Just Rambling

     When I was a little kid back in the fifties, occasionally we would go down to Florida to visit my grandmother, my father's mother. Back then there wasn't the modern interstate I 95. The driving route then was route 301. 301 was more a series of county roads linked at the state lines. The mid point tourist stop was called, South of the Border. I believe that the location was near or at the line between North and South Carolina, but don't quote me on that. But we had already passed that point and were in Georgia. There were only two lanes, one heading South and the Other North. Along the way, were shacks like the ones you would see in the movies. Tumble down shacks with tin roofs and front porches whose roofs looked like they would fall at any time. The black faces of the people who sat on those porches had the look of despair, even the kids seemed down trodden as they watched us pass by. And yet there was something else in those faces, and that was, the spirit to make the best of it. Down and out, but not beaten. The scene I describe, was during the time when many Southern states had installed a law known as  Jim Crowe law, and for those of you too young to know what that was, the premise of this law was, Separate but equal. Separate being the key word, legal segregation. My brother and I sat in the back, our faces pressed up against the windows. My dad drove on quietly looking at the scene on either side, but mostly intent on the road ahead. My mom dabbed at her eyes which she blamed on the moss that was everywhere hanging off the trees. I can't speak for Alan, but as for me, I thought she was crying. We stopped for gas at a small gas station with our Jersey plates, and it seemed like we had the plague or something. My brother and I stretched our legs while my mom made a bee line for the ladies room. One for white people and one for black, even the water fountains were separate, White only signs were common. I had better get this part in and not forget it, because no matter how I tried to concentrate on the story, I keep thinking to myself, Don't forget Ludiwicki. Not sure of the spelling of the town, but it was definitely in Georgia. After we were on our way again, we were pulled over by a fat cop chomping on a cigar., just like you'd picture him. The speed trap was set up where fatso in his patrol car hid behind a billboard located just after a curve and on the line of the town. The speed limit in the town was 25 miles per hour, and because you were traveling at highway speeds of fifty to sixty MPH, as soon as you passed the sign you were speeding. The choice given my dad was to pay the fine in cash, or wait for the county judge who would be there on Wednesday. My dad was not the wimpy type, and all I remember is my mom saying was, Andy, Andy, calm down, don't kill him! The old man must have figured that discretion in this case was better than valor. He paid the fine and we left. The town had a moment of fame as I believe that 60 Minutes did a piece on speed traps narrated by Mike Wallace, and Ludiwicki was one of the worst. 

When you think back on such times, it is amazing how much the country has changed. Yes, there was a time when this country was openly racist, but we have evolved, and that type of thinking died years ago. The sad part is, even after a black president was elected, and the top law enforcement official in the land was also a man of color, there are still those who label people as racist? We hear about how it was the black vote or the Hispanic vote that made all this progress possible, but without a lot of white voters, it would not have happened. America is not a racist country, and for those who still claim that we are, know this to be true, but they claim it only to divide, they do it for political gain.  We, each of us, need to look at what we've gained and look forward to the future. If we are going to survive as a nation, we must shun those who would divide us, and look only to unite. We have met racism head on and defeated it. Insist on remembering who we were serves no one. Be proud that even though it took too long and that many wrongs had been committed back then, that those times are gone forever. Congratulations America! Now is the time to move on forward together. United we stand, divided we fall, its that simple.