Driving through the Southeastern states (reflections)

[The Backlash Cometh]

NATIONAL FORESTS: The most breathtaking, patriot-inspiring portion of the trip always involved a national park. Whether it was river-rafting or just driving through the Smokey Mountains, seeing OUR land the way our forefathers did was just as inspiring as seeing the original Declaration of Independence. Does anybody know if Bush has ever river-rafted? Maybe if he did, he would think twice about destroying our national forests.

DOLLYWOOD: Has the best American Master Craftsmen section of any amusement park I've ever been to. Um...but what's with all the fat white people? I was shocked, SHOCKED to see so many over-weight adults and YOUNG adults. The small children were fine and maybe even too thin, but something explosive seems to be happening after puberty. The other thing that I wondered about Dollywood, was that there appeared to be more tourist in wheelchairs than I have ever seen in any one attraction. I'm not an expert on this, but the handicaps seem to be the result of birth-defects. My first impulse was to applaud Dolly Parton for making her park friendly to Americans with disabilities. Then I wondered if the area was more prone to birth defects. Could this be a natural by-product of the Christian right-to-life movement? Who knows?

SIX FLAGS -- GEORGIA: No big lines up to twelve o-clock. You can hit three major rollercoasters before lunchtime It's a great time to go!

All in all, it was a very enjoyable drive through the southeastern states this summer, and perhaps because we limited ourselves to touristy areas, I didn't witness one example of discriminatory or racist behavior. Even went into a Cracker Barrel in Georgia that was run by a black manager.

Things are looking up.

[tnlefty]

1. Glad that you enjoyed your drive/visit. Dollywood has some talented

craftsmen and there are also many in Gatlinburg. I've purchased a couple of really pretty pieces there. The Smokies are pretty, but are also the most polluted of the parks.:-(

There is a higher than average rate of neural tube defects in this area , but I don't think those are the types of disabilities that you were seeing. Accidents perhaps?

I had a guy ask me about the bumperstickers on my car in the grocery store parking lot earlier today. He said that 2 of his buddies were leaving for Iraq today and he wanted some stickers. I can only hope that things are looking up!!!

Edited to add: Did you go to the Civil War Museum and Park by chance?

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. We must have driven through the Smokies on a good day.

Many of the children/young adults at Dollywood in wheelchairs looked like they had cerebral-palsy like problems. Many couldn't sit up straight in a chair.

What's with all the neural tube defects?

We didn't make it to the Civil War Museum. We went on a low-budget road trip and we went straight to places that had offered discounts months before. Very little time on our schedule to look around and investigate. We're glad we gave the kids a summer vacation, but wondering if we'll have a job to pay for the next one.

What did your bumper sticker say?

[kodi]

8. neural tube defects? inbredding

you will find hereditery diseases up in the deep, isolated eastern hills of the state that have been studied for years. fine people up there, but some don't get out much.

[tnlefty]

9. Neural tube defects - cause unknown

When I was involved in a bereaved parents group a geneticist who came to speak to our group mentioned that it could be the Irish/Scottish settlers as the rates seemed to coincide with a section of those populations or environmental. Since Folic Acid has been heavily pushed here for the past decade plus the rates have hopefully improved.

There are some education/rehab facilites in my county that deal with disabled children and families relocate here from the surrounding area and they may have made the 2 hr. trip to Dollywood - who knows?

That would be stickers....

Don't Blame Me I Voted With the Majority

There's Dirt Under Every Bush with a Kerry sticker on top of that

Bush Lied Thousands Died Impeach Bush Now

and one that I'm trying to order just have to have -
Vote Democratic The (kicking donkey) You Save May Be Your Own.

I'm running out of window space!!!!

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. Would have liked to have met you in person.

You're very brave to be driving around with those stickers. I was very much aware that we were driving through right-wing country and trying not to be judgmental about it. But I would have loved to have come across your car when we stepped out to see the Smokies.

[tnlefty]

12. Strangely enough we were in Pigeon Forge last fall and quite a few out-

of-staters blew the horn and waved at the Don't Blame Me sticker. A couple of cars had FL tags and we happily waved back. I met a gentleman from OH who was staying at the same hotel and he had sneaked out to smoke as I had and he was laughing at my toostupidtobepresident t-shirt! He was really nice and said that he had considered leaving his farm and moving to the TN area, but he wasn't sure that he could tolerate the summers. I mentioned that the summers here aren't that bad. South GA, MS, AL, etc. are bad. He laughed and I mentioned that I didn't think that I could deal with the winters in OH.

It would be nice to meet out of state DUers. There aren't enough in my area - outside Chattanooga - to get a DU meet-up together!

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. I met tons of Floridians along the way!

We discovered at the beginning of our river rafting adventure in South Carolina that our group consisted of Central Floridians! And outside Dollywood, while I did the family laundry, I bumped into this rather obese white man who just started talking to me when he realized I was from Florida. He was originally from my state but went to Tennessee looking for work a few years back. He talked to me with confidence, as if we were old good neighbors even though he probably wouldn't give me a second look in Florida! Very, very surprised to hear that we had lots of similar views when you take out all the minority hatred crap out of the conversation.

I learned that he just wanted to find construction work but he knew a whole lot more than you'd ever expect. He knew about all the little secrets in Central Florida. He even knew about the Boars' Head Hunt Club in Sanford! and a few more in Lakeland that I didn't know about.

Construction people really do know what's going on in town. They just don't seem to trust anyone enough to support them to change anything. I understand why. It's like voting in the pigs in Animal Farm. I realized the book was written to discuss the big problem with Communism but it applies here too. You vote in a buddy into the city commission, and that buddy may be a true Mr. Smith, but soon a transformation begins. From my observations, it begins with the city attorney's indoctration. The city attorney starts changing Mr. Smith's perspective by teaching him legal interpretations of court cases or legislation, which may not be all that accurate. This limits the new commissioner's decision-making process until the commissioner begins to vote the way the city attorney wants him to vote. The problem is, that the city attorney belongs to a law firm which has clients in the development business and who want to conduct business in the city, unhindered. So the city attorney may not be fully objective. Is this kind of lawyering legal in Florida? I would think there would be a conflict of interest, but it happens here all the time. I've met many an ex-commissioner who turned community activist after they did not get re-elected because the public got sick of the sell-out. They were used by the system and spit out to live the lonely life of a Florida activist. And the city attorney who promised to protect them as if they were good close friends, never returned their calls.

I think Florida's problems would be cleaned up if there was a clear distinction between law firms that represent the government and law firms which represent private interests. The Florida method is incestual which is why no one trusts lawyers. I don't think the Florida Bar has the public's confidence. It's a shame.

[Zomby Woof]

15. howdy near Chattanooga!

I lived in Hixson (which surely has been absorbed by Chattanooga now) many many moons ago when I was but a sprout. :hi:

[Philosophy]

2. I used to live close to Dollywood

Been there a bunch of times. Did you try the funnel cakes? Those things must have at least 3000 calories. Probably why everyone is so overweight.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Yes, we tried the funnel cakes.

But they're available everywhere in the Southeast. I think it has to do more with eating starchy foods and doing little exercise? Also, not much work up there, it appears. Spoke to one local who rattled off the names of the "connected" families who can get jobs. He was describing a very nepotistic society, and judging by the ancient looking employees in Dollywood, he may have a point. Service was generally slow at the food places and everyone serving food was old enough to be a grandmother (twice over).

[donco6]

4. I think it's pop (soda for you NEsterners)

The explosion of pop consumption is what I would point to as the leading cause of obesity in kids. Have you seen the size of those drinks you can buy now? I have buckets in my home smaller than those ULtra MEga Super Gulps.

[taxidriver]

6. its coke and eating too much. not stopping when you're full.

and no friggin excersise or playing outside in the sun.

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. There is something going on there.

Even a white tourist who wasn't from the area pointed it out.

I expected these people to be ma & pa slender from working the corn fields. Very surprised to find it differently.

[TNDemo]

10. That would be "coke" to the tennesseans.

I grew up in Knoxville (used to go to Gatlinburg on dates) and everything is a "coke." It can be Dr. Pepper, Sprite or whatever, but you ask for a coke and then specify which kind. Don't ask me why...

[SmileyBoy]

13. I wanna visit Atlanta someday.

There's some beautiful skyscrapers in downtown Atlanta, and I want to go study them sometime (I'm an architecture student, BTW).