At the one and only independent coffee shop in Jackson:
Here is my first real blog post, and a commitment to writing at least once a week. I’ve set the comments up to allow anyone, not just other Blogspot users, to leave comments. Feel free to leave your thoughts, comments, suggestions, or complaints.
So I’ve been in Jackson now for about 3 weeks and I think I’m starting to get a handle on the city and the people here. First off, Southern Hospitality is not a myth or a fairy tale. Southern Hospitality is alive and well here in Jackson and I think it makes this city unique and friendly in a way that I really haven’t experienced since I was traveling in Italy. When you walk into a shop or a restaurant in any small Italian town the owner and his wife come out and clap you on the back, welcome you to their shop, and show you their best wares. Jackson is a lot the same way. Any decent restaurant we have been to so far, the owner has come out and shaken hands, made introductions, asked how we liked the food, ect. Not in a fake, I’m-pleasant-because-I-have-to-be way, but in a genuine I-care-about-my-customers way. It is very refreshing and it makes the city seem like a much less daunting place to be a newcomer.
Deep South cuisine so far has not been the most agreeable with my stomach. After an unpleasant experience with crawfish (to be told in a later post) I’ve stayed away from the classic Southern cuisine. Everything here comes coated in deep fried goodness. It’s hard to eat healthy, and even harder to eat Kosher. I stay away from pork, but even that is tough sometimes. Breakfast at the hotel in Memphis on the way down here consisted of sausage gravy, sausage links, and sausage patties. Not a decent bagel within 300 miles. And lox? Forget about it….
Our apartment is really great, very southern and homey with a giant brass chandelier and a big red brick fireplace. Great new shag carpet that is delightful to walk on barefoot. We live in one of the only young hip (for Mississippi at least) neighborhoods in the city. There are two colleges within walking distance, one a small private liberal arts school and the other is an even smaller private Bible college. A lot of the people living on our street are students at one or the other, and it is nice to still be around young people. There are a lot of kids around here from Ole Miss and other Deep South schools, and as a kid from the Midwest it is a very different style. I’ve learned about the “Mississippi Swoop” haircut, the difference between RealTree and Mossy Breakup brands of camouflage, and that your pickup truck says a lot about who you are.
There are some things about Mississippi that I’m uncomfortable with. The biggest thing is the remnants of the racist Confederate past. College mascots in Mississippi include the Rebels and Capt. Reb. Confederate flag bumper stickers are on many cars and trucks here, some bearing messages like “Heritage not Hate.” Even the state flag of Mississippi has a Confederate flag in the upper-left corner. Last year a state referendum was held on whether or not to remove the “Stars and Bars” from the flag; it failed in a dismal voter-turnout election. That blows my mind. In a state with a majority black population, a general election chooses to keep a symbol of hatred and slavery on the state flag. Other factors are at work, but only being here 3 weeks I can’t discern or comment yet.
Well that is a pretty good intro to Jackson post, I hope ya’ll find it enjoyable and informative as the background for where these stories will unfold. Feel free to leave your comments.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
