Sweet Home Alabama

So what do you think of when you think of Alabama? Maybe Lynyrd Skynyrd's controversial 1973 song "Sweet Home Alabama"? The song, it turns out-- is a response to Neil Young's "Southern Man" and "Alabama," both commentaries on racism in the south. Lynyrd Skynyrd's position, whether critical or supportive of Young's anti-racism, is unclear. Plenty has been written about the ambiguity of the song. . . who knew?

And then I heard there is a fairly successful college football team. . .

But what I never associated with Alabama is the view above. This is 10 minutes from my house. This part of Alabama belongs to the Tennessee River Valley, which brings to mind this guy--

I grew up intrigued by Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, indistinguishable thanks to Fess Parker's portrayals of both. He played each character ten years apart (Crockett first), although a quick internet search will reveal that the folk heroes were born a generation apart (Boone first). Crockett died at the Alamo at the age of 49, while Boone lived to be 85. Born in Kentucky, Boone is known as a frontiersman, Revolutionary War officer, and member of the Virginia General Assembly. He died without means in Missouri. Crockett hunted and told tall tales in the Tennessee where he was born and was an opponent of President Jackson and his Indian Removal Policies, which eventually got Crockett voted out of office. Only Davy Crockett wore the coonskin cap, which enjoyed a resurgence in popularity with little boys in the 1950s. 

So where I live looks like Boone and Crockett could be either shooting or defending Indians (Boone fighting them; Crockett fighting for their rights). Lots of Indian names in this part of the country--something to look into. Apparently the Cherokee and Shawnee were the inhabitants before the colonists, which is no surprise given the Trail of Tears marker just down the street. . . So pioneer heritage is part of the landscape. 

In a previous post, I mentioned Time Magazine's special issue on the South, where gun culture is evoked as part of southern--especially rural--identity. Loosely related--there's a very nuanced article in The Atlantic by Elaina Plott https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/10/the-bullet-in-my-arm/568369/ on gun culture in Alabama. 

So I am still figuring out, quite literally, where I am on the map. This is largely because this part of the state belongs geographically more to Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Nashville than to Tuscaloosa. That said, the Alabama-Auburn football thing. . . that still seems to trump all other forms of identity, historical or familial. More on that, another time.