MY SOUTH
TO MY REBEL FRIENDS, THIS WILL PUT A LUMP IN YOUR THROAT.... ALL THEY LEFT OUT WAS ABOUT OUR PIG PICKENS, OYSTER ROASTS, SWEETGRASS BASKETS, CRABBIN ... AND THE SMELL OF PLUFF MUD TELLIN YOU YOU'RE HOME...... AND WE DO GO BARE-FOOTED AN AWFUL LOT.
My South
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, Co lo. 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 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, 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 has kick the can, creek swimming, cane-pole fishing and bird
hunting.
In my South, football is king, and the Southeastern
Conference and the Atlantic 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 is 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 the country. The Beatles' performance on the Ed Sullivan Show
was
even on our TV's !
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.
My South
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, Co lo. 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 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, 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 has kick the can, creek swimming, cane-pole fishing and bird
hunting.
In my South, football is king, and the Southeastern
Conference and the Atlantic 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 is 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 the country. The Beatles' performance on the Ed Sullivan Show
was
even on our TV's !
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.