Driving Through Birmingham

Thirty years ago I left my home in a port city to come to Birmingham. I eventually began working for a real estate appraiser who lived in a historic part of the city where the streets were lined with Spanish and Tudor-influenced houses. Wrought iron trim purchased from New Orleans decorated many of the homes.

I occasionally shopped on Homewood's Eighteenth Street and browsed the Homewood Toy and Hobby Shop, entering through its back door as was the tradition. I was greeted by toys galore. Doll heads and arms, light wooden airplanes, kites and assembly kits of car and planes to name a few.