I'M ALABAMY BOUND . . .

( . . . there'll be no heebie-jeebies hangin' round . . .)

Weather permitting, by tonight I'll have crossed yet another state of the list of those I've never visited. Yes, today and tomorrow, I'll be on a work-related trip to Birmingham, Alabama!

(As if Monday afternoon trips to Birmingham require the "work-related" tag.)

The long-time readers among you may recall that Mrs. Mike & I journeyed into the heart of Dixie last fall, checking out parts of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. If you missed it, the sojourn is memorialized here, and here. And even here.

But we didn't make it to The Deep South. Even in Georgia, we were near Atlanta. I've never been to northern Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana . . . or Alabama. Home state of George Wallace. Bull Connor. But also Hank Aaron, Satchel Paige, and a few others not likely to have aligned with Wallace.

Anyhow, to say I'm a bit curious about Alabama is an understatement. I know there's more to the state than a history of institutionalized racism, and apologies to any Alabamians here for my Northeastern snobbery & snottiness. No insult intended. But, as I've alluded to at times in the past, to this New York Jew, the Deep South is as foreign and exotic as Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, or Southeast Asia. Hell, I have folks from those places right in my neighborhood. But Alabama? Not so sure.

So, I'm off. I traveled for work to Texas a few years ago and I loved it, and I truly hope I feel the same way this time. We'll see. I'll report back on Wednesday.