March is Women's History Month

Since March is Women's History Month, I decided that I would write a short post about a Mississippi woman that I have always admired - the writer, Eudora Welty. Thanks to my paternal grandmother, an avid reader who enjoyed books more than anyone I have ever known, I knew Miss Welty's name before I ever started school. Since Eudora Welty was one of my grandmother's favorite authors, her book collection at the time included "Delta Wedding," and "The Optimist's Daughter." By junior high, I had read both books, although I did not yet fully understand nor appreciate how well-known Miss Welty was at the time, in Mississippi or elsewhere in the country. I did know that she was a resident of Jackson and lived in the Belhaven area of the city, since my parents pointed out her house to me once when we were driving down the street where she lived.

On an occasion almost a decade after I first read "Delta Wedding," I met its author at Millsaps College in Jackson. Miss Welty was kind enough to sign the book, which my grandmother had given to me a few years earlier. Inscribed "Fondly, Eudora Welty," the book is one of my most prized possessions and a reminder of both my grandmother and of one of Mississippi's finest writers.

Froggie's Friday Book Review - "Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia - A Life in Poems"

One of my readers is Mississippian, Patricia Neely-Dorsey, a poet and an author. Last year, Ms. Neely-Dorsey published a book of poems entitled "Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia - A Life in Poems." In her book, Neely-Dorsey has used childhood memories and her own personal thoughts and dreams, to describe southern life as she lived it.

Educated in Boston, and having returned with her family to live in Tupelo, Mississippi, Neely-Dorsey became inspired to write poetry that describes the southern way of life. It is through her poems that celebrate years growing up in Mississippi that Neely-Dorsey hopes readers will be given a positive glimpse into the southern experience. Her overall intent in publishing this book of personal stories in poetic form was to "celebrate the south and all things southern." As someone who lived for a time "outside the Magnolia curtain," Neely-Dorsey also hopes that her personal accounts of life in the south will dispel the many myths that exist about her home state of Mississippi. As the author herself has acknowledged, she has taken Eudora Welty's advice to "Write about what you know about."

Ms. Neely-Dorsey's book of poems covers a variety of subject matter, often personal in nature, and has been called "a poetic love letter to the south," as well as "a poetic autobiography.

For more information about the author and her book of southern life captured in poetry, visit her website at www.patricianeelydorsey.webs.com, along with her blog found at Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia.

Froggie's Friday Book Review - "The South"

Although I am Southern by birth and personally lived the "southern experience" for at least a portion of my life, I still consider myself a student of Southern culture. And I always welcome the opportunity to learn more about the part of this country that I love best.

Recently, I discovered a book entitled simply "The South." Primarily intended as a reference book, it is one of eight volumes included in a set known as The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Studies. The set covers every geographic area of the country, and each volume contains something for everyone, regardless of which state you may call home. Each book contains resource material written by various authors who cover a variety of subject matter, ranging from architecture, art, ethnicity, and folklore, to food, language, literature, music and religion. The facts and the stories presented in "The South" allow researchers and readers alike to examine the heart, the soul, and the diversity of the residents of this historically significant geographic area.

As a researcher, I highly recommend The Greenwood Enclyclopedia of American Studies. And as a reader of books about the South, its culture and its people, I recommend the volume entitled "The South." As a southerner, it was within this book's 508 pages that I found exactly what Eudora Welty referred to as "a sense of place."

The Smartest Girl in Her Class

Copy of an excerpt from "The People of Shrock" by Duncan C. Covington.

Above: Lelia Porter

circa 1922 - 9th Grade

Midway School, Attala Co.

Recently, while thumbing through my new copy of Duncan Covington's book, "The People of Shrock," I found that my paternal grandmother, Lelia Porter Branch, was the only student in the 9th grade at Midway School, who was on the "Honor Roll." Also, on that honor roll, were two of her brothers, Clarence Porter and Leonard Porter, one of my paternal grandfather's sisters, Laura Branch, and a cousin of my grandfather's, Mart Baldridge.



I always knew that my grandmother was a smart lady, and I based this opinion, in part, on the variety of books she read. When she was not busy with household chores, gardening, or chasing us when we were young, she could likely be found reading a newspaper, a book or a magazine. Her choices were many, ranging from the classics of her young years to modern day fiction and non-fiction, and any current event publication she could get her hands on. One of her favorites of the 1950's was "Grit" newspaper. My best recollection is that this was some sort of "tabloid" newspaper that included some current event items.



She remembered so much of what she read, and many of the things she discussed with me as a child came from what she had learned from something she had recently read. I feel so fortunate to have had a grandmother like her, because she instilled in me the belief that I should "take care" of all books. She also passed along to me her fondness for books and her lifelong love of reading. I still have some of the books she gave me over the years, and I will never, ever part with any of them. Each time I pick up one of the books that belonged to her, I feel that she left a part of herself with me.



One of my most sentimental possessions is a copy of Eudora Welty's book, "Delta Wedding," that my grandmother gave me during my teen years. A few years later, I actually met Miss Welty while she was "Writer-in-Residence" at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, and I was fortunate enough to have her sign the book. Now, many years later, the book is not only a sentimental treasure, but a valuable one as well.



I also have in my possession two of my grandmother's well-worn textbooks, "Latin for Scholars" and "Textbook of Chemistry." According to the many marks in these two books, her two sisters, Vertie and Etta Porter, must have used them in school, as well. The fact that three young ladies who lived in rural Attala County, Mississippi, who pursued difficult courses such as Latin and chemistry during the early 1900's, should dispute the opinion of many outside the State of Misssissippi that Mississippians have not valued education.



My personal belief is that Mississippians have always valued education and the dreams that blossomed along with it. And books will continue to allow those dreams to flourish and grow.

What Would You Save?

A recent post by Terry Thornton at his Hill Country of Monroe County blogspot inspired me to write the following post. You can read Terry's daily posts at
hillcountryofmonroecountry.blogspot.com. Thanks, Terry!

During the past few days, we have all seen the devastation and flooding caused by hurricane Ike in the coastal areas of Texas and Louisiana, where many people have lost their lives, their livelihoods, their homes, and their personal belongings. The most unfortunate situation, other than actual lives claimed by the hurricane, is the fact that some of the people affected by flooding on Galveston Island do not know when they can return to their homes.

Although we are well removed from the effect of recent hurricanes, we did have some personal concern during this last storm, since one of our daughters and her family live in Houston, Texas. Fortunately, our daughter's husband is a Houston policeman, and he was very well-informed about what the city expected after the hurricane's landfall. Based on their location, a zip code northwest of downtown Houston, and the storm results anticipated there, our daughter and her family were encouraged not to evacuate before this storm.

She and her husband had carefully planned for the days after the storm's arrival by having on hand an ample supply of drinking water and food that could be kept without refrigeration and prepared without a stove or microwave, since power outages were anticipated for an unspecified number of days. One of the keys to their preparedness was that they had an adequate amount of planning time.

But what if you didn't have time to prepare to leave your home? And you had only an hour or less??

So, my husband and I started a discussion about what we would want to save if we had only thirty (30) minutes advance notice for leaving our home, knowing that nothing would be saved, except what we could take with us. The type and amount of items that we would take with us would be very different, we decided very quickly, and would vary according to the amount of notice time we had and the type of emergency situation that was imminent.

We also decided, up front, that a house fire, a home invasion, or a terrorist attack would be situations where we would just want to make sure we got out of the house safely.

My husband's first response was that he would want to save our two cars and my jewelry, before he forgot that insurance would cover the jewelry. Next on his list was were our golf clubs. I reminded him that he should probably make sure he has his wallet and his car keys. He added that I should make sure that I have my purse, all my credit cards, and my makeup.

At that point in time, my husband's logical thought process and knack for planning kicked in, and he thought about more important, sentimental items, such as our wedding picture and albums of family photos, along with a few framed diplomas, certificates, and awards. A hearty discussion followed, and he said that he would definitely want to take our signed Kinky Friedman books and other memorabilia from Kinky's race for Governor of Texas a couple of years ago, along with several of his collectible golf clubs and a few special golf balls. I added that I would take along a copy of Eudora Welty's book, "Delta Wedding," given to me by my grandmother and signed by the author during her time as Writer-in-Residence at Millsaps College in Jackson, MS.

My husband then decided that he would definitely save save a bottle of expensive French wine, good until the year 2025, that he is saving for a "special occasion."

And so the discussion continued. Our 30 minutes of hypothetical preparation time for leaving the house was almost up, and we didn't even have the list completed.

Now what would you take? Choose any amount of preparation time you want........I would love to hear from you.

And we will continue to keep the hurricane survivors and their families in our thoughts and in our prayers.