Swattin' Skeeters 'n' Tellin' Lies

Nothing soothes the Southern Soul like sittin' on the porch with a tall glass of sweet tea (or homemade lemonade) in the cool of the evening (just before the sun goes down) after a hot, sweltering day in the summer sun.  It's been a Southern Tradition since time immemorial, and it's always more enjoyable if there's several others there to "jaw with" (talk to). It's a time of evaluation (of the things accomplished during that day, and things that still need to be done). It's a time of reminiscing (of times shared in the past)... and it's often a time of laughter and "pokin fun"...... and that's where the lies often come in. ;)

Tall tales are spun, often getting taller with each telling. Family stories from the past somehow get twisted ever so slightly to make them all the funnier. Speculation about anything from crops to weather to the neighbors down the road are shared and debated, often with colorful validations and conspiracy-like reasoning. Everyone knows that there might be stretched-truths and half-truths all mixed in but no one cares.  We're all just there to end the day on a high note.  

Bugs are plentiful in the South.  Two things amazed me about the West Coast when I lived out there:  the ocean water is cold all the time, and finding out that there weren't all that many flying bugs out there.  Here in the Southeast, we have all sorts of bugs... flying bugs, hopping bugs, crawling bugs, creepy bugs, stinging bugs... you name a bug, we probably have something similar here.  So one of the things we are always doing as we lounge on the porch with our sweet tea is to swat at bugs... flying ones mostly, like flies and mosquitoes.  

Grandmother used to tell me they had something called a "Shoo Fly" that they used.  When asked what that was exactly, she'd explain that it was nothing more than a small branch cut/pulled from a bush that was waved in the air (around the food, or around a person) to keep the flying bugs off.  It was a very effective method. The branch needed to be limber and floppy, and the motion used was a slow, lazy one, with the branch waving in the air like the branches of a Weeping Willow tree in a soft breeze.  

Simplicity... another hallmark of Southern Ingenuity. Some folks who have never been part of the Southern culture look on Southerners as less than intelligent and lazy.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  We figure out the most efficient way to get things done.  We use the least amount of resources, both physically and environmentally because we understand, to our very core, the need to get the most done with the least amount. That's who we've been from our beginning.  

We share those ideas and solutions with our families and neighbors, and in so doing, build a unity and fellowship among those we know and meet. That's where the idea of Southern Hospitality came from.  We're just friendly, sharing folks. Need advice or directions?  We're always glad to tell you "the best way to get something done", whether it really is or not, and we'll tell you "the best way to get from here to there", whether it really is nor not.... all the while fully believing in our own minds that we're completely and utterly correct in what we're saying. It's both blessing and curse to be so confident in those sorts of things.  In truth, it's more like flipping a coin. But we'll always tell you in a confident, friendly, ever-so-glad-to-be-helpful fashion.  

Southerners are a unique lot... but they are a fascinating lot, and a friendly lot, and truly understand the simple joys in life.  

Stop by sometime and sit a spell.  We'll offer you a glass of sweet tea and some tall tales to end your day on a high note.  

Photo by suburbanmen.com