When I was growing up in the ‘50’s Birmingham and Atlanta were about the same size.
Birmingham was actually larger than Nashville, Charlotte, and Austin—but I digress.
My father took me to Rickwood Field to watch the Southern League Birmingham Barons play baseball against the Atlanta Crackers. Continue reading The Birmingham company that ate Atlanta
I grew up in the South in the 1950’s.
‘Negroes’ drank from water fountains labeled ‘Colored’; used separate restrooms from whites; and were relegated to sit in the back of buses.
My father owned a small retail store in downtown Birmingham. Continue reading My dad’s struggle to do the right thing in racially charged Birmingham
Would Alabama football fans be excited if Nick Saban led Alabama to a last place finish in the SEC?
Would there be a parade?
Would there be cheering?
Would Bama fans be slapping each other on the back and celebrating? Continue reading Did we win the Amazon booby prize?
I recently published a piece titled “Mountain Brook stealing from Vestavia Hills.”
It tells about my clever Mountain Brook friend who smuggles his garbage into the trashcans of a nearby Vestavia Hills’ neighbor because Vestavia picks up garbage more often than Mountain Brook. Continue reading Confusion in Mtn. Brook, Vestavia, Homewood, & Birmingham
I apologize for using the word ‘screw’ in the title, but I can’t find a more appropriate term.
Why is there so little job growth in Birmingham? Well, look no further than what appears to be happening in Hoover.
How do you feel about tax increases?
How about tax increases to stab your neighbors in the back? Continue reading We increase our taxes to screw each other
Some of you are probably going to think I’m going to blame Irondale’s financial challenges on its elected officials.
I am not.
I’m not sure there’s a human being alive who could find a painless way for Irondale or many of our other municipalities to avoid financial challenges. Continue reading Why we should worry about what’s happening in Irondale
It was the dark of night.
My Mountain Brook friend slipped down the stairs to his basement, opened his garage door, and quietly pushed his trash container to the street. Continue reading Mountain Brook stealing from Vestavia Hills
“There’s the guy who wants to get rid of Mountain Brook.”
It’s a bit unsettling, but that’s what a prominent Mountain Brook man says to me every time he sees me.
If you follow his logic, then you would assume I also would be the guy who would like to get rid of Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Trussville, and every other Jefferson County municipality. Continue reading There’s the guy who wants to get rid of Mountain Brook
There’s an old joke about the highly addicted smoker who complains, “I’ve read so much about the dangers of smoking that I’ve decided to quit reading.
That is how I feel about Nashville.
I read story after story about Nashville’s continued economic successes—recruiting companies—large and small to their city. Continue reading Nashville’s goof may be Birmingham’s big break
You’ve probably had the misfortune of noticing a few ants crawling around in your kitchen cabinet.
This is almost always a tell-tale sign that there are a lot more ants nearby.
That’s what we’re beginning to see with Hoover.
Continue reading Why we should worry about what’s happening to Hoover