No, I haven’t dropped off of the face of the planet. I’ve just been a little closer to the planet’s equator. It seemed like a good idea to take assignments that would land us along the Gulf Coast of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi this time of year. Truth be told, we seem to have taken the cold with us. All last week we were wishing we’d packed gloves as we “braved” temperatures 20 degrees and more below the South’s usuals for December. Oh, well. The food was good. And we came back with plenty of stories.

More later, but I’ll start off by sharing this image from the Vulcan Center in Birmingham, Alabama. An homage to the city’s steel heritage.