A Return to The AC

I recently read a post by a friend in San Francisco that dealt with our hometown. I like to call the place "The AC"... better known by its formal title "Alexander City". With this on my mind throughout the day, I became inspired to write a little bit about the place in which I was raised.

There are lots of great things about Alexander City, AL. Its proximity to Auburn, for instance. Its proximity to areas of outdoor interest (as long as you're wearing some orange while hiking, you should be ok)...... Its proximity to Atlanta. The best thing about The AC, however, is the people. Not all people. Not even by a long shot. Some of my best friends and loved ones live there, though. That's why I keep going back. If I didn't know anyone there, June 1998 would have been the last time I'd ever have seen the place.

Imagine being on a road trip. Road trips are fun. Alex City is one of those towns you drive through on the highway. There are some gas stations, a few fast food drive-thru places, a couple of hotels. Basically somewhere you might stop for gas or stay the night. A fairly quiet place. Go further in and you'll see some neighborhoods, maybe an auto parts store, restaurants with the word "sho'nuff" somewhere on the sign, and a heap of churches. Lots of churches and not a mosque in sight, if you catch my drift. Not a very diverse place. I always liked to think of these churches as "Sunday Social Clubs". Especially the church I spent many of my early days in (and not often by choice) .... Calvary Heights Baptist Church. I knew they liked their committees, but, from what I understand, things really hit the fan and the church split not long after I left.

I feel as though I may have wandered a bit from the subject. Thinking more about it, this may be a fair way of describing the city in general. Some wonderful people went to Calvary Heights. It was the backward thinking, ignorant bigots that ruined the place. The types of fundamentalist Christian conservatives who reeeeaaallly, honestly believe the GOP is working for them. Hey. If Rush says it's so, it must be so.

I'm not here to trash talk, though. Aside from my friends and family, there are a lot of things I miss.

The LAKE. Lake Martin is a beautiful man-made lake that is rapidly being overtaken by development. My grandfather helped build that dam, BTW. Speaking of Lake Martin, another thing I miss is Camp ASCCA. An Easter Seals camp where I worked as a program leader in 98.... Hmmmm. What else....? The city's proximity to DeSoto Caverns.

To be completely honest, it isn't a horrible place and folks aren't truly evil. Alot of them are just plain odd. Take the people who believe they are big fish, for instance. They very well may be in some ways. It's a small pond, however. A very small pond. Then there are the people who will tar and feather you if you're into Dungeons & Dragons. Not because they think you're a dork, but because they're afraid you are somehow going to unleash Satan upon the earth with your witchcraft and wizardry. My advice to them is to get out of town from time to time. See the world. Travel changes you.

To the people of AC who would give you the shirts off their backs without a second thought.... the ones who work hard, love their families, and just like to have good, harmless fun.... the free-thinkers and dreamers who don't quite fit the mold.... YOU are the ones who make the town worth going back to.

Well... that and the town's proximity to Birmingham.