Trash or Treasure?

A 2007 United States Census Bureau report listed Mississippi as the poorest state in the Nation. It definitely isn't the most popular one; between 2000 and 2005, there was a net migration of a mere 75 people into the state.

We do have some sad statistics:

-Per capita personal income in 2006 was the lowest of any state in the U.S.
-For three years in a row, over 30 percent of Mississippians have been classified as obese.
-22.8 percent of its children were also classified as obese.
-In 2004, Mississippi was ranked last among the fifty states in academic achievement by the American Legislative Exchange Council's Report Card on Education
-Mississippi has the lowest average ACT scores and spending per pupil in the nation.

We also have some goofy, backward, amusing and downright strange laws on the books:

-Cattle rustling is still punishable by hanging, pard'ner.
-Private citizens may personally arrest any person that disturbs a church service.
-No turtle races may be held at the airport.
-Mississippi was the last state to repeal Prohibition of alcohol.
-As a result, we have more "dry" counties than any state
-Some counties allow the sale of beer, but only if it's unrefrigerated (you can have your beer, Homer, but you ain't gettin' it cold!)

Because of things like this, and because of the state's complex history, most people have some very strong, negative pre-conceived ideas about Mississippi.

Amazingly enough, those who come and visit anyhow usually change their minds. I recently stopped into Taylor's Food Store for a cup of coffee and a chat. As I headed back to the deli counter, I saw Mr. Sonny talking to a tall man in bicycle shorts and a dayglo yellow windbreaker--not standard attire for these parts. Turns out he is a native Californian who, at the age of 63, was in the midst of his third cross-country bicycle tour. He had first driven from coast to coast in the northern states, then the central ones; due to learned prejudice and preconceived notions, he had saved the southern route for last.

We asked him for his impressions, and he was genuinely pleasantly surprised at the sincerity, kindness, and helpfulness of Mississippians. He could actually picture leaving his home in the beautiful Napa Valley and living in rural Mississippi, he said. One of the younger locals gathered around couldn't quite believe that statement until several of the rest of us piped up and admitted that we, too, had once been passers-through and have since become transplants, thriving in the local soil and climate of hospitality. We all agreed that you couldn't pay us any sum of money to live anywhere else in the world.

Mississippi may have its shameful statistics, but it has some pretty amazing things to be proud of, too:

-The state has the nation's lowest living costs.
-In spite of having the lowest per capita income, Mississippians consistently rank as one of the highest per capita in charitable contributions.
-Mississippi was the first state to pass a Married Women's Property Act.
-Mississippi has elected more African-American officials than any other state in the United States.
-In 1936 a Mississippi doctor performed the first bone pinning in the United States. This led to the development of the "Rush Pin", which is still in use.
-The first human lung transplant was performed in 1963 at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi.
-In 1964, the first heart transplant was also performed at UMMC.
-The world-renowned USA International Ballet Competition takes place in Jackson every four years.

Culturally, Mississippi has so rich a heritage!

Mississippi has generated rich, quintessentially American music traditions: gospel music, country music, jazz, blues, and rock and roll were all invented, promulgated, or heavily developed by Mississippi musicians.

The Delta region has been historically significant in the development of the blues, producing such greats as: Charlie Patton, Muddy Waters, Mississippi John Hurt, Willie Brown, Big Joe Williams, Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, and B.B. King. The state also played a significant role in the integration of American music. Its musicians combined musical traditions from Africa with the musical traditions of white Southerners, which were largely rooted in Celtic music, to create Creole music.

Mississippi's complex history has inspired great storytellers. Award-winning authors native to or associated with the state include William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Eudora Welty, Richard Wright, Ellen Douglas, Willie Morris, Shelby Foote, Margaret Walker Alexander, Ellen Gilchrist, Alice Walker, John Grisham, and James Autry.

Come on down and find out why it's called the Hospitality State, and savour some of the rich traditions that make up the best of Mississippi. It sure isn't what you thought it was, and you might even stay a while...

A Southern Girl's ABC

A is for Ants--step on a mound
and burning red bites on your feet will be found.
B is for Bubby, which might sound quite strange
but it's Southern for "Baby", a loving nickname.
C is for Coke, which is what you call soda--
whether it's Sprite, Pepsi, Root Beer, or Cola.
D is a Dollah, but now it's much mo'
when you go to pay fo' that Coke at the sto'.
E is Engagin'--which means glib or charming,
especially if a man's smile is disarming.
F is for Flip flops girls wear on their feet
from March 'til late fall without missin' a beat.
G is for Grits on the back of the stove;
never use instant, real down-home folks know.
H is a Harley, the cycle of choice;
no Japanese brands for a good Southern boy!
I is for Ice Storm--something you'll never
see on the Gulf Coast as part of the weather.
J is "Jus' folks", people like you and me
who are not pretentious, just ordinary.
K is a Kiss on the lip or the cheek;
down here, don't air kiss--you'll be up the creek.
L is L'z'yanne, which is how we pronounce
Loo-wee-zee-an-na down here in the South.
M is M'ssip, as the folks down here say,
and we're not at all slow, 'cause we spell it O.K.
N is for Nasty, what Southerners say
when something that's yucky crops up in their way.
O is for Okra, Opry, and Ol';
Ornery, and quite a few other words more.
P is "The Pig", a grocery store;
"Piggly Wiggly"s the name that hangs over the door.
Q is for Quick--not as fast as up North,
but a whole lot more courteous, that you can bet.
R is for Reg'lar, a term that applies
to food, drink, and folks that are simple and wise.
"Hey, Sensuous..." means 'Since You Is' on your feet,
could you bring me a drink on your way back here, sweet?
T is a Truck, not a Mercedes Benz;
F-350 is status for rich Southern men.
U is Ungodly, as in how hot;
how expensive; how rude; how long you had to wait.
V is Vivacious, what Southern Belles are
when talkin' to jus' folks from near or afar.
W's "Woman!"--what men call their gals
with playful respect, very rarely a scowl.
X marks the spot for a good pirate's treasure;
for a moonshiner, XXX marks a strong beverage.
Y has to be "Y'all", the endearing way
to address more than one when you call to say "hey".
Z is "Zee end!" --what a Creole would say
after a crawfish boil on a hot day.

I Agree With Morgan Freeman

I first became aware of Morgan Freeman when I was four and five years old, watching The Electric Company. I loved to hear the smooth and mellow tone of his voice sounding out words far more than Rita Moreno's or even Bill Cosby's, though I loved them all for bringing my favorite thing in the world--reading--to the television.

As a young adult, I began to respect and admire not only his acting skills, but also the roles he chose and the reasons he chose them. "He will be another Sidney Poitier", I mused to myself at the time.

Now 40, I realize that--thankfully--he will forever be "just" Morgan Freeman. I have incredible respect for the man. For the last few weeks, in the menu bar at right I've had a link to a book forward that he wrote, Why I Call Mississippi Home. I identified with many of his reasons for loving this state as he does.

This is not plagarization. His essay inspired me to share with you some of the reasons I, too, live in Mississippi.

• I have travelled all over the U.S. and all over the world, and Mississippi is no more or no less racist than the rest of it. Those that do harbor racist sentiments are at least up front and honest about it. I'd rather deal with a person who is honest about what s/he believes, no matter how distasteful it is, than those who conceal their prejudice with politically correct terms.
• Mississippians of all leanings are blunt, forthright and unapologetic about who and what they are; if you don't like it, you can go your way in peace. There is no pretense here.
• I can sit on my porch, gaze across 2 acres of lush green landscape that I can call mine, listen to birds singing and frogs chirping, and be at peace.
• I can see stars at night...LOTS of stars.
• I can lay out in my yard watching them all night long without worrying about becoming a criminal statistic.
• I don't have to lock my car in the grocery store parking lot. Better yet, I don't have to lock it when it's parked outside my house.
• For that matter, I don't have to lock my house while I'm inside it. Nor do I have to lock it if I'm going to the store for milk.
• I am far from smog, the frantic pace of city life and the stresses of trying to cope with it, and the loneliness of never really knowing who your true friends are.
• People I encounter are friendly, courteous, helpful, generous, polite, and often extremely funny. They know how to relax and have a good time.
• I am far enough from my neighbors that I can't hear their conversations or their vehicles.
• I am close enough to my neighbors to reach them in less than a minute if they need help.
• My neighbors have come running in less than a minute.
• For that matter so did passing EMTs--when a controlled burn jumped its firebreak on our side acre last summer. They helped us fight the blaze until the fire department arrived.
• Neighbors cooperate and work together to make the most of what they have.
• So do businesses.
• Mississippi isn't anything like the stereotypes I've always heard. Rather, it feels like the home for which I have always longed.
• I live here because I can live anywhere I want to...and this is where I want to live.

Current Events

Looking through the paper for things to do this weekend yielded some interesting options.

"And You Thought There Was No Culture In Mississippi":

• Second Saturday Art Walk in Bay St. Louis
• Biloxi Theatre Presents "A Raisin in The Sun"
• The International Ballet Competition takes place once every four years in Mississippi (no, this is not a joke), at Thalia Mara Hall in downtown Jackson, and some of the best in ballet from around the world compete.

If you'd rather do something outdoors, you can select from:

• Educational Tours at the MS Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge
• Gulf Coast Garden and Patio Show
• Magnolia State Volkssport Club Volksmarch

For all you sports fans:

• Sea Wolves ice hockey game (vs. Pensacola)
• Stock Car Racing at the South Mississippi Speedway
• Gulf Coast Winter Classics Horse Show

"You Know There's Jus' No Culturin' Some Folks":

• The Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi presents "Rockin' the Cage--MMA featuring BUTTERBEAN!" For all the uninitiated (including me), MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts--kind of the Kung Fu version of World Wrestling Federation. But a guy called Butterbean??? The name doesn't exactly leave opponents quaking in fear...

Name That Town

If you're thinking about moving South to experience small town living for yourself, you may find that you end up with a much more interesting mailing address than your current one.

Many, if not most roads in the Deep South are named for either

- a local landmark (Old Pump House Road, Paper Mill Road);
- a topographical feature (Big Level, Swampy Lick);
- a navigational use (Shortcut); or
- someone who owns, or once owned, the land (Billy Bob Thornton Road, Cletis Pipkins Road).

Although many communities are named after their founders, many more have absolutely intriguing names. On my honor, I did not make these up!

In Mississippi, you might enjoy setting up house in:

Chunky
Coffeeville (no tea drinkers allowed)
Coldwater (if you like hot showers, you're out of luck)
Ecru (don't even think about painting your house red!)
Guntown (residency requirement: must own minimum of 3 firearms)
Quitman (they give up easily here)
Scooba (alas...nowhere near water)
Soso (Mediocrity Capitol of the World)


If you'd rather live in Alabama, there's:

Boligee (Inside my head, I hear this spoken in a thick Indian accent: "Bolly gee, boss, I was only kidding!")
Eclectic (We Welcome All Kinds)
Moody (PMS Capitol of the World?)
Reform (straighten up...or else!)
Shorter (Alas, Taller is nowhere to be found)
Trussville (Hernia Sufferers' colony?)

If worse comes to worse, there's always Louisiana:

Cut Off (don't expect to have many visitors here)
Eros (if you're looking for love...)
Sulfur (Brimstone is just down the road a bit)