South Carolina - Day 1 - The Swamp

3/26/16, “The Swamp”

Columbia, South Carolina

The sun has set over South Carolina, and my adventures of the day have ended so that my night’s activities may begin.  There are 59 National Parks in the United States, of which 4 are on the islands of the South Pacific (2 in Hawaii and 1 in American Samoa) and the Caribbean (1 in the Virgin Islands).  I have now been to the other 55.  The first one I visited was Everglades National Park in Florida, 17 years ago.  Since then, I have visited National Parks in 26 states, from Acadia National Park in Maine to Kobuk Valley National Park in the northwesternmost part of Alaska to Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California to Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys, I have been to all 55.  It was no easy task, and it took numerous trips of varying lengths and intensities, but I have been to all 55.

Next year will bring me to the Virgin Islands and the South Pacific, where I will finish my quest.  But now, I will recall my day of travelling through the swamplands of South Carolina.  It should have been a simple day, just the National Park and the BBQ joint before I got back to the hotel at 4 PM or, if I was ahead of schedule, I would have the option of fitting in another National Park Site.  That did not happen.  In fact, it was 7 PM by the time I got back to my hotel in the capital.  What happened?

Well, it was a series of not exactly unfortunate events.  I got to the Waffle House around 8:30 AM.  I ordered biscuits, sausage, grits, eggs, coffee, and, of course, a waffle.  My food came just before 9 AM.  At some point my chipper waitress’s large iced coffee from Starbucks spilled behind the counter.  After she mopped it up, she was called into the manager’s office.  When she brought me check, I asked if I should pay her or up front.  Very surlily, she said that I could either but that she was standing right there.  I handed her my card.  When she brought the CC slip, she hovered until I signed it, as opposed to what I’m used to when they tell me to take me time with it and come back later.  Thinking she might have just been fired, I wondered if I should give a more generous tip than usual.  I did not.  The check was small, so I gave 20% and rounded up to the next whole dollar.

I then continued on to the National Park, stopping at Rite-Aid to get some Nexium, which I had forgotten to bring.  It was much cheaper than in New York, so I got two 3-packs of 14 pills each.  It was 10 AM by the time I got to the VC, now an hour behind schedule, the possibility of the extra NPS for the day lost.  I did my stamping and got my t-shirt and pin before dropping it off at the car.  They had repurposed pill bottles and film canisters as portable ashtrays filled with sand.  I loved that.  They let you smoke on the trail, but they took stops to ameliorate the environmental damage that a cigarette butt or ash would do to the ecosystem.

I lit up a Romeo y Julieta Churchill, one of the last ones that I brought back from Cuba, and got on the boardwalk.  I found a nice photo spot and announced, fighting back the tears, “All Mainland US National Parks.”  It started in swamp not far south of here, and now it ended in another swamp.  I then continued along the boardwalk and recalled the other 54 National Parks I had visited, not a single bad memory among them, including what is still considered the greatest trip of my life, the one to the National Parks of the American West with my parents about 15 years ago.  My mother and I will be doing another trip this October to Texas, to see the Alamo and the associated newly designated World Heritage Site there.  She was with me for so many of these National Parks, other friends for other National Parks, some, like this one, on my own.  As I recalled the other National Parks, I did so geographically, not chronologically, so I was constantly skipping back forth over the span of the 17 years.  I continued walking and turned around eventually.  After about an hour and a half, ten minutes from the VC, it started to pour.  I got back to the VC, ditched the cigar, connected to the Wi-Fi, and got caught up on social media.

I then put in the town of Hemingway into my GPS, which was my lunch destination, Scott’s BBQ, South Carolina’s “most iconic restaurant.”  There was a road closure.  I didn’t have a cell signal.  It really messed things up.  It added at least half an hour to the drive.  Finally, I figured out how to get around it and was on the highway.  I lit up a Camacho for the drive, and it was after 3 PM by the time I pulled in.  This was the day of their annual picnic.  What are the odds?!?  Well, 1 in 52, I guess.  I parked on the grassy lot and headed into the BBQ joint.  I was definitely in the heart of the South.  Other than a few tourists, there was not a single white face inside, and it was a long line.  A very long line.  It was 3:30 PM by the time I was sitting down with my pound of BBQ.  It was good, really good.

I then went across the street to check out the picnic as I messaged back and forth with my friend about the new DC movie.  I went back to my car and got an OpusX, which I lit up as I walked around the picnic area.  One of the women from inside came up to me, shocked that I had managed to put away a whole pound of the BBQ.  She could never do it.  It was now past 4 PM.  I was supposed to be back at the hotel by then.  I made my way back to the hotel, stopping at Walmart to get a snack at the McDonald’s there, along with some Easter goodies.  It was still raining, so I didn’t light up another cigar for the ride home.  Around 7 PM, I pulled into the hotel and gave the valet my keys.  I headed up to the room to relax for a bit before I had to head out in time to get to the State House before sunset.

I went to the State House and took my ceremonial pictures.  There was a big statue of Strom Thurmond.  He was fun.  The President Pro Tempore of the Senate when I first learned what that term meant.  He was a bit of a racist, though, but well, more on that topic later.  I found a spot with a nice view, where I sat down, lit up a PDR, and proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I can head to a cigar store a few blocks away and watch the UNC game, maybe order some food if that’s allowed, who knows.  Tomorrow, I should be able to say “South Carolina complete.”

It was Kansas, not UNC, and they lost an exciting game.  More on that later.  I am in the cigar shop, surrounded by descendants of slaves.  I do not mean that in a disparaging way, not at all.  I am merely highlighting the demographics of this region.  The workers here appear to be descendants of slave owners.  That is the demographics of this town.  College students and descendants of slaves and slave owners.  Hemingway, where I went for BBQ, were all descendants of slaves.  As I drove today, I had thoughts about how racism or, more precisely, anti-racism.

I came to the conclusion that anti-racism is far more divisive than racism is, in present day America.  I am using the term racism as a catchall for any type of LGBT discrimination, whether it is based on race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.  If we accept that 30% of the population is bigoted, actually I should use that term, posting on Facebook about how bad racism is, or encouraging people to unfriend Trump supporters, or liberal media talking about the “backwards” society that led to passing laws such as the one in North Carolina or the one pending in Georgia, or companies threaten to boycott entire states because of those laws, that is divisive.  That is more divisive than the old man sitting on his porch drinking a PBR next to his confederate flag.

There is a difference between racist thoughts and racist acts.  The goal of the civil rights movement in the 1960s was to eliminate racist acts.  It worked.  The goal of the liberal agenda today is to eliminate racist thoughts.  It is failing miserably.  It is dividing our country.  It is helping Mr. Trump secure his nomination.  After Obergefell v. Hodges, it was no longer enough that same-sex marriage was fully legalized, the liberal agenda then consisted of getting people to fully accept same-sex couples, in thought and act.  That was the reasoning behind the pizzeria in Indiana that was crucified for saying they would not cater a same-sex wedding.  Reader, what gay couple gets their wedding catered by a pizzeria?  It was the case with the bakery in Colorado.  Was it really the only bakery in town?  It was not about getting a cake for their wedding.  It was about eliminating bigoted thoughts.

Reader, where are the people who say, “I understand this is the way you feel about [disaffected group], and I accept that, but just please leave me alone.”  Because there are conservatives who say, “Look, I don’t accept your lifestyle, but I’m not going to stop you from living it.”  That is what is happening with these non-discrimination laws.  Discrimination in the private sector or my personal life should not prohibited by the government.  If I want to say that I don’t want to date a black girl or have a gay friend, the government would not force me to do so, but it attempts to regulate private sector employment in such a fashion.  The proper response to a bigoted employer is negative advertising and boycotts.  That would work.  It would work big time.  The government should not step in.

Instead, it creates a divide between the bigots and the tolerants, as I’ll call them.  The actions of the tolerants are further dividing this country by hardening the resolve of the bigots and making it a campaign issue.  If people want to be bigoted, let them.  Don’t demonize them.  You are demonizing 30% of the population when you do so.  That is called dividing the country.  Racially-motivated violence should be treated exactly the same way as any type of violence.  Private sector discrimination should be allowed.  It is not the job of the government to tell people how they should think, no more than it’s the job of the liberal media to do so.  If you look at the comments on Facebook of the news articles, they are brutal, they are as bad as anything the bigots post.  It makes me feel sympathy towards the bigots.  It makes me support their right to be bigoted.

That is why we have a continued divide of our country, and it is a serious problem.  My reader should note the law that came out of North Carolina, it’s not an anti-gay law.  It just allows people and private sector employers to be bigoted, if they so desire.  It even prevents racially-driven discrimination.  I will not even address the bathroom issue, as it is just too stupid.  Seriously, that’s where the trans-rights movement wants to make their big stand?  On bathroom usage.  You’re going in there to perform a biological function.  Segregate it by biological sex, not gender identity.

I don’t see a solution to this divide anywhere in sight, and it’s going to keep getting a lot worse.  One more thing, I read an article for philosophy class that addressed how anti-discrimination laws were not the solution.  It was written by a trans-rights activist, so I didn’t give it much credence, but now I think he had a lot right.  Anti-discrimination laws do not adjust the underlying problem, namely the reason people are bigoted.  That is what must be addressed, not specific acts of discrimination.

Anyway, so, after I closed at the State House, I headed to the cigar shop, and it was a nice little place with a mediocre humidor.  I picked out three cigars and set down in front of the TV, along with a beer.  They said I could order food if I wanted.  I was surrounded by the mix I described earlier, and I lit up an LFD.  Kansas lost the game, which messed up my bracket, since I had them winning the whole tournament, but it was a close and exciting game.  During the second half, I ordered some pizza, which was really good.  After the game, I got another beer and lit up a Tatuaje.  I then sat back down on the couch, where I proceed to write this entry, which I will now close, as the shop is about to close.  I guess I’ll publish when I get back to the hotel.  I need to get an early start tomorrow.