On the Road With Helen Keller and Harper Lee

"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." 

-Helen Keller (Brainy Quote)

 

{Photo provided by Wikipedia}

I learned a lot last week when I hit the road that took me from Durham, NC to Birmingham, Nashville, Munfordville, Upton, and Georgetown. In between these towns I did some exploring and learned a lot about two famous Americans that I admire, Helen Keller and Harper Lee. I appreciate my friend, Lauretta, taking me all over the state of Alabama to allow me to be a history geek for a while.

Day One in Alabama took us up north to the birthplace of Helen Keller in Tuscumbia. It was about a two-hour drive and well worth the trip. When we arrived we immediately saw the beautiful Ivy Green, the name given to Keller's home and farm. Although only a small portion of the farm has been kept, there is plenty of room to walk around and learn a lot. The cost of a $6 entry fee will get you a brief discourse on the life of Keller, and then you can roam around the house and property on your own. Outside you can see the water pump where Helen Keller said her first word, "water," and the cottage where Keller's parents lived when she was very small. She was actually born in the cottage, and later on it would become the home of Anne Sullivan, the 20-year old woman who was hired to teach Helen when she was five years old. One interesting thing that I learned about Sullivan is that she was living in a poorhouse when she was contacted by Keller's parents. In other words, she was desperate to have a roof over her head and food to eat because she had nowhere else to go, no one to help her get her feet on the ground after she got her education. I also learned that Sullivan was once visually-impaired herself but after several eye operations she was able to regain some of her vision. 

In the back of the yard you can see video of Helen Keller giving a speech in actual audible words, something that I didn't know she could do. She learned how to speak and her words were very clear. She had a very high IQ, something that doesn't surprise me at all, since she had so many physical limitations. But she didn't allow these limitations to keep her from enjoying life and inspiring others. I really can't think of a word that adequately describes the awesomeness of Helen Keller. She was a unique woman who changed the way we look at people with disabilities. If you ever plan a trip to Tuscumbia, you might want to plan your trip on a weekend when "The Miracle Worker," the play about Keller, is performed. The play is performed on Friday and Saturday evenings, June 3-July 9, of this year. I think tickets start at $15 per person. You can go a little early and tour the home before the show begins.

 Day two of our adventure took us in the opposite direction, way down to Monroeville, Alabama. Monroeville is about a 3-hour drive from Birmingham, so that was a long day. We took two friends with us, so we had a lot of fun. When we arrived in this small town we read some historical markers and ate our picnic lunch. Then we went inside the town courthouse, saw some interesting exhibits, and visited the courthouse. Nelle Harper Lee planned the courthouse in To Kill a Mockingbird after this courthouse where her own father, Amasa Coleman Lee, practiced as a lawyer. He was most likely the inspiration for the character of Atticus Finch in Lee's novels. I learned that Truman Capote was another famous writer from Monroeville, and we saw some of the "ruins" where his house once stood next door to Lee's home. Lee's home is no longer there, however, because her dad had it torn down many years ago. It's been replaced by a small ice cream store. We were the only tourists in the town square that day, so we got a lot of attention from the Chamber of Commerce representatives and the ladies working in the gift shot. They told us where to find Harper's Lee grave, just around the corner, so we went there and saw her grave and the coins lying on it. She died in Feb. of this year, but she was ill for several years due to the affects of a stroke. She spent the last couple of years of her life in a local nursing home. I think To Kill a Mockingbird will live on as a great classic of American literature for many years. It's a great story with the themes of injustice, racism, hope, and honor. 

On Thursday of last week I departed Birmingham and headed toward my hometown of Georgetown, Kentucky. Along the way I stopped in Nashville to see an "old" friend for a couple of hours, and then I continued north until I reached Munfordville, Ky on I 65. I then got off the interstate and drove around the town where I lived when I was about 10 until age 12. I saw that a new school has been built right net to the old one, and our little house looked exactly the same as it did many years ago. Close to the school I saw a historical marker so I decided to get out and read it. It told the story of Stanley Cottrell, Jr., a distant relative of the Thompson/Cruse side of my family. Stanley grew up in the Munfordville area and was a famous long-distance runner, so they finally decided to place a historical marker in town to celebrate his achievements. I think Stanley's father was my grandmother's first cousin, so that's how we are related. I was in elementary school with Stanley's two younger sisters, and I remember them clearly. Stanley began his running career by running the 8 miles from Horse Cave to Munfordville on a bet. Later on he ran from New York to California and in China. He was pretty amazing. Today he is in his 60's and lives in Atlanta. 

I finished listening to "Basic Italian" while I was driving on this great adventure, and I also listened to Alexander McCall Smith's book, The Miracle at Speedy Motors, the ninth book in the series, "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency," by Alexander McCall Smith. So I learned a little Italian and heard a fun story along the way.

I hope you have a wonderful week. On Thursday I head out to the mountains to be a leader with the church teenagers at youth camp, so I'll be gone another five days for that. Meanwhile, I hope to get started on my next book, The Nest.

Adios,

Melissa Hill

Book Blogger

www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com