My South

MarkD · June 26, 2003

Robert St. John, executive chef and owner of the Purple Parrot Cafe, Crescent City Grill and Mahogany Bar of Hattiesburg, MS wrote this.

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 demanded

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 and my restaurant with a 15-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 are still, on occasion, depicted as a collective group of sweaty, stupid, backwards-minded and 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 B.B. King, Muddy

Waters, the Allman Brothers, Emmylou Harris and Elvis. My South is hot. My South smells of newly mowed grass. My South was the South of The Partridge Family, Hawaii 5-0 and kick the can. My South was creek swimming, cane-pole fishing and bird hunting. In my South, football is king. 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 fig preserves, cornbread, butter beans, fried

chicken, grits and catfish. In my South we eat fois gras, caviar

and truffles. 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 the country. In my South, grandmothers cook a big lunch every Sunday. In my South, family matters, deeply. My South is boiled shrimp, 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.

kaspar139 · June 26, 2003

That's good stuff.

watz · June 26, 2003

In my South people put peanuts in bottles of Coca Cola

LarryE · June 26, 2003

nothing beats salty peanuts in an ice cold pop..

of course maybe our southern women

Elwood · June 26, 2003

That was great. we're not really part of the South. but ee have the same problem here in West Virginia. Everyone thinks we're backwards Hillbillies and rednecks. They put us in the same stereotype that they put the South in. Well, actually they only do this when they know we're a state, half the country still thinks that West Virginia is just the Western part of Virgina!!!

Anyway, I feel the same way. It might not be a bad thing, it will help keep the idiots out.

pacodiablo · June 26, 2003

d**n right!

People have said this to me before...

Me: Yes, my family is from Alabama.

Person: Oh, so you're a racist?

d**n the media's portrayal of my home.

The SPEEDY · June 26, 2003

Elwood · June 26, 2003

d**n right!

People have said this to me before...

Me: Yes, my family is from Alabama.

Person: Oh, so you're a racist?

d**n the media's portrayal of my home.

You should just say "Yes, I don't like the race of stupid a$$holes you are a part of . But I like everybody else."

ridnlow · June 26, 2003

Im from Alabama and we get that crap all the time.. they asked me if im prejudice and racist.. i tell them no.. i hate everyone equally

greyghost03 · June 26, 2003

My South is the best-kept secret in the country. Please continue to keep the secret.... it keeps the idiots away.

Yes Sir!

I think these last 2 statements sum it up pretty well. I am in Louisiana and we catch flack like that all the time. That's ok, let people think what they will. I have never met a fellow southener who would not give me the shirt off his back or the food off his table.

As far as the racism goes- poeple in Hollywood live up in the clouds. The people who make movies portraying southeners as racists have obviously never been to the south! The nicest people in the world live in the south and we treat everyone equally no matter what race/nationality they are- at least I do!

carguru · June 27, 2003

Being originally from Mississippi. I have gotten quite a bit of that.

99silveradoz71 · June 27, 2003

i tell them no.. i hate everyone equally

Well said. I also like the part about keeping it a secret to keep others away. I always laugh when I stop people at work and they get pissed that I'm writing them and they threaten to move out of the city...I'm thinking, is that a threat or a promise

Batgirl · June 27, 2003

Unless a person is talking from experience they should keep their mouth shut. I have never been to the south so I could not comment on the south. All I know is what I have seen in movies and not all of that is correct. People really need to learn this rule. I have been to Vegas and ...well I wouldn't want to live there. It is fine for what it is...a place to go party and lose all your money.

elboberino · June 27, 2003

I can attest to that, but not being from the south, but rather from the southwest.

I have had many people ask me, after I tell them I am from Arizona, if I ride a horse and if I know any cowboys. I usually then mention that I have to go because I can't miss the showdown on mainstreet. It starts when the big clock tower strikes 12. Some people....whew!

sirlan · June 27, 2003

I usually catch hell when people find out I'm from Georgia. They always try to imitate a southern accent and completely murder it and they assume I must be an uneducated, racist redneck.