roll tide!

I'm back in the desert, after a bit of traveling, a bit of homelife, and more than a bit of family.  But first, a bit about visiting my grandmother and family in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, home of the University of Alabama's crimson tide.  

I'm pretty sure the south, in many ways, is more different from California than several foreign countries.  The speech is different, the food is different, the mannerisms and manners are different, the morals and religion is "different". The vast majority of Alabamans are followers of the religions of Christianity and football.  

I was particularly struck by the southern obsession with football while reading the lead story of the local paper.  It read "The wait is over.  High school football is finally here!" In California, its difficult to find anybody interested in high school football outside of the immediate circle of family and friends.  

I walked around U of A's campus a bit too, and was very struck by the differences between Stanford and UofA.  The campus is situated on expansive lawns filled with trees, and grand brick buildings.  The obsession with football spreads across campus too, with numerous sculptures, plazas, and shrines devoted to Bear Bryant, the legendary football coach of Alabama.  I also noticed that literally 95% of the  girls wore gym shorts, baggy white t-shirts, and ray-ban sunglasses.  Greek houses reign supreme, with brilliant white mansions lining the main drag through the university.  

My experience in visiting the south is particularly different, mostly as a result of my Grandmother.  My grandmother, who insists that we call her by her first name Ozzie,  is determined to be the classiest lady in the entire United States.  She lives in a large red-brick house fronted by 30-ft white columns and a huge lawn.  She is a member of numerous country clubs, all of which she rarely visits, but is thrilled when her grandson wants to use them to workout or swim.  My time there consists of working out at country clubs, sitting with my grandmother, and trying to pretend my manners are better than they are.  "yes ma'am"s and "no ma'am"s usually take several days to lodge themselves into my vocabulary, and until then I am the awkward and ill-mannered California relative.  My grandmother loves me all the same, and I consider myself very fortunate to have a southern and loving side of my family.