On the Road to Huntsville

On my way to Huntsville this afternoon, I felt a constant sense of wrongness, as if I’d slipped into a parallel universe. Granted, this whole week has been a Twilight Zone diversion from normalcy, but the pervasive strangeness was more apparent while driving 80MPH down the interstate. I saw flags at half-mast, countless marquees urging people to pray, or to give blood, but the most distinct sign that yes, indeed this is for real happened on I-20, just before the Alabama state line.

Image: An overpass on a hot summer day. An overweight younger guy wearing baggy shorts and a faded blue t-shirt, standing alone. He slowly waves an American flag, back and forth, above the steady stream of Interstate traffic, as if to signal a warning, or to rally troops.