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The birds sit on the wire, shoulders hunched, while overhead the clouds and sun fight for mastery of the sky. It's like they're the battle's foot soldiers (wing soldiers?), too battle-worn (except for that one on the left) to take to the air.
Below, there is a bright and narrow road. You walk balancing on it, poised four inches above the earth, almost touching it. Almost. Like a ghost, not quite through the veil into the living world.
The warring sun and clouds and the narrow path remind me of another thing we saw lots of in Alabama: painted yard signs featuring Bible passages. Not the words of the passage, mind; just its chapter and verse. One little house had two small wooden signs on its lawn.
PSALMS 23, said one. JOHN 3:16, said the other.
The first is the famous The-Lord-Is-Our-Shepherd psalm, and the second is the often-quoted "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
Elsewhere, we saw "2 CHRONICLES 7:14" ("If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.")
More ominously, in an abandoned-seeming park, there were three crosses standing, and on the chain link fence around the park, signs saying THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH and REPENT.
Sometimes people used their own words rather than Bible passages. One house had a sign that said, "When God moves out, disaster moves in."
Churches issued directives and warnings:
"Prepare to meet your God"
"There will be no fire escape in Hell."
Like the sky this morning, all those signs and messages were very atmospheric. I felt like we wandering all unaware through a supernatural battlefield.
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Great photos as always!
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... You get funny church signs in Massachusetts too.
I don't want you to think that my impression of Alabama was all Bible verse signs--I was intrigued by those, but there were many many sights, sounds, tastes, and conversations to take in. This was part of it--but only a very small part. I loved my trip. It's a beautiful place.
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It is a beautiful state. The coast is very nice, but I actually prefer the northeastern section of the state where its all rivers and rolling green mountains.
If you ever get a chance you should take the scenic drive through Little River Canyon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_River_Canyon_National_Preserve). It's really quite a sight, especially in late autumn. No, it's not The Grand Canyon, but surprisingly majestic in places.
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Answer: I can. That's why I went to school, school, and more school - to add stature by thinking and having thoughts.
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I think the owner could have been a little much if we weren't in the right mood. The place was also a tea shop and she *loved* tea. Loved with the kind of passion that's profoundly embarrassing if you're not prepared for it.
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I know just what you mean. If you're in the flow, it can be kind of wonderful; if not, it can be very offputting.
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I checked out her website--looks like a great place.
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It's like an alternate reality game, but with salvation as the prize! I wonder if there's an iPhone app for it... Actually, I'm envisioning some sort of overlay that would grade places using geotags to give you real-time sin quotients. Hmm.
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Alabama song
Carry me home to see my kin
Singing songs about the Southland
I miss Alabamy once again
And I think its a sin, yes
Well I heard mister Young sing about her
Well, I heard ole Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don't need him around anyhow
Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you
In Birmingham they love the governor
Now we all did what we could do
Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you?
Tell the truth
Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you
Here I come Alabama
Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers
And they've been known to pick a song or two
Lord they get me off so much
They pick me up when I'm feeling blue
Now how about you?
Sweet home Alabama
Where the skies are so blue
Sweet Home Alabama
Lord, I'm coming home to you
Sweet home Alabama
Oh sweet home baby
Where the skies are so blue
And the governor's true
Sweet Home Alabama
Lordy
Lord, I'm coming home to you
Yea, yea Montgomery's got the answer
I love this song and listen to it very often. The railway track and the greenery on either side is sooooo Indian ;-)
Re: Alabama song
And the photo of the railroad track is right near my house! So now, when I walk balanced on the rail and look down, I'll think of India.
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About the birds - it has always given me a thrill of joy to see them lined up on the wires like that. They always remind me of musical notes. I am convinced that if I were able to read the bird-note-music on the lines across the nation, it would either be a great symphony or a message of some kind - preferably the meaning of life et al. (42)
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"
That was beautiful, I very much enjoyed that part. I love how you write. There is just such a mystical feeling about it, that it makes me feel like I'm there with those thoughts and emotions.
And your photos are also very beautiful.
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Yeah, that would be a cool dream.
I've never dreamt of flying on my own, but I did dream once that I was flying in a ship made of clouds, way up in the sky. I had that dream a good four or five years ago, but to this day I remember it still so vividly. It was sunset, and the sky was almost completely a light pink but with golden streaks along it. And in the dream I had just come home and saw my siblings underneath me, all playing in the grass.
That was probably the coolest dream that I ever had.
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I remember right after I had it, I ran to my siblings and told them the entire dream, like how it felt, what happened in it. It was something. *hugs*
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I could never, ever live in the south as a result.
There's one house in G'field that has the stupid effing bible signs on their front lawn. I avoid going down that road as a result.
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Personally, I feel neutral about Bible lawn signs, but I do understand how they can be upsetting.
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I drove through the night last night, and stopped briefly at a rest area in Georgia around 2:30. I thought of you and your trip while I stretched, and I also thought, "Oh, yes, this is what sultry feels like. Night air that hugs you."
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And the silver road--I like that.
"Where have you been, o traveller, and what did you see there?"
"I've been on the silver road, my friend, and tell you I do not dare."
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