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| On Being Southern - |
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| People from other regions of the country often do not understand southerners. They can never understand how two southerners, total strangers, can meet in an airport terminal and start an hour long conversation as though they had known each other all of their lives. Most of all, they do not understand why they would want to. To understand southerners, which may be a virtual impossibility to someone who is not one of us, you must move back a few generations. The glue that binds southern people is the great American conflict, The War Between the States. |
| It was the greatest conflict this nation had ever endured. It might interest you to know that more American young men lost their lives in the Battle of Sharpsburg, (The North called it Antietam) than did in the Normandy Invasion of World War II. Battle of Antietam |
| It was a time of extreme hardship, and people were forced to rely upon each other. From that, a closeness developed between our ancestors, and it is felt by those of us who follow them until this day. No matter individual heritage or origin, it was endured together, and the spirit of those determined people survives in the current generation. We are a product of the past, as well as being a part of the present. The transition from the antebellum to the modern includes the thoughts, hopes and dreams of our forefathers. |
| No discussion about things Southern would be quite complete without the inclusion of the wit and philosophy of author, lecturer and humorist, Lewis Grizzard. Lewis Grizzard died in 1994, and there are those of us who sorely miss him. Lewis Grizzard understood the South and things Southern, as few people do. He had a gift of being able to express his feelings, both in word and print. Here's a bit of Lewis Grizzard for your enjoyment: Lewis Grizzard |
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| Red Clay Hills and Loblolly Pine |