Negroidian Holiday

I have just returned from Mississippi. I have been getting in touch with my roots for the past week, and I need to recover from it. I enjoyed myself, mind you, but Lord Have Mercy! Its like they're trying to get me to gain ten pounds!

Day 1:Travel
Fly into Jackson. Humidity slaps me on the face as soon as I step out onto the tarmac. (Yes, we had to go on one of those LITTLE planes where you get off on the stairs, not the jetway). Drove through the forest; stopped at Penn's Fish House. That has been a Bender Family Staple on EVERY trip to mississippi; as long as we've been going back, we've stopped at that restaurant on the way. Dish of choice? All you can eat chicken fingers platter. Understand, though; their chicken fingers are NOT standard issue sports bar fodder. No, they're much more than that. They're like REAL fried chicken, but without the hassle of bones. They're quite kind to my mouth, if not to my hips.
Wash it down with gallons of sweet tea.

For the sweet tea novice, all it is is Iced Tea, sweetened southern style. (Extra extra sweet). It's something not available in california (except at one lone restaurant in Buena Park, Po Folks, but who wants to drive way out there for a sweet tea fix). I've tried to ask for it, and people look at me with that confused, head-cocked-sideways "what are you talking about" look. I either have to make it on my own, or go without.

Finally we get home. Where is that, you ask? Well, its difficult to explain. We live in Jasper County. We have lots of land down there, and my father build my grandmother (now deceased) a house down there, which we now stay in when we go there. I say it's in Jasper County because that's the closest thing we can claim. There are incorporated cities nearby (pachuta- 2 miles; rose hill-4 miles) but we do not belong to any of them. Therefore, the only thing we can actually claim is Jasper County. And it is in the WOODS! The road leading to our easy to miss. It's only paved as far as the church (about 500 feet), after which point, you must take the right fork in the road (gravel) and then the right fork again (dirt) after which point you end up at the end of the road, which is our place. It is dark and scary at night; there are no lights, and if you miss your turn, you could end up in someone's yard! Home sweet home!

Day 2: Casino!
My mother , at one point early in her retirement, decided she would be a professional gambler. She has since been dealt a few bad hands of blackjack and has changed her mind. However, whenever we go somewhere, this inclination of hers has ensured that she WILL find a casino somewhere, so it was no surprise when we ended up in Philadelphia, MS. There's only 2 casinos there, but that's enough. She floated me some gambling cash (remember, I'm broke) and we sat down at the same blackjack table. I started losing, so she floated me a few more chips. Then she got up... and we met again at another table. I found another sponsor at that table! Woohoo! There was a nice gentleman who was socializing with my mother and me. Although my mom got up, we continued talking. Some folks don't like to gamble alone, so when I got to the point where I was going to get up from the table, he protested, and sent some chips my way to keep me playing. Between that and replacing my lost bets when I lost money on advice he gave me, he must have given me about 50 or so dollars. I ended up winning off of his money!!!!My mom didn't fare quite so well, but we both ended up winners off of the advice of one dealer. He told us "Sign up for the players club, and you get a free buffet!". In all my casino-ing, I have never been to a nice casino with a bad buffet. This was no different. That was the best buffet Ive had in a long time! Fried Chicken, Collard Greens, Pot Roast, Red Beans & Rice, and some of the best bread pudding ever! (to name a few things). Pounds, pounds, pounds.

Day 3: Visiting
We went to see my Uncle Jesse, who is suffering from a disease similar to alzheimers, but not exactly that.(He's in a home, which is good, considering how his triflin ass wife and kids behave) Very sad; he's like a child. Even more touching was my father (who never seemed like a 'kids' kind of man), who took him by the hand and talked to him ever so gently. We were able to get him to say and do more than the nurses have been able to, but what broke our hearts is that we realized that he knows his situation; the internal functions of his mind still works, but the external one that requires expression and communication doesn't. :*-(

Later on we went to the family reunion. Whose? Dunno; just not mine. Thats how they do it back there. Someone has a family reunion; the entire community attends. I spent time trying to fight off a man who wished to be a potential suitor (but I'm 100% sure he was a little slow in the head), as well as insects (a walking stick climbed up my leg). I spent time under a tree near a tractor, sweating. The food was good; especially good was the homemade ice cream.

More visiting after dark; we went to people's houses that I don't remember fromt he 100 other times I've been there but my dad insists I know them.... when you introduce me to 50 people in a row, I DON"T remember who they are! So I sat and smiled and wondered in my mind when we were getting out of there.

Day 4: Church
Went to church, and for the FIRST time in years, didn't have to play or sing! (usually, my dad volunteers me and my sister without my consent) The pianist, however, didn't really know what she was doing... it was actually quite funny to hear the congregation start a song in one key, and she played along in a different key. (You can do that sometimes, if the keys are CLOSE to each other, and try to cajole the congregation into singing in a key thats easier for you to play in. She, however, only knew 1 key to play in, and it wasn't anywhere NEAR where they were singing, so it just sounded cacophonous)

After church, my suitor insisted that if i needed his address, that he'd give it to me. (Didn't take the hint, I see)

More visiting. That afternoon, we were invited to the house of a longtime family friend (yes, I knew this one) who's legendary for her cooking. (Even my MOM said 'Yeah, those are some cookin women! For my mom to pay that compliment, as she is a seasoned cook herself, that is definitely saying something) The food was MARVELOUS. Pounds pounds pounds.


Day 5: 4th of July
Me & Mom went shopping as soon as the stores opened, then came back to the house.

Went to Waynseboro to see the mississippi branch of the las vegas cousins & have our 4th of july dinner, which brought about the title of this post. (Negroidian Holiday) Some things are just truly characteristic of black folks. Old ones. (For those of you who know what O.N parties are, this was one of them; only I realized that I was behaving like an O.N. myself!) I sat up in a double wide trailer, drankin Crown Royal, and playing Bid Whist for my 4th of July. (Whist is a game similar to spades... it seems like only old black people play it. My dad was my tutor, and my uncle was my partner... so i ended up doing fairly well!)

Day 6: Casino
This time we went to Vicksburg (right on the mississippi river) for our foray into casino life again. Luckily, this time, my mom and I both came out winners, although the buffet we had was quite sad and sorry. (my only disappointing food experience the whole time)

Day 7: travel
I like flying first class. They give you free booze.

Now I'm home.