"The" Minority of the Day

Day 6:

My experience at Union Station in LA helped prepare me for today. Remember, I grew up in Crescent City in a time when there were few Hispanics, few Asians, and almost no African Americans. White, white, white.
John & Melody invited me to go to church with them this morning. They go to a black gospel church of 7,000 people. Of that 7,000, twenty (20) are white. The reason I titled today's blog "The" Minority is because of those 20 white people, I was the only one with the funny west coast accent. This church claims to be the friendliest church in the USA, which I thought must be an exaggeration, but I was wrong. This church totally embraced me and made me feel at home. I wasn't looked at differently, or treated differently than anyone else there. Even though I talk funny. The church was nice, but not the style of worship I prefer. The people were amazing and I really enjoyed my time there. I felt completely at ease there, unlike the time I ended up in Watts. I have never considered myself prejudiced, but our society still battles with that. Especially in the south. My friends know that they will face some persecution from some white folks for choosing to worship at Faith Chapel.

After church, we went through the Alabama Museum of Art. This is a great museum with wonderful displays, so I really enjoyed it. Then, we did a driving tour of Birmingham which was interesting. It's a nice looking little city, but has one of the highest crime rates in the country. There are several stories about murders here in the local news right now.
Folks in the south are so stinking friendly, you can't get away from them. We stopped for an ice cream, and this guy started talking to us, and it was an hour before we were able to get away.
We then went to dinner at a very nice Mexican restaurant that has good food. I was told by some people that once I crossed the Mississippi River, I wouldn't be able to find good Mexican food. Habenero's in Bessemer Alabama proves them wrong.
A very nice, but full day. I was glad to get back to the house and put my feet up. I guess that helps prepare me for Disney World.