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i, for one, agree and stand w/ you about ms. i really get tired of people bashing the state. just as every other, it has its problems, yet, from the state's northern region to its southern region, to the east and to the west, i have found the state to be a collection of wonderful people. down to earth, gracious, welcoming, and full of pride. many are poor, but i had one of the best dinners in my entire life just outside of ripley, ms. a lady, who worked as an lpn invited me, and my college room mates to her very humble home, which was so far back in the sticks that i could never find it again on my own. she wanted to thank us for singing at her mother's funeral service. she stated that she could not afford to pay us for our deed, but she wanted to cook for us. my best friend was the son of her mother's emergency room doctor, and my best friend was finishing up undergraduate school, and preparing to enter medical school. it was one of the most humbling things i have ever had the pleasure of being involved. she prepared fresh fried chicken, fresh cured ham, all the vegetables were from her garden. purple hull peas, butter beans, sliced tomatoes, fried okra, new potatoes w/ green beans, fried squash, turnip greens, and skillet corn bread. for dessert, homemade caramel pie, chocolate pie, and homemade ice cream w/ fresh carrot cake. iced tea w/ fresh lemon to drink---we brought the lemon because i love it in my tea.
as we began to eat, i noticed how hot it was i the house at the dinner table. she had no air conditioning. i noticed that it was sort of dark in the house, even though the doors to the kitchen and front were open. suddenly, we heard thunder, and the sky opened up w/ rain on the tin roof of her home. we talked as much as possible, we laughed as small impish children, and gobbled down this royal feast in the true country southern style. it was a blessing, and, for some reason i thought of the gospels, when jesus went to mary's and martha's house. how much this woman was concerned about our visit and our company.
frankly, i had never been in such an old and poorly appointed house. cardboard and plastic on the windows, wide plank floors which allowed us to see the ground in some areas, and a valid fear and concern that the struggling structure would w/stand the storm were just some of the things on our minds, initially. in order to catch the rain water,pots had to be dispersed throughout some of the rooms. as we continued the meal, i closely watched our hostess, i watched her smiles, her pride in her ability to please so many w/ the food prepared, her love for the life she was living. i remembered then what my parents had told me on several occasions, before visiting someone, regardless of who they might be: "...you accept a piece of bread w/ a smile and a spirit of graciousness w/ a genuine show of thankfulness and a hearty "thank you", whether it has peanut butter on it or cavier, you make sure that you thank them for the extra effort."
it was about a month ago that my best friend and i spoke. i brought up the subject of jeanie, and, i asked how she was doing. i was saddened to learn of her death about three weeks prior to this conversation. my friend and i went on to discuss what we have always called "jeanie's meal". after i hung up the phone, i welled up w/ tears, continued to think of that southern experience in ms, said a prayer of thanksgiving for her life, and went to bed a better person. to conclude, i have been to many fine events in ms where the finest silver, placements, servants, and food and drink have been served ms style. these events were just as fine, they were just in another venue. i'm glad ms can be itself, w/out the apparent need to reinvent itself as the east, pacific west or mexico.
Amen to that KingChef. Keepin' those Southern mannerisms and pleasantries alive. You can still get a pretty good dose of it here in Oklahoma/Texas.
bass and catfish, i believe you probably can. i find the people of ok and texas, particularly from brownwood up to ok, to be very much alike. most seem to be laid back, level headed, and most speak what is on their mind. thanks for your comments. by the way, did you ever find out if your mama made what i call "ok stew?" just wondering. i was thinking of your postings last year. my brother was putting together a fish fry, and he was telling me about the 6.8 lb crappie he caught w/ my younger brother in the boat. they caught 18 crappie, 23 shellcrackers, and two large mouth bass. pretty good, huh? i/ve been too busy to go, thus i have to hear the stories and live the experience vicariously. how's the fishing in your area? for some reason, i was thinking that the pan handle had sort of been rain starved until the last 7 or 8 months. maybe the wrong information.
bass and catfish, i believe you probably can. i find the people of ok and texas, particularly from brownwood up to ok, to be very much alike. most seem to be laid back, level headed, and most speak what is on their mind. thanks for your comments. by the way, did you ever find out if your mama made what i call "ok stew?" just wondering. i was thinking of your postings last year. my brother was putting together a fish fry, and he was telling me about the 6.8 lb crappie he caught w/ my younger brother in the boat. they caught 18 crappie, 23 shellcrackers, and two large mouth bass. pretty good, huh? i/ve been too busy to go, thus i have to hear the stories and live the experience vicariously. how's the fishing in your area? for some reason, i was thinking that the pan handle had sort of been rain starved until the last 7 or 8 months. maybe the wrong information.
good to hear from you.
Hey KingChef!
I can't remember if I asked them or not about OK Stew. Next time I get together with 'em I'll ask them....they're Okies born&raised (their families originally came from North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, and Mississippi.) Can you remind me of the ingredients again? They know about all things Okie, so I'm guessing they'll be familiar with it.
My mouth is watering on that fish fry. Sounds great....the only thing I like to eat more than fried bass lightly breaded in cornmeal (pork ribs and okra notwithstanding, haha) is fried catfish.
Fishing is very good in Oklahoma and Texas. I took my brood fishing last week in an Oklahoma farm pond (red dirt and all) and we caught us a bunch: largemouth bass, perch, and one of my sons landed a big 'ol fat channel cat. We had a lot of fun. Not much that this old man likes to do more than catch fish.
The panhandle is geographically not much like central and eastern Oklahoma. It is more of mixture between the Southern Plains and the Southwest...pretty dry, and on the whole gets less rain than the rest of Oklahoma. So yeh, you're right about that.
Missouri isn't a southern state, but the Missouri Bootheel is southern as could be. Once you get south of the hills (south of Cape Girardeau) and down into Cotton Country, things are much more southern than midwestern. Kind of strange how quickly it changes...culture, accent, everything. I live south of the cotton line (as dad calls it) and I have had people from Cape Girardeau ask me if I'm from Texas or somewhere because of my accent.
PS: To get all technical about it, one can live in Missouri and be south of some so-called southerners in Arkansas .
Kentucky would have to be one of the most southern states. It has very few major cities, which contributes to the rural southern lifestyle of the state. The accent alone puts it in the top 5.
Are you serious? You've never been to east Texas, or southeast Texas. It is 120% southern, I live here, I know. Just as southern as Mobile, just with more of a Louisiana flair with nearby Cajun influence and similar seafood and fishing industry. The Texas gulf coast is tied in very well with the rest of the coast.
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