Boy Scouts Suck
Current Waffle House count: 37
Ahhh...clean laundry. Nothing like it. The New Orleans Radisson has the single worst laundry room I've ever seen. You have to buy detergent by calling housekeeping instead of from a vending machine, there's no change machine (which means a trip down to the front desk), dryers are $1.25 a cycle, and when they're running the laundry room becomes a sauna so thick that nothing ever dries. Plus, the washers take an hour. It's a nightmare.
On the other hand, I have clean shirts.
Last night, we watched Game 1 of the World Series in the shadow of the Louisiana Superdome, where the Syracuse Orangemen won their first national championship and where my brother's beloved New England Patriots won their first Super Bowl. The Hyatt's sports bar, "Hyttops" is every bit as fun as its name. Taking my third sip of beer, I felt something on my tongue that wasn't beer--I chose not to swallow the beer. Wise, as the foreign object was a shard of broken glass. I am now officially a hypochondriac for the next week. Every single ache or twinge is a result of swallowing broken glass. I'm absolutely positive that I have an entire window inside of me at this point--probably a cheap, drafty one without any energy efficency.
The games... What can you say about some of the greatest moments in Red Sox history? Can't wait for the next one.
We went back to Atmore, AL yesterday to shoot Williams Station Day, their annual street fair/tribute to the railroad. There were arts and crafts tents, barbeque, and music tents with names like the "Atmore Fiddlers' Convention." The barbeque was acceptable but not exceptional, the music was great. I know nothing about arts and crafts, so I can't really judge. I didn't buy anything, if that tells you something.
As we talk to people, one of our standard questions is "What would you change about your town?" It amazes me how often the answer is, "We need a Wal-Mart." Everyone just wants a place to buy CDs and clothes. They know it'll kill whatever businesses are left in their town, but they hate driving to Pensacola all the time. It's a love/hate relationship, and they know it. I hope Sam Walton in spinning like a rotisserie chicken in Hell.
The mayor took a few minutes from holding court to talk with us. Atmore, he says, will be thrilled to host a TV show. He's not a professional politician, of course, despite being mayor for twenty years. He doesn't think that highly of reality TV. And folks around town are feeling like after Hurricane Ivan, they could use some dignity. Nevertheless, he would love to have our money. Tell me the man's not a professional.
The coffeehouse siren was plying her strawberry smoothies at her own tent and praying for 5:00. She has absolutely no interest in me. Nothing between us whatsoever. I'm completely head over heels at her total indifference.
In a previous post, I mentioned the relative scarcity of Bush-Cheney propaganda. Well, at the fair, Republican congressional candidate Jo Bonner had a tent to pass out balloons and stickers and posters. Every single white person on the street took something. It was an elephant parade. For the record, Jo Bonner voted for a flag burning amendment, scores 0% on NARAL's record, 17% by the NEA, and 97% by the US Chamber of Commerce. This is a bad man.
A fourteen year old in a Boy Scout uniform asked us if we were really from the TV. He liked living in Atmore, he said, but really wanted a Wal-Mart. We asked him who some of his favorite bands were, and he literally could not name one. He insisted that he HAD favorites, but just couldn't think of any. Fine. Chalk it up to being camera shy. Then he asked if we were liberal or conservative.
This was the first time anyone has brought up politics with us--we didn't know how to cope with the question. However, since this kid was five-foot-two and fourteen years old, we figured honesty probably wasn't going to get us into too much trouble. Liberal, we told him. He asked why we weren't voting for President Bush. Honestly, the list is huge. The mind reels with possibilities when someone asks you a question like that. For the sake of expediency, the first thing that came to mind was Iraq. The Boy Scout rolled his eyes and said, "You must be one of those people who are against the war." He said it as though there were only a few of us who would dare take that position and we needed to be hunted down and marked. Secondly, we mentioned the economy. The Boy Scout who a moment ago could not remember the name of his favorite bands started spouting Heritage Foundation statistics at me. We begged off the discussion before I earned a homicide merit badge.
One of the nice things about Williams Station Day was that the town seemed to really come together. It was one of the most integrated places I've seen in the south, not just by the presence of diversity, but by the interaction of people. Even if it's a sham and things are really lousy, it made me like Atmore even more than I had before.
We're off to Amite and Independence, Louisiana tomorrow. I'm sure that something will happen then.
Ahhh...clean laundry. Nothing like it. The New Orleans Radisson has the single worst laundry room I've ever seen. You have to buy detergent by calling housekeeping instead of from a vending machine, there's no change machine (which means a trip down to the front desk), dryers are $1.25 a cycle, and when they're running the laundry room becomes a sauna so thick that nothing ever dries. Plus, the washers take an hour. It's a nightmare.
On the other hand, I have clean shirts.
Last night, we watched Game 1 of the World Series in the shadow of the Louisiana Superdome, where the Syracuse Orangemen won their first national championship and where my brother's beloved New England Patriots won their first Super Bowl. The Hyatt's sports bar, "Hyttops" is every bit as fun as its name. Taking my third sip of beer, I felt something on my tongue that wasn't beer--I chose not to swallow the beer. Wise, as the foreign object was a shard of broken glass. I am now officially a hypochondriac for the next week. Every single ache or twinge is a result of swallowing broken glass. I'm absolutely positive that I have an entire window inside of me at this point--probably a cheap, drafty one without any energy efficency.
The games... What can you say about some of the greatest moments in Red Sox history? Can't wait for the next one.
We went back to Atmore, AL yesterday to shoot Williams Station Day, their annual street fair/tribute to the railroad. There were arts and crafts tents, barbeque, and music tents with names like the "Atmore Fiddlers' Convention." The barbeque was acceptable but not exceptional, the music was great. I know nothing about arts and crafts, so I can't really judge. I didn't buy anything, if that tells you something.
As we talk to people, one of our standard questions is "What would you change about your town?" It amazes me how often the answer is, "We need a Wal-Mart." Everyone just wants a place to buy CDs and clothes. They know it'll kill whatever businesses are left in their town, but they hate driving to Pensacola all the time. It's a love/hate relationship, and they know it. I hope Sam Walton in spinning like a rotisserie chicken in Hell.
The mayor took a few minutes from holding court to talk with us. Atmore, he says, will be thrilled to host a TV show. He's not a professional politician, of course, despite being mayor for twenty years. He doesn't think that highly of reality TV. And folks around town are feeling like after Hurricane Ivan, they could use some dignity. Nevertheless, he would love to have our money. Tell me the man's not a professional.
The coffeehouse siren was plying her strawberry smoothies at her own tent and praying for 5:00. She has absolutely no interest in me. Nothing between us whatsoever. I'm completely head over heels at her total indifference.
In a previous post, I mentioned the relative scarcity of Bush-Cheney propaganda. Well, at the fair, Republican congressional candidate Jo Bonner had a tent to pass out balloons and stickers and posters. Every single white person on the street took something. It was an elephant parade. For the record, Jo Bonner voted for a flag burning amendment, scores 0% on NARAL's record, 17% by the NEA, and 97% by the US Chamber of Commerce. This is a bad man.
A fourteen year old in a Boy Scout uniform asked us if we were really from the TV. He liked living in Atmore, he said, but really wanted a Wal-Mart. We asked him who some of his favorite bands were, and he literally could not name one. He insisted that he HAD favorites, but just couldn't think of any. Fine. Chalk it up to being camera shy. Then he asked if we were liberal or conservative.
This was the first time anyone has brought up politics with us--we didn't know how to cope with the question. However, since this kid was five-foot-two and fourteen years old, we figured honesty probably wasn't going to get us into too much trouble. Liberal, we told him. He asked why we weren't voting for President Bush. Honestly, the list is huge. The mind reels with possibilities when someone asks you a question like that. For the sake of expediency, the first thing that came to mind was Iraq. The Boy Scout rolled his eyes and said, "You must be one of those people who are against the war." He said it as though there were only a few of us who would dare take that position and we needed to be hunted down and marked. Secondly, we mentioned the economy. The Boy Scout who a moment ago could not remember the name of his favorite bands started spouting Heritage Foundation statistics at me. We begged off the discussion before I earned a homicide merit badge.
One of the nice things about Williams Station Day was that the town seemed to really come together. It was one of the most integrated places I've seen in the south, not just by the presence of diversity, but by the interaction of people. Even if it's a sham and things are really lousy, it made me like Atmore even more than I had before.
We're off to Amite and Independence, Louisiana tomorrow. I'm sure that something will happen then.
posted by Matthew at 2:18 PM
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