B-jing A Birminghamian in Beijing

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” – inscription on the Statue of Liberty. by Trevor C. Hale SRI LANKA – I can’t take my eyes off the baby elephant. He’s the size of a big Labrador, has the sweet eyes of a little old man, and his tiny… Read More

I’m in Delhi to promote highway safety, thinking about Buckle Bob and sacred cows. by Trevor C. Hale Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities. Forget about your worries and your strife.” Baloo the Bear. Traffic in New Delhi is a whirling dervish of cars, buses, tuk tuks, bikes and beggars. Deftly maneuvering… Read More

I’ll trash talk Alabama, the ‘Ham, the U.S., even the Tide. But friend, when you as an outsider do it, understand that those are fighting words. by Trevor C. Hale Living abroad makes you understand yourself and your place in the world in profound and unexpected ways—what it means to be an American and an… Read More

Spreading his hands he does his signature “ta da” move. by Trevor C. Hale HONG KONG – Rowland Scherman is about to smash a perfectly good guitar. He and some VIPs are staged outside the Hard Rock Cafe’s newest venue, in Hong Kong’s hip Lan Kwai Fong district, preparing for the ceremonial smashing which will… Read More

Alabama and South Africa, like Dr. King and Nelson Mandela, share the hard fought victories of the struggle for freedom by Trevor C. Hale Robben Island, South Africa—The jail cell is 6’x9’. Barely enough room to lie down. The steel bars on the door and window were rigid and cold. Prisoner number 46664 spent 18… Read More

“What greater gift than the love of a cat?” – Charles Dickens by Trevor C. Hale She glanced at him with a look that was somehow both cutting and cute. Bored yet sexy—as only a princess can. Despite his best efforts to be cool, he was hopelessly ensorcelled. Animal instincts aroused, our man stepped up,… Read More

A Southern Baptist-raised traveler is adrift by the Ganges in the Holy City of the Hindus. by Trevor C. Hale The faithful stepped slowly into the river, hands clasped in prayer. Their faces were rapt with the joy of pure devotion as they sprinkled themselves with water. A hundred yards down–river ashes of freshly cremated bodies… Read More

Uranus is in retrograde by Trevor C. Hale In hot pursuit of a Lunar New Year party on Smith Lake and the illicit pleasures it promised, we were hopelessly lost. Such was the typical high school weekend growing up in Cullman. Armed with dubious directions, barreling down a winding two-lane road in the middle of… Read More

The more effort put into suppressing the ability to catch a buzz, the more it will find a way to flourish. CULLMAN—Bootleggers in Cullman County are still nursing a massive election-day hangover. The morning after Cullman voted to permit the sale of alcohol, bootleggers woke slowly, groggily to the harsh reality of a wet Cullman… Read More