Grave Demands Attention

 Winterville Mounds are ceremonial mounds that according to legend were built by a native civilization of America that thrived from 1000 to 1450 AD.  They are located near a community named Winterville in Mississippi. We stopped to see them. The grounds are beautiful 

and there are marker signs that give you a brief history and detail about the mounds and what is believed to be their purpose. The highest mound is about 55 feet tall.

 The Park is a National Historic Landmark. The weeds and plants around this place are huge, 10 feet tall and I wonder how they kept them mowed and the place livable if they had no domestic animals such as horses, donkeys and cattle. Since the mounds resemble those in South America did they have llamas or alpacas? They carried loads of dirt by hand to build the mounds. The more I learned the more questions I had and no solid answers. I am making a note to ask GOD about this when I get to heaven.

We wonder at the vegetation growing in the farm fields we pass. Cotton, soybean, corn, when Seamus tells me steering wheels are made of soybeans. Many parts of the car are edible? In the 1930s Ford started using soy oil based paints and varnishes in the production of his cars. He also used soy by-products to make shock absorbers. Ford’s researchers in his labs discovered that soy meal when mixed with formaldehyde and a few other chemicals turned into a hard plastic like product and he began using them for horn buttons, oil cases, shift knobs, foot pedals, glove box doors and many other parts of his cars including tractor seats. He attempted to make steering wheels but they were not as good as the hard plastic ones in current use.  Ford was an advocate of the soybean and the soybean farmers. He and like minded friends created menus and recipes made from soy. He was a health enthusiast and neither smoked nor drank alcohol and forbid them in his plants. He fired anyone caught drinking or smoking on the spot.

        Robert Boyer and Henry Ford pose with Ford’s Soybean Car. Photos courtesy The Henry Ford.

An eerie thing happened while we were visiting the cemetery at Grand Gulf near Port Gibson Mississippi. It is located on the grounds of the Military Park in the back on a hill. There are tall stately oaks that guard the cemetery.

 They are dressed in green leaves with regalia of grey-green Spanish moss draped over them like swag on Sea Captain. The moss sways gently in the delicate breeze that ruffles them on occasion and they appear to caress a random tombstone. The stones are softly aged and swirled with shades of grey; lichen and moss decorate them granting them each their own unique beauty. I wander through the randomly placed graves, admiring an exquisitely crafted iron fence and arch gracing one family of markers and headstones. The poles are all wrought to resemble roughly cut tree branches and the arch is a swirl of leafy tree branches, it is amazing. 

There are 200 graves, 160 tombstones, 11 family plots, and 30 table top graves, like those found in Louisiana. The tallest monument is 11 feet in height. The first recorded burial here is 1822.  Near the back of the cemetery I was looking at a marker and gently caressed the rope carved into the stone as I had touched a few others also. About 3 seconds after I had gently glided my fingers over the rope and walked about 4 steps a huge tree branch, I mean it could have been a tree it was so large, cracked loudly and fell to the ground in the nearby woods. Seamus and I were riveted to the spot and watched with amazement as this happened. We looked at each other and I wondered what either of us had done. I retraced my steps back to the stone I had touched and took some photos. It marks the death of James A Grubbs. 

There are no Grubbs in my ancestry. He was born in Louisiana on February 13 1834? And died in Louisiana on November 6 1879. Was he or his wife Sarah trying to get my attention?  It was eerie because we recalled later the branch which fell was still healthy and covered in green leaves.

There are 6 Union soldiers buried here, 5 of them belonging to the US Colored Troops. Within the confines of the cemetery are Confederate rifle pits that were used by the 6th Missouri making this the only cemetery in America known to have rifle pits.

I am still haunted by the falling tree branch.

Teddy's Bear

There we were enjoying a cruise down a cozy little back road when there on the right was a little white church with two guys in full hazmat gear doing something in and around the church. We did not stop, nor did we breathe. Scary!

                                          Onward Store

I had read in Travel & Leisure about the Legend of the Teddy Bear at the Onward store in Onward Mississippi. I had to go there while we were in Mississippi during Operation Eudora. Onward is a very tiny village or unincorporated community in Sharkey County Mississippi. This means they do not have a municipal form of government but are a part of a larger administrative municipality such as a parish, county or province.

The store opened in 1913 and was also a small restaurant. The store is owned by Mollie Magee VanDevender a former Miss Mississippi. In the fall of 1902 President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, an avid naturalist and outdoorsman, was invited by Andrew Longino, the Governor of Mississippi, to go bear hunting. Holt Collier, a local bear hunter who also hunted Grizzly Bears in Alaska, was a former slave, tended race horses in Texas and scouted for Confederate Officer Nathan Bedford Forrest (who Forrest Gump was named after his mother tells him in the movie) was enlisted to scout out a bear for the hunt and President Teddy arrived a month later. On the morning of November 14 in 1902 President Teddy, John McIlhenny, heir to the Tabasco sauce fortune, Huger Foote, whose grandson Shelby would become a noted Civil War author, and several other dignitaries formed a hunting party. One of Holt’s dogs picked up a bear scent and off they went tracking a 235 pound male black bear. The bear was mauling and fighting off the dogs when Holt arrived on the scene. He managed to knock the bear unconscious and chained it by the neck to a tree. President Teddy has insisted he wanted to at least see a bear the first day out. Holt remembered this and blew his hunting horn, signaling to the hunting party that he had a bear. Holt offered the president the opportunity to shoot the wounded tethered bear but he refused. President Teddy was raised under strict aristocratic hunting traditions with a rigid sportsman code which dictated that; the taking of young animals and those that did not have a sporting chance of escape or defense was forbidden. The bear was put down and President Teddy claiming the hunt was not a success never spoke of it again.

                                   A 1907 photo of Holt Collier from Scribner's magazine (January 1908)

The press got hold of the story and it went out to every newspaper along with a cartoon created by Clifford Berryman. Soon other artists were re-creating the cartoon each artist drawing the bear to appear smaller, more vulnerable and eventually looking like a cute bear cub rather than an adult male black bear.

Meanwhile in Brooklyn toy store owners, Rose and Morris Michtom read about the unsuccessful bear hunt accompanied by the cartoon which depicted a bear cub. They took a look at the stuffed bears already in the shop and the idea popped into Morris’s head that they could call the bears Teddy’s Bears and sent a letter to the president asking for his permission to use the name Teddy for the bears in his shop. The president agreed and Rose and Morris Michtom started marketing the Teddy Bears. They established the Ideal Toy Company and became very rich. The Teddy Bear is the state toy of Mississippi.

The Bears in the Onward Store are a collector item and are numbered. I have number 92 of 100 bears that were created like him.

                                          My Teddy Bear

I also see a box of Bubba’s Butt Aid on a shelf between Epsom Salt and Rubbing Alcohol at the Onward Store. When I mention this to Seamus he looks at me in shock. Baby’s Butt!! It said Baby’s Butt. OH!!! I suppose it is for diaper rash.

After all that searching in the state park for alligators we finally realized that they had all been relocated to a town appropriately named Alligator in Bolivar County Mississippi. There is a population of about 200 people and Green Bay Packer, Tony Lydell "Alligator" Bennett, is from here.

There in a yard is a sign that reads BOOTS FOR SALE!! I turn to Seamus to comment about this and he is bent over the steering wheel laughing, tears streaming down his face. Boats!! It said Boats he gets out in between bursts of laughter. OH!!

I believe the humidity is causing my eye liner to melt into my eyes and disturb my vision.

Tomorrow … Winterville!!!

Cousin Eudora

We arrived in Jackson hungry and anxious. Tomorrow was going to be the big day. Operation Eudora would come to the apex of its time. For me, it was an evening of sadness. This is what we came for; to donate the photos of Eudora

 and our Great Grand father William 

to Mary Alice, Eudora's niece  for her collection in the Eudora Welty house. This would mean the rest of the trip would be the returning to the place I live. I was still looking forward to meeting Mary Alice and handing over the photos. It had been years since I had been to Eudora's house. I was very young and she was very gracious and had the most alluring sparkle in her eyes. Like she knew something she wanted me to discover. We sat in the parlor and she also showed us the gardens, it was so long ago and the memory is hiding in the mists of my past. 

Seamus did a drive by of the house so we have our heading in the morning. We had spied a Mediterranean restaurant called Keifer's on a near-by street and stopped for dinner. It was not what we expected. After parking the car and entering the restaurant a girl called welcome and asked how many. Two I replied and she tosses me two menus and says sit anywhere. "Sit anywhere" I ask. She looks at me as if I had just grown a second nose."yes" she snaps. Seamus and I look at each other and off we go to seek out the perfect table. We sit and the menu choices vary from salad to gyros of all types. Not exactly what we had in mind but then we are on an adventure and did chose to eat at a local restaurant. Hoping at least for some Greek beer or a selection of wine from Lebanon we find the regular American fare of beer. We order Shock Top, a Greek salad and the Kebob gyro. The salad according to Seamus was below mediocre while the gyro was amazing.  Looking at the last couple of reviews of the place on Yelp I find to my surprise the last two entries are from people who are from Texas and they say the same thing. 

We overnight at a local downtown hotel called  Old Capitol Inn. 

The Temptations, Joan Jett and several other celebrities have stayed here. The building was once upon a time a YMCA built in the 1950s and since it's conversion into a hotel has been highlighted in Southern Living Magazine four times.  It is a beautiful, tranquil hotel with lots of grace and charm. 

At Eudora's house we are greeted and ushered to a table by the wonderful Bridgett. She calls Mary Alice to tell her I am there and as we wait I go over my relationship to Eudora.I had to ask  Seamus to bring in my laptop so I can show them visually, the family tree. It is a wonderful meeting and they are pleased to have the photos. Bridgett guides us on a private tour of the house allowing us to linger and become acquainted with my cousin. Mary Alice embraces me like a long lost relative and it is a most satisfying experience. Before we know it four hours have gone by and we are starving. Bridgett gives us a lunch recommendation and off we go to a place called Babalu Tacos and Tapas.

We are excited at the prospect of another adventure of hunting and gathering for food and off we go. Babalu is in the Fondren Historic District of Jackson in an old school house. Parts of the Fondren District were featured in the movie, The Help. I cannot imagine tacos in Mississippi but it is also a tapas and that I can imagine. This place is AWESOME!!!  We ordered the guacamole (fresh made at your table),

 I ordered beef empanadas and Seamus ordered a taco trio. They came out in stages. LOVE that. First the guac and then the empanadas and last the tacos. Seamus had ordered a catfish taco for me. I was nervous. Catfish can taste divine or taste like mud. This was divine. It was nuggets of cornmeal fried catfish, diced cucumber, and a delicious salsa all wrapped in warm blue corn tortillas.  Guess what was on the white plaster wall? They played I Love Lucy shows.

 Great recommendation Bridget!

We headed back out onto the trail and while we were looking for The Onward Store we came across the tiny town of Rolling Fork and what did we find there? The birthplace of Muddy Waters. This is a stop on the Mississippi Blues Tour. A self guided tour of the Blues in Mississippi. Someday I will go on this. 

We passed through a village in Yazoo County called Mechanicsburg and I wonder where such a name comes from...... In 1863 Gen. Frank Blair encountered Col. W. Wirt Adams of the Confederate Army and after a few skirmishes in Mechanicsburg the Confederate army was pushed back and Gen. Blair returned his troops to Vicksburg for the battle that was about to begin.  All I can find are references to the battle that took place here. No history of the origin of the name. 

Like Gen. Blair we move on to Vicksburg. 

BEWARE OF ALLIGATORS

There we were cruising along on what we thought were backroads of Mississippi. It was not interstate but neither was it backroads. It was a four lane divided stretch of fabulous road and though we were seeing Mississippi we were not seeing "Mississippi" so we stopped at a little country gas station/store and asked to buy a map. The woman behind the counter asked us what we were looking for. Mississippi we said. She answered "You found it!". 

We stopped at another station and bought a map. There were black lines, slashed lines, dotted lines, blue lines, red lines with only a few of them marked as to what they were. So I said too bad this is not an app maybe I could pinch it and spread it out so we could see it better as I was pretending to enlarge the app.  Seamus becomes hysterical and accuses me of trying to enlarge a paper map. Did he miss my comment?

Seamus is not happy with my music choices which included a mix of everything but death metal and country.  I am providing a mix of all types of tunes but not today he wants to listen to  wretched Neil Diamond wail on in a live concert. That lasted about 11 minutes and now we drive on in silence. I cannot live this way. I have to have a musical background to my day. I am dying and screaming silently as I wither like a slug under salt. I start looking for dragons and before long I am seeing them as they hide among the trees disguised as Kudzu. I point them out, Seamus does not see them. I now have to ask ..."are you not a fan of Peter Pan?" Yes, he replies. Peter Pan never grew up and wore pointy green shoes that curled up at the toes. WHAT!!!!  That is all he got from that story? No wonder he cannot see the dragons.

We stop at yet another gas station and ask for directions to Lincoln Lake. The woman looks out the window for a moment and then says "I think it is that way".  Uh.... Thanx??

Lunch rolls around and we decide to eat.  Sheamus suggests tacos. I snap my head around and look at him like he has sprouted a horse head. "This ain't Texas son!!! This is Mississippi! I did not drive all this way to eat a bloody taco!!"  We drive on.  He is not bouncing back very well from the taco let down so I take over ( I am so not a leader!!!) I steer him into a parking a lot which contains a Wendy's, an Italian place with a giant tomato, a Subway and The Tokyo.  We park and as we are approaching Tokyo ( I am thinking this is still Mississippi and yes everyone who wants Japanese food travels to Mississippi!!!) I have decided I will eat 2 egg rolls and pork friend rice. Sheamus is dreaming of a Teriyaki Burger(???). 

 I spy the Crawfish Festival inside!!! Whooot!!!!! We break left and enter.  SO wonderful! Sheamus orders crawfish etouffe and I get a crawfish quesadilla. ( Yeah if I fold it in half it will be a taco....shut up!!)  This quesadilla comes out looking like the possessed shrimp cocktail from Beetlejuice. 

It was at one time two tortillas that are cut like a pie into slices. The tortilla is dark green, very dark green, unnaturally dark green like dried seaweed dark green. In the middle is a  shredded heap of dark green leafy vegetable of some type. The plate scares me because I am sure at any moment it will come to life and fight back.  It is however very tasty.  Quesadilla - 0 me - 1.

At Lincoln Lake the first thing we see upon entering is a sign that says.  BEWARE OF ALLIGATORS Oh joy, the park can fight back. We press on with a little less enthusiasm. We see 6 more warning signs and people in ski boats zooming around the lake with children precariously perched in inner tubes being drug around the lake at 32 miles an hour.  We spy a bridge over a swamp area and curiosity getting the upper hand over my sense of safety we get out and approach the bridge. There are big bold letters BEWARE OF ALLIGATORS on a sign.  I back up, look cautiously around and decide to get on the bridge.  I charge up the wooden planks screaming a ferocious battle cry. Like the Scots charging the English before a battle. Except my battle cry probably sounded more like a girl squealing because Seamus is now laughing hysterically.  There are no alligators. 

We leave feeling a bit disappointed. But tomorrow is another day. 

Marty's Tips

To the dude in Louisiana at the gas station, Pull up your pants son, I do not want to see your panties!! This ain't prison!!!

We stopped in the hotel bar yesterday evening for a cocktail when who should appear at our side. Colorful, friendly, informative Marty. I love that name Marty. He was all chatty and inquisitive about us and once he discovered we were from San Antonio he prodded us for Spurs secrets and insider tips. We had no information to impart to him.  He completely ignored me. What?? I am a girl? I have no basketball skills. My father won a free throw challenge against Rolando Blackman twice and him and his teammates played them at the gym on occasion. My dad played ball everyday from High School until he was 72.  I know some basketball. Marty! I could have been the personal assistant to Gregg Popovich. I might have slipped a secret to you.

Marty did however direct us to Bubba Gump's for dinner. We had a lovely dinner and got almost all of the trivia questions right and even stumped our server with a question.  I am not usually one for chain store restaurants but that was a fun and pleasant experience and the Strawberry Basil cocktail was AMAZING!!!!

We decided we needed to get out of the car and move about so we stopped at Buccaneer park yesterday to hike the wilderness on a trail known as Pirate Alley and we had barely gone 1/4 mile when we were attacked by ruthless Pirate flies. They bit, they buzzed, they completed accurate strafing runs with stealth and dexterity, and they were big. Pirates 1 us 0.

My daughter Des is borrowing my car while I am gone. Hers is in the shop. They misplaced the keys yesterday and after about 20 minutes of searching and a serious panic attack they called a lock smith who came out and unlocked the car then made a key to fit the lock and after $320 they were back in business only to find the original key 10 minutes after the locksmith left.  She takes after her sperm donors side of the family.

As we were deciding on a hotel in Biloxi I called the number for Harrah's and got the Biloxi casino, good start, I then informed the human I wanted to make a reservation. They transferred me over to reservation which happened to be an automated system and after several attempts of me saying Harrah's Biloxi Mississippi the voice confirmed my request for Kansas City and transferred me to Kansas City. I hung up. I waited about 15 minutes and called the number again. The human transferred me to the automated system and after saying Mississippi in a normal voice I switched to a southern version and finally the voice confirms I want Atlantic City and transfers me  but after one greeting and several clicks I got Kansas City again. I hung up. It was like a phone call gone wrong in the Matrix. No Nemo to rescue me either.

During a calm, peaceful walk on the boardwalk on  the beach last night a homeless man approaches us and proceeds to inform me numerous times how he bathes in the ocean in his boxer shorts and how he cleansed. No lie he says no lie. It feels good to bathe he tells me over and over. He is highly agitated when he encounters us claiming some white man had been verbally abusive to him and the white man had no right to do that.  He would not leave us alone so we kept walking and talking. He calmed down and eventually we got in the car and drove off.

I am eager to see what else Mississippi has to offer. WOOOOHOOOO

PG Her Tips

Having dinner in a pub and there are two women seated across from us. They decide to have tea after dinner. So they ask for tea. The waitress asks them what type (not what brand) and they both agree they want PG Tips. The waitress is of course dumbfounded. She has never heard of this type of tea. She goes to check and returns saying they do not have PG Tips. They have Earl Grey, Chamomile and some English Breakfast. These two women blow a gasket and start demanding what type of pub does not carry PG Tips? They are rude about it. This is America. Pubs are not legally bound to carry tea let alone PG Tips. Not everybody like PG Tips. I myself am very partial to Yorkshire Gold.

To your comment "What kind of British Pub does not have British Tea?"  Tea is NOT British! It is not grown there! It is not harvested there nor is it always packaged and boxed there. It is imported by British tea merchants!

There were firemen at the intersection with their boots in hand dancing for money. Yes these charming men were dancing right there in the intersection for money so I gave them some. Or I should say I demanded my date give me a dollar. He did!

While at dinner I ordered the beer special it was some concoction called Staropramen and it was served with an orange slice. It was very golden and cloudy. Tasted of toasted wheat anda bit of citrus. It was like drinking summertime. The beer is created from a recipe first created in 1884 in Prague. Delicious!!

Yesterday we passed through Flatonia. What kind of name for a city is that? No it is not flat. Flatonia was established in 1873. It is named after a pioneer merchant named F. W. Flato. It was an important stop for the San Antonio - Arkansas Railway and the San Antonio - Galveston Railway. Flatonia became a thriving city with the building of a Swift meat packing plant, ice factory, and cotton gins.  I believe his name is Frederick Wilhelm Flato.

Dear male creature in the red truck...TURN ALready!!!!!

No Cat Litter Creates Havoc

I have not written a rant in a while but I have been living in a Roadrunner comedy and I am Wile E Coyote. Things have been falling on my head, exploding around me and everything from A.C.M.E. is defective. 

Let me start with the two male creatures at the local grocery store.  The two on the lift, the two who are subcontracted by the contractor from where, the parking lot of Home Depot? I live in Texas you bumbleheads. I have since 1974 I understand enough Tex-Mex to know what you said. My guess is I am slightly older than you which means I deserve respect. Would you talk like that to your Grandmother, aunt, daughter, Mother? Guess what? I am a Grandmother, aunt, daughter and mother. I am also some-one's sister.  

I will next move on to the female creature at the same grocery store who cashed me out. I greeted you with a friendly "Good Morning Miss Lily" and then you slammed my groceries around. What the bloody hell did my bread and conditioner do to you?  For that matter what did I do to you? Oh and now because some lazy, uneducated miscreant tapes a coupon on the wrong bottle you look at me as though I am attempting to steal your purse. It is 50 cents!! It is conditioner.  I needed it.  I do not care about the bloody coupon. "If there is a problem with the coupon do not use it" I tell her. "They are taped all over the various bottles of shampoo and conditioner right over there." She glares at me. WTF???? "NO, it is fine!" She hisses. I am a female, I know what that means. The female bagging my things slinks off looking a bit scared. I gently pick up my things and turn toward her. I can only assume she did not like being called Miss Lily so, I say "Thank you Miss Lily" smile cheerfully and walk away. I have always greeted people who serve me in some way either as Miss (insert their name if I know it) or Mommie if I do not. It is respect.  Maybe I should have said "Thanks ho". 

Yesterday a bird, duck, buzzard or pterodactyl deposited a load of shite on my car. (Yes Pam I said shite!!!) Then a miracle from GOD appears on my facebook page. It says... WHENEVER A BIRD SHITS ON MY CAR, I EAT A PLATE OF SCRAMBLED EGGS ON MY FRONT PORCH, JUST TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT I'M CAPABLE OF. This had me laughing all day. All day. Apparently not one of my 500 friends found this funny. 

Last night at about 10:30 I am making the rounds to lock the doors when a black ground beetle crawls under the door. I stomp it, smash it, stomp it some more then being overly tired and fatigued I toddle off to bed. I get up this morning to pick up the carcass and throw it away and it is gone. I am  sure neither the cats nor the dog ate it. So, either it survived my attack or it's comrades came and hauled it off. Either scenario is NOT good. 

The reason I am the grocery store this early was because at 6:45 AM I emptied the cat litter. At 6:46 AM I realize I have no litter to replace it.  Who does that??

D Trump does not like the butts of the Kardashians or J Lo? 

 He dislikes firm round butts? 

This made top of the fold news. Really??  Who cares about his taste in females? Is that news worthy? Are any of you men reading this going to be influenced by D Trumps opinion? If so STOP reading this now!!  If he wants to date stick people he can. Do it D!! You wear a red tie that makes you look like a V-jj. I think that says it all. Nothing about a red tie says power to me it says 'Look I am a woman!!  But power on little man. Wear your red tie.  I can only assume your dislike of the curve of a bottom stems from the size of your package.  But, to be honest this is good news and good to know. I have no fear of your Suaron Eye gazing in my direction. 

This has been helpful. I must now take my contraband conditioner and wash my hair.