look away, look away, look away, dixieland...

consistently, inevitably, i am convinced that the south is just plain weird. weird, friends! i've now been back in mississippi for about eighteen hours, and this place blows my mind. ain't nowhere like this on earth.

okay, to be fair, it's not my hometown per se, but the south, writ large. for example...

a) stopped to get coffee at a gas station somewhere in central alabama yesterday and the guy at the cash register wished me a merry christmas. merry christmas? but what if i were jewish? oh, right... there are no jews in the south. they know better.
b) wal-marts are EVERYWHERE! i can't even get worked up about sprawl in places like this, because capitalism just doesn't function the same way here. it's all big ol' pickup trucks and fast food restaurants and rebel flags and oversized steeples on baptist churches and roadside fireworks stands. fireworks stands!!!
c) the radio stations = classic rock, christian radio, bad top 40, public radio that leaves much to be desired.

i went to a blockbuster video last night with my sister to rent a movie. i got so overwhelmed that i had to insist that we leave. how many goddamn copies of "mr and mrs smith" does one video store need?

yet, this is home. it's where i started. and there's sky here, and stars and grass and the gulf of mexico. and the trees? i love the trees! moss-covered and twisty and climbable and gorgeous. and, i've bitched about this, but it is kinda nice that i haven't needed to wear a coat since i left pittsburgh.

there will be more about this, i'm sure...