My first introduction to Mobile was brief. But to tell that story, I must start at the beginning, in 2004 when, due to a tragedy, I first discovered Alabama. Mom was having a procedure done in which she was supposed to be 3 days in the hospital and back to work in two weeks. When she opted to have the surgery in Birmingham, Alabama, we (her children) like many non-Alabamians, were agasped as we asked, “Mom! Alabama?!?! What the heck is in Alabama?!?” We had all seen “Sweet Home Alabama”! We knew the deal!
Mom drove herself from Panama City, Florida to Birmingham three days early to prepare for the surgery. Two of my sisters flew in to be with her and Mom picked them up at the airport. However, things took a downturn two days after the surgery, and it became evident that a three-day hospital stay would become long-term, and Mom would never go back to work again. It was time to fly in the troops – which included both of my brothers, another sister, myself, and whatever grandchildren could come. We didn’t know if Mom would make it.
As a former hospital social worker, I had seen many families dealing with the pain of sudden, long-term illnesses. During those times, there are constantly critical decisions that must be made quickly, while weighing life and death and/or quality of life issues. With six kids and several grandchildren now at her side, we were not always unanimous in our decisions regarding Mom. However, one thing that was unanimous was our new-found love for Birmingham, and later the state of Alabama, that we still hold today.
The fact that we loved Birmingham was decided pretty early on. There were many reasons to fall in love with the city: The hotel staff, who generously offered to shuttle my mom and sisters on the days preceding the surgery back and forth to the doctor - along with the injured NFL players also staying at the hotel who were shuttled to their doctors. For my youngest brother Mike, my son Tom, and I, it was the shuttle driver from the hotel, who so graciously offered to pick us up at the airport, drop our things at the hotel, and then back to the hospital to join the rest of the family. It was the employees of Starbucks at Five-Points who greeted us day-after-day, between ICU visiting hours, and asked us how our Mom was doing, and the young, black lady named Shirley, who owned both a coffee shop and a carry-out breakfast joint and made me a beautiful breakfast of 2 eggs, two home-made bacon biscuits, a side of grits and a large glass of orange juice for $1.99 when I only had $2.00 in my pocket, then gave me a gift card for 24 free coffees from her coffee shop/internet café down the street, a gift that lasted me for the whole month when my finances were running dry! It was person after person who reached out, prayed for my mom, or just said hello on the street.
Aside from the people, we noticed something else. Birmingham was a beautiful city. I had never stood in the middle of a downtown and smelled fresh, sweet flowers! The botanical garden, about 3 minutes from downtown, is free and offered a solace from our sad reality day-after-day, with something new to discover each time we went. Then there is the Vulcan, who brought us comfort by his watch over the city day and night. In an odd way, he kept us “grounded” in a strange city during a sad time.
Between ICU visiting hours, we cruised the neighborhoods of Mountain Brook, admiring the gardens and golf courses that are infiltrated into the neighborhood, downtown and corporate areas. I was enamored by the effort that is made to bring beauty into every aspect of life; things that I wondered if the locals even had a clue or took them for granted!
This was when it hit me that, 'I don’t have to live in a place where much of my life was surrounded by ugly, gray skies, and freezing temperatures for 8 months out of the year!' I could live in a city that makes every aspect of life beautiful, something that makes terrible circumstances a little more bearable. It was during this trip – within 45 minutes after stepping off the plane - that my spirit knew I must move here! Though I had to leave Alabama after this ordeal, Alabama never left me! Many times over the next four years, back in New York, while sitting on the shores of Lake Ontario, I would stare out to where the water met the sky and imagine that Alabama was out there. I could see it, smell it, taste it, and if I reached far enough, touch it! I must get to Alabama!!
Mom drove herself from Panama City, Florida to Birmingham three days early to prepare for the surgery. Two of my sisters flew in to be with her and Mom picked them up at the airport. However, things took a downturn two days after the surgery, and it became evident that a three-day hospital stay would become long-term, and Mom would never go back to work again. It was time to fly in the troops – which included both of my brothers, another sister, myself, and whatever grandchildren could come. We didn’t know if Mom would make it.
As a former hospital social worker, I had seen many families dealing with the pain of sudden, long-term illnesses. During those times, there are constantly critical decisions that must be made quickly, while weighing life and death and/or quality of life issues. With six kids and several grandchildren now at her side, we were not always unanimous in our decisions regarding Mom. However, one thing that was unanimous was our new-found love for Birmingham, and later the state of Alabama, that we still hold today.
The fact that we loved Birmingham was decided pretty early on. There were many reasons to fall in love with the city: The hotel staff, who generously offered to shuttle my mom and sisters on the days preceding the surgery back and forth to the doctor - along with the injured NFL players also staying at the hotel who were shuttled to their doctors. For my youngest brother Mike, my son Tom, and I, it was the shuttle driver from the hotel, who so graciously offered to pick us up at the airport, drop our things at the hotel, and then back to the hospital to join the rest of the family. It was the employees of Starbucks at Five-Points who greeted us day-after-day, between ICU visiting hours, and asked us how our Mom was doing, and the young, black lady named Shirley, who owned both a coffee shop and a carry-out breakfast joint and made me a beautiful breakfast of 2 eggs, two home-made bacon biscuits, a side of grits and a large glass of orange juice for $1.99 when I only had $2.00 in my pocket, then gave me a gift card for 24 free coffees from her coffee shop/internet café down the street, a gift that lasted me for the whole month when my finances were running dry! It was person after person who reached out, prayed for my mom, or just said hello on the street.
Aside from the people, we noticed something else. Birmingham was a beautiful city. I had never stood in the middle of a downtown and smelled fresh, sweet flowers! The botanical garden, about 3 minutes from downtown, is free and offered a solace from our sad reality day-after-day, with something new to discover each time we went. Then there is the Vulcan, who brought us comfort by his watch over the city day and night. In an odd way, he kept us “grounded” in a strange city during a sad time.
Between ICU visiting hours, we cruised the neighborhoods of Mountain Brook, admiring the gardens and golf courses that are infiltrated into the neighborhood, downtown and corporate areas. I was enamored by the effort that is made to bring beauty into every aspect of life; things that I wondered if the locals even had a clue or took them for granted!
This was when it hit me that, 'I don’t have to live in a place where much of my life was surrounded by ugly, gray skies, and freezing temperatures for 8 months out of the year!' I could live in a city that makes every aspect of life beautiful, something that makes terrible circumstances a little more bearable. It was during this trip – within 45 minutes after stepping off the plane - that my spirit knew I must move here! Though I had to leave Alabama after this ordeal, Alabama never left me! Many times over the next four years, back in New York, while sitting on the shores of Lake Ontario, I would stare out to where the water met the sky and imagine that Alabama was out there. I could see it, smell it, taste it, and if I reached far enough, touch it! I must get to Alabama!!
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