What’s something you’ve always wanted to do?

“I want to win a million dollars. I want to win the lottery and go to Hawaii. That’s my bucket list. If I win that money, then I go to Hawaii. I’m going to sit down and get me a lawyer and let him draw everything up so I can give to my family, my town, my community, help them out. I think I would build a big building with an entertainment center for the kids because there’s not too much down there to do, so like a complex, a big arena for Aliceville.” – Leslie Layton of Aliceville

Layton loves her hometown.

“I graduated from Aliceville in ’85. We’re a community. We come together. We’re there for everybody. We’re one happy family. It’s a laid-back community. Less crime. We’ve got one grocery store, a lot of dollar stores, one post office, but we’re still living large, and we’re blessed to have that.”

Leslie Layton, pictured with Arthur Hinton, loves Aliceville. (Tamika Moore / People of Alabama)

Layton says it’s important to live your dreams if you live in a small town.

“That means a whole lot because when you come from a small town, you’re trying to base your life on what you got, you start out small. What I have now, I thank God for because I am an upgrade compared to what I had. So, I thank God for what I got, for where I came from, opportunities, breath, life. Some people don’t reach my age. I’m 56. People are dying every day. I’m just thankful for life. That’s it. That’s all I can say.”

These are the faces and stories of people from all walks of life who call Alabama home. People of Alabama is a Red Clay Media and Alabama News Center partnership.