So lately I have been trying to do a little light reading and when I say light, I mean as in SUPER light...my attention span is literally that of a 2 year olds! With that being said, I'm notorious for starting a book, putting it down, getting busy with who knows what else and finally picking it back up days, weeks, sometimes even months later! But lately I have been hearing a lot of fuss and review of the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Seen it? Heard it? Of course you have! It got made into a movie and recently came out at the box office! A couple of women I work with have read it and one of them lent her copy to me so I got a little intrigued. One night when I was so sleepy and just wanted to lay in bed and not be concentrating on 2 million things via surfing the internet (planning baby showers, grocery lists, looking for new recipes, online shopping...the list goes on and on), so I picked it up and got started. Now, I am seriously barely into it, only as far as chapter 5 but I can already tell that I have been pulled in. The story is loosely based on the lifestyles of southern black maids and the families they cater to in the 1960s.
Obviously, I'm not deep enough in to give a review but what I can tell you is that something about this book has really tickled my southern tongue. From the start of this book, my favorite part was the dialect in which it was written. All straight from the mouth of the maids themselves. You can imagine some of the jargon involved. Phrases such as "I don't look at her. I'm not trying to make no trouble. But she done made her point." Or "Tonight I'm going to fry up that okra in cornmeal and eat like my mama never let me" You can almost hear these women talking right next to you as you read
So naturally my southern verbage has been somewhat exaggerated as I read more of this book. I've been finding myself saying, "Oh lordy me" and "You ol' fool." All phrases I must note are reminiscent of my grandmother. I had to smile to myself when the maids in the book talk about watching their "stories" on the "tee-vee", reminding me of my own grandmother who had to constantly shush us kids with "Now you kids hush up now, it's time for my stories." I bet you couldn't find one soul today that would refer to their favorite soap opera as their "stories." Reading this book makes me think so much of my childhood. I swear to my soul both of my grandmother's talked/still talk in the same way that the maids in the book do. Using some of the exact same words even. Also, something that not many people know about me, is that Randi and I also had a nanny when we were little. Her name was Geraldine. Geraldine was around mostly when I was a baby and Randi was about 4 or 5 so she remembers so much more than I do but the stories I have heard make me wish I could find that woman today and give her a big ol' hug! Mama says that Geraldine would come in in the mornings and after mama had been up the entire night with her colicky darling (me : D), she would pass me over to Geraldine and try to get a little rest while Geraldine tended to Randi and I and all of my screaming terror. My family tells me that Geraldine was an awesome woman and I so wish I knew more about her or remembered our times together. If the tales are true that I really was that fussy of an infant, I know that woman had to be a saint to do all she did!
This book has also got me to thinking, not only about our Southern verbage, but just our way of life in general. I mean, honestly, don't you just love living in the South. I love to travel and see different places, think of what life would be like in some unknown place, but it is always so nice to come back home and get back comfortable with "comfortable" I have to just totally crack up when Jason and I travel and meet different people and the way that they are in sheer awe of our accents. Obviously, I really don't think my accent is that deep but putting it in perspective with someone from say, California or Maryland, then yeah I guess it is. When we went to New York, the locals thought we were from Texas...close but no cigar, and please don't ever associate us with that terrible shade of Longhorn orange...thank you very much! When we went to Jamaica, we met a couple from San Francisco. We were talking in a group one night and San Fran girl looks at Georgia girl as they are discussing mine and Jason's accents and says, "You know who she sounds JUST LIKE? Sandra Bullock on....what's that movie?...The Blind Side". Ok, first of all Pssshhhhh....seriously? Anyone who is Southern knows Sandra Bullock portrays the cutest little sassy southern woman any of us have ever seen and I can really only hope that my country words would roll off the tongue nearly as sweet as ol' Sandra Bullock's did portraying precious little Leigh Anne Tuohy! But thanks for the compliment anyway San Fran girl. I knew right then she hadn't been exposed to many southerns. Oddly enough, to me at least, even the Georgian's thought we sounded really Southern...well, I guess I could understand that one the more that i think about it! At any rate, all I can say is, too bad for those people and all they're missing out on in these here parts ; )
So in the spirit of all things southern, I decided to cook up a homestyle country meal this week. I absolutely love chicken fried steak and it has been months and months since I have had one! So Monday night I made chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes with gravy, rolls, and green beans! Here is the work in progress...this ones for you Crystal.
And since I was so ready to dig in and forgot to take a pretty plated photo, here's the finished product...half devoured
It was great! Well I need to tackle this reading. I would like to finish by this weekend and I promise to update some Otwell happenings soon. I have several mental posts such as Jamaica, what we have been into lately, and just the general everyday rat race. I'm on call this weekend so maybe that will be a good time to catch up! But until then, I'll sum this up with Thank you lord for raising me in a region where tea is always sweet, accents are deep, college football is not just a sport but a way of life, and chicken fried steak is always well received. Amen!
