...About Westport

I am a Southern boy. I was born and raised in Birmingham; I've lived in several other areas - all in the southeast; have been in south-central Alabama for the last 20 years; and will, one day, move to Florida. I lived in Memphis for 2 years, which was as far north as I've ever lived - probably will always be the case. I've traveled to many areas across this great country. I've been fortunate enough to visit places like Miami, and Atlanta, and New York City, and Nashville, and Idaho, and Utah, and Hawaii, and Dallas/Ft. Worth, and Louisiana - and a bunch of places in between. But, I've always liked the South. Specifically, I've always liked Alabama. I've always found it to be home in spite of all the bad press we get. "You know the best thing about Alabama? It ain't Mississippi!"  That kind of thing.  "You know why birds fly upside-down in Georgia? 'Cause there ain't nothin' worth crappin' on in Georgia!"  Yuk it up, boys. For those of my friends who are not from this part of the world, you need to know there truly is a difference between a Good Ol' Boy and a Redneck. A Good Ol' Boy is an easy-going, sometimes slow-talking, mostly well-mannered-'cause-Granny-would-get-a-switch fella who will help pull your car out of the ditch.  A Redneck is generally the same - EXCEPT - he will call you stupid and make fun of your Yankee butt for not knowing how to drive and getting your car in the ditch in the first place! Both will say, "Gimme a beer and let's get this done."  At least that's MY many years of experience. I get along with, and am friends with both. You just have to know which one not to piss off!  (It won't take long to figure out which is which!)  But...... I digress! 

As I have told you before, my wife is originally from way upstate New York. Specifically, she is originally from Westport, NY.  Now when I say Westport is way upstate, I mean WAAAAY upstate! Downtown Westport is 63 miles from the Canadian border. It sits on Lake Champlain and you can spit across the narrow section into Vermont. ["See that over there? That's Vermont."]
Last summer, there was a huge reunion. It started as a Class of 1976 Reunion, but because everyone from the area was so close - across the age-barriers, it became a reunion for all the classes of the 1970s... and everyone else in the world. Now realize that the area is quite small, and all the classes of the 1970s combined would only be several hundred people. My wife and a handful of her friends put together a massive campaign to get everyone to come. And they did - from all over the country! There were a couple of hundred people there - many of whom hadn't seen each other in 35 years or more. There were classes represented from the 50s (YES! the 50s!) all the way to the 80s!! There were a couple of teachers, too! It was a magnificent event, of which I was honored to be a witness. People screamed, and then hugged, and then cried. It was beautiful.

The City of Westport sits on beautiful Lake Champlain, nestled in the Adirondack Mountains. In Florida, they think Alabama has mountains. Here, we think Tennessee has mountains. Up yonder, they got real-live, honest to God mountains. And they are stunning. Driving south along 9N, on the way to have famous "Gene's Hot Dogs," you have a sheer cliff wall on your right and a drop-off into Lake Champlain on your left. To say I had my breath taken away many times is an understatement.

And the stories you hear these people tell of their childhood together is great. Pete, Ike, Jon, Reggie, Tim ("Chug" for obvious reasons!), Wanda, Steve, Denise, Barry, Debbie, Nancy, Judy, Laura, on and on and on - these people showed such a love for each other - AND shared that with an ol' boy from Alabama who'd never imagined this type of Norman Rockwell existence. Snow many feet deep, the lake frozen solid, a sled on the hill above the Library, and FLYING down the hill (mountain), dodging trees most of the time, out onto the Lake at somewhere near 200 MPH - depending on who you talk to. Breakfast is an absolute must at "Me and My Girls" restaurant. The coffee, the pancakes with REAL, local Maple syrup, and the stories flow from the moment you walk in until you waddle your over-stuffed butt back out. We were fortunate that a wonderful childhood friend of theirs, and now a dear friend of mine, Jon allowed us to stay with him. Hour after hour, day after day of fellowship and adventure. Sadly, all good things have to end, and we headed home.

There are so many, many more stories. So many, many wonderful people I'd like to name. But suffice to say, I was glad to get home. Home - where the sun is hot, the humidity is high, and we all have air conditioning! Up there, NO ONE has AC. There were 2 days of record heat and humidity while we were there. Upper 90s and medium-high humidity. They asked us, "How do you guys live in this?"  Our answer was simple - "Down there, we ALL have AC!"  They were finally in awe of us. 

As I said before, it was beautiful there. They are wonderfully sweet people, and I love them. But I love the south. I love being in the heat, because I love being in the pool. I love that they have many feet of snow and are home-bound for long periods, and we don't have to endure it. I want to go back, but always only to visit. 

I mean REALLY!  Those people leave their keys in their vehicles and don't ever lock their house doors... damn Yankees!

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