Jackson Rocks Kinda

It's 7:30 AM and I couldn't get back to sleep, so I figured I'd give ya'll an update. This is a bit long and more boring than my usual posts, so sit back and have a wine cooler as you read.

We got to Jackson last evening and as OJ already told you, we are impressed. Keep in mind that this isn't saying much given that we just left Dante's Inferno aka Montgomery, Alabama (you guys have to seriously see these pictures when we get back, I've never seen anything like it). This is a pleasant surprise given that a) Jackson is actually a smaller city, both in population and geography, as compared to Montgomery, b) Jackson was actually destroyed TWICE during the Civil War, and when I say destroyed, I mean completely fucking burned to the ground; only two buildings from the "original" Jackson of the Civil War era remain, c) Jackson and Mississippi in general shared Alabama's vicious propensity for racism and violence during the Civil Rights Movement (remember that the movie Ghosts of Mississippi and the murder of Emmett Till took place here)

Reflecting on Jackson's beautiful architecture and pleasant downtown area, I think I figured out the reason why it is so nice compared to Montgomery. Sit back and relax...here comes a history lesson.

Montgomery was actually the capitol of the Confederacy when the Civil War began, and Jefferson Davis (the first and only President of the Confederate States of America) was sworn in on the steps of the Alabama Capitol Building in downtown Montgomery. Pretty soon after the War began, the capitol was moved to Richmond, Virginia, a city closer to the battlefront. As such, Montgomery was NEVER destroyed during the Civil War. Jackson, on the other hand, was the manufacturing capitol for the Confederates during the War and was targeted and burned to the ground twice during its course. Therefore, everything in Jackson had to be rebuilt FROM SCRATCH whereas most of Montgomery's buildings were left standing. Soooo...Montgomery got old and run down because most of its buildings are from the Civil War era (and before) whereas Jackson has been restored over the years out of necessity.

How's that for a fucking history lesson? You actually LEARNED something today. Go tell your parents...I'll wait.

OJ mentioned that I love the ghettos down here. That's not really true; I just find them fascinating. It's hard to picture ghettos like this existing in New York. First, they are smaller and more concentrated down here. Second, ghetto down here means abandoned buildings with boarded up windows. Even in New York, where we have some pretty harsh ghettos, you don't see as many buildings boarded up and abandoned. It gives the streets a really eerie feeling, almost as if the buildings are haunted. Add that to the already complex mix of racial tension that undoubtedly exists in this area. Oh, and also, the streets are completely EMPTY at night.

OJ and I drove down North Farish Street last night, which was at one time one of the centers of the Civil Rights Movement, a performance area for Blues musicians and an area where almost all of the businesses were (and probably still are) owned by African-Americans. The street is deserted now, with boarded up buildings and shady characters standing on street corners, but I can't help but feel the lost energy that used to drive this place. The street is only two or three blocks long, but if you look into the windows of the stores that are still open for business during the day, you can just tell that there is a lot of history here.

So here's the plan for today: we are going to snap some pictures of downtown Jackson, which is really small and should take us no more than a half hour. Then I'm going to try a Pig's Ear Sandwich from the Big Apple Inn on N. Farish Street. Then we are going to depart for MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, perhaps the first city where we will really be able to go out because it is the weekend. We will also be driving up the Mississippi Delta, which is chock full of hot tamale stands and the ghosts of old blues musicians, so that should be really cool.

I know you will be waiting in for suspense for my next update :-)

J$