We last left our hero…
Cotton Fields
On the road to Alabama.
That was a year ago. Would you guess that if I said Roll Tide to Alabama, it would say Roll Tide back?
And boy have they. Really. If you’re a good journalist, the last question you always ask you’re average interview subject is, “Is there anything else you would like to say? Anything we missed?” It’s a great question. You never know what someone could say. I’ve gotten everything from, “Well, one thing the mayor hasn’t thought about is…” to “Just come on by and try our ribs!” to, the much more common, “Nahhh. That’s it.”
That last one is what 85% of most people say. Now I’m no gambling man, never had luck at the Derby. But I think if the line is set at 45½ %, I’d take the over if we’re talking about how many people, when I ask them, “Is there anything else you wanna say?” they reply, “Roll Tide!”
My best Bear Bryant impression
I’ve learned to capitalize it. Kinda like God. If you’re a Christian, or believe in one and are a grammar Nazi. (Can we still say Nazi?)
There’s plenty of Christians down here. Found a nice gathering of Catholics off Airport Road at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. A good priest too, who’s always game for a sound bite about what the Pope said. I’ve also been to quite a many African American Sunday services. It’s a different type of sermon, let me tell you. It’s a different style than what I’m used to, and it’s both riveting and inspiring. I’d probably switch if I wasn’t such an organ & cantor guy. I can jam to gospel during the week, though. There’s plenty of good soulful radio stations.
You just have to turn the dial to a station that’s NOT playing Lynyrd Skynyrd.
You get a notice at every state line
If you turn on a radio in the state of Alabama, there’s an 18% chance the song Sweet Home Alabama is playing. It’s state law, and it’s fantastic. Sure helps on drives to middle of nowhere Tennessee where a twister took out a post office, the State House in Montgomery (aka “The Gump”), or cruising up and down the Alabama Appalachians.
If you’ve never heard the Muscle Shoals Sound, you don’t know what you’re missing. I pray I get sent out that way, an hour and a half away from home base just so I can pick up their station. You will like it. Trust me. HBO had a great Doc on it too. But the sounds are sweeter when they bounce off the Tennessee River and right back at your sunglasses.
(Click Here to listen live to 92.3 WSHF, the Voice of the Shoals)
All that driving makes you hungry.
I’ve got no problem adjusting to the Chick Fil-A life. Got duped once on a Sunday once here and drove all the way over. No biggie. I’ll see you Tuesday anyways.
Don’t tell the others, but this is the best BBQ I’ve ever had
BBQ is king. They don’t mess around. And of course, the best joints are local. Some of the best ribs you’ll ever have are at restaurants that are only open 10am-4pm, just to serve the plant workers in Decatur, that are run by a mother and two sons. Or down-to-earth State Senators who own the BBQ joint across the street from Huntsville Hospital, Little Paul’s.
Alabama has exceeded my wildest expectations so far for excitement, hospitality, fun, and friends.
But if you’ve been asking yourself:
How did I cut it up with Eddie Money, get sniffed by search dogs, lose my hat on the way to a Donald Trump Rally, and still have time to stop for Louisville for a game a pepper?
I’ll get to that.
Roll Tide.
Jake Berent 
Leave a comment