Black Light

Today was very interesting to say the least.  A couple months ago Cassie and I planned that on November 14, we were going to go to Birmingham to visit the Civil Rights Institute.  So, in the words of Nicole C. Mullen, that's just what we did.  It was interesting, gut-wrenching, educational, sickening.....  That's one part of history I've always been into and interested in.  I've said many times that one of my "heroes" is Martin Luther King Jr. and how I would love to have the chance to sit down and talk to him.  We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the museum which was a big bummer cause there was a lot of really neat stuff in there.  But we did get a picture of the building right across the street- 16th Street Baptist Church.

It's the church where there was a bombing back in the sixties and four little girls died.  We were right where so much history took place.  This church also was the place that hundreds of school age kids gathered to march for their rights.  It was during that march where the police turned the water hoses on them and also brought out their attack dogs.  There was a park right across the street where a lot of the action took place and they had a few statues there, like this one.

It really gives you a lot to think about, going through a place like that.  Then while I was taking a picture of this statue, a guy comes up to us on a bike and asked us if we had taken a picture of the church yet and proceeds to tell us how his brother was there during the march.  After buttering us up for awhile he mentions that he's homeless and wants some money to stay at a mission.  Long story short, we then found ourselves driving to this mission in downtown Birmingham to see if this guy was for real.  He rode his bike and we met him there.  We ended up talking to the manager of the mission for a long time about helping people that God puts in our paths and listening to his testimony.  Cooper was a cocaine addict but after hitting rock bottom and having nowhere to go but up, came to know the Lord, changed his life, has been sober for five years and is now in charge of the mission.  Wow. 

Then, turns out that my friend from Jamaica, Maria, just happened to be in Birmingham this weekend.  She's the principal of the CCCD school in Kingston that I go to each year.  She was there for a deaf conference and called me up to see if she could stay with me while she was here.  It didn't work since B-ham is 1 1/2 hours away, but it did work out to take her out to supper.  It was really fun to see her outside of CCCD and when she wasn't under all the pressures of work, accomodating the team, taking care of the kids etc. etc.....

After a tasty supper at O'Charley's we took her back to her hotel and went to visit Trent.  He's my one connection in B-ham and since I don't really know my way around I thought maybe he could come along and tell us where to go.  But one of our phone's wasn't working or something and he didn't get any of my four phone calls/text messages.  Finally, after we had already eaten, we made contact and decided we'd still go over and say hi for awhile.

We were back on the interstate at 9:30 and thanks to Cassie's mad driving skills we made it home in record time.  We won't disclose exactly what that record was though:)  So, there's our day.  Like I said- very interesting to say the least.  But it was a good day. 

Welp, tomorrow is potluck day at church.  Thanksgiving potluck- very yummy.  I have to get up in the morning and make my potatoes.  Sure hope they turn out!  I keep trying to think of a smoothe way to end this but it's just not coming to me.  So, good night!