It's How We Are

There is something about the smell of the magnolia and honeysuckle blossoms in the spring that puts a person in a comfortable state of mind. When visiting the southern USA a person almost feels time slowing down. While it's true that some places seem to run fifty years behind, most of us that live here are caught up to speed. With technology advances and the growing speed of internet devices, those of us in the south can keep up with the quickly changing pace of the rest of the world. That doesn't mean we've lost our culture  and way of life.

Anyone that has ever visited here can tell you that the majority of us still make at least a gallon of sweet tea during the warm months, (Which are 11 out 12.) we eat cornbread with our meals, and lend a hand to any neighbor that needs help with something. Most of the southern men like to hunt or fish and most of the southern women cook like it's nobody's business.

Several years ago my ex-brother in-law was killed. My ex-husband's aunt and uncle came down for the funeral. They were from Illinois at the time. Since my husband was a pall bearer he rode with the rest of the pall bearers. I rode with the aunt and uncle. We were on a four lane highway after the funeral, headed to the cemetery in the funeral procession when the aunt made the remark, "Look at all those cars stopping on the other side of the road. Is something going on?" I explained they were stopping for us out of courtesy. They were both simply amazed that people on the other side of the four lane would stop for someone they didn't even know. It's just how we are.

I wanted to write this blog, so that people would understand what living in the south is like. Sometimes we get the bad wrap for having the most meth crimes, the fattest people, the most uneducated, and the most racial bigotry. It is very true that those things are a problem in the south, but I suspect they are problems in the rest of the US as well.

I want to show what the good aspects to being in the south are. Time does seem to slow down here. The food will make you fatter and almost everything is fried, but it's sooo good. Friends and family look for any excuse to come over for a visit or a reunion. We love to garden and we will spend hours in rocking chair on a porch shelling purple hull peas and talking about the good ol' days. It's our way of life.

 

     

 

 

 

We are the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock 'n roll. We swing with the jazz players and get lost in the tells of our minds that some of us have been fortunate enough to share with the rest of the world. The south has produced some of the world's best musicians, artists, chefs, and storytellers. We are a culmination of people that all have our southern roots in common. So go ahead and try the recipes. Read the stories of our folklore. Get lost in sounds of our soulful music. Let time slow down to a crawl and enjoy life without the hurry of hussle, bussle, and flow.