bryanjazz

It's the skies. The big skies. I think that might be it. There is something that happens when you're driving on the highway that lets you know when you're in the American South. It feels different. I think the sky is bigger here. Of course, that is not the logical scientific explanation. It's the same sky that exists everywhere else. But the truth is we really don't live our lives logically, and our experiences are usually much broader than can be explained by science. The sky is bigger here.

Yesterday, I left Burns, TN en route to New Orleans. Along the way, I had the fortune of giving a lift to a good friend of mine to his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. Did you know that Huntsville is the space rocket capital of America? I didn't. Their heyday was back in the Sputnik era, as these days we've transitioned to Space Shuttles and other geographical locations.

But to me the interesting thing about Huntsville, and indeed the really enjoyable part of driving down the highways on my trip, is how incredibly beautiful it is. There's something inspiring about driving along the interstate and seeing gorgeous mountains against the big sky, and cotton fields along the road. I would not have known they were cotton fields if my friend had not pointed them out to me. There's an experience we don't have when we grow up in cities, of seeing the origins of things...such as how cotton fields look before the bloom turns to the white cotton balls I'm more familiar with. I'll post photos when i arrive in New Orleans.