Sometimes you don't appreciate home until you've been somewhere very different.
Added points if you know the quote.
August 2011.
Seven hours. One bossy GPS nicknamed Sally by yours truly. Two bags of pretzel combos and several brightly colored CDs with an eclectic mix of the Bangles, The Beatles, Dexy Midnight Runners and both Dylans. Perfect weather and two packs of camel lights next to a bright blue lighter.
I feel as though I must know what Jack Kerouac felt while speeding through the country on various transport devices as this weekend I drove from Atlanta to Eglin Air Force base. I drove from my blessed city through my college town, through Auburn and turned 90 degrees south in Montgomery, then took US 344 almost to Destin before landing in someone's arms and a hotel called the Cayo Grande.
It was strange to be in Montgomery. It made such an impact on the history of the United States. It was stranger still to compare it to Atlanta. Atlanta is big and loud and full of personality. It's a liberal oasis in an entirely red state. Underground, Little 5, Music Midtown, Freaknik.The large reaching skyscrapers and the clean, open airport. All the colleges that grew together and intertwine for intellectual mecca in a state of pure ignorance. The music venues- The Tabernacle, Variety Playhouse, The Masquerade. I really could not ask more of my city.
But driving through Montgomery semi-unnerved me. No skyscapers or tangled roads. No yelling cab drivers or bitchy office men driving fancy cars on their way to Buckhead. Just a series of lights and strip malls.
I saw the sign for Selma and knew from History class what that means. It was amazing for me to see and slightly unreal. It seemed to me that the whole place was in a time warp. Never have I seen so many clunkers and ghetto rigged cars. I'm only sad that I didn't have time to stop.
And for all the shit Alabama gets, let me say that it is a beautiful state. I drove nearly the whole length of it. I even saw cars trapped behind a tractor on the highway. I drove through the city of "Opp" and nearly crashed my car when a firework factory had the sign "The best bang you'll get in town" on it and I tried to take a picture. I drove miles and miles without seeing another car. Huge corn fields and hay bales. The sky was huge and full of fluffly clouds. I felt like I'd walked into some other time.
I wish to Christ that I could have been a truck driver. I have an itch to travel, to this country, this world. But still, Atlanta is always my home.