Arab, Alabama: My Home Town

The name of the city is pronounced "AY-rab" and was unintentionally misspelled by the US Postal Service. Arad was to be the city's intended name after the city's original founder, Arad Thompson.

For 34 out of 40 years of my life, I have lived in Arab, Alabama. Even sadder, I have ended back at the same address my parents brought me home to from the hospital the day I was born, plus one number. Let us just say it is the same yard. Actually if you want to be technical, I do not live in Arab. I live right outside the city limits in the suburbs of Arab called GRASSY! Ah, Grassy. It is a community consisting of nothing but cow pasture after cow pasture.

Arab is a quaint little town. I remember in my youth thinking about fleeing the confines of its limitations. Now I could not envision living anywhere else. The explorer in me still lust to see the wide open world around me but I know I will always want to come home to this small, insignificant village in Northeast Alabama that drives me zany.

Arab is spectacular! It is a eager town with overflowing unspoiled rivers and lakes, dark rich soil, towering trees and plenty of wide open spaces with all the room you need to grow. In spite of lying in tornado alley it is a beautiful, clean town. Each week a new citizen is chosen by the local paper for the prestigious "Beautification Award" based on their ornamental landscapes. The competition is fierce. Each house in Arab has a spacious yard shaded with Mother Nature's loving trees. Numerous and lush vegetable gardens are grown in the summer. Some people even choose to live without neighbors surrounded by the woods.