I feel a need to talk about the good things about the south -- the things I truly and deeply love. SO -- this being MY blog, I will:

Gracious southern manners -- I love politeness, I don't care how fake it may be. I would much prefer that someone who holds ill will toward me treat me politely anyway. I like being called "ma'am". I like when strangers address my Pop as "sir". It is --to me-- the RIGHT way to behave. I feel at home with good manners.

Okra -- oh god okra... I have some frying right now. My black sister Gail brought me a mess of it today, and I have been salivating all day thinking about cooking up a panful just for me. I don't know of anyone else but southerners who eat okra, although surely there are others who do. Today's batch I simply washed, salted and put into a pan of bacon drippings to fry up. Sometimes I cut it into pieces and batter it and deep fry it. I love it, the greenness of it. It TASTES as green as it looks. Yummy.

Southern accents -- voices dripping with cane syrup and the deceptively lazy drawl. MIne isn't so pronounced, it has been bastardized by youthful dwelling in northern climes. But I love to hear it.

Southern weather -- I actually don't tolerate heat very well, but I do appreciate being able to step outside any time of the year with only a t-shirt and shorts on with no fear of frost-bite. And, hey, what is air conditioning for, anyway? And I have no clue how to drive on ice. So, I don't. My northern friends laugh at how my area of the world comes to a screeching halt on those extremely rare occasions when it snows. Go ahead and laugh -- it is funny -- and a good time! I also love that we have hurricanes, as long as they are class one or two. My kids still remember "the evacuation" when a class 5 appeared to be heading our way as the best vacation we ever had.

Snakes -- I think I like them because so few people do. But they exist plentifully here and are all beautiful with their varying patterns and colors. I liked them even more when I did a report in grad school about snakebites and found that there are very few deaths from snakebites in the US, and most of the ones that occur are the result of human stupidity, like drunkenly handling one's pet cobra, or belonging to one of those snake-handling churches and expecting god to protect you from your own howling idiocy.

Sweet tea -- though I now drink mine unsweet, I love the whole idea of sweet tea. It is a lovely beverage, as pleasing to the tongue as a southern accent is to the ear.

Southern food besides okra -- biscuits. Chicken and dumplings. Red eye gravy. Pot liquor and corn bread. Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens. Black eyed peas with ham hocks. Rice with anything. Fish fries. Low country boil (for the uninitiated -- a huge pot of potates, corn on the cob, smoked sausage, and shrimp, with a bag of spices boiled in it.) Bits of fatback or bacon in everything. Incredibly salty country ham.

(I am eating my okra now as I type. WIsh I could share it with you!)

The word "y'all". It is PLURAL. Real southerners never say "y'all" to refer to ONE person. It is short for you all. It is one of those charming southern elisions. It is useful. But please, only as a plural!

That's all for now. Time to walk the muttlets.