Cornbread and Chicken

Well, 4th of July weekend is upon us! Hellooooo 3 day weekend! I decided to travel on down to my favorite 4th of July spot- HOME.

We may not be a big city, but we do it right! I'm talking all-out. Fireworks are amazing, and the town is decorated like no one's business. Beware of frantic flag wavers, or the lady who keeps slapping you in the face with her beads- the beads that she keeps whipping around carelessly [in your face] as she begs the other floats to give her MORE BEEEEADS!!! .......

All of this, though, is really just a side note. I've been thinking recently about how much I enjoy the small city life I have right now- with all of its entertainment and distractions. And yet at the same time, I sooo commiserate with "Sweet Home Alabama", when the heroine states something to the extent of: "but then I come here, and this feels right too." Not only does it feel right... it feels great!

It was a great moment today when I stopped for gas a block or two away from home. I looked around me, and smiled as I stared in the face of my roots. I suddenly remembered why I'm a small girl devoted to her Ford truck. This song came echoing from my speakers as I pulled up: "Where I come from, it's cornbread and chicken! Where I come from, a lot of front porch sittin'. Where I come from- tryin' to make a livin'. And working hard to get to heaven, where I come from."

Every last one of those vehicles is a truck! HA! And every one of the vehicles parked out front was a truck or an SUV. I looked up just in time to see a man in his 50s walking out of the station with his unbuttoned shirt exposing his tanned beer gut! And my confession? I loved everything about that gas stop!

"I feel no shame, I'm proud of where I came from
 I was born and raised in the boondocks!
 One thing I know- no matter where I go
 I keep my heart and soul in the boondocks!
 It's where I learned about living / It's where I learned about love
 It's where I learned about working hard / And having a little was just enough.
 It's where I learned about Jesus / and knowing where I stand..."

Happy 4th, America! And it's good to be in the South!

Songs quoted: "Where I Come From" by Alan Jackson, and "Boondocks" by Little Big Town