Birmingham 2021

June 1-5, 2021 Birmingham? As in Alabama? Yes! On retirement from Accenture, I was offered a retirement gift. “What would Mark like?” they asked Jean. “A watch? Opera tickets?” Her reply, “Uh, no. How about a gift certificate to the Porsche Driving School?” She knows me so well!

I love sports cars. My current ride is a 2015 Porsche Boxster GTS, black on black. Manual transmission (of course), sport exhaust, multiple driving modes, rev-matching. With a mid-engine design, it handles like a surgeon’s scalpel. I love driving top-down on the Blue Ridge, exhaust cracking and popping with each shift.

In early June, I visited the Atlanta Porsche Experience Center for ½ day of handling lessons. Then, on to Birmingham and the Porsche Track Experience at Barber Motorsports Park. There I reveled in a full day of track time.

Birmingham has been on our travel list for another reason: US Civil Rights History. The Civil Rights National Monument is there, memorializing the struggle. You’ve seen the ugly images: the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, the fire hoses, the police dog attacks. We have come a long way but have a very long way to go. It is essential to see, understand, and remember. We did a local tour. Somber hardly describes it. If South Africa’s apartheid was any worse than this, I cannot imagine.