SELMA - 4 days ago I saw the bridge and walked around the block - come with me and see

[Mira]

My doorbell rang and 2 friends said they were leaving for NOLA and for me to have a happy Easter. I said: Why tell me now?
They said: You want to come? I asked: Can you give me 40 min?

Our first stop was Selma.
I want to take you on the bridge and then for a walk around the block.

It was my first time there, and other than talking to the person at the cash register at the drug store (watch for a sign you thought you may never see again) I can’t tell you much. She was still aglow about the excitement of President Obama’s visit for the anniversary of the march a couple of weeks back. And about all the stores being closed, and snipers being on the roofs. That did not surprise me, and made me feel good about the Secret Service for the first time in a while.

My photos are of the area walking within a block from the bridge, the town as a whole is incredible impoverished looking as I watch the roads in and out of it. I live in the South, and I know about deserted and poor. Sadly, this was extra sad.

Beautiful buildings with good bonesl structures. Empty and forlorn. They could be bought for an out of tune song and refurbished but then they would be built up, and nobody could afford to come.

I was happy to be in Selma, happy to see the history. Sad about the state of the town and feeling like a stranger in a strange land.

Starting with the bridge








to looking down from it on both sides



to the actual walk around the block





















throwing in this last one, because it was such a surprise to find Edgar Cayce in the mix of Selma's former inhabitants.
It is inspiring me to re-visit the Cayce Institute in Virginia Beach.
My companions thought it a good idea, so, as Rachel would say: Watch this space.

[fizzgig]

1. wonderful pics

thanks for sharing.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. These are lovely pictures, my dear Mira...

The town has a dignity that looks a bit run down at the edges.

I looked closely but didn't see the sign you said to look for...

Thank you for these.

Will there be more?

[Mira]

3. I added the one of the sign

the upload in photo bucket was tricky.
A bit run down, my dear Peggy, is a "kindness from a stranger", speaking as a Southerner by choice.
I may show you what I saw in NOLA a day and a few later, to answer your question.
I adore being encouraged.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. I just now saw the Rexall sign now, and thought.....where did that come from?

Now I understand!

And I wasn't being kind...I call 'em like I see 'em.

Your pictures are always interesting!

[No Vested Interest]

5. Thanks for sharing, Mira. I've never been to Alabama, and not likely to go.

Your photos give a good feel for the area, made so famous by the walk over the bridge.

Didn't I read that there was some talk fo changing the name of the bridge from Edmund Pettus to something else? (I think Mr. Pettus had some KKK or segregationist background.)

[handmade34]

6. most wonderful

and yes, surprised to see the Edgar Cayce memorial





and... ahhhh... NOLA

[mnhtnbb]

7. Quite a lonesome feeling from the photos.

Nice your friends stopped by and you jumped at the chance to go with them!

I have a friend (a writer) whose husband died last December and in March she, and the family,
scattered his ashes on the farm he loved so much. He was also a musician, and
they decided each of them would say/sing the words from a song as they did
the scatterings. She chose a song about regret and said this about her choice: "If you've been through grief and mourning, you know that regret is intimately tied up with grief. I have regretted so many opportunities and openings I didn't take; all the times I said "no," to an invitation when I could have said, "yes."

Your story of spontaneously jumping at the chance to go to NOLA with 40 minutes to prepare, made me think of my friend.

[Dalai_1]

8. K&R

Thank you for sharing,Mira!

[Curmudgeoness]

9. That seems so sad.

So badly run down. But what really hit me was the beautifully done brick sidewalks in front of such run down buildings.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. Dear Mira, I am SO encouraging you to take us on your journeys!!!

It might interest you to know that the Selma bridge is the only one on the 312 mile Ala. river, which flows past the edge of my county.
And that A certain William R. King from North Carolina named Selma, when he moved here.

Those old vacant looking stores can be found in every little town here in Ala.and I am sure that goes for most of the southern states.
I find them sad, like history's orphans.

I have been in Selma, years ago. Thanks for the memories!