"Lock the doors and close the blinds -- we're going for a ride..."

This weekend was mostly a "stay at home and chill" weekend. We did hit Potomac Mills (one of the outlet malls we don't frequent so much), but most of it was just staying at home, doing some cleaning, getting some much needed rest.

ABC was showing Remember the Titans yet again on Saturday night. And why not? It's a neo-classic, feel-good Disney movie which would be shown on the neo-classic Disney network.

K was watching it -- she hadn't seen it before, and just happened to stumble across it. Which was also how I discovered the movie: both of us thought that it was too cheesy of a premise to actually buy a ticket, rent the DVD, or catch it on HBO. But once we flipped channels by accident, both of us got hooked pretty quickly.

It's loosely based on a true story: T.C. Williams High School becomes integrated in 1971. A new African-American coach heads up the team, as well as African-American players, and a new demographic for the school: the only integrated one around. The team bands together to overcome adversity and does the unthinkable: winning the season completely undefeated, as well as winning the national championship.

I guess it hits home because it takes place in Alexandria, Virginia -- the place which we call home. T.C. Williams is an actual high school with this history. And if we continue to live here and Av attends public school; he'll be attending T.C. Williams in 2016 as a tenth grader.

But I also think about what the city of Alexandria was like 34 years ago. The movie makes it appear as if it is rural Virginia -- a small-town feeling with a total fascination with football. Where the local townsfolk all spoke with southern accents. And where, when walking down Old Town, there were restaurants that would use their "right to refuse service to anyone" to keep Black people out.

Perhaps Alexandria actually used to have this feel to it. The Alexandria I live in (and which I've visited since the mid-80s) is simply a suburb of Washington, DC, which is barely a half mile away. It's very rare that you come across "Alexandria natives" -- as most of us are from somewhere else, and moved to be close to DC.

A town divided by race? I've lived in many places far more separate than Alexandria. In fact, I feel fortunate to live here and bring up a child here. The number of nationalities I see in our sub-development alone is astonishing. Our next-door neighbor is the abuelita of a loving Peruvian family whose kitchen window constantly smells of goulash. On the other side of our house? Neighbors we haven't even met which we've nicknamed the "Vampire bartenders:" two very buff guys who only leave or enter the house at night. (The moving boxes being industrial sized liquor boxes gave away their place of work.)

Take a walk to our local supermarket. You'll hear a lot of Spanish. You'll see people of all different nationalities. Sometimes you see people dressed in military uniforms, off to another day to work at the Pentagon or Navy Annex. And sometimes you see Sikh men in turbans, Orthodox Jews wearing kippot (head coverings), or Muslim women wearing their traditional clothing.

You can even look at the cars parked in front of the houses or in the driveways. Some have bumper stickers advocating the "Million Mom March" and gun control. Some have "Bush-Cheney '04" stickers. Some cars have "the fish," some have Spanish language decals announcing happiness through Jesus. Others have rainbow or Human Rights Campaign stickers.

After September 11, 2001 -- everyone had American flags.

Being Jewish (and relatively traditional), I know what it's like to be different. Sometimes I fear it, other times I'm proud of it. Perhaps it's cheesy to feel pride in diversity after watching this movie again, but it's definitely there. This city thrives on letting different types of people co-exist. It may not appear as safe as an exclusive gated community. There may not be as many people for whom English is a first language. But to me, it feels safe. And it feels like a good place to educate my kid.

Who knows? He might even make the first-team offense in 2018...

Go Titans!