Looking at the horizon

I've been thinking about the impression that Alabama has around the country....it's not usually a positive one. I think about that impression rather often.

I want to say that like several other states that are normally denigrated (usually due to social conditions), most notably West Virginia, Alabama is incredibly beautiful. I've only seen a small portion of the state and not through every season, but there are so many things that are pleasing to the eye. Alabama has a wide variety of environments including mountains, beaches, plateaus, and many valley and ridge settings. I'm happy to be back to somewhere that has a fall. The change in colors is something, that if you grow up with it, it always means something special.

That got the scenery, now here are some thoughts on the inner workings.....Alabama (and possibly other parts of the South) really are lagging behind much of the rest of the country. In some ways it feels that things that have come and gone as what was "in" are just rounding the corner and finding a home in Alabama. It has become very clear that the North did what it set out to do with the vast destruction of the South at the end of the Civil War. Many towns and cities were sacked and agriculture and industry was stunted. There is a saying-The South shall rise again.....Well, the North kept that from happening because they knew that they didn't want to fight another Civil War and they may not have had the resources to win it. The South hasn't risen again and I don't know if the feeling of the South being behind can go all the way back to the Civil War. I think a lot of it is social attitudes. Things are done a certain way....that hasn't changed as much in the South as other parts of the country and I see it in, among many other things, politics, customer service, and trying out something new. These are gross over generalizations but it has happened enough that I clearly notice it. One aspect of daily life that I think about a lot has only begun taking hold here and that is the idea of eating a more healthy diet. It seems to me that the Southern diet has two food groups, meat and fried items. The Southern states have done very well in the competition to see who can stay in the top 5 or 10 most obese states. Alabama is definitely coming around as fresh vegetables and organic foods are very much on the rise. Many more restaurants are offering a wider array of items. I'm certainly not saying I want to rid the area of Southern food (the ribs here are spectacular) but it's also great to be able to be able to choose different types of restaurants, not just choose between 5 BBQ places.

This isn't only about food (maybe I'll elaborate on some other things later) but sometimes change tastes so good.