Day 8 - Mobile

Weather - It's fine. I'm going to stop this bit until the weather gets interesting.

I ought to say a few words about Montgomery as there is for once quite a bit of touristy stuff going on. 

Obviously the big draw is the Hank Williams statue and nearby museum. After experiencing the statue in all is grandeur, I felt the museum might just be a bit overwhelming for me, so didn’t risk it in the end. 

The first Confederate White House (and I won’t go in to what that is, it’s a war thing and I’ve been advised by a close confidante not to major on that topic in my writing) was smaller that I imagined it would be, but I’m sure Jefferson Davis found it ample for his needs.  I rather liked it I have to say. The same is true of the Confederate war memorial ...I’ll leave it there. 

The thing that brought me to tears however was the Rosa Parks bus stop memorial. Probably the least imposing memorial you’ll ever see for such an amazing and brave woman. If you don’t know who Rosa Parks is, do google her. A single act of seemingly impossible courage can change the world. That’s some heavy shit to soak up - but we would all do well to remember it. I’m welling up just writing about it I don’t mind telling you. She, and the movement she helped give birth to are revered in Montgomery and rightly so. The town is strewn with info-boards and murals dedicated to the struggle for racial equality. 

I’ve now left Montgomery behind me and am in Mobile, Alabama. My first seaside stop. Travelling on Black Friday meant it was just me and 6 convicts on the bus. I have absolutely no idea what they were doing there. On the run? Home for the holidays? Unsupervised community service? No clue. For the record, they all seemed like terribly nice highly tattooed chaps ....I still kept my shit tight and endlessly checked phone was still in pocket.  

I'm not allowed to say anything about this.

Or this.

Rosa Parks sparked a fire that just couldn't be put out, and it is remembered with great respect and I sense, pride in Montgomery.

Hank. Yep. Erm... yep. Well Hank Williams fans are entitled to their own memorial aren't they?

I got something in my eye when I stood in front of the bus stop.