Thursday Thirteen

I've never done one of these Thursday Thirteens before, but it's a means to a posting end today. :-) If you have one posted on your blog, let me know in the comments and I'll link to you here. I was going to do the auto-link thing, but that seems a little, um, unnecessary for someone who only has tens of readers.

Thirteen Things I Love About The South
1. I could count on my hands the number of times that I’ve been introduced to someone – aside from a job interview – and he or she has shaken my hand. Down here, we hug. We meet, and we hug.

2. Everybody speaks to everybody. Even a three year old is not immune. Yesterday we were at the grocery store, and as we wheeled by people in the aisles, Alex would wave and say, “Hey! How you today?” And people answered him. Kindly.

3. A trip to the grocery story is not complete until someone – and it happens almost every single time – approaches me in the produce section or the meat department or the checkout line and says, “So, what ‘cha makin’ with that red onion / cubed steak / can of corn?...REALLY? Oh, that DOES sound good!”

4. There’s nothing better than summertime lunches where fresh tomatoes, fried okra, fresh corn, fresh green beans (cooked to the point that they’re flat and have no redeeming nutritional value), and homemade cornbread are the order of the day. Meat becomes an accessory – it’s not even necessary.

5. In the springtime, you can’t turn a corner without being confronted by huge masses of hot pink azaleas.

6. The accent. It’s divine. At least to these ears.

7. When girls are engaged, their mamas set up big tables in their houses, cover the tables with white linen tablecloths, and display all the wedding gifts. And about once a day, friends will stop by for “cake and coffee,” visit for a bit, and then ooh and ahh over the china and crystal and whatnot. It’s a charming little tradition to me.

8. Double names. Two of my very closest friends are Emma Kate and Norma Kay. And can I please tell you how many “Mary-somethings” I know? Mary Allison (2 of them), Mary Margaret (3 of them), Mary Caroline (3 of them), Mary Katherine (2 of them), Mary Alice, etc. – and that’s just the tip of the “Mary-something” iceberg. And then there's Lea Margaret! ;-)

9. Sweet tea.

10. There’s a mentality in the South that we’re all connected, that we’re all family, and I guess in some cases we really are, since some of us have family trees that don’t fork very much.

11. The music. Country, jazz, blues, Southern gospel – we have a rich little soundtrack in this neck of the woods.

12. The hospitality. Come visit, and you’ll see what I mean. We’ll take real good care of you and yours.

13. Two words: fried chicken.

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