Progress continues along 6th and 7th avenue.

That former dusty empty gas station on 6^th (the last time it was open premium was $2.92 a gallon) has opened and become the 6^th Ave. Grocery.

It’s looking like the former Fire House #22 will be ready long before the Walgreen that caused its transformation to start in the first place is even close to opening.

The former (and future?) Golden Rule it going through even more changes.

I also note that a section of building that has been empty for years, set between an equipment rental place and a collection of seemingly abandoned cars, had the lights on for the first time that I’ve ever seen, with refurbishing going on inside. Now if they could just get rid of some of those rusty hulks littering the auto place they’ll be cooking with spam.

It looks like the Tinroof restaurant, its water main problems fixed, will be opening soon. I see they have moved in some pool tables.

While at the same time the condos on 7^th progress… though I have to think all that pounding they are doing this stage can’t be doing the lunch time business much good!

This End Up

The people going down 7 Ave. seem to know what it means, so I guess that's all that matters.

Just so you know what it is see below.

Note the street sign on the right, it has been upside down like that for years.

The Viewing of the Lights

Way back long in the long ago, well… not that long ago, but it seems like a long time ago to me a regular holiday event was to pile into the car and go look at the various displays of Christmas lights.

The main attraction being to head to the heights around Red Mountain and see how the rich people had decorated their homes.

This time mind you was the 60s, back when there were only three channels on TV and one, being Alabama Public Television, was never watched anyway, and the phones were not smart, heck, they were so stupid they had to be leased to the wall with a cord, I guess so they wouldn’t wander off into traffic, I’m just saying if you wanted entertainment you had to go out and hunt for it.  

I imagine this `viewing of the lights’ has go the way of Drive-In Movies, Bowling Allies and Putt-Putt Golf; I know the last time I got taken on one was when I was something like 7, and that was some time ago indeed.

I mean do the “rich folks” even do this sort of thing anymore? Or is it too gauche, or are too many of today’s rich too staunchly Objectivist to take part in such things?

Not that there aren’t all kinds of lights, alight… it’s just that most of the impressive displays I see seem to be on businesses.

Most, but not all.

                       Note the fire to the right of the light at the bottom

    After all those break-ins it had to happen sooner or later

Occupy Birmingham

You can easily miss it, but there is an on-going Occupy Birmingham demonstration going on in Downtown Birmingham.

Frankly like so many things that go on in the “Magic City” that also take place elsewhere, i.e. film festivals, music festivals, tries at major league sports, marathons etc… it is at best an anemic effort.

The only thing we really have other cities beat is in having the nation’s largest Veteran’s Day Parade. That’s where I took the photo here.

I sympathize with the Occupiers, heck as someone who works in education I MORE than sympathize with the movement.

But personally, as a movement, I don’t really give it much hope.

My reason for this is while watching news about it a comparison about it came to me.

Back in the 1890s after having been defeated again and again and moved to smaller and drearier Reservations some Native Americans, looking for something like hope, started to participate in the Ghost Dance.

The Ghost Dance was a way to dance into a trance where it was said those taking part could talk to departed relatives and ancestors, and if enough took part the white men would leave and the buffalo would return.  It at least gave those who danced something to believe in other than despair.  And all it was really was dancing, who could deny them at least that?

Never underestimate ignorance, fear and hate, the message from those in charges of the Reservations was “Indians continue to dance, send more soldiers.”

They did, and with the biggest and newest guns available, the scary dancing was stopped.

You get my metaphor?

Return of An Old Holiday Treat

I remember this old treat that use to show up around the holidays that I haven’t had literally in decades.

The part about it I remember most, other than how good it was, was the strange bit that at the time the cake came out of a can.

Seriously cake from a can? Yep a can, however I wasn’t even sure what sort of cake it was, this being such an old memory.

Doing some research (Google) I was able to find a picture of the can I remember it coming in. That’s when I found out that it was Dromedary Date Nut Roll, which has not been produced for years.

Out of luck? Hardly there are plenty of date bread recipes… yeah, forget that.

Going to the same place I found the picture of the Date Nut Roll* I found a local bakery that makes date Nut bread, to avoid making this an ad I’ll just say it’s in Homewood.

With that, and some whipped cream cheese, I was able to savor a treat I haven’t had since I was 12.

It was great!

* They may have enslaved half the world but it’s still the best search engine.

Sorry, there will be a slight delay with your steak… would you like some more bread?

Looks like there will be a bit of a postponement before you can order that 9 oz. porterhouse at the new Tinroof on 7^th Ave. South… busted water main, which they started to work on Monday the 5^th (after a rather long delay) but things had to stop with the heavy rains Tuesday and Wednesdays, so now there is a hole wider than a child’s plastic swimming pool as well as being pretty deep, now its almost filled to the brim with muddy rain water.

Uh Oh!