Montgomery – Analog Artist Digital World

While in Montgomery, Alabama, Pam and I came across a women’s’ march demonstration that ended at the capitol steps. There were a few rainbow flags. Tents had been set up on the capital steps and speeches and chanting resonated from there. There was one hateful counter protester. He had a loud voice and tried to shout over the loud speakers. This counter protester made it clear that Montgomery still has deep roots of hate. He wanted to shout about hell and damnation rather than love and acceptance.

On the second day in Montgomery, Pam and I were looking for something to do. The few museums that were open wouldn’t open until after noon. We switched our attention to breakfast. We settled on a place called Goat Haus Biergarten. The building was old with chipping paint on the front porch. It would have made a great sketch but I figured we would be in and out pretty fast. Service however was insanely slow. Half of Pam’s dish was inedible.

I have a horrible sense of smell, but as we sat outside having breakfast, I started to notice a sulfur smell that might have been the smell of a paper production plant. We considered going to the Montgomery Art Museum, but would only have an hour to look around before rushing off to the airport, so instead we went straight to the airport and hung out there until our flight boarded.

There are only 6 gates at the Montgomery airport and the airplanes are little puddle jumpers. I focused my attention on the aviation fuel trucks parked across the way. It was overcast and cold. I wore at least 6 layers of sweaters the entire time I was in the city.

After sketching at the Lynching Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, I wandered the empty streets in search of another subject. I settled in to sketch Saint Pete’s Roman Catholic Church, but discovered the major problem of using a digital sketchbook on location… the battery dies.

A small wooden church was built on the site in 1833 and was dedicated in 1834. A brick building which is part of the present structure was built in 1852. The current Spanish style tower and facade were added in 1882.

After the battery died I searched for a lunch spot where I might be able to recharge. I found Chris’ Hot Dogs which was opened by a Greek immigrant in 1917. Until the 1960s he offered curb side service which resulted in long lines of cars waiting to be served. The dogs are served with a secret chili sauce only known by a few family members. Millions of customers were served in the first 10 decades. President Franklin D. Roosevelt often ordered boxes of hot dogs when his presidential train traveled through town. Other presidents included Truman and George Bush one and two. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Hank Williams Jr., and Elvis Presley all sampled these delicious hot dogs. My two dogs were soggy with chili sauce, but quite good. People in the know, lined up at the bar and had their dogs within minutes. I sat at the bar, which reminded me of the many bars in the south where sit-ins were held during the civil rights era.

I eventually found a plug in a public park, but by the time the pad was recharged, I decided I didn’t have time to go back to complete the sketch. It had to stay the way it was. It shows my loose thought process early in a sketch before details are added.