You say its your birthday…its my birthday too, YEA

Hey folks. So, here I am in Sweet Home Alabama. Yep, I was born here awhile back-and moved away as a baby. It’s scorching hot today, 95 degrees without humidity! Today finds me in Montgomery, AL-I had a family day yesterday with my Aunt-a different tempo from the fun, wild ATL nights. Auntie brought me some fresh baked zucchini bread that I am currently enjoying with some java before I head out into the city. The plan today is to visit the Rosa Parks Museum, Dexter Church and the Hank Williams Museum if I have time. My Auntie treated me to a hotel for my b-day-no complaints there. Fortunately the front desk peoples are letting me leave my bags so I can zoom around downtown for sightseeing. Late afternoon I am planning on driving over to Selma, AL and unpacking my bags. Selma isn’t one of the vectors on the Peace Itinerary, but I want to pay my respects to the Civil Rights Era. The famous march from Selma to Montgomery, represented the political and emotional peak of the Civil Rights Movement. I loved reading about the Civil Rights Movement, so right now I am really moved by the opportunity to put things in a geographical context.

It’s a quiet introspective birthday for me this year. Tomorrow is actually the official day, and I will start my day by attending church, at the Brown Chapel AME, which was the starting point for the famous Selma to Montgomery march. I don’t attend church, I view the immediate world around me as a sanctuary, but tomorrow morning, I want to bow my head in the appropriate venue. Churches were the organizing points in the Civil Rights Era, a powerful way for community to gain its strength Reading and seeing the words and landmarks of Martin Luther King has me humbled. I am astounded when I stop and contemplate that our constitution often substitutes “some” for “all”- “All men/women are created equal.” That era witnessed people marching for their rights-and risking their lives-to overcome inequity. It is an honor that I can now pay my respects. I’m off to explore…..