What is so good, so delectable, so prized that a seemingly sane person will jump a police barricade and run out in front of a moving vehicle to pluck it out of the beer- and horse apple-tainted street and eat it? A MoonPie, of course! Originally intended to be a filling snack for miners, the … Continue reading A Southern snack staple
Tag: Southern traditions
Southern hospitality – or – How are your Mama and ’em?
If there is one thing that sets Southerners apart from the rest of the country, it has to be our hospitality. Over and over people who are not from here tell me just how nice everyone is, how downright friendly. So much so that it’s almost…well, weird. Drive down any country road and you will … Continue reading Southern hospitality – or – How are your Mama and ’em?
I love to tell the story
Storytelling runs in my family. We sit around and tell the same tales over and over and over. Somehow they never get old. Extra emphasis, a rolled eye, a dramatic pause entertains. A little extra detail here and there educates. In the retelling, heritage and history are passed down. My grandfather, "Baw," and his brothers … Continue reading I love to tell the story
Get on the Christmas Train
Even though the railroad tracks through Citronelle have long since been taken up, once a year the Train still rolls through town. It is a phenomenon I've heard about for years from Mama's friend Annie Bell. You see, the Train stops at her house, just like it stopped at her mother's house, every Christmas morning. … Continue reading Get on the Christmas Train
When life gives you phlegm, make phlegmonade!
The cold and flu season is upon us — at least it's upon me in all it's snotty, wheezing, hacking glory. As I snuffle about trying to think of something, anything to make me feel better, I can't help but remember some of the home remedies Mama and Granny inflicted on me as a child. … Continue reading When life gives you phlegm, make phlegmonade!
Southern Living makes me sad
Because of Southern Living I contemplate the purchase of Christmas topiary. Because of Southern Living I recognize beachy pastels as possible holiday colors. Because of Southern Living I find my self uttering words like "table-scape" and "disco-ball-esque." Because of Southern Living I am sad. This year's Christmas issue, a "special double issue," found its way … Continue reading Southern Living makes me sad
Merry and Bright
Every year, as December approached, my grandmother and her friends would start sharing large jars of friendship cake starter amongst each other. After all, what better way to show a little Christmas cheer and help a sister through the stressful holiday season than with a Ball jar filled with assorted canned fruits that had been … Continue reading Merry and Bright
Have you got game?
"Taste this and guess what it is!" Aunt Lois* says to me one Thanksgiving morning while jabbing at me with a carving fork, a piece of grayish meat dangling from the tines. "Go on; taste it!" Now I don't know about you, but I want to be able to readily identify my food. Even at … Continue reading Have you got game?
Baby Jesus would not approve
Something is missing. I've looked for it in my neighborhood, at the mall, on television. Nothing. It was a homely little thing that used to pop in once a year between the end of October and the beginning of December. When it came to visit, it usually brought with it some family — both blood … Continue reading Baby Jesus would not approve
Talking to the dead
I recently found myself alone in a car traveling a bleak and rainy back road with the ashes of a man whom I have never met. Alone for two hours. "What did you do?" said my friend, as I relayed to her my somewhat odd circumstance. "I talked to him," I answered, honestly. I mean, … Continue reading Talking to the dead