Southern stories, humor, travel, news, links, poetry, personal essays, memoirs, and lots more. No bells and whistles, just good reading. Best viewed with IE.

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Home - I Home - II Articles Links Stories from the Press Snippets Message Board Editor's Bio Bulletin Board Submissions Free Update E-mail Link to USADS USADS BACK ISSUES Jul~2003 Aug~2003 Sep~2003 Oct~2003 Nov~2003 Dec~2003 Jan~2004 Feb~2004 Mar~2004 Apr~2004 May~2004 Jun~2004 SNIPPETS By Beth Jacks Click ~ more info ARTICLES ABOUT SOUTHERN PEOPLE AND PLACES . . . AND ANYTHING ELSE WE FANCY! One of the best sites on the Net for readers, writers, storytellers, travelers, nostalgia buffs, and gossips. Southern Talk "My Aunt Christine would carry on in this vein for a while telling one tale after another, and then she would say, ‘Now, laying all jokes and foolishness aside . . .’ Something she never could quite do." -- Dorothy Shawhan “I’ve been thinking lately about the numerous allusions to textile terminology in daily speech. ‘Spinning a yarn,’ ‘weaving a tale,’ ‘following the thread of conversation,’ ‘tied up in knots,’ are some of these interesting phrases which link up with storytelling, conversation, and the human condition.” -- Pat Brown “Poetry is . . . What makes us look at what we weren’t paying attention to.” -- Carolyn Elkins "Mississippi has long been more southern than the rest of the South, and that goes double for the Mississippi Delta, which has been dubbed ‘the most southern place on earth.’ So the conditions that fostered the blues throughout the South were intensified in Mississippi, especially the Delta.” -- Steve Cheseborough Blues Traveling "In the Depression years of the 1930s canning and preserving were an inevitable part of small-town Southern life, but I suspect they were, as much as anything, part of a system by which neighbors and relatives communicated their caring for each other." -- Charles East "If you can’t do it with feeling, don’t." -- Patsy Cline "Why would you take a nude Caribbean cruise? Fifty per cent of Americans are overweight. The fastest growing segment of our population is people over seventy. If I want to see a naked old fat person I take a shower." -- Jack Kean "In search of my mother’s garden I found my own." -- Alice Walker "[God is] like a man that’s got too many mules ... And ... when Monday morning comes, he can ... hem some of them up and even catch them if he’s careful about not never turning his back on the ones he ain’t hemmed up." -- William Faulkner Requiem for a Nun "By far the finest of all musical gifts is the hollerin’ (also called hollering for the Lord). This is yodeling at its best--no more to be likened to what is heard on the vaudeville stage than grand opera can be compared with the hurdy-gurdy. It is the grand opera of the Okefenokee, where it is a common possession of man, woman and child." -- National Geographic, 1934 "The hotter the summer the colder the winter." -- Southern saying “What was so important about today? I bolted up in bed. Hot damn! Summer vacation!” -- Tim McLaurin Keep of the Moon "Every time I put by enough money for a trip to Europe, I end up purchasing a ticket to one of the more remote sections of the deep South, knowing fully in my mind that Europe and its environs carry no such rich traditions and inspirational fertility as are embodied in this section of our America." -- W. C. Handy "The highest result of education is tolerance." -- Helen Keller “Inside grandfather’s house were pillows with ruffles, matting on the floors, rugs, books, whatnots, and furniture gilded by my aunt ... It was a beautiful world to live in.” -- Karl Wolfe "Cunnin’ better than strong." -- Creole saying "Morning, noon and nighttime, from dawn to dark, one song would turn into another or back into itself as Mama drew water from the well, washed, milked, cooked, swept, scrubbed, gardened, quilted, sewed, doctored, scolded, and wrung the necks of chickens." -- Al Young "[Grandmother] just sat in a chair rocking and ‘twiddling’ her thumbs. I often hear the expression, ‘twiddlin’ your thumbs,’ but my grandmother was the only person I have ever known who actually did it -- for years." -- Bonnie Horton "Summer in the South! Ahhh, ain’t it fine?" -- Boogaloo Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Click here! ________________ ~Southern Speak~ “Naked as a jaybird” ~~really bare~~ “He came running out of that house just naked as a jaybird. Mama fainted." For more great Southern expressions, please click here. @2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 All Rights Reserved Best viewed on IE Updated July/04

~July '04 Featured Articles~ _________________________ Note: Ye Editor is taking a vacation. New stories will appear in September. In the meantime, enjoy these great oldies! Can’t find your favorite here? Sorry, there are just too many wonderful stories on our pages. There will be more next month – and in the meantime, visit our Articles Archives. Out of Nowhere: Bottle Tree by Don Drane Uh huh, this is USADS’s most popular story. Ye Editor thinks folks all over the world are creating bottle trees, thanks to Don. His words have been the buzz on many a garden site. And now we give you NEW pictures! Czech Boy Supper by Floyd Shaman Here’s another story enjoyed by readers from Munich to Memphis. Great idea for a summer supper. Fats Domino by Tom Givens The Judge has written for USADS since dinosaurs padded across the Mississippi Delta, or so it seems. This “Fats” story vies with Tom's “Red Tops” story for top billing in his fascinating memoir collection. The Twins Journal by Charles W. Dowdy Here we have one of the first Dowdy stories published at USADS. This talented writer, honored in 2003 as Erma Bombeck Writer of the Month, continues to charm us with his hilarious tales. Highway Divas by Beth Boswell Jacks Many readers have found their way to our pages, looking for this article on Ike and Tina Turner. Enjoy this story and sixty others in Beth’s new book, SNIPPETS. Hail to the Chief . . . Drive In Movie! by Lonnye Sue Sims Pearson Wasn’t anything better than a drive-in movie back in the doo wop days. Lonnye Sue remembers. Picasso, Gauguin, and Johnny Cash by Gene Owens They just don’t get any better than Gene Owens, veteran journalist and all around great guy. He’s the pro! The Healing by Clyde Boswell A Viet Nam veteran, Clyde takes us with him as he makes an emotional visit to the Memorial Wall. Beautiful story from January, ’03 USADS. Sela Ward’s “Homesick: A Memoir” by Augusta Russel Scattergood One of Gusty’s first book reviews, “Homesick” continues to draw readers, month after month. Texas and the Deep South by Randy Hill What began as an excellent posting on the USADS Message Board soon became this keeper. Randy says it well. A Boy and His Fiddle by Gene Goodson Another favorite on this site, Goodson pens an absolutely beautiful tribute to her brother. Don’t miss it. Son Child by John Milton Wesley An award winning writer, Wesley graciously submitted this poem to USADS. We are pleased to feature it again. The Ants by David Norris A former Southerner who now calls Seoul, Korea, home, Norris is a regular contributor to the pages of USADS. Readers come from all over the world to read David’s work here – which makes us very happy. Walk ‘n Whoa by Danny McBride Former lead singer for “Sha Na Na” and TV actor, McBride is also an accomplished and witty writer. You’ll grin, we promise. The China Adventure by Bill Boswell, Jr. Ye Editor’s big brother takes off to teach in far away places . . . and shares his adventures in this interesting 3-part story. Upon One Delta Night and other poems by Eddie Draper These poems were near the top of the file, not really “oldies,” but oh, so good! Squirrel Tails, James Dean, and Piccolino Shoes by Pam Smith They come Googling for “Piccolino Shoes” and “Tri Delt” and many other topics, and they hang around to read Pam’s funny memoir. A popular USADS article! Flavored With Love by Jane Riley Here’s a perfect oldie for the summertime – Riley tells us how to cook bream. She knows, and she explains so well. Hint: Follow the links to her other recipes. Uncle Willie and the New Car by Asa Sparks Asa’s “Uncle Willie” series continues to be read and enjoyed. Don’t miss a single one. Summer Memories by Kent Fletcher Kent always captures the beautiful and meaningful aspects of life in his writing. He’s a longtime favorite here at USADS . . . and much appreciated. ________________________ And here are more "oldies but goodies"! You Can Go Home Again by Walter Redden Two Poems by Claude Jones Ol' Red and the Armadillo by Newt Harlan The Briar Patch by Bill Fullerton Gravity Bites by Mike Bay Dragging the Swimming Pool by Betty Beamguard Kidnapped by Macklyn Hubbell Baloney Southern Style by Ed Folkes The Little Harlem Club by Jim Harrison Lynchburg, Tennessee by Harvey Gardner Georgia’s Blue Willow Inn by Beverly Lucey Mrs. Peacock’s Peach Kuchen by Amanda Wilkes Roa

Southern stories, humor, travel, news, links, poetry, personal essays, memoirs, and lots more. No bells and whistles, just good reading. Best viewed with IE.