Breath our scents, walk our landscape, hear our melodic dialects, delight in our savory morsels, touch each rich texture, and the southern essence remains a mystery. The ethereal south, unfathomable to the five senses, lives in the heart. If you believe in magic, and can survive the devastating passions of an open heart, just possibly, you stand a chance of living a moment as a southerner. Most people aren't brave enough to be southerners, even the ones that are.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

A Lesson (a nice "L" word) in Not Being Southern


Johnny Lee and Bobby Ray being good little southern boys would never do this. They know that if they even thought it, their Momma's eyes in the back of her head would see their thoughts and their own little butts would be glowing red if they had any butt at all left.

What they don't know, and probably never will, is that Dad would like to take them to the corner store and buy them an ice cream for bravely and boldly stating the truth. Dad, however much admiration for bravery he has, isn't stupidly brave himself though, and is most likely to just stay away from the whole incident. There is a high probability all these thoughts will cross his mind while he is hosing off the walk, but then they will quickly fade.

For little yankee children, this is a good lesson in the unfairness of the world and how the truth isn't always supported with justice. For southern children, it just never happens; period. They know better from birth, and for the ones that don't, we have memorials.

And that's today's lesson, inversely taught perhaps, in not being southern. You don't have to be Judith Martin to teach and learn common manners, not here, beneath the Carolina moon.

Posted by Dread, who all in all has had a good week.

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2 comments:

Sandy Kessler said...

hahahahaahahahahahahah and true!!

Bev Mahone said...

What are you REALLY saying?