I went to Marion
Junction Alabama over the weekend; which is in the Dallas County jurisdiction
in the Selma metro area. My family
always refers to it as going up country because the area is mostly woods and it’s
located in central Alabama. It’s also
the place where my Grandmother and Grandfather are buried. There was this need in me to see my
Grandmother and when I went to visit her grave I felt peace. I can’t describe this weight I felt just
being there at her grave gave me this release.
We stayed the
night with my Great Aunt, who is at the early stages of Alzheimer’s. I had the chance to sit outside on the front
porch with her where we felt the cool breeze of the wind on our faces, looked at
the different species of birds (blue birds, mockingbirds, sora’s, and
woodpeckers) flying back and forth, and took in all the greenery around
us. It was so immensely relaxing; from
the cows in the field wagging their tails, to the limbs on the trees swaying back
and forth with the wind, and the sounds of all the birds talking to each other.
I asked her, “About
the area and were there a lot of homes being built there?” She informed me of something that I found
shocking. She said, “Most people around
here still have outhouses but they put them behind the house so nobody can see
them.” If you don’t know what an
outhouse is, it’s an outside toilet but with no running water. Her words took me back to when I was a little
girl; I can remember the outhouse that stood in our backyard. We would often use it because we didn’t want
to run all the way back into the house to use the toilet. One day we went to use it and found a snake
inside; I can’t remember what type of snake but my Mom saw it and well that was
the end of the outhouse. I at the time
thought that it was pretty cool that the snake was in that predicament; I was
young. It’s hard to believe that it’s
2013 and people still don’t have toilets in their homes or running water. I just felt so sad that people have no choice
but to live this way because they can’t afford to do better. It was my reality check.
My family (my Auntie’s
two daughters) treated us like royalty with that old southern hospitality;
ensuring that we were comfortable and well fed.
I can’t help but to think that my Great Aunt and I are very much alike
in that we both like quiet, peace, and serenity; plus we will fight anyone who
tries to take that away. We both sat on
that porch enjoying those simple things in life that you don’t buy from a
store. You just take it all in from day to
day and pray to God that it never changes or fades away, that very rare but
natural beauty.
Sorry I have no
pictures. I brought my camera but forgot
my film. Yeah, I know! This is your girl Lady PJ saying, “Live life
to the fullest and enjoy those little things in life for a change.”
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