Magnolia State

Mississippi are the Magnolia State. A lot of us has magnolia trees in our yards. There are two main ways to keep up a magnolia tree. First is to let the limbs grow, natural-like, all the way to the ground. And second to cut off the bottom limbs to the point where you can't jump up and touch the bottom limb when the tree are growed up good. The main reason not to use the number two way are the leaves. They is big leaves and fall all the time. When I were a boy, my grandpa paid me a dime to rake up his leaves. I would put 'em in a washtub and take down to a place where we burned things and set 'em on fire. When I went up to ask for my dime, grandpa would make me go back over and over and pick up the leaves what fell while I was walking the few feet up to where he were sitting in the porch swing. He would laugh and laugh at how I would get upset 'cause the leaves kept falling behind my sweeping 'em up. After a while he would give in to me and tell me I better run on to town 'cause the picture show were about to start. It cost my whole dime to get in the show, but it were worth it 'cause on Saturdays they had a double feature cowboy show with two cartoons, a short comedy movie, and a serial. I raked all morning and sat in the picture show all afternoon.

Closed Permanent

Last week they closed down the Harper Post Office for good. I ain't real fond of that way of saying it 'cause they ain't nothing good about it. We've had a post office here in Harper for ever since I can remember and even before that. Miss Mable Joyce Whitaker were the post mistress when they last shut the doors and have been for about sixty years. She always done a good job giving extra effort to her work. Like if a letter come in for you and it looked important to her she would give you a call on the telephone and tell you to hightail it on down and pick it up. She were real good at putting the letters in the right slot both the ones coming in and the ones going out. She kept up with new stamps and called them what collected to rush down while they was still in stock. Now we got to drive all the way into McComb to get our mail. That don't bother me too much 'cause I don't get much mail anyway, but some peoples what run businesses is going to have problems. Mable Joyce are okay with the closing 'cause of her side business of selling honey. She had a little stand (outside the post office so it would be legal) and would shut down her window long enough to help out any honey lovers. Old times gone but not forgotten.

Duty to Prosper

        It’s Your Duty to Prosper 

Yesterday, I seen this bumper sticker on a car parked at Hamburger Heaven. It were on a car what had Minnesota tags. My first thinking on it were, "It's the dumbest thing I ever seen." But when I went home and were sitting by the lake enjoying the breeze and blue skies, I couldn't get it our of my mind. It begin to make sense to me. I reckon the only thing I would worry about is if'n your reach to prosper butted out other people what was trying to prosper too. But all in all, if a fellow were fair and honest, I figure it would help ever body if he tried real hard to make it on his own.

Baseball Stuff

I know a lot of y'all live outside the United States and may not know a lot about baseball. It are known as our National Pass-time. A lot of us is crazy about baseball and understand it ain't just a simple game of throwing a ball, hitting a ball, and running around the bases. A pitcher's got to know a lot about a batter and a batter needs to know a lot about the pitcher. Us who is watching, if we really wants to enjoy the game, has to know a lot about both of them guys. My cousin in Atlanta sent me this picture. His son were bragging about how good their seats was at the game the other night--down low, behind home plate is good seats. They can do these sending back and forth on what they call their eye phones. Well my cousin, who ain't as young as he used to be, sent back a picture right to his son at the stadium. He claimed it proved that he too had a great seat for the game.

A Mess of Greens

In case y'all don't know a unit of quantity for greens are called a mess. It's used for turnip greens, mustard greens, and collard greens. I even heard it used for fish. Like he caught a mess of fish. Now a mess ain't got no set down amount to it. A mess are usually enough to make a meal. So it depends on how big the family the mess are for as to how big the mess turns out to be. I reckon that don't come true when you talking about fish. Then what a mess are figures only by how good the fish is biting that day. We got this little Bar BQ house in Harper what are named Mamma's Bar BQ. I heard a fellow ask one of mamma's daughters what were waiting on him, "How many ribs come with the rib plate?" And she told him either three or four depending on how mamma's hand fall. Well that's sums up the best way to tell what a mess turns out to be: It all depends. Below are a mustard green leaf.

Mamma's Day

I know it are supposed to be called Mother's Day, but I always called my mamma, Mamma. So that's what I'm gonna call it. My mamma were the sweetest woman in the whole wide world. Maybe she were too sweet to me and did not make me hold to all the rules ever body else in Harper stuck to. But I reckon I turned out okay. My mamma always made it sure I had plenty to eat and plenty of clothes to wear. When we didn't have much, she made a garden and cooked meals ever day. She took old clothes and with sewing and patching made them new. At least new for me. She taught me how to pray and I were reading before I ever went to school. The only thing she were real disappointed in me for were when I dropped out of school in grade seven and one-half. When I told her she cried. She always used good English and were upset with the way I took to talking (like my hunting and fishing buddies) and if she ever did nag me it were about this. She never had much when I were young, so when we hit oil on our property I made sure she had plenty. She never took much to rich folks things, but I know for a fact she were real happy with the Cadillac I brung home for her. I miss you, Mamma.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness
Silas Minor ain't what they calls the sharpest saw in the tool shed, but when it come to certain matters he ain't nobody's fool. He were talking the other day while we was whittling out in front of the bus station. I were making a little wooden dog, but I cut a little too deep and decided to make a cat. Well, Silas were telling me about why him and his wife, June Bug, got along so good together. He said about three year into their marriage June Bug got to where she didn't want to get frisky anymore with him and when he asked her what were wrong, she told him it were about something he said about her mama a few days after their wedding. And she said she just couldn't see her way to forgive him. He said that were okay with him, that it warn't nothing he could do nothing about. He said his problem were he couldn't see how he were going to be able to forgive her for not forgiving him. And she said he warn't playing fair; he didn't have no right not to forgive her. And he said he knowed he were wrong, but that's just how things lay. June Bug moped around the house all that day and when they got into bed together, she said she had figured things out. If'n he would forgive her, she would forgive him. Silas told her he reckoned that were a good solution and that she were real smart to come up with it and that were one of the things what made him love her so much. That and her pretty eyes. And her sweet lips. And he said he commenced to kissing them lips and ever thing has been good in that department ever sense.