I sit under an umbrella, feet digging into the sand, watching my children frolic in the white-capping surf of the Gulf of Mexico. I sit and read the one publication, outside the Bible, that should be mandatory in all homes this side of the Mason Dixon, Southern Living. I don't know if it's the lounging lazily in the humidity reading my favorite periodical or if it's the languid cadence of the turquoise expanse pounding hypnotically before me, but I sit here, yup, still sitting, and ponder why I love this warm, friendly, inviting, mysterious, religious, complicated, beautiful piece of heaven also, usually lovingly, yet sometimes resentfully, known as the South. While it certainly bears the shame of its share of sins, the South has also been graced with a haunting beauty and mystery that sends many I know spending half of their lives figuring out how to escape the slow rhythm of a quiet, rural landscape for the cosmopolitan promise of success in the North or out West and the other half figuring out how to return to the inescapable, inexplicable fetter that sooner or later beckons them home. A disclaimer: I've never escaped the tie that binds me to the South. Sure, I've moved to big, southern cities like Atlanta and even blazoned trails out west to Dallas, and while I've visited New York and even California, I've never lived anywhere outside of this region. I've threatened to leave, but some esoteric force has always held me captive, and today, I created a list of reasons I believe explain why. So here are the reasons I love the South:
1. The Gulf of Mexico
Although Mexico claimed the naming rights, this body of water remains uniquely Southern. It kisses the shores of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, all deeply Southern. While I prefer to visit the Gulf in Alabama or Florida, I'm sure its charms extend to the other states, as well. There is nothing that compares to the white, sandy shores, dotted by a symphony of colorful umbrellas and tents all proudly displaying their owners' SEC allegiances. Palm trees mingle with giant arching oaks draped with Spanish moss. Fishing boats drift lazily by seafood dives that have graced the shores of the Gulf for generations, where gumbo and fried shrimp headline menus that have survived hurricanes and tropical storms.
2. Southern Writers
Every good reader knows all good writers are from the South....all except Hemingway, and I'm sure he wished he were from here; after all, he claimed Key West as his home, at least part of the time. From Welty to Faulkner to O'Connor to Lee to Williams to Capote to Bragg....my hands are getting tired..... Writers who artfully capture the tumultous past and uncertain future of a region haunted by past sins, a region seeking redemption from generations of individuals marred by the stubborn refusal to relinquish an archaic, injudicious ideology. Where even your great aunt is a master storyteller. How do you not love a culture that begins a tale with, "You know Maudie, yes, you know Maudie, your grandmother's cousin's best friend's boyfriend's aunt....anyway, she never could leave well enough alone." And after five minutes of your aunt's captivating yarn, you know Maudie and Herb and Floyd and anyone else who happens to dance into the narrative that has been spun so effortlessly you don't care that most of it probably never happened.....or maybe it did and that's what makes it so captivating. After any story told by a favorite relative, it's clear that Harper Lee did indeed write To Kill A Mockingbird because she writes it in the same language that all good Southern storytellers speak.
3. SEC Football, Swimming, Baseball, Basketball, well, all SEC sports because who doesn't love NCAA title winners
I'm an Alabamian, the crystal trophy has become so cozy here that it's building a permanent residence, or so I hear, based on Alabama's performance against Michigan last weekend. I'm also a huge UK fan, and if Calipari's team last year is any indication, I'm pretty sure a repeat performance is also in his future, too. As a southerner, I also know it isn't polite to brag, so I'll leave it at that, which brings me to reason number 4....
4. Southern Manners
We Southerners are a polite bunch. I've been to, er, other parts of the country, so I speak from experience. Even my Yankee friends (is it okay to say Yankee? since, I say this begrudgingly, the best baseball team in history proudly wears the banner, I'll assume yes) comment on how friendly we are here in this part of the country. Children are taught from birth to say "yes, ma'am" and "yes, sir." Even when we are hurling an insult, it sounds kind. I mean, bless your heart, don't you know you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
5. Southern Cooking
If you've never indulged in Southern cuisine, well, I say it again, bless your heart. Biscuits, cornbread, gravy (with sausage), sweet tea, fried chicken, gumbo, fried okra, fried green tomatoes, grits, shrimp and grits, black eyed peas, barbecue, did I mention sweet tea? Sure, it isn't the healthiest fare in the land, but wow, southerners can cook.
6. Faith
I know, I know, the South doesn't corner the market on faith, not even close, but I 've never been anywhere where offering to pray for someone is as natural as breathing, and as expected. While football seems to be a religion, it is clear that true Religion still tempers the culture in a way nothing else can. It isn't a matter of "do you go to church?" The question usually begins "where?" I love that I live in a culture that still expects a healthy fear of the Lord and understands that faith in Christ is paramount to many of its citizens. I see no shame in being labeled the "Bible belt" even when spoken with a sneer. For me, it's this openness of faith that makes the South uniquely polite and charitable in a way no other region in the country is. When disaster strikes, neighbors eagerly grab whatever tool is handy and run to help anyone in need, regardless of faith, race, or creed, while whoever lacks the strength to help physically is rummaging through a box trying to find their grandmother's casserole recipe. When calamity struck the Gulf coast in the form of Hurricane Katrina and tornadoes ripped homes from foundations on April 27th, the South came together in a way that was awe inspiring. Is that only in the South? Of course not, but our willingness to forego self and lift up our neighbor even when our own home may be destroyed is something I know, without a doubt, is a way of life here.
Still sitting, still watching my children frolic, still browsing the tailgate section of Southern Living for recipes for next week's Auburn game, I know why the lure of Spanish moss covered oaks, master storytellers, and great food is too great to escape and why I'll always call the South home.
