southern girl on southern Christmas tradition

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.- Washington Irving

I have always thought of Christmas as a good time; a kind, forgiving, generous, pleasant time; a time when men and women seem to open their hearts freely, and so I say, God bless Christmas!- Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

      I have always loved Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It's classic, short, British, and has overwhelming depth along with a lighthearted Christmas spirit that I truly believe anyone can enjoy. I read it every year around this time, and this year is no different. It brings to me thoughts that should encompass a person at this time of year, keeping in mind the less fortunate as well as those who really hold meaning in our lives. As you may know, in the first chapter of this heartwarming and honest tale, Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley. Upon Scrooge deeming him a good business man in life, Marley so vehemently replied, "Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business." How powerful a sentiment is that? I believe it is not only suitable for this time of year, but all year 'round and it particularly resonates with me, as it should with us as a nation, after the dreadful shooting that recently took place in Newtown, Connecticut. May God bring peace and hope to those families, especially at this time of year when loss seems to be magnified beyond our comprehension. The common good is our business, as Marley said. Sometimes I believe we lose sight of that.      Although these are trying times, the holiday season still brings warmth to me and I continue to see the affect it has on society. Irving spoke of "hospitality in the hall" and "charity in the heart" which I believe crops up in unusual places and unexpected ways this time of year. The society of relatively warm and hospitable Southerners, among whom I reside, become even more warm and friendly, and the words "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Holidays" hang in the air, even in department stores and large retail centers where the hustle and bustle of this season can make anyone jaded and cross. There are more smiles to be seen and shared, and it seems that they spread a little more quickly.     One characteristic of the South at yuletide is that it's full of people wishing for white Christmases and never getting them, a fact we've come to terms with, but still hold out hope for change. (With the threat of global climate change, I don't really think our chances are getting better, but I hope along with everyone else.) "It's not Christmas if the snow don't fall," - Mistletoe. Wrong Colbie Caillat. Although it can be colder here than a witch's titty in a brass bra (as my Daddy always says), I don't believe I've ever seen a white Christmas in southwest Arkansas, and I'm pretty sure we still celebrated with all the joy and cheer of those lucky snow covered northern states. We also make more food per family than any family can reasonably eat, but I'm not sure that's something the South is singularly guilty of. I will be partaking in not one, but two full-fledged Christmas meals this year and I'm working on an exercise schedule in advance. Food is one of my favorite parts of the season, and holiday weight is my least favorite. Spare me the contradiction.     As a Southerner who was raised in the Christian faith, as many of us are known to have been here in the Bible belt, I have many fantastic memories of church related celebrations at Christmas time. I have participated in too many Christmas carols and live nativities to count, as well as gatherings and parties with the nearest and dearest to celebrate the faith we share. All held together by prayer, hot cider and cocoa, and gift giving. It's a warmth that soothes to my very bones and has anchored a feeling of happiness for me this time of year. Because of my faith, my connection to Christmas goes back to the birth of Jesus and the gift he brought to the world. Hope is that gift, and the bleakness of the world would overcome me without it. I think that regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas for religious reasons, as I do, or because it is a tradition worldwide, or if you celebrate another holiday this time of year, there is a warmth to society that exudes from us because this time of year is special. Particularly so here in my dear South.       This year, Christmas has an added bonus as we are celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of my beloved grandparents. 50 years! I cannot fathom a marriage, much less a lifetime of 50 years. They are and have been a true rock in my life, and continue to set an example that I would be proud to follow through life. I was blessed with two sets of grandparents and one set of great grandparents who have been present and strong examples through my life. They have shown upstanding character and provided visions of what marriage was intended to be, which is refreshing in a society of 50% plus divorce rates and broken homes. Families are capable of growing and changing when they're broken, not always resulting in disfunction and sorrow as we sometimes perceive, but I do hope that any marriage I might have in the future is never plagued by divorce and dissension. My grandparents give me reason to maintain that hope.     And there it is again, that word hope. Tonight, as I head out to distribute candy canes and collect donations for the Make A Wish Foundation, I have a splendid Christmas Eve ahead of me. Perhaps I will help deliver hope to a family who desperately needs it. And that is really what Christmas is about, isn't it? How lucky am I to get to spend it south of the Mason-Dixon line with my Southern family? Blessed beyond belief.      In general and historically speaking, people seem to be a little kinder, happier, warmer, and more compassionate this time of year. At least they do here in my Southern home. I hope they do wherever y'all are as well. And may you have hospitality in your halls, and love in your heart this Christmas, and I say "God Bless it!"

southern girl on emotional labor

"How dare you? How can you squander even one more day not taking advantage of the greatest shifts of our generation? How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable."
- Seth Godin, Purple Cow

"Being noticed is not the same as being remarkable. Running down the street naked will get you noticed, but it won't accomplish much. It's easy to pull off a stunt but not useful."
-Seth Godin, blog

     I've been reading a lot of Seth Godin lately. Seth tells me that I can be an artist. Seth tells me that in order to succeed in this rapidly changing world that I have to pursue art in my very being, go against my "lizard brain", and stop being a cog in the corporate machine that America's old system has raised me to be. Seth inspires me! Seth frustrates the dog out of me. (First Southernism of the day.)
     For all this and more read Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin.

     I didn't start this blog today to rave on about Seth and the many things he has to teach us as a society. He can do that himself. But what I do want to address is the art that he so frequently writes about. You have to be an artist to get ahead. Does that mean I have to learn to paint? photograph? draw? sculpt? No. It means that whatever you do, you should strive to invest emotional labor into it. That's what sets you apart from others. That's what people will remember you for, will cause them to remark about you later. The art is the emotion in the mundane.

    A remarkable man came to speak to my 8:00 AM Introduction to Hospitality class a couple of weeks ago. (He actually introduced me to the works of Seth Godin.) His name is Michael Chaffin and he is the general manager of the Capital Hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas. (http://www.capitalhotel.com/site/. Book a room today!) He is an emotional laborer. You can look up his bio online and here's a link to his blog, http://www.starinthemargin.com/, all about the art of hospitality. Since hospitality is the calling I have answered, his insights very much intrigue me. Anyway, the point is that he also introduced me to the existence of Willie the Walmart greeter of Maumelle, AR. Yes, you read correctly. Willie is a Walmart greeter who has a profound affect on people's lives. He actually....wait for it....WELCOMES you to Walmart and not only that, he makes you feel good about being there and shopping, making the whole experience a little easier to stomach. That's talent, right there. Talent and effort combined can produce an explosive reaction. Rumor has it that children's whole day can be ruined if they go to Walmart and don't get to see Willie. (I have a feeling adults may feel the same way, but aren't as readily admitting it.) Here's a short clip of Willie in action.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyiZ4lAZ4E8

 

This is Willie in a picture taken from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. It's one of my goals to go shopping in Maumelle and meet this man. Anyone who can make me not hate my Walmart shopping experience has to be a miracle worker. (No offense Walmart.) He's a local legend!

    This tells me that Willie is an artist. He's perfectly happy being a Walmart greeter. He invests in it emotionally and he reaps the benefits. So does everyone else. 

    It has never been my dream to be a Walmart door greeter, nor will it ever be, but I can learn a lot from this man, from the Willies, Michael Chaffins, Seth Godins, Steve Jobs's, Jack Whites, Harper Lees, etc. of the world who produce art and create emotional inspiration, in the things, tasks, and people they touch.  

   So, here's a question, how can I, you, me, we be the emotion, the innovator, the piece that hold things together wherever we are in life? Is my job at the Embassy Suites as a banquet server really that important? Would the whole place fall apart without me? How about as a graduate student? Would the program sincerely miss my presence if I dropped out tomorrow? What scares me the most is that the answer to these questions is "NO". Today and for the past few weeks I have lived in a state of inspiration. I have to figure out how to add to these places. Seth taught me to always start investing emotionally where I am currently. Don't wait for the perfect situation to come along, because the truth of the matter is, it never will come. You have to make it so. I have to make it so. That's hard! 

    I'm trying to adopt a new hospitality philosophy. I'm attempting to combine my at home hospitality views with my at work hospitality views. It's hard to change a 25 year mentality y'all. When you come to my house, I want you to be comfortable. I want you to feel at home. If I don't offer you something to drink within the first 5 minutes, shame on me. "Need a beverage?" "Are you cold, how about a blanket?" "How's your mom and them?" Southerners are supposed to be warm and welcoming and put guests first, as per my raising (the way I was raised). But at work, do I act this way? Not usually. I just do my job and go home = cog in the machine. People want to be treated with warmth. Not like they are in one big, cold convention center or hotel where the food magically appears in front of them and magically disappears. That's not personal at all. I may not chat them up like I would if they were guests in my home (since they're usually at an event for reasons other than talking to the wait staff) but I can make them feel at home while they're there. You want coffee?! I've got coffee! And if I don't, I'll go make you some with a smile on my face and spring in my step as I go. That's the goal (but many times not the reality). 

    Michael Chaffin told my class that he adopted the philosophy of being an innkeeper early in his career. He's not a general manager in the big bad business sort of sense. He's an innkeeper. His job is to keep the inn and make sure the guests feel at home. Not only the guests, but the employees as well. He said in his blog post, "Treat People Like Family," that he treats subordinates at work like family. It's not in what you say, but how you say it. If you wouldn't say it to the people you love, don't say it to the people you work with. What powerful insight. It must be working since The Capital made the 2012 TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice Top 25 Hotels in the United States. Not too shabby. http://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Hotels

  I take all of this to mean that everyone in hospitality should be a little more Southern. Okay, okay, what I really mean is that traditionally and culturally Southerners are known to be welcoming and hospitable. That's what this industry is looking for. And as for the rest? Well, even if you work at the Quik Sak on the late shift you should look for ways to enhance people's lives while you're at it. You will reap the benefits of that mentality. That's the kind of thing that makes you indispensable.

   I have friends who are actual artists. In fact, I am drawn to them like a moth to a flame. I like to think, no, I know that all of my close friends are artists to some degree or another. They are all passionate about what they endeavor to do, be it their jobs or when they're crafting at home (as many of them tend to be rather crafty.) One of my friends is an actual artist by trade. Here is a sample of her work: http://jordankennedy.500px.com/. She's brilliant and beautiful and she inspires others to be passionate about things they might never pursue otherwise. (Love you Jordan.) And there are others: Lacey Gebhart, Jillian Johnson, Rachel Acosta, Stacey Perry, all the Ashleys, my little brother Clint, my parents, the list goes on and on making me realize how much of a blessing these people are to my life. They are essential to my being, and they spread their gifts to those around them, wherever they are and whatever they're doing. (At least three of them live halfway across the country from me.) 

   Pardon my friend rant. What I want the few readers of this blog post to take away from it is that you have the capability to be useful, unique, and bring emotion and art to the areas in which you participate, no matter what they are. Whether it be working at a museum, in the science department of a university, as a resident director, a stay-at-home mom, an actual artist, or a kid in the band; we as people are now on the market for emotion, as well as skill. Bring it to the table, or spend a lifetime wondering what could have been. Self-fulfillment starts with us. Challenge accepted. 

southern girl on football season

'Football is only a game.  Spiritual things are eternal.  Nevertheless, Beat Texas ' -  Seen  on 
a church sign in Arkansas prior to the 1969  game.

"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."
- Vince Lombardi

When asked if Fayetteville was the end of the world.  'No, but you can see it from here.' -  Lou  Holtz / Arkansas .... 

Bear Bryant's three rules for coaching: 
1. Surround yourself with people who can't live without football. 
2. Recognize winners. They come in all forms. 
3. Have a plan for everything. 


Football. The South. Fall.

Aren't those some comforting words y'all?

You may have noticed that I included several quotes in this entry. That's because I couldn't pick just one. Not all are from the South mind you, but indicative of the football loving spirit all the same (or the Arkansas spirit). Southerners see football differently. It's almost like a seasonal religion. Ask a local Southerner how they feel about it. Case in point, this evening (a Friday) I called my grandmother to chat for a while. It didn't occur to me that not only she, but also everyone else in my family, were at the local high school football game. Locals duking it out via pigskin on 100 yards of dirt and grass. Down in the Holler (hollow) is where my high school football team played ball. It's called that because it's kind of in a valley and when it gets cold outside, brother let me tell you, the Holler is usually a few degrees frigid. Might freeze something off just by attending a football game. That's where my love of football started though, right there in that valley field. That's where I learned to be a football fan and to follow the game. I became emotionally involved and team support became a part of my being.

Also, while I was in high school, I was greatly encouraged to support the state college football team, because few states have as much college team pride as Arkansas. The Arkansas Razorbacks are the biggest team in the state. It's not like there is a pro team to root for or even multiple college teams in division 1 so that fans can root against each other. Nope, just the one. So everywhere you go within our great state, you will find the red and white of the Razorbacks in the form of flags, stickers, yard Hogs (I'll attach a picture), t-shirts, caps, specially made Toms, jewelry, etc. ALL over the state. If you're wearing Texas or LSU watch your back (but not too seriously cause it's not like we're as crazy as the cajun fans of the great state of Louisiana. Seriously, there you have to watch your back. No offense LA friends. You know it's true.)  
I attended my first ever Arkansas Razorback football game last weekend. (For shame I know, since I'm knocking on 25's door, but what can I do?) What. An. Experience. Too bad it wasn't against Alabama or LSU, cause we kicked some serious tail. No matter, a win is a win. The morale they have and level to which the serious Razorback fans take their pride is astonishing really. My roommate, who is from Los Angeles/Boston had never seen anything like the team pride shown on our college campus. She constantly reminds me how different that is from her home state(s). She loves the school spirit! As do I, however, I have a small confession....I would 10 times rather watch the Dallas Cowboys play football on TV than even be in the stadium to watch the Razorbacks play and that pretty much makes me a traitor. Especially since I now attend the University of Arkansas, so don't tell.

Since before I was born my father has been a Dallas Cowboys fan. Big time. When I was younger, I could have cared less about them, but after high school, I hopped on the band wagon. (Remember, football had become an integral part of my life by this time and I had to get my fix somewhere.)  I attribute this to the fact that I did not attend the University of Arkansas for my undergraduate degree, but instead went to the University of Central Arkansas (where I did attend football games thank you very much). Therefore, I made it a point to support my university team (Go Bears!) and not the Razorbacks. I missed out on some crucial state college team support time during those four years because I came out of them a die hard Cowboys fan and even converted one or more of my roommates. (See, football IS like religion.) One game attendance, two jerseys (which I actually wear), a bit of Cowboy memorabilia, a tour of the new Cowboys Stadium, and a LOT of yelling at the TV makes me a true fan in my book. If I could afford to attend a game in the new stadium I would, but that's not happening for a while. I make it a point to watch them play every time and I see it through until the beautiful or ugly end. Emotional investment. We beat the Giants this Wednesday, by the way, and it was glorious. First win of football season belongs to the 'Boys! I'm with them win or lose, no matter how angry they manage to make me. Fandom: the act of being ridiculous over people you don't know who play a sport that does not make that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. It's awesome!

So, visit your Southern state of choice this fall and get in on the football spirit! You can probably pick up a t-shirt or cap at the local Wal-Mart and you'll fit right in. Just act like you couldn't be more excited to be there and cheer when the local team scores. It will be an experience you'll never forget, I promise.

southern girl on university society

"You can never be overdressed or overeducated."
- Oscar Wilde

I have to say, I am in strict agreement with Mr. Wilde on this matter. Today, I started graduate classes at the University of Arkansas (Woo Pig Sooie), the pride of Arkansas and a well known Southern university, of which I am proud. I am older than the majority of students on campus, and I don't consider myself to be old at the ripe young age of 24, thank you very much. However, I walked on campus to a culture shock today. They are in many ways so different than me even though the seniors are just three or four years my junior. There is a social gap there. Some of the conversations I heard today made me want to laugh out loud, and not because they were meant to be funny, but because a lot of these people are clueless! I feel like it wasn't that long ago that I was an undergraduate myself. In fact, it was just a little over two years ago that I graduated, but times are changing rapidly. Back then, we wore some of our best and most favored outfits on the first day of school, as we always had since kindergarten. It was instilled in us to look our best for the first day, as it was the first impression of the year, and we took pride in that. Today, the typical and most favored attire for the undergraduate girl-woman-lady is athletic shorts and the brightest neon or most oversized t-shirt they can find (which in many cases almost completely covers their short shorts). Call me old fashioned, but I would prefer to work out, sleep, or make a dollar store appearance in my oversized t-shirts and never wear anything that short out in public. Southern belle tip: no one wants to see things riding up where they don't belong.... So, back to Mr. Wilde's "overdressed" sentiment, it's being rooted out in certain parts of society. (Not that these people aren't capable of dressing up. I'm sure they do it for all kinds of social functions.) Wake up grandma! You're not young and hip anymore! Back in my day, you waited until at least the second week of school to get comfortable enough to wear pajama pants or workout attire. (And even then I always made the effort to at LEAST put on a pair of jeans, complete with belt and appropriate shoes.) You don't have to tell me; I'm a true diamond in the rough.

I sat in my first graduate level class today. It was easy. There are only about ten graduate students in it and over fifty undergraduate students because the university upped enrollment this year and didn't hire any extra faculty. That's perfectly fine, I fully support education and everyone's right to have it and I am even okay with being in a room full of undergraduate seniors. But they're seniors. They should be able to comprehend more now than ever before in their educational careers. I had freshman level courses more difficult than this one is going to be. I'm not blaming the professor either. She's wonderful, witty, my advisor, and a hard worker. I haven't even heard her lecture yet. But I know she has had to, forgive me, dumb down the course over the years to accommodate the new generation of students who are gracing the University grounds. Bless their cotton-pickin' hearts.
Not only is the education system a bit different than what I had grown accustomed to as an undergrad, but I only thought people my age overused the phrase, "like". "Like, I came to Fayetteville, for like, a degree, that like, makes me look, like, smarter and stuff, like..." These days it goes a little something "LIKE" that.  One can never be "overeducated." There is always room for improvement. For example, I can't truly remember if the period goes before or after the quotation marks in the previous sentence. My education could improve in that area.

I just want you to know that I appreciate this younger generation as much as I hold disdain for them. I worked with them at the high school level for two years and they have many fantastic qualities as they are generally more accepting of diversity and eager to dream and succeed (although not ready always to do what it takes to reach their goals.) They are a social bunch as the world has never seen before and have new and differing communication skills that can in many ways be admired. (Although it seems sometimes they would rather text each other while sitting side by side than actually have a face to face conversation.) I'm trying not to sound like a hater here, so let me just say this: there are things that university society is undergoing at present that I would change. Moving forward is important, yes, as long as it really is forward and not backward. Times are different, but some things are classic and timeless and they were good ideas to begin with. My advice to the generation behind me is to take pride in what you do, look as professional as the setting calls for (and I do believe that means NOT wearing pjs and shorty shorts to class), and expound upon your education. We're better than all multiple choice exams. Think critically! I know it can be challenging, but that's the way it's supposed to be. What can you learn if you never push yourself? I had professors who greatly challenged me as an undergraduate student and for that I will be forever grateful to them. They had never heard of a multiple choice or true/false exam. How about an all essay midterm and final and a few book quizzes = the class. Do it right or flunk. It made me better at many things that I endeavor to do, because I made it through that challenge. Similar challenges will make you better too.

You're capable young ones! You can be the best there has ever been, as can I! But we have to accept the challenge. And as a general rule for success remember, "you can NEVER be overdressed or overeducated."

southern girl on summer heat

   "Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer's day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum."

                To Kill a Mockingbird  - Harper Lee

     This is one of my favorite descriptions of southern summer heat. There's something about it that makes it so romantic and appealing. (The appealing part, I think, is the "soft teacakes with frostings..."). For me, in a Southern frame of mind, it makes me long for the old days when people dressed up daily, ladies really did bathe twice a day as a rule, and the world was a simple place in the summertime.... As Ella Fitzgerald sang it, "Summertime, and livin' is easy..."
     Then I step outside on a day like today, a late April day when most of the country is still "suffering" a spring chill, but here in Arkansas it's humid and hot with some semblance of a cool breeze every once in a while (which is still better than in June - September when the only breeze is warm, damp burst of air) and one wilts into a heap of damp clothing and hair as soon as one steps outside the splendor of air conditioned bliss. This is NOT the summer heat I imagine Lee or Ella talking about. How is it possible that they manage to make heat sound romantic? Books and movies such as Gone with the Wind do the same thing...as if it's a romantic notion to be lying around in corsets when it's unbelievably hot outside and without the delicacy of air conditioning to boot... (You read correctly, I did just call air conditioning a delicacy. I have a bad case of being American.)
     Maybe people have grown soft. Or maybe Lee was wrong, it wasn't hotter then and it's hotter now. Either way, as much as I love the South, summer is all about escaping the outdoors or finding a cool pool of water somewhere to stifle one's temperature. God help you if you're going on vacation in places even further south than Arkansas during the summer. Places like New Orleans or San Antonio. "Sun"brellas and those personalized fans that blow a fine mist may not be the most popular and appealing accessories, but they have their purposes. (I'm usually too proud to carry either, but really jealous of those who bring them along in the end.)
My Irish friend put it best when he said, "Summer here is not about living, it's about surviving." It's also the reason that he doesn't stick around in the summers, but instead goes back to his homeland to "live". (I'm only slightly jealous.)

     I will say this for southern heat and humidity: in the spring (and only rarely in the summer), it brings with it thunderstorms, which are by far my favorite days. (These would be the storms that make noise and rain only, without the threat of tornadoes. That's a different story.) Today is also one of those days. It's unbearably humid outside, and then the clouds start to roll in. The thunder starts in the distance and then makes its way closer. Before you know it, you're sleepy and more comfortable all at once. The thunder is soothing not scary, and you know it will bring with it rain to cool down the air and release the humid buildup that surrounds us. These days are miserable and wonderful all at once and I pray for a whole summer full of them. 

      My recent trip to Fabulous Las Vegas, which is in the desert I might add, prompted me to write about the heat of the summer. That and the unbelievable humidity I experienced in Arkansas today. Every year the heat strikes me in an abrasive and unexpected wave, like a tsunami. Although it's a reoccurring thing, I don't know that you can ever be fully prepared for it. In Vegas, I expected 80 -90 degree weather with absolutely zero humidity. (I was not disappointed in the humidity, because I was dried out like a sponge the second I stepped out of the airport.) However, even though I had left Arkansas in the wake of the death of spring time, I arrived in Vegas to be cold, wind blown, and dried out. Let me repeat that: it was COLD in Vegas. (Let me remind you, it's in the desert.) WHAT??? (We're not talking subarctic temperatures here. It wasn't freezing. But I had on jeans and a jacket and I was shivering from the wind chill, okay?) Out west, everyone says the same thing about the weather, "but it's DRY heat." That's supposed to make it more bearable, right? I wouldn't know. Because it was cold one day and pleasant the next, dry as bones, by God, but pleasant all the same. 
     When summer has reached the South, but not the desert...."Houston, we have a problem." 

*Disclaimer: I realize it's possible that we happened to be in Las Vegas at a time when the weather was doing odd things. Its plausible. Maybe it had been hot there for days and we just missed it. However, I thought it was ironic that I should visit Vegas (again, the desert) and need layers during the day, when I am trying to figure out how to delicately remove more layers at home. Then again, we might have a snow storm sweep the South tomorrow. You never can tell. Global climate change is turning out to be a beast.

So, all this being said, please visit the Southern state of your choice this summer! We'd love to have y'all! We'll make you some nice cold lemonade or (sweet) tea and let you sit on the veranda/ front porch/ back porch a spell. Try your best not to get too hot, and we'll try our best to make the heat as romantic as possible. ;-)

southern girl on southern pride

There are a few things we're proud of in the South...our accents, our football teams, our food, our hospitality, our accomplishments (including ones that lost us the war), oh yeah, and not being born yankees. Many people from the northern, midwestern, western, and eastern parts of the US don't understand this. (And why should they?) I'm going to try to explain it to you. 

   Our accents are recognized all over the English speaking world. In our own home in the US (excluding Alaska, because I didn't find it to be true there) we, the southern states, are known to have the slowest, dumbest sounding accents these parts have ever heard. We say weird phrases ("How y'all doin'?"; "It is fallin' a flood outside!"; "That just burns my biscuits."; "I ain't seen you in a coon's age!" Whatever period of time that may be. I could go on and on.) And some of us put extra syllables or letters in our words ("tha-at" and "warsh"). It just seems nonsensical and a little slow to the rest of these United States. They like to think they're more sophisticated than that. We all know the truth. At any rate, other countries that speak the English language (and Alaska) seem to appreciate these Southern drawls (maybe not so much the Southern twangs and yes there is a difference thank you very much). My experiences in Alaska and Canada taught me that people will approach you rather quickly if you have a Southern accent. They are automatically interested in how and why you wandered so far north, and are always glad to have you there. The Brits also have a solid appreciation for that good ol' Southern drawl (at least the ones that I've met inside the States, since I have never ventured to Britain...yet.) 

   To sum up the spill about the Southern accent which is running rather long, we have them in a variety of dialects and are proud of them to spite the yankees and to impress the other folks. (And I would like to give a special thanks to the HBO series True Blood for increasing the accent's popularity, although it would help if any of us actually sounded like that.)

   Southern pride also comes in the form of football. I don't think this section will take as much explaining. Professional football: The Dallas Cowboys, America's team, who haven't been to the super bowl in muchos años, but whom a large portion of us still root for (and cuss at) every year. (They will rise again.) College football: The SEC. Enough said. High School football: the excitement and autumn pastime of every small town throughout the South which produces events that Hollywood eventually makes movies about because it's just so dang inspirational (The Blind Side, Remember the Titans, Friday Night Lights, etc.) Football pride.

     Southern food is a delicacy. Food for the soul. Lots of fresh vegetables that we fry up in grease, because everything's better fried. (No but really.) Add sugar and butter to it and it's good people! Just ask Paula Dean, she's the food representative. (Some of us are now having to cut back on the grease, butter, and sugar for health reasons, but we appreciate it all the same.) One should visit the South to try grits, cornbread, hush puppies, fried catfish, fried okra, biscuits and gravy, turnip greens (I prefer them without sugar), crawfish (a.k.a. mudbugs), jambalaya, and red beans in rice. There are other things of course, but you should visit the Southern state visitor welcome center of your choice for more details. The varieties of BBQ are endless. 

     Southern hospitality is one of my very favorite things about my Southern home and raisin'. (That's raisin' as in the way in which my parents raised me, not the dried grape variety.) Southerners have in common with the Canadians their approachable and helpful reputation. We really will help if you're lost, we'll invite you in to sit a spell while we get you a glass of extra sweet tea or lemonade, and, if you're in a small town, you're likely to be waved at by everyone who passes you in a car or on the street. (Don't worry, it's not that they know you from somewhere. They wave at EVERYONE. Don't want people to feel left out.) My momma and daddy always told me to be polite, not to sing or smack at the dinner table (that one will get you in trouble), to put my guests first, to keep my commitments no matter how minuscule, and never to invite myself along. (Invitations should come from others.) "Children should be seen and not heard" was kind of on it's way out during my childhood, but I'm thinking about bringing it back. Oh, and to go to church every Sunday to find out why all these things are so important. Other hospitable practices follow suit. 

   Southern accomplishments....yes, we have a few. Several U.S. presidents have come out of the South, some of them rather popular (Bill), and others rather unpopular (George Jr.) depending on whether you're from Arkansas or Texas. Walmart: You either love it or hate it or love/hate it, but you can't deny that it has pretty much taken over the globe. Two of the best novels ever written and the best movies ever made, To Kill a Mockingbird and Gone With the Wind, were set in and written in the South. (Both written by Southern women I might add.) Law, politics, church, and air conditioning (even though its inventor, Willis Carrier, was from the north east coast) are also some things Southerners pride themselves on. By God, we're even proud of the great struggle and war tactics put up by the Confederacy back during the War of Northern Aggression, er, ah...I mean, the Civil War. (Even though we lost. It's rumored that the South will rise again, although this time hopefully without slaves and with a few more railroads and other transportation methods. We've already got the guns for it, since huntin' is another of our regional pastimes.) Losing in itself, it seems, can be an accomplishment.

   Last, but certainly not least, Southerners take great pride in not being born Yankees. With no drawl and no Southern culture, what fun would that be? :-)

*I would like to give a shout out to my yankee friends. I know you appreciate the South and don't take my yankee comments to heart and I thank you for it. You're such good sports.