Shazreh and family visit

On Friday evening the 16th, our friends Shazreh, Rajib, Salehuddin and Nahar came to visit.  They drove from Dallas – an 11 hour drive.  Fortunately, we had some sun to offer them all weekend and they took full advantage.  They often rose for the sunrise - only to go back to bed for a while.  They strolled the beach, gleaning small shells.  In fact, they got a kick out of the fact that they “could walk to another state, and be back for breakfast” (as Alabama is only .5 miles west of us)!

Rajib, Shaz, Nahar & Salehuddin

As a bit of background, we met Shaz on our study abroad in China 2008.  She was there independently, studying Chinese – and quickly became a friend of our students and ourselves.  Over the next ten years, she enrolled at St. Ben’s, was one of the students on our South Africa 2012 study abroad, graduated (her parents stayed with us for her graduation), and got married to Rajib in Bangladesh.  We, along with Mark, Beth and Leon, were honored to attend their seven-day wedding festivities!  Needless to say, we’ve become close family friends.  Her mother Nahar and father Salehuddin arrived in the U.S. in January, planning to start the process to stay and become citizens.  Their daughter Irina is a citizen and Shaz has her green card “in process” (where it’s lingered for the last seven months). 

They all arrived late Friday night and I had dinner waiting.  They settled in, we ate and then introduced them to two dominoes’ games: Mexican Train and Chicken Foot.  I think dominoes was a hit!  I can imagine them sitting around a table in Dallas and playing.  

On Saturday, we took off for the National Naval Aviation Museum.  Many locals recommended that we go.  None of us were sure if we’d get in as Minnesota does not currently have an “acceptable” driver’s license to get onto a military base, and none of the others had U.S. citizenship.  But, we were waved through with a friendly smile (although it made me sad that the Navy guy at the gate had never heard of the country of Bangladesh).

I didn’t know if I’d enjoy looking at a bunch of old planes, but it was interesting.  The most interesting aspect for me was seeing the original SkyLab, the U.S.'s first and only space station.  

Two astronauts ready to launch

To show height/width of Skylab

Inside, three different three-astronaut crews spent a total 171 days.  I can’t describe to you how small a space they lived in!  Three small cots barely fit side by side.  When they were folded away, I imagine it was big enough for three people to stand up in a circle – that’s all!  How they managed the longest stay of 84 days is beyond me.  I do not have claustrophobia, I don’t think – but it would have been extremely hard for me to do it.  What if you had a leg cramp?! :-)

Snoopy's Sopwith Camel

Air Force 1 Helicopter

The museum had a version of every plane since the beginning, I think.  We took a trolley ride around the base, explaining some of them.  (I couldn’t get over how so many of the plane’s noses looked like animals close up.)  They had planes that flew “over the hump” in WW2 into China without the pilots having access to any oxygen.  They had an Air Force One helicopter. And, a Sopwith Camel - the plane that Snoopy flew in his imaginary battles with the Red Baron.  

In a Blue Angel cockpit.  It's snug in there!

This visit became even more meaningful after we left the base.  We had had no idea, but Salehuddin shared with us later that his oldest brother had come here as part of then Pakistan’s Air Force for flight training.  He died in the early 1950s when his plane plummeted into the ocean off Pensacola.  They never found his body, but they knew that there was a grave marker in Pensacola. Because his name was misspelled, it took some time to locate his grave.  It was recently located after a lot of research through both the Internet and Rajib calling many cemeteries.  In 2015, Nahar and Salehuddin became the first family members to visit his grave.

We also went to Pensacola Gulf Beach on Saturday.  As it was the first really warm sunny day, to me, the beach was full of people.  When I shared that with Salehuddin, he laughed.  He said “In Bangladesh, this would be sparse.”   

Rajib - who loves to fish - tried his luck with fishing off the pier.  The Pensacola Gulf Beach Pier is pretty famous.  Just built in 2009, it is 1470 feet long, stretching out over emerald green waters and two sand bars. 

Pensacola Gulf Beach Pier = 5 football fields long

It is known for sunset viewing, so we stayed.  Awe-some!  

Sunset at Pensacola Gulf beach

But then, when it was time to leave, the one and only exit from the parking lot was packed with cars.  We sat in line for probably 15 minutes without moving an inch.  So, we re-parked – and went into a bar.  We ended up ordering the local drink – “The Bushwhacker!”   Tasty ice cream drink, loaded with liquor.  (Shazreh was looking for another the next day!)

Rajib and "Sam"

On Sunday, we stayed put and enjoyed our condo and its beach.  Another sunny day, Rajib tried his fishing skills out there as well.  He was quickly joined by a new friend – who was also hoping he’d catch something.  We named him “Sam,” but Rajib and Sam came up empty-handed and -billed! 

Shaz and I did try the water.  It was blindingly cold at first; even I screamed.  But, you did get used to it, and then the absolutely crystal-clear water felt fantastic.  (If there are oil remnants of the oil spill off the Gulf Coast, I couldn’t see any evidence.)   Shaz and I grinned excitedly when we realized that about five dolphins were swimming not that far away from us!  We weren’t exactly “swimming with the dolphins,” but we were close enough to see them.

That evening, we got dressed up (some of us more than others) and took sunset pictures on our beach.  

I think Nahar’s picture in her sari is by far the best and so beautiful.  

Sand or snow?

And, as Shaz commented on Facebook, “Can you see why this sand is sometimes mistaken for snow?”   

We then went out for a seafood dinner at The Sassy Bass.  Fresh fish of the day, raw oysters, we had it all.  As a final gesture, we used their sign to signify that this had been one great weekend!

Hattiesburg Happens!

We had a quiet week of Feb 12.  It rained quite a bit.  Somehow, we snuck in two rounds of golf between the sprinkles.  One day, we went to see the movie Three Billboards.  At other times, I enjoyed putting my feet up, listening to the waves and rain – and reading.  While on this trip, I have read the following books and liked them all -

• A Samurai’s Garden – Gayle Tsukiyama. A Chinese teen convalesces in Japan as Japan is conquering China.
• You Before Me – Jojo Meyers.  Makes you laugh and cry.
• The Life We Bury – Allen Eskens  Great mystery; takes place in Minnesota.
• The Color of Water – A Black Man’s Tribute to his White Mother – James McBride. Great narrative that switches between his Jewish mother’s youth and his own.
• Without You, There is No Us – Suki Kim.  South Korean American journalist goes undercover as a teacher in North Korea, non-fiction, good.

Jim and I did go out for a really nice Valentine’s Day dinner at the Crab Trap.  I was all set to order whatever the “fresh catch of the day” was, as I love all the fish around here. But at the last minute I ordered their crab cakes.  They were absolutely filled with crab – and each one sat atop a fried green tomato which sat atop a roasted corn and sausage mix.  Good choice, Connie!  Jim gave me some beautiful glass earrings but I only had a card for him.  Bad choice, Connie! 

Valentines Dinner 2018

Then, on Friday February 16^th, we set out once again for Hattiesburg.  Jim really wanted to see where Dave had lived for several years of his life.  We punched his last known address into the GPS: 123 Stevens, Petal MS – and off we went.  This trip traversed past more of what I had imagined Alabama and Mississippi to be like: a few more mud fields, a lot more modest housing. 

Keep Out!

A typical yard on Stevens Road

The address for Dave where the GPS directed us was almost scary to me and certainly depressing.  My heart sank when I thought that Dave might have lived here for several years of his life.  It was out in the country down a small road.  The properties were unkempt.  All the yards had broken wire fences around them with big “Keep Out” signs, tons of trash and most often a large dog on a chain.  No vehicle had all four doors the same color.  It was obviously an area of high poverty.  

Jim kept saying, “This can’t be the right address.  He talked about being in a small town close to Hattiesburg.  His address says Apt 3; there’s no Apt 3 here.”  We turned off the GPS, and headed for the small town of Petal.  Sure enough, there was a Stevens Street in town. (The GPS had taken us to 123 Stevens Road.)  Whew!  His real place was small, tucked neatly and closely between two other houses.  We didn’t knock on the door nor did we see anyone with whom to talk, but it looked like a much better situation for Dave.

Dave's unit was one of these three

Dave's house sits between two others

Why did Dave pick this location in the first place?  In 2011, Hattiesburg was voted one of the Great Places to Live, but we doubted he used that criteria.  Remember, this move occurred right after Dave had lived with and cared for their Mom (my beloved mom-in-law) for 4 years.  Esther was failing fast in front of Dave's eyes, and he couldn’t watch it any longer.  Jim thinks he just picked a place off the map that “would have conservative values and would be cheap to live.”  Somehow his search fell on Hattiesburg.  Dave was employed by the Salvation Army while here.  And while he lived here, Hurricane Katrina hit and hit hard even though Hattiesburg is about 75 miles inland.  I remembered Dave talking about having no power.  And indeed, I read that eighty percent of the city’s roads were blocked by trees and power was out for fourteen days.  Around 10,000 structures in Hattiesburg received major damage, and 24 people were killed!  I had no idea it had hit his area that hard.

Other learnings from Hattiesburg:

• The Hattiesburg area was first inhabited by Choctaw Native Americans.  The Treaty of Mount Dexter, signed by President Jefferson in 1805, agreed that a large section of Mississippi would be their land “forever,” in exchange for opening other land for white settlement.  It only took 25 years for the U.S. to break that treaty.  The Choctaw was the first tribal nation forced to relocate under the Indian Removal Act of 1830 -- the first to walk the Trail of Tears to what is now Oklahoma.  I was surprised to read that after Europeans first came to Mississippi, the Choctaw started owning slaves themselves.  Their slaves were forcibly removed with them.
• I was also surprised by the number of timber trucks on the road! In fact, road signs abound, saying “Watch out for long timber-loaded trucks.”  I never dreamt that Hattiesburg was the epicenter of a timber boom at the turn of the 20^th century and that timber remains an active industry today.  Large pine stands still surround the town.  We saw many trucks, and an active sawmill or two.
• And, of course I always look up a place's place in Civil Rights history.  Three things I read struck me the hardest about Hattiesburg’s past -

o   Imprisoned for trying to go to college.  In 1959, a returning Korean War veteran named Clyde Kennard applied to attend the all-white University of Southern Mississippi.  He was denied admission based on race.  Because he persisted in objecting, it has been documented that he was framed for a crime and sentenced to prison for seven years!  For years, the NAACP fought to overturn his convection, but it never was.  (Reading this incident reminded me of a conversation I once had with several Black acquaintances where they said that most of our “universal” programs were systematically denied to Blacks.  The examples they gave: Social Security when first started was “for all,” except farm laborers and domestic help.  The GI Bill was “for all”, except Blacks could only go to Black colleges which were few and far away.  FHA was “for all”, except whole sections of cities where Blacks primarily lived were redlined from these loans.  So, when Black Americans talk about structural racism that can underlie our public programs, these are the kinds of policies or practices they are talking about.)

o   Disenfranchised.  So, way back in 1865, slaves were freed and as freed men they were able to vote, right?  In theory, yes, but in practice – very wrong.  All kinds of state laws and practices were put into place to prevent Blacks from voting.  Hattiesburg was one of the worst offenders.  Hattiesburg is the county seat of Forrest County.  Forrest County Registrar Theron Lynd prevented blacks in the area from registering to vote, based on such devices as poll taxes, literacy tests, and comprehension tests subjectively administered. By 1960, thirty percent of the county’s population was Black, but fewer than one percent had been able to register, regardless of their education level.  Meanwhile, registration of whites was close to 100%.  In 1961, the U.S. Justice Department filed suit against Lynd.  Lynd was the first registrar to be convicted under the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for systematically violating African-American voting rights.  (What an honor!)  And, remember, court juries are comprised of people who are registered to vote.  So, guess why there were always all-white juries during that time?

Even after the passage of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, white resistance continued in Hattiesburg.  Shortly after passage, NAACP leader Vernon Dahmer announced that he would personally pay the poll tax for black voters too poor to do so themselves. On the night of Jan 10, 1966, the Ku Klux Klan attacked his Hattiesburg home.  Dahmer held off the Klan with his rifle long enough for his wife, their three children, and an elderly aunt to escape their burning home, but he died of burns the next day.  His murder sparked citywide protests and a number of Klansmen were arrested.  After four trials deadlocked, KKK Imperial Wizard Samuel Bowers was finally convicted in August 1998 for ordering the assassination of Dahmer. 

o   Arrested for trying to eat.  Sandra Adickes was a white schoolteacher who was refused service by a downtown Hattiesburg department store – S. H. Kress and Co. – when she ordered food at its lunch counter in 1964.  The refusal was based on the fact that she was accompanied by six of her students, all of whom were black and who also tried to order lunch.  The group got up and left the store peacefully.  But, upon leaving, Ms. Adickes was arrested for trespassing by a police officer who had seen her trying to order lunch with her students.  She filed a lawsuit in federal court, and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court.  In 1970, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the trespass convictions.

Otherwise, our time in Hattiesburg was uneventful.  We ate lunch in a beautiful park, bought some boiled peanuts from a roadside stand, drove through their quaint downtown and past many restored Victorian homes. A poster announced month-long events to mark Black history month.  It really was a charming town by all appearances.  But, it was hard to look at Hattiesburg without remembering the historically uglier side to the beauty we were seeing.