The Tuskaloosa Independent Monitor

SIDEWALK STORY 2

Buck allowed his heart to navigate his path home and as he stepped along the sidewalk toward his destination, he passed houses that sheltered the men and women who tried to preserve the Union as well as the houses of the men and women who fought to shatter it. Over 50 of these antebellum structures still stand in Old Town Tustenuggee beside every sidewalk that Buck traveled, each one a testament to the toil of the enslaved men who produced the wood and bricks from which they are constructed and who provided the labor that erected each one. Over the years, some of these old mansions have been broken up into apartments and as Buck passed one of these ancient buildings where he'd lived as a college student when he was going to Wekiwa State, he studied the Greek Revival exterior of the old building and contemplated his first lessons in love and romance which he learned back in 1969 in an upstairs bedroom of that old columned mansion.

"I have every reason in the world to simply find joy in existence," Buck reasoned, "but that crying fit at Jake's house over Grandma showing up on a Youtube clip let me know tonight I've got something hidden inside that's bothering me and I don't even know what it is. Everybody has bad experiences. Maybe I keep dwelling on what was so good about her and forgetting about what was so bad. Anyway, before I pair up again, I need to work on my own life."

Buck pulled a small flask out of his pocket and took a sip of his tonic. There was nothing herbal or medicinal about Buck's tonic. It was simply a few pieces of cinnamon, lemon and wintergreen candy dissolved in cheap vodka but a single sip helped Buck maintain a proper buzz as he spent another evening exploring old Tustenuggee's sidewalks.

"Now's the time to walk down to the bar & check on the incoming coeds from the Wekiwa State Class of 2030 who hit town this week and are arriving about now on the Strip to test out their fake IDs." Buck mused "I bet there's some gals down there right now with some play pretties that'll bust the top off my eye candy gauge! Hey, let's celebrate the greatest of all time terrific T-town Tuesday, 'till Tuesday's gone! Like Grandma always said, 'Don't take things so seriously, Buck. It'll happen when it needs to happen. Be happy with what you got and work hard to make things better.'

"Maybe I might learn some things about myself on my little hike tonight and lately, my old age is telling me I've been hanging out in the bars long enough. After tonight's catharsis, maybe I don't need the pandemonium of a Tuskenuggee barroom. Maybe now is the time to seek the sanctuary of a serene riverbank."

Buck's thoughts of the river reminded him of a little poem he wrote almost thirty years ago.

"Standing on an old street corner laid out in 1823,

Shaded by tall water oaks all around.

That's why I love T-town.

Sitting on a sandy bank with my feet in a lazy river

Watching the sun go down.

That's why I love T-town."

Buck asked himself, "Why would I want to live anywhere else?"

The streetlight now revealed the sidewalk below Jake's striding feet covered with the coral red blossoms from Tustenuggee's splendid crepe myrtle trees and this produced flicker of wonder which captured Buck's imagination.