Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Being Southern.

This is as close to a column as I have, but if your pretend, you might think you were in New Orleans. 

Great Southern Homes cherish there Old Paris Porcelain
My Banana trees are  not so great this year, with out the rain.


   No, I never grew up in the South. No. my parents or grandparents are not Southern either. Yes, it is true I never have lived in the  South. I have visited it many times, I love it, want to live there and wish and dream to be Southern. Most of this started with the movie, "Gone with the Wind." a great epic of Southern greatness. There were others as well, like Beguiled, Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte and endless others. All created that Romantic Southern life that I have longed  for and dreamed of. That life does not really exist. It is mostly in a novelist mind or the vision of a screen play writer. Oh some of it is real, there is a  Southern drawl, the manners, the proudness and most of all ,that  sugar slopping sweetness. Well I grew up and live ,  North of the Mason Dixon, but I still feel, claim to be  and am, a Southern.

My Niece and her son all dressed up to help give tours. 

I built this to hide my neighbors garage.

My Pride and Joy, the two  Magnolia trees in the side yard.


     Honey, I'm fixin' to tell you something about being Southern. Being Southern doesn't mean that I'm not educated. I may say, "ain't and "Y'all" and call you,"Sweetie" or "Bless a lot of Hearts" and might even ,"piddle around." I'll greet you with a big -  Ol'- "Hey" and a hug.I'm polite and say,"Ma'am." and "Sir" and if you hear a Southern say, "Oh hell no!" You better run! And if you don't know where yonder is, you probably are not Southern. Well all the above are in my realm. It's my everyday world. I add a little expression or two, like,, "Set  a spell", have a glass of sweet tea and "Y'All come back now."

Hitch your horse and set a spell.

A Little Romance in the garden.

The family , very important

     I don't believe you have to live in the South to be Southern. I know a lot of Southerners don't like the picture that a lot of us paint about there culture. Believe me, it is all good ,as I love it and live it.There is nothing that can compare to there graciousness and generous hospitality.
    In the South we see giant Magnolia trees, there prize big white blooms are the envy of gardeners every where They keep there leaves all year, and provide flowers most of the summer. I love them in vases for any season, but especially Christmas when in the dead of winter, greenery from the garden is a welcome sight.Gardens smell of there blooms in a gentle breeze. Columns line the countryside and lawn jockeys are at every curve. Gardens are divine with statues, trellis, banana trees and hanging moss. A cool breeze invites a visitor to linger and enjoy. Houses are full of the finest, Old Paris, Silver, Portraits and carved furniture. A true Southerner, spares no expense on there home.
   The South that I know and love is full of Romantic stores, plantations and gardens. There are endless homes to tour, tea rooms and garden cafes to spend the hours in. I have tried to add a little bit of the South in my home. I know it is in the  North, but if you close your eyes, one might think they are truly in the South. I do, and I love it ,because for now, dreaming of the South, is the best I can do.
    Come visit me some time for a real tour. I will leave the lights on and Sissy Dog will always meet you with a jump and a Kiss. I'm just down yonder a spell and around the bend, right on the river bank. Hear the frogs and waves? Set a spell while I fix us a glass of tea.
A group of ladies tour, My Old Historic House this morning, we had sweet tea on the porch after.


A Southern Belle and her child and pets in needlepoint


The 1845 Historic Elgin/ Cottrell House Museum. A little bit of the South  in the North.

20 comments:

Marcia said...

I love your 'Southern-ness', Richard! I've never dreamed of living in the South, but you may just have changed my mind, y'hear?

Linda McMullan said...

Dearest Richard! I was born right beside the railroad tracks of Southern Railway, grew up picking cotton, hoeing beans and running my granddad's trot-lines on the Tennessee River...drinking sweet tea with fresh fried squash, stewed corn, fried okra, pinto beans and cornbread. I never wore white after Labor Day, and always said Yes Sir and No Mam. The South runs through my veins and I love it - but if I wasn't married to the sweetest Southern Man on earth, I would move to New York City in a New York minute. Being Southern is sweet in most ways, but you are always aware that there is something a little more edgy, a little more zesty and a little more vigorous outside the South.

I'm not complaining, I'm "Just Saying". Give Sissy Dog a hug from me!

Robin's Egg Bleu said...

"Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte"...one of my all time favorite movies! "A Confederacy of Dunces"....my all time favorite book. New Orleans, my favorite city. I might be Southern too! I actually probably am, born in Texas near the Gulf of Mexico. But raised in San Diego. Still, love the "South"!

Pearl said...

Oh I knew yoall were southners! What a fun post, I hear the delight you give to your guests. Some day I'm a comin! Hugs, Pearl

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Your very pretty home would be right at home in any Southern state, including NOLA.
I am a true born and bred Southerner and we tend to say ya'll a lot. But take my word - Not every Southerner says "ya'll" every other word or "drip in sugary syrup" as portrayed by certain people on TV. :-D
Hope it is cooler up your way - will 100 or higher rest of this week.

Vicki said...

Loved your beautiful post, as always. You would fit right in here in North Carolina, sir and would be most welcome. Come on down (you too Sissy Dog)!

Lottie said...

"Hush,Hush,Sweet Charlotte" is my favorite movie! And I hope someone plays the theme song on the organ at my funeral! Ha! Can't get more Southern than that ... worrying about what music will be played at your own funeral!
Love you blog! From "HOT" South Carolina,
Lottie

Divine Theatre said...

I am a Northerner, through and through. It is not the life for me. Not at all. I much prefer to pretend to live in the South! In my imaginary world, you and Sissy are my neighbors and we visit for hours!
I never tire of seeing your beautiful home, my frind!

Kisses to Sissy!

xoxo
Andie

Curtains in My Tree said...

I was raised in the south, southern Illinois LOL

My heart has always been a southern gal, love the flowers and clothes the southern gals wear, they always dress proper for any occasion.
I did live in Tennessee, Florida, Texas and Kentucky and southern California once .

I hope to be over to get some sweet tea and good conversation and another home tour.

Love to you & Sissy

Gina @ VictorianWannaBe said...

Hi Richard! Thanks for another great blog, I loved it. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll be able to come to Clarksville and sit a spell with you and Sissy, I'll email first to make sure it suits you.
Gina

Anonymous said...

I was reared in the South by a mother who thought anyone who wore white shoes after Labor Day was just plain tacky, and I can assure you that you are indeed a Southerner in spirit, heart, and taste.

THE LITTLE FOXES is another great "southern" film, along with JEZEBEL.

When I go back home to Arkansas for visits, there are the lawn jockeys, the big yards, the hickories and spreading oak trees ... you sure won't see any lawn jockeys in this part of Oklahoma! The post office has a poor stunted little magnolia growing by the door. I always pause there to sniff those lemon-scented blooms. It's just heavenly! When I was growing up, I used to dream of how someday--when I had my own home--I would float a magnolia bloom in a big cut crystal bowl of water on the sideboard. Now I've got the sideboard, but I don't have the tree.

Anyway, you may live "up North," Richard, but you've created a little pocket of southern grace and style. I just love these virtual visits to your beautiful home. Oh yes, and the statue under your pergola is wonderful!
--Deb

Anonymous said...

i live up north in wi so to me you are southern i have a soninlaw that is from ill not to far from st louis and he talks southern i guess its just the prespective and you just keep on being southern cause thats the way we love you

Sharon Kwilter said...

What a beautiful house. You are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place.

Elizabeth Maxson said...

As my Memaw would say to me when I was little (all little Southern kids, it seemed, had a Memaw), "Give Memaw some sugar and sit yourself down here while I whip us up some fixins..."

And I was so little I would kneel on her vinyl chair and lean on my elbows on her old 1940's chrome and red formica table and watch her tie on her full apron and adjust her cat eyeglasses as she got down a jar of molasses and started to make biscuits. An old clanky fan would be blowing from the counter, as she didn't have any A/C, and when she served up the hot biscuits, I would peel my hot knees from the vinyl seat and sit down, nose level to the table, and eat the sweet, gooey molasses, dripping down my cotton shirt. What I loved about Memaw, she never yelled at me for being a mess, she would just get a wet rag, and wipe me up, kiss me on top of my head, as I ate because she was glad to see me eat since I was such a skinny kid.

You are just about as Southern as they come. But it is funny how the grass is always greener. I remember growing up and telling Memaw that "when I get big, I am going to live in New York City!" And she would blow a high whistle through her false teeth and say, "Child! Now why would you go and do a thing like that?" But she would always lean over and pat my hand and say, "You do whatever makes you happy. Just don't forget where you come from."

She died when I was a senior in high school, and to this day, her funeral has been the largest I have ever attended. She was "Memaw" to many. She was born in 1892 and grew up on a cotton farm in Texas and loved to tell stories of her "horse and buggy days" and how she loved her "Mr. Murphy." (Her husband.)

Richard, you definitely got the Southern blood in you, and your home could be transplanted right smack in New Orleans. When I used to perform, I played the part of Blanche DuBois, in A Streetcar Named Desire, and I got to really use my accent - funny thing is, it was when I lived in Germany when I performed this role and so I wonder if I really got it because I was from the South or for my talent!

Thanks so much for sharing all the time. I read your post, but just don't always comment. Always love it and Sissy too.

Love
Elizabeth

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Richard,
I know it has been a bit since I came by and set for a spell....
How's that for a Yankee out of Penna.!
Loved this post!
I am playing catch up..

Hugs,
Deb

Charlotte Wilson said...

Richard,
I think you are as southern as they come. You are a gentleman and a scholar.
I am southern, having been bred in Virginia and Maryland. I am in Georgia now and around me are mostly transplanted yankees. Ha!

♥charlotte

victorian parlor II said...

What a wonderful post!!! Hope you are having a fabulous summer:).

Blessings,

Kim

Bohemian said...

Your Southern Hospitality cannot be matched Dear Richard!!! Everything as always is Magnificent and so very Inviting!

I need your Expert Opinion on a curbside 'score' of epic proportions today my Friend... Princess T spied it curbside under a pile of debris and it is truly beyond MAGNIFICENT... it's in today's Post and I want to know more about it if I can... what do you think? Your Opinion is appreciated...

Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian

Babs said...

Richard, it's only by accident of birth that you weren't born in the South,(bless your heart) but you are definitely a true Southern gentleman. Thanks so much for your tribute to all things southern.
Babs

Unknown said...

Wow! What a great post and Hope you did a wonderful summer . Any updates please? Thank you.