My South

[furluvcats]

Just thought I'd share this with all of you fellow southerners and displaced southerners such as myself...


This was written by Robert St. John, executive chef and owner of the Purple-Parrot Cafe,



Crescent City Grill and Mahogany Bar of Hattiesburg, MS.

Thirty years ago I visited my first cousin in Virginia. While hanging out with his friend, the discussion turned to popular movies of the day. When I offered my two-cents on the authenticity and social relevance of the movie Billy Jack, one of the boys asked, in all seriousness; "Do you guys have



movie theaters down there?" To which I replied, "Yep. We wear shoes too."

Just three years ago, my wife and I were attending a food and wine seminar in Aspen, Colo. We were seated with two couples from Las Vegas. One of the Glitter Gulch gals was amused and downright rude when I described our restaurant as a fine-dining restaurant.

"Mississippi doesn't have fine-dining restaurants!" she insisted and nudged her companion. I fought back the strong desire to mention that she lived in the land that invented the 99-cent breakfast buffet.

I wanted badly to defend my state, my region, and my restaurant with a15-minute soliloquy and public relations rant that would surely change her mind. It was at that precise moment that I was hit with a blinding jolt of enlightenment, and in a moment of complete and absolute clarity it dawned on me --



my South is the best-kept secret in the country.

Why would I try to win this woman over? She might move down here.

I am always amused by Hollywood's interpretation of the South. We arestill, on occasion, depicted



as a collective group of sweaty, stupid,backwards-minded, racist rednecks. The South of movies



and TV, the Hollywood South, is not my South.

THIS IS MY SOUTH...

My South is full of honest, hardworking people.

My South is the birthplace of blues and jazz, and rock n' roll. It has banjo pickers and fiddle



players, but it also has BB King, Muddy Waters, the Allman brothers, Emmylou Harris and Elvis.

My South is hot. My South smells of newly mowed grass.

My South was kick the can, creek swimming, cane-pole fishing and bird hunting.

In my South, football is king, and the Southeastern Conference and theAtlantic Coast Conference



is the kingdom.

My South is home to the most beautiful women on the planet.

In my South, soul food and country cooking are the same thing.

My South is full of cornbread, butter beans, fried chicken, grits and catfish.

In my South, our transistor radios introduced us to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones at the



same time they were introduced to the rest of thecountry.

In my South, grandmothers cook a big lunch every Sunday, so big that we call it dinner



(supper comes later).

In my South, family matters....deeply.

My South is blackberry cobbler, peach ice cream, banana pudding and oatmeal cream pies.

In my South people put peanuts in bottles of Coca-Cola and hot sauce on almost everything.

In my South the tea is iced and almost as sweet as the women.

My South has air-conditioning.

My South is camellias, azaleas, wisteria and hydrangeas.

In my South, the only person that has to sit on the back of the bus is the last person that got on the bus.

In my South, people still say "Yes, ma'am," "No ma'am," "Please" and Thank you"

In my South, we all wear shoes....most of the time.

My South is the best-kept secret in the country.

Please continue to keep the secret....it keeps the idiots away.

[fwbbreeze]

Oh hell yeah!! That was all so true!!

fwbbreeze

[USCG_Hurricane_Watcher]

Makes me miss home...Charleston, SC.

DC is an absolute ####hole. Everyone I've come across in the city (that I don't work with) is rude and carries on if they've all got chips on their shoulders.

And to top it all off...Flavored iced tea IS NOT THE SAME AS sweet tea!!! Clue in people!

At least back home, one hour of evening news does not consist of 55 minutes of crime reports and 5 minutes of weather.

I need to get back South...quick.

[breeze]

Shannon, that is SO true! My South is home...period!

Thanks for posting that!

[drudd1]

Amen!

Growing up I didn't know there was such a thing as unsweetened tea. Now, many restaurants don't even have it, but thank goodness the small mom and pop restaurants that serve the real food still do.

At least you southerners farther north still have a chance. The Florida I grew up in and would give anything for my children to have experienced is a thing of the past. At least in my home there is always a fresh jug of sweet tea made, cornbread is a staple, and catfish, hushpuppies, and homemade coleslaw are still king.

[furluvcats]

I've yet to find a place here in So Cal that serves up freshly brewed iced tea...its all that raspberry/peach/kiwi fountain fake stuff...should have a different name all together than iced tea...

Though I am very happy here, I do miss the quality of life that is offered in the South...the friendly neighbors, the quaint community festivals...everyone knowing whats going on with everyone else...the small town feel...the relaxed, kicked back feeling...moving from Louisiana to So Cal was certainly a 180*...everything here is move as fast as you can, work as long hours as you can without collapsing, go go go...I miss a verandah, overlooking a river, a lake, a swamp even...the sounds of a southern night...I will be back, I promise you that!

[StormChasr]

I love that--it really rings a responsive chord. Coming from Georgia, and living in Connecticut and Rhode Island while getting schooled really drove a lot of that home. Florida is sort of the South, but not really--it is more of a melting pot, and not homogenously Southern. So, that really rang this Atlanta boy's chimes.

[beenthru6]

Amen to that! I love the south. We have a lot of displaced northerners here who constantly are complaining, "that isn't how we do it up north". They are often told, "That same road that brought you here goes both directions" My favorite bumper sticker that adorns cars here is "We really don't care how you did it up north"

[iceangel]

Just thought I'd share this with all of you fellow southerners and displaced southerners such as myself...


This was written by Robert St. John, executive chef and owner of the Purple-Parrot Cafe,



Crescent City Grill and Mahogany Bar of Hattiesburg, MS.

Thirty years ago I visited my first cousin in Virginia. While hanging out with his friend, the discussion turned to popular movies of the day. When I offered my two-cents on the authenticity and social relevance of the movie Billy Jack, one of the boys asked, in all seriousness; "Do you guys have



movie theaters down there?" To which I replied, "Yep. We wear shoes too."

Just three years ago, my wife and I were attending a food and wine seminar in Aspen, Colo. We were seated with two couples from Las Vegas. One of the Glitter Gulch gals was amused and downright rude when I described our restaurant as a fine-dining restaurant.

"Mississippi doesn't have fine-dining restaurants!" she insisted and nudged her companion. I fought back the strong desire to mention that she lived in the land that invented the 99-cent breakfast buffet.

I wanted badly to defend my state, my region, and my restaurant with a15-minute soliloquy and public relations rant that would surely change her mind. It was at that precise moment that I was hit with a blinding jolt of enlightenment, and in a moment of complete and absolute clarity it dawned on me --



my South is the best-kept secret in the country.

Why would I try to win this woman over? She might move down here.

I am always amused by Hollywood's interpretation of the South. We arestill, on occasion, depicted



as a collective group of sweaty, stupid,backwards-minded, racist rednecks. The South of movies



and TV, the Hollywood South, is not my South.

THIS IS MY SOUTH...

My South is full of honest, hardworking people.

My South is the birthplace of blues and jazz, and rock n' roll. It has banjo pickers and fiddle



players, but it also has BB King, Muddy Waters, the Allman brothers, Emmylou Harris and Elvis.

My South is hot. My South smells of newly mowed grass.

My South was kick the can, creek swimming, cane-pole fishing and bird hunting.

In my South, football is king, and the Southeastern Conference and theAtlantic Coast Conference



is the kingdom.

My South is home to the most beautiful women on the planet.

In my South, soul food and country cooking are the same thing.

My South is full of cornbread, butter beans, fried chicken, grits and catfish.

In my South, our transistor radios introduced us to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones at the



same time they were introduced to the rest of thecountry.

In my South, grandmothers cook a big lunch every Sunday, so big that we call it dinner



(supper comes later).

In my South, family matters....deeply.

My South is blackberry cobbler, peach ice cream, banana pudding and oatmeal cream pies.

In my South people put peanuts in bottles of Coca-Cola and hot sauce on almost everything.

In my South the tea is iced and almost as sweet as the women.

My South has air-conditioning.

My South is camellias, azaleas, wisteria and hydrangeas.

In my South, the only person that has to sit on the back of the bus is the last person that got on the bus.

In my South, people still say "Yes, ma'am," "No ma'am," "Please" and Thank you"

In my South, we all wear shoes....most of the time.

My South is the best-kept secret in the country.

Please continue to keep the secret....it keeps the idiots away.

I love it!!:D

one of the boys asked, in all seriousness; "Do you guys have
movie theaters down there?"

My brother-in-law's brother called from Wisconson the other night and the first thing he said was "Do you all have an airport there in Pensacola?"

[kevin]

I moved to Florida at an early age, and consider myself a southerner. This is my home.

*whistles dixie*

[breeze]

I've yet to find a place here in So Cal that serves up freshly brewed iced tea...its all that raspberry/peach/kiwi fountain fake stuff...should have a different name all together than iced tea...

Though I am very happy here, I do miss the quality of life that is offered in the South...the friendly neighbors, the quaint community festivals...everyone knowing whats going on with everyone else...the small town feel...the relaxed, kicked back feeling...moving from Louisiana to So Cal was certainly a 180*...everything here is move as fast as you can, work as long hours as you can without collapsing, go go go...I miss a verandah, overlooking a river, a lake, a swamp even...the sounds of a southern night...I will be back, I promise you that!

Southern California was fun, but, it ain't nothing like sitting
on the patio (or veranda) and drinking a mint julep while
listening to crickets and watching the lightning bugs dance,
and feeling that late evening, after-dusk breeze brush
across your face after a hot, humid, lazy afternoon...
Oh, my - I must be a Southerner...

[StormChasr]

Time to get out William Faulkner......sigh!!!

[MSRobi911]

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

psssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhh don't tell anybody!!


Mary

[CentralFlGal]

Amen to that! I love the south. We have a lot of displaced northerners here who constantly are complaining, "that isn't how we do it up north". They are often told, "That same road that brought you here goes both directions" My favorite bumper sticker that adorns cars here is "We really don't care how you did it up north"

Those bumper stickers never made sense to me when we first moved down from the northeast a decade ago, but they do now. Oh boy, do they ever. I'm considering getting some... and eventually I'll try that mint julep on a verandah, too. I get chills on days when it's below 80 degrees, and I never rush anywhere anymore. Flowers actually smell good! Still working on my cornbread recipe though

I have to hand it to every born and bred Southerner that you have the dignity and grace of a saint to put up with the stereotypes placed on you. Time for another secret - I think everyone else is just jealous! Your secret's safe with me.

[furluvcats]

I actually was served real brewed fresh sweet tea at a restaraunt this weekend here in So Cal...We went to eat with some friends by Knott's and ended up at a Po' Folks rest.....the tea was a pleasant surprise for sure!

[StormChasr]

I like the bumper sticker that says "I-95 is this way. Make a right turn, and head NORTH!!"

[drudd1]

My favorite bumper snicker is, "Welcome to Florida, now go home!"

[beenthru6]

Yeah, we have a similar one to that too Drudd. It says welcome to our beach, now go home. One of my husbands friends has a bumper sticker that says, "If it is tourist season, why can't we shoot them?"

[drudd1]

[StormChasr]

If it is tourist season, why can't we shoot them?"

Heck, what is the bag limit?