When I asked my father on my 18th birthday what had happened and if he was involved, he replied only, “If you look for bad things, you’re going to find them.” He had an iron clad alibi and 2 attorneys waiting when they came to question him. He was never held accountable in her death. His mother, Millie Conner who lives in Cordova knows what happened, but she won’t tell me. My father pays her bills and she keeps her silence.

These contract killings have been going on in the Walker County area for decades. Take my word for it. I grew up without any parents and was raised by my mother’s parents, the child of their daughter and the man who paid to have their daughter murdered. I took all the rage they could never give to him. I still have the scar from where he hit me in the back of the head with a claw hammer. But for all the damage I suffered at their hands, at least I could understand them. I could forgive them. After all, I look a lot like my Dad and they were mad with rage and grief. But for all my life, I have struggled and failed to understand why these men were paid to kill my mother. How they could kill a complete stranger for money can have no reason. It is simply evil. I take some small comfort in the fact that, after 30 years, I know the names of the men who killed her. I congratulate the law enforcement professional who caught these men. Perhaps, at long last, there will be some fragment of justice in all of this. I eagerly await the results of this investigation and pray that EVERYONE involved is brought the attention of the law.

He is so wild.

You should consider networking with the moms in the bizymoms Birmingham community.

The art museum and School of Fine Arts would be good additions. I came to B’ham from Atlanta and am still amazed at the quality of that museum. Tie the museum café into the culinary scene if you want.

I wouldn’t be so concerned with burying the city’s civil rights history. It’s responsible for many of the city’s strengths and its unique character, and should not be treated as just a source of shame. My two cents.

Great list, by the way. As for any additions, I suppose no visit would be complete w/o a stop to some barbecue hut — despite how ubiquitous (or cliche) they may appear. I’d also toss a few more watering holes into that list (Bourdain loves his fermented wonders). Perhaps the Blue Monkey or the Garage would be good additions.

Hmm, this may be the start of a Birmingham for Bourdain campaign.

See http://tammybruce.com/2009/07/you-know-b-hussein-is-in-trouble-when.html

Much love and kisses to all his fans who have supported his music!

I believ we were in the same class at Shades Mountain Elementary School. If I remember correectly at that time you did live there. To my memory a fellow student named Molly Pike owned the lodge. I have some recollections of going there after it was abandoned and ready for distruction because of the interstate. At one time I had the old hotel register and a couple of light fixtures from the outside. My grandparents told me, and my parents too, that the lodge was a get away from the bad air in Bham. It was a cool (tempperature wise) spot with a nice breeze. Made of rock and stone and a nice rock wall around it. I also remember reading or being told that during the depression and prohibition it ws a popular spot for some illegal booze and gambling. I only have pictures of it in my mind.