South of the Border

In two days the Carpetbagger is heading South.  Waaaaay South.  For the first time in my life I am leaving he United States of America and will be visiting Mexico.  While I could wait and talk about this trip (probably not), I wanted to take a time to talk about The South's own little slice of Mexico: "South of the Border".

South of the Border is my only reference point to what I assume is authentic Mexican culture.

Heading through rural Carolinas one notices a sudden influx of billboards.

The headlights light up at night.

Sometimes the sheep spin.

So what is the magical place that is beckoning?

The "South of the Border" name does not refer to the American border, but rather the North Carolina border.  South of the Border is located directly beneath the North Carolina border in Dillon, SC.  S.0.B was originally set up as a beer stand and the proximity to the state line allowed them to sell alcohol to the dry NC county across the line.  Over the years S.O.B took on a life of its own.

As you near the compound a magical site appears in the distance.

Out of the rural Carolina nothing pops a giant tower shaped like a sombrero.  To put it quite simply South of the Border is the tackiest place in the South.  It personifies what a Roadside Attraction should be.

That softly racist little fellow you saw on this billboards, his name is Pedro and he is ever present mascot of S.O.B.

Pedro's giant fiberglass visage can be found all over the compound in a variety of flavors.

 Here is patriotic American Pedro.

 

Here is Irish Pedro....

 

Here is concrete Golem Pedro....

He is literally everywhere.

On the surface S.O.B is America's most glorified truck stop, but it is so much more then that.  What is there to do at S.O.B?  Well, there is an amusement park, but it had a really odd abandoned vibe when we went there.

Let's take a closer look at that creepy giant Pedro head.

A highlight of S.O.B is the positively massive sombrero clad sign outside one of the gift shops.

Check out those tiny normal sized people at the base of the statue.

The place is a gorgeous sea of neon at night.

Here is my son chansing feral cats in a firework shop parking lot in the middle of the night.

In addition to the Pedro figures there is a truly impressive menagerie of fiberglass figures.  Including a rare Southern Jackalope

There is a collection of wonderfully strange and tacky gift shops on the premises.

Of course we spent way to much money and came back with this haul.

For dining options you can have a steak house inside a giant sombrero.

There is a motel on the premises as well, but we are not going to get into that.

Previously, they had a miniature golf course know as "The Golf of Mexico".

But during our initial visit is had been converted into a shop that sold concrete yard ornaments.

It has not been transformed into an alligator exhibit. I really need to check that out.

Of course the one thing that truly grabbed your attention initially was the Sombrero Tower.

Me and my daughter braved the elevator ride to the top.

 What can you see from the Sombrero tower?  Besides miles of nothingness, you get a good view of the freeway and yet another S.O.B billboard. 

It is truly mecca for those love all things over the top and tacky.  I just hope the real Mexico can live up to the high standards that South of the Border has set.

The Carpetbagger

Please feel free to e-mail me at jacobthecarpetbagger@gmail.com
and check out my Flickr Photostream

Strom and Essie Mae

The South Carolina Capital building (possibly the most controversial capital building in the country) has a statue of a single man out in front.  This man is Strom Thurmond.

Where do you begin when talking about Strom Thurmond?  He is a man who in most people's eyes embodies the segregationist movement.  The movement that believed that whites and blacks should be legally mandated to live separately.  That is pretty damn racist.  Strom was so dedicated to the segregationist cause that he engaged in the longest filibuster in history to try to block the the Civil Rights Act of 1957.  Strom would ramble on for over 24 hours going onto wild tangents including reciting his grandmother's biscuit recipe.

Not my photo

Stromr begin his term in the US senate in 1956.  Luckily, it was realized that he was a man from another time and when the country finally came to a consensus that segregation was evil, he was booted from office.  Just kidding, he served until 2003 and ended his term as the longest serving senator in US history. 

Not my photo

When he died he eulogy was given by Senator.  Joe Biden, who you may know as being the the vice president serving under America's first African-American President.

This Guy

Strom's positions did gravitate to a more moderate mainstream position overtime, but he never truly denounced his past actions.  For whatever reason he was allowed to remain in the senate for almost half a century.  In an odd twist, Senator Trent Lott was forced out of office for saying that Strom should have been president.  This confused me.  Its okay for Mr. Racism, Strom Thrumond to stay in office forever, but if you publicly say you like him, you risk being forced out of office.

When Strom died in 2003 you would this this long complex journey would be over.  It was only just beginning.

Enter Essie Mae Washington-Williams.

Not my photo

Essie Mae was Strom's half-black daughter.  Essie Mae was conceived through the wonders of statutory rape, when Strom impregnated a 15 year old black girl who was working for his family.  One would think that the principles of segregation would forbid one from having sex with people of another race.

Essie Mae would not "come out" as Strom's daughter until after Strom's death.  Strom supported her financially in secret in exchange for her secrecy.  In a somewhat strange twist, the two actually had a relationship and kept in contact over the years.  Essie Mae would try to change her father's opinions on segregation, but her father reportedly brushed her off.

Remember that statue?

After Essie Mae came out of the shadows Strom's statue was modified.  The base had contained a list of Strom's children.  It would be modified to include Essie Mae.

You can see how the word "five" was crudely placed over the word "four".

Essie Mae died on Monday, thus ending one of the strangest parables of race in American History.

The Carpetbagger

Please feel free to e-mail me at jacobthecarpetbagger@gmail.com
and check out my Flickr Photostream

Non-Traditional Sports

From what I understand, there is an event known as "The Superbowl" today.  Now, I have never been one to follow traditional sports.  I don't really know how football works, other then it is a group of large man who takes turns dog piling each other and then standing around.

This is not to say I can not be excited by sports.  I wanted to take an opportunity to talk about some of the non-traditional sports out there.  These are events that are not about winning and loosing, but more about the experience.

6. Monster Truck Rallys

Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have only been to one monster truck show and I was really too young to remember it.  Attending another one is definitely on my ridiculously long bucket list.  

I did have a chance encounter with "Monster Mutt" at one point.

 
Now I am sure there is some way that monster trucks "win" at rallys, but much like football I am not clear on how that works.  Clearly winning and losing is not the point.  You take a giant truck with ridiculously large wheels and you make it do back flips and crush cars.  If that's not a recipe for success I don't know what is.  For whatever reason they are also know to have giant robotic, fire breathing, car eating dragons at these rallys.  All in all it sounds like a good night.

5. Idiotarod 

The iditarod is a legendary dog sled race that takes place very year in Alaska.  The Idiotarod is similar, but instead of a sled you use a shopping cart and instead of dogs you use idiots (hence the name).   The idiots are encouraged to pimp out the cart in the strangest way possible and to dress as idiotically as possible.  When I learned of this even occurring in Asheville, NC I had to check it out.

Despite the rainy weather, there was an amazing turnout and had quite an assortment of ridiculous carts and outfits.

 
And they are off!

I would tell you who won, but the problem with races is that everyone runs off as soon as it starts and you never see them again.

4. Roller Derby

Roller Derby is a truly unique sport.  It combines two truly American things: pretty girls and violence.  The two meld like peanut butter and jelly.

The rules are a little odd and confusing, but basically one member of each team tries to score points by advancing past members of the opposing team, while they attempt to block her.

Its a colorful sport that obviously doesn't take itself that seriously.  The girls use goofy stage names to help them stand out.

Here is "Mozaltov Cocktail"

Here is "Tess LaCoil"

"Miss Thang 1 and 2"....

and the lovely Miss "Skelly Tor".....

3. Alligator Wrestling 

Alligator wrestling is a great tradition in Florida.  There are actually two types, the native Seminole Indian  Wrestling and the White "Cracker" form.  From what I understand both techniques are very similar, but both are amazing.

While very dangerous, alligator wrestling operates on basic principle:  While alligators have unbelievable bite pressure, the muscles that actually open their mouth are relatively weak and can be held shut by human hands.  Alligators are serious business and are one of the most dangerous wild animals in America, which makes it odd that they can be defeated by a bare handed human.

Of course you are not going to impress a crowd of people simply by holding an alligator's mouth shut.  The Alligator Wrestler must engage in some crowd pleasing dangerous moves.

Like this....

Another trick in every good Alligator Wrestler's repertoire is a death grip that puts the alligator to sleep.  This involves the Wrestler flipping an alligator onto their back and applying pressure to its bottom jaw, rendering the alligator helpless. 

As cool as this trick is, it is probably not going to save you during a wild alligator attack.

Of course, with any good alligator show you are going to want to send the crowd home happy, and they arn't going to be happy unless they get a shot to wrestle an alligator themselves.

Fun for the whole family.

2. Pig Racing

I love the county fair.  The sights, the smells and the tastes.  If there is any event that truly personifies the fair to me it is the pig race.  It is amazing how excited a crowd can get when cheering on pigs racing in a circle for a single cheeto.  The pigs are of given the names of famous race car drivers altered to sound like pigs such as Piggy Gordon and Hoggy Jarrett.

As awesome as the pig race is, they always have to add a little something to spice it up, like racing other animals.

 
Or having a miniature high diving pig.

1. Professional Wrestling

I did a full article on why I believe Pro Wrestling to be the one true sport.  No other "sport" truly grasps the drama of humanity and explores the dichotomy of Good vs. Evil. 

If you have any doubts on how remarkable pro wrestling really is, please check out this youtube video. 

(Not mine).

So keep your football, I will be enjoying the non-traditional sports this great nation has to offer.

The Carpetbagger

Please feel free to e-mail me at jacobthecarpetbagger@gmail.com
and check out my Flickr Photostream