~My South~

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 and sweet magnolias.
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, hydrangeas,
and
Sweet Magnolias!

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.
 

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

American

by  
                 Birth   
                                                                        Southern 

                                                   by the 

                                                     Grace of  God !