Melvin and Skip’s Most Excellent Trip

Part Uno

It was late spring and my daughter’s College was in Montgomery, Alabama. The XYL (sk), five of my sons, two daughters, significant others and grand kids all piled into 3 cars and a SUV to go to her graduation ceremonies. We knew the route by heart having driven it so many times in the four years that she was there.

The trip was uneventful, there was the obligatory stop in Goodlettsville, Tennessee for McDonald's and Gas; there’s a McDonald’s on every corner, try coordinating that between 4 vehicles. I hit the highway and kept the speedometer at 81 miles per hour and after stopping at the space center in Huntsville, Alabama, we cruised into Montgomery early in the afternoon; the boys swam in hotel pool and we all had a good dinner.

The next day, we went to the Commencement Exercise where my daughter received her Degree in Chemistry. After the ceremonies, we all gathered and went for Brunch and decided to tour Montgomery Al. We saw such historic places as the White House of the Confederacy, The Dexter Avenue Church where M.L. King, Jr. was pastor from 1954 to 1960, the tributes to Governor George and Cornelia Wallace, Booker T. Washington, The Southern Poverty Law Center where, “The Struggle Continues” and, The Wall of Intolerance where, my signature is immortalized.

It was a hot afternoon in Montgomery so we bought Ice Cream and strolled with the rest of the tourist along the Historic River Walk downtown near the city center. There was a Water park and wading pool where children and adults cooled in the hot Alabama sun. The cool water was inviting so; the boys took their shoes off and waded into the water.

Not all at once, but noticeably, the rest of the people who were cooling in the water park started leaving the pool; it was 95 plus degrees but, we were the only ones left in the pool while the rest of the parents and children stood around the edged. There were no signs posted but, it was clear that there was a line that divided the northern African-American tourist from the local natives, none of whom looked like me. They stayed out of the water until we gathered our things and left.

It is ironic that less than 3 blocks away from the Southern Poverty Law Center where they document the segregation of the 1950’s and 1960’s, the deaths of Emmitt Till and Viola Liuzzo and, the struggle of the civil rights movement, the invisible lines of segregation still exist in the year 2013.

Skip, Eric and Ray all received a number of lessons on our trip to Montgomery. They saw that if you educated yourself, you could rise above your beginnings, they saw the places where the seeds of intolerance and racism once bloomed and flourished but are now only history, they saw monuments to men both Black and White who were willing to die for what they believed in, be it right or wrong. They also experienced the sting of ignorance from those who would still inflict pain and live in darkness.

In spite of it all, it was a “Very Excellent Trip” for Melvin and his “legacies”.

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I thought the two threads on this topic started by Melvin should reside in the same forum. They have the potential to generate some interesting discussion, so I moved thread #1 to General Chat with the 'part two' thread.

May we consider the tone of the discussion to come to remain civil and within the guidelines of this particular sub-forum so that I won't be compelled to move both to the political forum?

Thanks,
Luke

I am very sorry to hear about the recent passing of your wife. That alone would crush my world if I were to lose mine.

I am really mortified to hear about that pool incident and worried what lasting effects it might have had on your kids. I know kids are very sensitive to the actions of adults and easily hurt, even by the ignorant adults.

I found it incredible in 1969 that Union Station in Washington D. C. Still had segregated restrooms. I used the one marked "Colored" much to the dismay of some of the PC employees there who threatened me. I told them to go f--- thepmselves. I was 15 and they made sure my cousin who picked me up found out about it, who relayed it to my father. My attitude on it didn't change in any case. All this within walking distance of Congress where the Civil Rights act had been enacted years before.

I find it unbelievable that this goes on in 2013. My grandmother was Ethiopian and while she was alive I was always very close to her. If you saw us together, you'd never know we're related though.

Sorry to hear of your experiences. It is troublesome in a country that struts around the world proclaiming its freedom to all.

Yea, when I was a kid I vowed to use a "colored" washroom if it ever came up. It didn't, because I lived in MN, but we planned some family trips to the south that did not come about for various reasons. This was a conspiracy with my sister and five favorite cousins. The trip was to Atlanta, but my cousins moved to West Virginia instead. This was in 1963.

My sister, cousins, and I were all gonna do it. All of us kids were watching in horror what was going on, and planned this without our parent's knowledge. After the trip were cancelled, it became a dinnertime topic. Dad was proud of our idea, but said it wasn't very smart. Mom said if we got arrested, we'd deserve to spend the night in jail.
It was a very interesting dinner conversation. Word was my Aunt and Uncle were actually enthusiastic. :omg: