People
People talking people.
Apologies
Ursula’s a born-again Christian and has those insufferable beliefs. But why wouldn’t she? The Christian right has aggressively courted her and we don’t even talk to her…
The Revival
The Harley Davidson Revival represents America at one of its finest hours, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Civil Rights, color TVs in walnut cabinets, shag carpeting.
Ursula
Ursula, a thrice divorced born-again Christian who rides a Harley and has a prosthetic leg.
City of Lights
Jayde was a victim of sex trafficking by men in the Marine Corps and unable to escape. Her mother hadn’t believed her.
Laney’s
In Leeds, not too far from Birmingham, Vicky owns a café called Laney’s. Her daughters, Sharon and Laney, do the managing and cooking, Sharon’s daughter, Lillian, makes the biscuits. Hot and buttery and crispy brown on the outside, served with pepper gravy, those biscuits are so worth the sore butt of getting there.
Jim’s Cafe
In front of Jim’s Café, I sat on the bench next to Ronald Lee Anderson and we got to talking. He told me about places he’d lived and jobs he’d had and how he supported the SCOTUS decision on Roe.
Somebody Had to Go to Jail
Arthur Lee Brown did a 12-year stretch for a piece of bad luck; one guy had a gun, another guy died and somebody had to go to jail.
Ashley, Dobbs and the Visceral Nature of Rage
For her, the SCOTUS decision was intensely personal, that the court was denying her her choice and her sacrifice.
She Started to Cry
Ashley was raped when she was fifteen by someone she knew and that having the baby had been a choice, her god damned choice.
Dogs, Snakes and Blackberries. Everything But Guns.
Blackberries grow wild around Ron’s house, they’re smaller and sweeter than farm-raised but you’ve got to watch the thorns. The dogs like them, too. Rattlesnakes are becoming a problem.
Ashtrays on the Tables
I sat at the next table and eavesdropped on Sandy’s conversation with the two guys she was sitting with, one wearing an Army veteran cap, as they smoked their cigarettes and ate their grits and bacon.
Ambassador
My intention is to listen to people whose politics I disagree with, to encourage them to have their say. The Harley Davidson provides entrée, it makes me a non-threatening ambassador.