The South You Won’t See On CMT

Day 173 (Written Saturday June 2) ~ I am often amused, and even more often frustrated by the stereotypes of southern life that you usually see in the movies or tv. The worst offender is actually “country” music (shame on you, you’re as bad as rappers using derogatory racist terms). If you watch an hour of CMT you’d reach the conclusion that all we do is have impromptu parties down by the creek, out by the lake, up in a barn loft or in the middle of a corn field, where girls in cowboy boots, daisy dukes and tied up at the belly flannel shirts dance in truck beds while we good ole boys in our sleeveless t-shirts fight or play a guitar. Have I done all of these things? Yes, but nowhere nearly as often as depicted in country music videos. And the only girls I have ever known that actually wear cowboy boots and hats are the city girls who are trying to “look country” because of what they see in videos. Sorry I’m getting on my soapbox and off my subject. There are, however, a number of stereotypical southern thangs that are very accurate and, by me, dearly beloved. Sweet tea. My Big Mamma made what was essentially tea flavored Kool Aid, with so much sugar in it you could stand a spoon up in the glass. Fried chicken. Yes we eat it a lot and no KFC and Cracker Barrel can’t hold a candle to pretty much anyone’s granny’s recipe. But my favorite of all is southern ceremonies like weddings and funerals. Have you seen the wedding scene from Steel Magnolias? That captures it as well as anything I’ve ever seen. This weekend I got to enjoy a wonderful Southern wedding (Congratulations Jake & Leslie!). It was outdoors in the evening, lights in the trees, hydrangeas on the tables, the mommas and grandmothers made most everything, Coca-Cola, Sun-Drop, Orange Crush and Nehi Grape in the bottle in ice tubs, mason jar lanterns and barefoot brides and bridesmaids. It was everything I love about being Southern. You won’t see this in a Kenny Chesney video, but this is the real South. I’m American by birth and Southern by the grace of God, ya’ll.