Made In Mississippi...Almost !

WARNING!!!
Before you read this post , please have a seat, take your blood pressure
medicine or WHATEVER you need to do ...

I have some shocking news for you!
Well, it's not NEW ...but it's news to some !!!

OK...Just Breathe!!!!     Here we go !!!!

I , Patricia Neely-Dorsey was not BORN in Mississippi !!!

OMG!!! I just heard someone hit the floor !!!!
I told you to SIT DOWN!!!!!! LOL!!!

It's true! I was actually born in Evanston, Illinois at Scott Air Force Base when
my Dad was in the U.S. Air Force.
Yes, Yes...as unbelievable as it might seem...
I was not even born on SOUTHERN soil.
I know I know..calm down...I get a little queasy just saying it myself !!!!LOL!!!
At one of my book signings one of my readers was telling me that the same thing happened to her sister while their Dad was in the military. She said that her grandmother mailed a box of Mississippi dirt to put under the bed so that her sister would be born on Mississippi soil !!! Yes, it's that deep ! It's that serious !
Anyway, my Dad was on his way out of the service but did not make it in time for me to make my debut where I belonged.
I actually did not make it HOME until I was about two months old.
Both of my parents are from West Point, Mississippi.
When Daddy was discharged, we headed there, then relocated to Tupelo a few months later.

I have told this story in so many interviews and still no one is trying to hear it ! LOL!
I have told people SO many times that I was not born in Mississippi that I have stopped correcting them when they say it in my introductions. I am sure there is a lot of mix up because in my poem "If Mississippi's In You " I say in the last lines........

Every true Mississippian can surely have it said ..
"I'm Mississippi born, I'm Mississippi bred and when
I die I'll be Mississippi dead "

It's hard to explain that I used "poetic license" on that ...because that is just the way the poem came to me , that's the way I wrote it and that is the way I felt and feel . ...Mississippi Through and Through...although a few months shy of having it as my birthplace !!! LOL!!
I wasn't born in Mississippi( or even in the South) ..But, I got here as quick as I could !
As always, I continue Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi.

Happy 195th Birthday, Mississippi!

Happy 195th Birthday, Mississippi!

 

Mississippi became the 20th State in the Union 

on this day in history December 10, 1817 !

 

In the beginning...MY POEMS

Wrote my very first poem February 14th , 2007.
I woke up out of my sleep with this poem swirling around in my head.
I got up and quickly scribbled it down.
It was "Our Place”, the first of many more poems to come. After that day, the poems just started to flow and flow. Within the span of about six months, I had written well over 200 poems.
Most of the poems in both of my books Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia and My Magnolia Memories and Musings came from that initial period of writing/inspiration.

It's funny that I very rarely, ever, sit down to intentionally write a poem.
Most of them come to me as I am going to sleep, waking up, in my dreams...
or ODDLY, when I am alone in my car.
I can safely say that well over 50% came to me and were written in my car.
I call it my 'personal think tank'.
When I am riding alone, with no conversations to distract me, with no music on or inside noise........the magic happens!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING: I'm thankful for fond memories of times past

On most southern farms, in days gone by, the first cold snap signaled the end of summer vegetables and the annual hog killing season. Thanksgiving Day was one the post popular days chosen for this "event". It often was a neighborhood affair with many families participating and reaping the benefits. Because many families were very poor, the meat and other products that came from the hog killing were what got them through the long winters, without going hungry. A great deal of arduous work was involved in the process. From start to finish, this usually lasted all day. People would come from all around and everyone played a part in the big production.
I grew up in the country. My father was a doctor and not a farmer .But I had the amazingly good fortune to grow up with the neighborhood hog killing expert and the annual hog killing site was almost in my backyard! So, every year, from very early on in my childhood, I had a front row seat to one of the most exciting southern events of the year!


HOG KILLING TIME

There's a chill in the air
And holidays are near,
Thanksgiving's just 'round the bend;
There's a feeling amongst country folks
That's absolute prime,
Everyone senses it's hogkilling time.
Oh what a spectacle!
Oh what a show!
You'll find nothing like it,
If you look high and low.
From sunup to sundown,
It lasts the whole day;
And once it gets started,
Horses couldn't pull you away.
Everyone has his own part to do,
With all the commotion,
It feels like a zoo.
The poor victim for this occasion
Has long been picked out,
And soon will become food,
From his tail to his snout.
There's a shot and a squeal
And he's out for the count;
A cut of the throat,
And blood spews like a fount.
In a barrel of hot water,
He's cleaned and de-haired;
Amongst all the men,
This giant task is shared.
A skillful knife separates all parts of meat,
Including pig ears, pig tail, land pig feet.
The women's task is always chittlin's to make.
There's a boatload of goo and muck
They must rake.
When nightime falls,
All surround the black pot;
Where the oil is bubbling,
And boy is it hot!
Pieces of skin are stirred with a surge,
And after some time,
Crisp cracklings emerge.
Sweet potatoes are roasted,
Right in the fire;
And of these simple treats,
No one ever does tire.
When it's all finally over ,
And the day is all done;
The grown-ups are weary,
But, the kids just had fun.

-2008 Patricia Neely-Dorsey
from Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia - A Life in Poems

I have many fond memories of a wonderful southern upbringing.
Many of them, I am sure, are similar to yours!
You can find many more of these 
"memory poems" in my book:
Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life in Poems.

Thanksgiving is this Thursday!

I am so thankful! I have been truly blessed!
The Thanksgiving Holiday is a perfect time for each of us to reflect on
all of the things we have to be thankful for and to count our many blessings.
This Thanksgiving we should all express our "Thanksgiving" sentiments to friends and loved ones..and most importantly to the "One" from whom all blessings flow.


REFLECTIONS OF A MISSISSIPPI MAGNOLIA

When I look back on my life,
I think how wonderful it has been;
To have had the most wonderful parents of all,
And a host of wonderful friends.
My high school days were blissful,
And my college days so fun;
Fond memories are one thing for sure,
That I have by the ton.
I'm so glad that I grew up,
On Mississippi sod,
My t-shirt reads: "American by birth,
And southern by the grace of God."
My life has been so wonderful,
I wouldn't change one condition;
As one friend of mine always says,
I should have paid admission.

-from Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life in Poems
Copyright 2008 Patricia Neely-Dorsey

Pontotoc County Library Holiday Open House: Book signing

 

Can't We ALL Just Get Along ????!!!

We have just emerged from a very brutal Presidential campaign season . Many people are still very upset about the outcome.
During the campaign, I saw some of the most racist, angry, nasty , degrading comments , posts and rants on many of my Facebook "friends" pages.
Most of them know that I don't allow negative or political arguments on my page .
That was generally respected.
However, one day, one of my Facebook friends decided to respond to another comment from a "friend" with a political rant which also had some very derogatory language aimed at black people. I could not help but respond.

I later wrote on my Facebook page:
I can't believe that one ridiculous comment got me ALL out of character yesterday addressing some foolishness ...which I usually never do. But, so many of my dear, sweet Facebook friends chimed in on a comment ,that I made about a derogatory comment posted on my page ,as if they needed to protect , defend or shield me from something. ...or maybe comfort and reassure me . I really have to chuckle at that ! There was absolutely no need !
I know who I am . I am confident about who I am. I appreciate ,who I am and I absolutely LOVE who I am...and Sistergirl can ALWAYS take care of herself !! Trust !! LOL!!.

The comment wasn't even really directed at me... other "friends" were commenting back and forth between each other. But , I do appreciate the sentiment of my overprotective friends, though ! LOL!!! It was kind of cute !

One of my sweet older (white) male Facebook friends was complimenting me, a while back on my positive attitude and the things I was saying and doing to promote the state.
He went on to say that he admired me and thought that it would probably shock , surprise and sadden me the things that are said behind closed doors (in terms of race)
I assured him that I have/had heard it ALL and that those things are not as "behind closed doors" as he might think.
Trust me, you cannot be an almost 50 year old black woman raised in the south (as I am) ...and NOT have heard it all !!!

I posted a comment yesterday, really in jest ...tongue in cheek after all the hoopla ...about letting everyone know that I am black.  It was a joking/half serious way of saying don't bring negative things about black people that you feel /say/believe on MY page. (You know ..the things said at the dinner table, in the back room , at the family picnic or at a political rally when you think the mic is off...Yeah THAT stuff! )
All of this "race stuff" makes me REALLY tired !!!!!!

It seems that in 2012 we would have/could have /should have progressed or "evolved" SO much further than we have with race relations and in issues of race period.  In my life and in my world it would be WAY too complicated for me to think of /look at people, relationships, personalities, circumstances ect only in terms of black and/or white.  I just don't .
My brother is married to a white woman. (Shout out to you sister-in law...Shari! )
I have two beautiful, intelligent, extraordinary, unbelievably wonderful little nephews ..who happen to have a black mother (my niece ) and a white father (her husband) .
My son's BFF /Best Buddy and neighbor since third grade is white .
He comes over to the house almost every Saturday. In fact , they are in there playing X-Box games right now!

And what ??!!! Do you think that I think/treat/judge/see any of these relationships in terms of black or white. I don't.
And, I don't see the relationships /people outside of my family in that way either .

I will say this, , if you have problems with people or dislike/hate/judge people solely based on race/color, I would suggest that you not look too far back in your genealogy (especially in the south) .  You might get some RUDE awakenings!

Diversity is/can be a BEAUTIFUL thing !

My friends know that one of my favorite sayings is:
Don't Hate ! Appreciate !
That really is my best advice !
That was my advice that day ...and it remains.

Can't we all just get along?