Let me share a sweet moment of deja vu about my Alabama home town -
where life revolves around the beautiful Tennessee River. The video
below was posted by my hometown Friend, Mary Carton, on the "Remember Tuscumbia" Facebook page and it caused waves of deja vu
to ripple through my heart. Yes, this is my home town area, lovingly
called the Shoals of North Alabama. The Shoals consists of four main
cities: Tuscumbia, Sheffield, Muscle Shoals, and Florence plus a number
of neighboring towns - all giving us the flavor or North Alabama, the
Shoals of Alabama.
And running through the middle of it is the majestic Tennessee River which you will experience in this well made video. I was born in Tuscumbia, actually an area of that town called Sugar Hill. I suppose that explains my sweet personality. Okay, just a wee bit of humor! I grew up in Sheffield and Muscle Shoals, only two miles north of Tuscumbia. Sheffield sits on that bluff overlooking the Tennessee River.
When I was a student at Sheffield High (1951-55), my good Friend and now Christian brother (I was the slow one to get spiritually smart), James Henson, and I used to love walking around Sheffield in the evening. And most often our final destination was the cliff overlooking the Tennessee River. From that viewpoint, looking north across the river we could see the lights of Florence, O'Neal Bridge between Sheffield and Florence, and further up the river, there is Wilson Dam.
It was so relaxing to be able to sit on the cliff enjoying the beauty of the river which reflected the lights of Florence, the bridge, and the dam in the evening. My Friend, James (then I called him Jimmy) and I would relax and daydream about the future. Little did we know that some 40 plus years later we would reconnect and find that both us had spent our adult lives working in the computer industry, James as a programmer and me in field engineering, sales, and marketing.
Another moment of deja vu happened in the Spring of 1954. Spring is a time when the new warmth puts life into our spirits and a spring into our steps. Spring fever is not a myth; it is that time of year when we want to feel, to experience, to enjoy, to burst forth.
I recall that Spring day in 1954, sitting beneath that large old Oak tree on the lawn at Sheffield High School, feeling the sun warming my soul. My friend, Roy Green, joined me under the tree and was also afflicted by Spring fever. One of us suggested that a swim in the Tennessee River was a much better way to spend such a beautiful day, than sitting in stuffy classrooms. So, off we go in Roy's car, park on Montgomery Avenue, then with inner tube in hand, we walked down to Whippoorwill Hollow on the Sheffield side of the Tennessee River. What a glorious day for a swim.
Being in high spirits, the decision to swim across the river was a natural. On the first leg of the swim, from the Sheffield side to the Florence side, I paddled the inner tube while Roy swam. Then, on the return trip, I swam as Roy paddled in the inner tube.
Everything was fine until I was about thirty yards from the small cove where we had to go ashore at Whippoorwill Hollow. All of a sudden, no matter how hard I swam, I could not move. The river currents were too strong. Looking up, I saw that tiny cove, that narrow beach, and everything beyond was just sheer cliff. If I could not swim into that small cove, I would be swept downstream where I would not be able to get out of the river. I can only say that it must have been God who brought me ashore - for it was not my strength nor my swimming abilities. Even then, God was there for me, although I did not know Him at that time.
But Roy and I were in the Spring of life. Small problems such as that possibility of drowning easily pass and are forgotten. The next day, we were back at Sheffield High without a thought of what could have happened. That is one of the symptoms of youth; the inability to learn from experience.
I have so many more memories of growing up in the Shoals of North Alabama and the Tennessee River, but I will leave those for later. For now enjoy Mary Carton's video about our beautiful, majestic Tennessee River.
Alabama's Ode to the Tennessee River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P9pU-s6dJg
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
And running through the middle of it is the majestic Tennessee River which you will experience in this well made video. I was born in Tuscumbia, actually an area of that town called Sugar Hill. I suppose that explains my sweet personality. Okay, just a wee bit of humor! I grew up in Sheffield and Muscle Shoals, only two miles north of Tuscumbia. Sheffield sits on that bluff overlooking the Tennessee River.
When I was a student at Sheffield High (1951-55), my good Friend and now Christian brother (I was the slow one to get spiritually smart), James Henson, and I used to love walking around Sheffield in the evening. And most often our final destination was the cliff overlooking the Tennessee River. From that viewpoint, looking north across the river we could see the lights of Florence, O'Neal Bridge between Sheffield and Florence, and further up the river, there is Wilson Dam.
It was so relaxing to be able to sit on the cliff enjoying the beauty of the river which reflected the lights of Florence, the bridge, and the dam in the evening. My Friend, James (then I called him Jimmy) and I would relax and daydream about the future. Little did we know that some 40 plus years later we would reconnect and find that both us had spent our adult lives working in the computer industry, James as a programmer and me in field engineering, sales, and marketing.
Another moment of deja vu happened in the Spring of 1954. Spring is a time when the new warmth puts life into our spirits and a spring into our steps. Spring fever is not a myth; it is that time of year when we want to feel, to experience, to enjoy, to burst forth.
I recall that Spring day in 1954, sitting beneath that large old Oak tree on the lawn at Sheffield High School, feeling the sun warming my soul. My friend, Roy Green, joined me under the tree and was also afflicted by Spring fever. One of us suggested that a swim in the Tennessee River was a much better way to spend such a beautiful day, than sitting in stuffy classrooms. So, off we go in Roy's car, park on Montgomery Avenue, then with inner tube in hand, we walked down to Whippoorwill Hollow on the Sheffield side of the Tennessee River. What a glorious day for a swim.
Being in high spirits, the decision to swim across the river was a natural. On the first leg of the swim, from the Sheffield side to the Florence side, I paddled the inner tube while Roy swam. Then, on the return trip, I swam as Roy paddled in the inner tube.
Everything was fine until I was about thirty yards from the small cove where we had to go ashore at Whippoorwill Hollow. All of a sudden, no matter how hard I swam, I could not move. The river currents were too strong. Looking up, I saw that tiny cove, that narrow beach, and everything beyond was just sheer cliff. If I could not swim into that small cove, I would be swept downstream where I would not be able to get out of the river. I can only say that it must have been God who brought me ashore - for it was not my strength nor my swimming abilities. Even then, God was there for me, although I did not know Him at that time.
But Roy and I were in the Spring of life. Small problems such as that possibility of drowning easily pass and are forgotten. The next day, we were back at Sheffield High without a thought of what could have happened. That is one of the symptoms of youth; the inability to learn from experience.
I have so many more memories of growing up in the Shoals of North Alabama and the Tennessee River, but I will leave those for later. For now enjoy Mary Carton's video about our beautiful, majestic Tennessee River.
Alabama's Ode to the Tennessee River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P9pU-s6dJg
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
Click on the image to enlarge:
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