Volume 1 Issue 001--August 30, 2001
IN THIS ISSUE:
"From the Publisher's Porch"
"Chuckles" Southern joke of the week
"A Taste of the South" Southern recipe of the week
"Spotlight on the South" News of interest
"It's Been Said..." Southern Quote of the week
"Southern Comfort" Inspiration from my heart to yours
"A Southern Exchange" Readers Write In
====================================
From the Publisher's Porch
Shellie Rushing Tomlinson
Hello and welcome to the inaugural issue of All Things
Southern.com. I'm very excited about celebrating my southern
heritage with you. I believe in a South that hasn?t been
getting a lot of press, a genteel way of life where
neighbors form bonds as strong as the giant oaks and pecan
trees that dot our land, a place of good manners, strong
values, special people and fine food. I want to meet you here
on my cyber porch in the tradition of our grandparents to
swap stories, laughs and inspiration.
With respect to Mr.Foxworthy, whom I'm sure is a fine man,
and certainly a very funny one, our South is more than
trailer trash and rednecks. For this reason you'll find very
little redneck humor in our "Chuckles" features. (Though
there might be a smidgen of Yankee jokes to even the score.)
If cooking is your passion, check out "The Taste of the
South", a weekly look at our delicious southern dishes.
Maybe you're as tired as I am of the bad news that screams
from the headlines and blares from our televisions. If so,
you'll enjoy our "Southern Spotlight" where we'll shine our
beam on the south's finest people, places and events.
Many great authors and orators have called the south home,
along with a lot of common folk with uncommon wisdom. In
"It's Been Said" we'll take a look at some famous southern
quotes.
Our "Southern Comfort" feature might sound familiar, but
it's more than a pint of pick-me-up; it's a dose of
inspiration from my heart to yours.
In the end, I hope you'll be so entertained by our
features, amused by our jokes and quotes, and tempted by
our cooking, that you'll weigh in with your own. I look
forward to hearing from you for our "Southern Exchange."
And please, if you have friends who might enjoy this FREE
emag, would you do me a big neighborly favor and forward
this copy to them? Maybe they'll decide to subscribe and
join our southern celebration.
Until next week...
Warm regards,
Shellie
================================
"Chuckles"
The Man from Boston
A fellow from Boston was in Louisiana visiting family. One
day he decided to take a walk around the area where his
relatives lived to enjoy their fine, comfortable southern
way of life--something he was not accustomed to, being from
the north.
While walking he happened upon a pit bull attacking a small
child. His instincts took over, and he ran to the child's
aid. He grabbed the dog, pulled him from the child, and
choked the dog until he was dead. As the dead animal lay at
his feet, a man came running over from the other side of the
street. He announced that he was the star reporter for a big
Louisiana newspaper, and he would make the rescuer famous.
"LOUISIANA MAN SAVES CHILD FROM GRUESOME DEATH,"
the headlines would proclaim. The would-be savior thought that
this sounded great, but explained that he was from Boston --
not Louisiana.
The next day the headlines of the Louisiana paper read:
"YANKEE KILLS FAMILY PET."
this week's chuckle.
=============================
"A Taste of the South"
Fried Green Tomatoes
4 medium green tomatoes; sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. dillweed
1 cup cornmeal
Vegetable oil for frying
Wash and prepare tomatoes.
Mix seasonings with cornmeal in plate. Batter each tomato
slice; be sure both sides are coated. Heat oil to 375
degrees in medium skillet. Cook tomatoes until brown on
both sides; drain on paper towels.Yield: 4 to 6 servings
for supplying this week's southern favorite!
********************************
"Spotlight on the South"
It was July the 24th and I was trying to settle on the
subject for my first "Southern Spotlight". Several ideas
were vying for my attention, among them a tribute to one of
my favorite authors, when the news of Eudora Welty's death
hit the airwaves and settled the issue. Ms. Welty, one of
the south's greatest living treasures, died at the age of
92 after battling various health problems for years.
I came to be a Welty fan later rather than sooner. I'm sure
I was introduced to her in junior high, but until
recently her book titles could stir in me only a vague
memory at best. Then a friend gave me a copy of Ms.
Welty's memoir, "One writer's beginnings", and the sweet,
steadied pace of the author's words charmed me. Her
musings on the craft of writing resonated with my own
passion for words and catapulted me to admiring fan status
immediately.
Ms. Welty inherited a devotion to the written word from
her parents. In one of my favorite Welty quotes from her
memoir Ms. Welty speaks of her own early, intense
relationship with books. "It had been startling
and disappointing to me to find out that storybooks had
been written by people, that books were not natural
wonders, coming up of themselves like grass," she wrote.
"Yet regardless of where they came from, I cannot remember
a time when I was not in love with them - with the books
themselves, cover and binding and the paper they were
printed on, with their smell and their weight and with
their possession in my arms, captured and carried off to
myself. Still illiterate, I was ready for them, committed
to all the reading I could give them."
In Ms. Welty's honor, I've found you a special treat at the
New York Times web site:
To the right of her obituary, there's a fascinating audio link:
Go ahead, pour yourself a cup of coffee and prepare to be
entertained by a legend as Ms. Welty herself reads several
of her stories just for you.
Shellie
P.S. If you can only stay for one reading-try "A Worn Path",
it's my favorite.
================================
"It's Been Said..."
The American South is a geographical entity, a historical
fact, a place in the imagination, and the homeland for an
array of Americans who consider themselves southerners.
The region is often shrouded in romance and myth, but its
realities are as intriguing, as intricate, as its legends."
-Bill Ferris, The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture
********************************
"Southern Comfort"
There are many kinds of places to go to for help these days.
There are all types of half-way houses, overnight shelters,
and support groups; and let me be quick to say that the
majority of them are doing a fantastic job. But, may I
recommend mine? It?s advertised in the Bible in the 48th
chapter of Psalms. It?s called "Mount Zion and its situated
on the sides of the north. It's the city of a great King,"
Psalms 48. The psalmist goes on to say that God has made
himself known in the palace for a refugee.
Myself, I go to Mount Zion daily. Many times I'm bruised
and wounded from the realities of life. But I like it best
when I'm not there for therapy. On those days I like to
skip around the palace and explore the rooms. There are so
any that have never been opened; I find something new
every day. So, if you're looking for some lasting help, I
urge you to go to Mount Zion. Oh yeah, and if you don't
know the way--give me a holler--
I've got directions.
Shellie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Southern Exchange"
This is your spot to weigh in. What do you love about the
South? What's your favorite recipe, joke or quote? Maybe
there's something special about the South that you'd like
to see spotlighted. Email tomtom@allthingssouthern.com.
We'll choose a few each week to share with all our Southern
friends.
====================================
My memoir "LESSONS LEARNED ON BULL RUN ROAD" will be
available in September. ( For those sweet souls who have
been waiting for it--another setback this week. I got
the print galley in from the publisher and I wasn't
pleased with the font we used on the cover; it looked
kind of blurry. So...we went back to the drawing
board, another delay...another four more weeks...or as
Yogi once said, "deja'vu all over again".)
After a little more perseverance on my part, it'll be
available in a glossy paperback or, if you?d
prefer, in e-book style to be downloaded immediately. Why
and check out the FREE sample chapter? I'd love to get
your feedback on it. You can also see the other projects
I'm working on under the "coming soon" button:
************************************
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All Rights Reserved Volume I, Issue I
====================================
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