A Little Piece of Heaven---Morgan County, Alabama

Well, for an Easter Sunday, I guess it is appropriate to write about a little piece of heaven that I passed through today. And it all happened because I went left when I should have turned right.
Morgan County, Alabama….as lovely and as peaceful as any place that I have walked through on this big old trip of mine. For once, no drivers tried to run me over, and almost everyone waved to me, it seemed. For the first time, too, I did not feel as if there were secret shotguns pointed at my back, or people whispering about what my motives might be, or any sense of angst on anyone’s part, including my own. Those things can quickly get old and suck the life out of you if you let it.
An interesting thing happened in Morgan County: I fell in love with this little part of Alabama. In the north we often hear a lot of negative things about the south, and in particular the state of Alabama. I’ve now passed through Georgia, where I live, and almost all of Alabama and I was much more dismayed and disappointed in Georgia than I have been here.
I was pulled over by a sheriff’s deputy today. He passed me by a few times, and I assumed he would eventually get around to stopping, and he did. I had just had a fabulous two dollar turkey sandwich at a small place called the Ironman Restaurant, ansd was basking in the post meal glow, and though, “well, here goes the old nonsense” with the cop. He got out of his SUV, appproched and saked me where I was headed. When I told him California, he seemed amused, but when he saw my card, and heard m story, he said something that not one of the oprevious 15 or so law enforcement officials have said. He simply said, “This is so cool” a couple of times. Didn’t even run my ID. He even took my name down for the purposes of trying to find me on Facebook so he could follow my blog pieces about my trip. He wished me well and drove off, leaving me not with a feeling of relief on my face, as is usually the case, but a smile. I walked on, and about an hour later he pulled up again next to me and told me he had found my profile on Facebook and had sent me a friend request. So I am pleased to now have Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Douglass as a new friend. He is certainly an exemplary spokesman for the county’s law enforcement division.
I continued walking. The goldenrod were in bloom, the horses were all extra handsome and pretty, the farms all looked like they were thriving, the people I met and spoke to were all incredibly friendly. Trash along the highway was at a minimum and the houses all looked well cared for.
If I had not taken a wrong turn this morning early, I might have missed a lot of very cool and pretty scenery. I’m glad I did. It was a perfect day for a little walk through a southern paradise.