Maddy and Harry's Southern Swing 2016: First day in the South: F'ing Faulkner and finding Tuskegee

We flew from San Diego to Atlanta today, then drove to Montgomery AL. Yeehaw! We made it!!!! It's hot and humid, but not too hot and humid. We had a nice drive, listening to our Southern Mix Tape: "Oh Atlanta" (Little Feat), "Georgia on my mind" (Ray Charles) and, of course, "Sweet Home Alabama" (Lynyrd Skynyrd) while crossing into said state. Followed up with a selection of Emmylou Harris, an Alabama native with the voice of an angel.

To kick off our Southern trip in the right way, I purchased some Faulkner (a Mississippi lad) for the plane ride. I chose "The sound and the fury". Think of me what you will, my eyeballs had never graced his pages before. An appropriate time to rectify that. Gonna get me in the right frame of mind, right? Let's do it!!!!!!!!!

Uh, well, that's tough sledding. Seventy-five pages of free-form scene changes without a break in the first chapter, which is entitled "April 7, 1928" but bounces over a solid 30 years. I can't tell who's black, who's white, who's male, who's female. One thing I HAVE figured out is that Dan is a dog. Pretty much nailed that.

Whatever, I'm failing "Southern 101" here. Is it me? I'm not sure what's going on, but am determined to stick it out. Faulkner's as bad as some of them Frenchie writers (Balzac, etc), who one reads just to say one's done it. Feels like taking cod liver oil: just do it - it's good for you (I think).

I might have some other observations on the plane ride later.
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Anyway, we had a nice drive into Alabama, then stopped in Tuskegee to see what we could see. Turns out it was quite meaningful to us. The first stop was at the Tuskegee Airman National Historic Site, which is small but well done. These guys were quite something, both during World War II and as a precursor of the Civil Rights movement. The second stop was Tuskegee Institute/University. We saw the graves of Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. Maddy told me the history of of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois, how both of them pushed education forward for African-Americans in their own distinct ways. It was all the more interesting since we visited Harpers Ferry WV last year, where DuBois' second Niagara Conference was held. Of the many interesting things I read today, one was something from Booker T. "I will let no man drag me down so low as to make me hate him." Good thing to remember.

Anyway, I'm falling asleep. Time to read some more Faulkner and finish the task.

Maddy and Harry on the Alabama border! Somewhat dangerous highway pose (you can see the wheels of an 18-wheeler under Maddy's head). Notice that Maddy's closer to the road. Great job, dad!!!