fingers through and hang onto the chain link fence and peer through the diamond shapes to see if an airplanes were around. His grampa would keep reminding him to look to the sky to see if he could spot any. Every so often they'd get lucky and one might be circling and landing or just taking off. His grampa would always spin a tale of adventure to accompany each event; the folks on the plane may be returning from a safari or taking off to land on a far off indian reservation. Young Bubbie somehow knew that the ephemeral moments that he and grampa shared were more wondrous than the mysteries of flight they each marveled at. And now, in Bubbie's view, later in life, the lessons of a few quite hours shared with someone you love seem far more precious than texting, shopping online, virtually killing people for entertainment, and tuning out to 500 channels of stupidity.

Ode to Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea is one of a kind. One doesn't have to spend much time in the company of Sweet Pea and Uncle Bubba to notice something special, something just a little bit different. Though they've been together near about 30 years, they act like a couple of pups in love. Uncle Bubba will tell you that he can only account for his side of the relationship, and in doing so will tell you that he chooses to only focus on Sweet Pea's best qualities. And brother let me be the first to tell ya that there's a lot of them! In Bubbie's view she is still that sweet and sassy innocent little girl that he first laid eyes on... well, it seems like just yesterday. Yes, she's attractive to say the least, but there's an aura about her; classy yet hmm... I don't know. She's glamorous and earthy. She is kind and warmhearted, always ready with a big smile. She is generous to a fault and has opened her home to many a stranger or wayward friend. She won't mince words when she speaks her mind but prefers silence for quiet's sake. She's as protective as any mama bear and I dare say will back Uncle Bubba to the death. She'll defend her man whether he needs it or not.

Once when I mentioned how much I admired their relationship, Uncle Bubba flat out told me that the best feeling he ever had was when he first laid eyes on Sweet Pea and then tried to speak to her without making a dang fool of himself. "It was like floating on a cloud and I never wanted to come down." He added, "So I won't." I get it. We have the mind and the will to do anything. Why not stay in a place that you absolutely love? After all, as Uncle Bubba says, we have free will and it's our choice.

I've never spoken to Sweet Pea about such matters, but something tells me that I'd get the same response. And I can tell you that after knowing them both for so long, Uncle Bubba relishes delving into the mysteries of life and Sweet Pea is always right behind him; I dare say a match made in heaven. Everyone should be so blessed as to have a Sweet Pea of their own.

Saturday Night In The Bayou

Uncle Bubba had his fill of a long work week and a nice sized bundle of greenbacks in his pocket to show for it. He had made up his mind early in the day that he was going to twist off from the usual routine and treat himself to a little fun. After all, all work makes Bubbie a dull boy and runs completely counter to his general life's philosophy. He's told me many times that he's "tryin' to live 3 lifetimes in one."

He returned to his hotel room in Mobile for a shower and change of clothes before jumping back in his pickup and slipping under the Bankhead tunnel under the river. He rolled up to Felix's Fish House for a nice dinner of cornmeal fried oysters, crab soup, and corn & jalapeno fritters. The place was packed but Bubbie found a table in the bar. I tight little 3 piece band was playing low in the corner; he heard some Creedence, Little Feat, and Dilbert McClinton to name a few artists that the band covered. An hour, and too full, later it was time to move on. With no desire to head back to the lonely hotel he drove to some neon lights dimly shining down the road. There, jacked up on pylons, sat the Drifters bar. He could hear music playing from inside as he stepped out of his truck and it grew louder as he climbed the stairs in anticipation; this could be the worst places he's ever been or a diamond in the rough...

Stepping into the smokey bar he was surprised at how few patrons seemed to be present, but it was still early, he thought. The band was playing and they sounded good, though he can't recall their name. They were a four piece group that played much louder than the last band he had heard just minutes ago. But it was a fairly big joint and the sound carried well so it didn't seem overpowering. Bubbie saddled up to the bar and ordered a beer while politely smiling to others eying him. I should say that Uncle Bubba has an essence that tends to draw attention, whether wanted or unwanted. I can't say what it is, but something about him makes one take notice, though Bubbie is oblivious to it. Its somewhat comical but he always thinks he blends right in with any crowd. So grins and nods are passed around the room as he settles in. Invariably some local yokel will start chatting with him about where he's from or politics; neither topic is one that Bubbie cares to cultivate. But he'll politely defer. He notices an outer area through the back of the room and maneuvers that way. As he steps out onto the deck he's taken aback at the crowd hanging out and just having one helluva party and the view of the moon shining off of the water below. Before you know it it's drinks all around and singing along with the band; the parties on brother! Bubbie's view is a little hazy but he remembers singing Sweet Home Alabama (several times), shaking a lot of hands, and shooting back through the tunnel under the river. Good times in the bayou on a Saturday night!

Goin' Mobile To Mobile

Uncle Bubba traversed the Tensaw Delta like a skippin' stone skittering across bayou. He was clicking down 65 south through the cypress stands as the twin towers of the bridge, like great arched ladders rose into view on the horizon. The elevated highway merges onto 165 which mercifully carries it's travelers over the rough areas of Prichard with Mobile on the near horizon.  Its a task to take in Mobile coming in off of 165 because it literally drops you off on North Waters Street which runs along the docks on the left and the City on the right. The enormous cranes, lined up like so many gargantuan skeletal bones at a museum; quietly looming, waiting for they're prey to pass by. The city itself is the epitome of a southern port town. It's southern charms are typically grand, formal, and quaintly dignified. The historic downtown area around Dauphin St. and Joachim St. is dressed in wrought iron lace and its own rival to the New Orleans French Quarter.

Uncle Bubbie has landed and checked in to bed down for the night, but not before a nightcap at Veet's Bar on Royal St.; Doug Previto and the Family Jewels are layin' it down as usual. In Bubbie's view, a few days and nights in Mobile is gonna be a great thing.

Miss Montgomery & Hank

Here's more details from Uncle Bubba's letters from the road. He wrote...

Howdy Y'all,

Yesterday was quite a day! I checked out of my hotel in Montgomery and wanted to see some sights before leaving town. It was early so I drifted over to the cemetery and visited Hank Williams grave site. It's quite a memorial; the twin towers of Miss Audrey and Luke the Drifter! I then headed down hill and downtown to partake in the Hank Williams museum. It is a small but interesting exhibit with some maudlin and macabre things on display. Y'all, when a person dies, and you show up to see their things, y'all are probably gonna see some strange stuff. A lot of the stuff is owned and on loan from Hank Jr., like Hank's '52 Cadillac convertible, the back seat of in which he expired. OK, I could deal with that... this car was very important to him. But there written on a sign outlining the cars history declared that Hank Jr. wound up with the car and drove it to high school for 3 years! I mean, would you wanna drive around the car that your daddy died in? I'm just sayin"... 

From there I drove up to the other end of the city, which is about a dozen blocks and stopped at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church where Dr. Martin Luther King was pastor. Interestingly it is one block from the State Capital Building. I walked around to take some pictures and there was a civil rights rally going on at the Capital Building; lots of black folks holding signs and police standing around watching them... a bit surreal. On another corner by the church, three angry black people were holding up signs of Jesus and yelling through a bullhorn at me, "the whites" for lying and mistreating them. Whoa; it must be hard y'all to be that angry all the time.

From there I drove around the block and on the opposite side of the capital, just across the street, is an old grand house that was the First White House of the Confederacy. It was the residence of President Jefferson Davis and family and is now a museum, but unfortunately it was closed. I sat on the front steps for a while and wondered what Montgomery must have been like in the 1850's and 60's. Hey, my 2nd grade teacher was Miss Montgomery! She was young and pretty. So with the morning fading I'm hitting the road and headed to Mobile. I'm gone.

Oh Montgomery

Uncle Bubba spent an oddly snowy day in Atlanta yesterday. The billions of large white flakes fell like little feathers from the sky and littered the bare winter ground with bleached crystal specks.  The cold wet dark asphalt seemed to creep up through the bottom of his shoes and chill his leg bones. After a restless nights sleep he left Atlanta this morning and arrived in Montgomery, Alabama early this afternoon. Crossing the GA / AL boarder also crosses the timeline into central time so Bubbie gained an hour. It was a beautiful day and driving along red highway 85 through the countryside was quite scenic; lots of hardwoods and farmland. Shooter Jennings' "God Bless Alabama" was cranking on the radio as Bubbie sped across the State line. 

Montgomery appears to be of considerable size with some very new parts in the east and some very, very old parts. Uncle Bubba crosses the Alabama river, twice, to get to work. He drives through abandoned brick warehouses and tall rusted water tanks that remind him a dinosaur bones. As the days here unfold, he expects to explore more and more. There is the Hank Williams museum, his burial site, and the museum which was the Whitehouse of the Confederacy. The folks seem very friendly and and typically southern polite. In Bubbie's view the most exciting adventure still lies ahead as he travels out into the outlying communities and witnesses how people really live.

Atlanta's Burnin' Down

Hey Y'all! Don't y'all just love that Dickey Betts song; "Atlanta's Burning Down"? Uncle Bubba had it fired up on the radio as he burned into Atlanta at twilight this evening after a sunny first of March. The smoke was rolling off of his tires as rounded the corner into the hotel parking lot just in time to stretch a leg and calm a nerve. On the way along highway 75 passed numerous signs for BBQ and he got himself a powerful hankerin' whilst traversing the asphalt monster... traffic was heavy and from the GA boarder north to Macon; it seemed like one looooong construction zone. Anyways, he passed the Old Hickory Restaurant by the hotel so he doubled back after check-in and got some good, old fashioned Georgia Barbeque. 3 meats, beef, pork, and ribs, mmmmm...

He come out smellin' a whole lot more aromatic than he did goin' in; like hickory smoke! In Bubbie's view, he's off to a great start on his rode trip. He just wishes y'all could be here to share in it with him. If yer game, he'll load y'all in the back of his pickup and tote y'all along!