CHRISTMAS MEMORIES ~ Southern Style

CHILDHOOD CHRISTMAS

Christmastime at our house
Was such a joyous thing;
There was much anticipation
Of what the day would bring.

For many months prior,
The list making would begin;
There were so many things I wanted,
On pure memory I couldn't depend.

I carried handy 'round with me
A trusty little list.
There was not one single thing,
I wanted my parents to miss.

And every year, without a doubt,
I couldn't ask for any better,
For I 'd get everything on my list,
Down to the very letter.

The night before, my brother and I,
Would always try our best;
To catch ole Santa in his tracks,
So we'd get little rest.

We'd try to keep ourselves alert,
With a flashlight by our side;
But, every year ole St. Nick
Would cleverly by us slide.

We must have fallen fast asleep,
Before the morning's light;
Because our toys appeared miraculously,
Sometime through the night.

In our den, the floor was covered,
With toys of every kind;
The sheer volume of them all,
Would surely blow your mind.

We'd jump around from here to there,
And squeal with pure delight;
We couldn't have concealed our excitement,
If we tried with all our might.

Later on in the day,
The relatives would pour in;
For the traditional Christmas dinner,
With us and all our kin.

We's have such an array of food,
Usually, specialties of the South;
One year, we even had a whole roasted pig,
With an apple in his mouth.

We'd exchange gifts and laughter,
And each other's company enjoy ;
The men would often help assemble,
Some child's complicated toy.

Our festivities usually lasted,
Way into the night;
And after all was said and done,
We felt everything went just right.
Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia-A Life in Poems
by Patricia Neely-Dorsey, Copyright © 2008


MERRY CHRISTMAS, Y'ALL!

The Female Morgan Freeman??!!! Me??!!!!

Recently, I received one of the most amazing compliments from a Facebook friend after listening to my short audio readings of a couple of my poems.
He said that I had the perfect southern voice to go along with the verbally painted pictures of my poems.
THEN, he asked if I had heard Morgan Freeman narrate a book?
Duh! !!! Have I heard him???!!! Who hasn't heard him??!!!
Morgan Freeman is THE MASTER of narrations!!!! Period !!! 
And... he's a Mississippi Man ! Woo Hoo!!!! 

Anyway, my Facebook friend said :
"You have the female version going on . I would buy any book that was narrated by you.  You have that voice like the ones that I grew up hearing all my life... The voices of intelligent southern women. It's the sort of voice that will cause you to stop what you are doing and listen"

That has got to be among the best compliments I have EVER received ... comparing (in ANY way ) my reading to Morgan Freeman !!!! WOW!
The only thing that could even come close is the couple of times that people have said that my poems and reading reminded them of Maya Angelou. I ,also, will always remember one elderly gentleman coming up to me after one of my library readings and saying that he could listen to me read my poems all day long. 
I have been truly blessed through the sharing of my life in poems!
I only hope that others are being blessed even half as much by what I do ! 
Always, Always Celebrating the South and Promoting a Positive Mississippi.

 
NOTE TO SELF: I must get on the ball with those books on tape !

DECEMBER is National Read A New Book Month (I've Got a Suggestion For You !)

I LOVE to read ! I LOVE good books !

There is almost nothing more exciting than starting a new book!

One of the happiest moments in my life was when my son Henry came up to me (at about age 5 or 6) and told me " I just love to read!"
It kind of took me by surprise, because it just came out of the blue. 
I still remember it like it was yesterday . We were living in Memphis at the time. I was coming out of the kitchen or going into the kitchen and he stopped me in the dining room with his proclamation.
I gave him a big bear hug and told him that I was SO glad and that he had made his mother VERY happy. He REALLY had! After he walked away, I just stood there for a moment frozen, basking in the afterglow of this new found knowledge about my son.
My son was a "reader"! Of course, I knew that he could read and that he had hundreds of books to encourage him to read (courtesy of two parents who are crazy about books) ,but reading and being a "reader" are two totally different things. Readers know EXACTLY what I mean ! Being a reader runs in my family and I was so happy to find out that it was continuing in my son! I can't even image a life /my life) without books!

I wish that everyone could/would experience the joy of being a true "reader "!

Reading is Fundamental !

If you love Mississippi and you love the south or would like to have a little more 

insight into the southern way of life .

I know that you would really enjoy my books 

Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia - 

A Life In Poems - © 2008 

My Magnolia Memories - In Poems - © 2012

Think about them when you are looking for your 

next NEW book ! 

Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia - A Life In Poems = LINK TO PURCHASE

My Magnolia Memories - In Poems  = LINK TO PURCHASE

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