Chicken Soup Chinese Medicine - Acupuncture, Herbs, Nutrition, 27 Years Specializing in Women's & LGBT Health, hepatitus, HIV

Betty's List Departments

Signature Sponsors

Media Partners

Betty's List Columns

Your Ad could be here!

Click for Details

The Betty Blog

How I Spent Thanksgiving

December 8, 2007

How I Spent Thanksgiving . . . or
There is a Lot of There There - Part The First

First of all, we had found Delta's cheap seats. So, I changed planes in Atlanta, and landed in Memphis, where I've never seen anything like it. The sheer number of jumbo jets on the ground is massive.

Always before, it was Kennedy International where I expected to see a maxed out number of planes parked on the tarmac. But no. That prize now is held by Fred Smith's fleet, looking like an airfield filled with purple-tailed sausages or cigars and great purple/orange letters, saying FedEx with the hidden arrow. A rare wow moment, indeed.

Audrey served me barbeque on her front porch, there in the Cooper Young area of the city Elvis loved, where MLK Jr. died and the National Civil Right Museum now occupies what was the Lorraine Motel.

I sneaked a bit of barbeque to that gorgeous yellow tabby neighbor cat hanging out there, making a fort or outpost with his pal cat on her porch. I name him “Louysius” . . . as in Louise + delicious and would have brought him home had that been an option.

Liz took me shopping and we played in the wholesale stores. How fun to see the competence of this young woman behind the wheel and up and down the shopping aisles. How rewarding to think about 25 years ago when we moved from Memphis to New York and she was four and what's come to be as water flows under the bridge. How bemused am I to ponder what may be yet to behold as she and John-son make their way.

Dr. Leon came to town on Saturday and we went tailgating with big brother Stan to the Ole Miss v LSU game. The memories flooded back. I could not escape the memory of our Pop saying I should go to LSU for graduate school rather than Columbia: "Why do you want to go off up there to New York?" he said, years ago, upon hearing the news. Get out to come out, as they say.

Stan, Dr. Leon and I took a walk around campus and I was awed again by how nothing is spared to mark turf in Rebel Land . . . the tents, picnic tables, colors, hoopla and variations in self-presentation among the good ole boys and girls and southern belles and gentlemen and ladies . . . mashed up on a small iconic, sacred acreage they call The Grove.

The very best thing was LSU's campy Tiger Band playing "Tiger Rag," otherwise known as “Hold That Tiger,” and their Golden Girls, a nod to Mardi Gras . . . even though I've never been . . . ever . . . to Mardi Gras . . . or with a Golden Girl, either one. Then, there was that awesome looking player #78 out there on the field that Dr. Leon and I agreed, from our vantage point in the stands, looked really hot. I have always admired big men and probably think, on some level, that I am one.

Ole Miss' Pride of the South Band, one more time, played very serious “Dixie” and that tear-jerker alma mater, sounding right out of a plantation story. Colonel Rebel really was there, but the rule is he's banned from the field. Cheerleaders now run down across the yard lines wagging really big blue and red flags. The Confederate banner no more. Pom-poms flood the student section, where once to be an Ole Miss student was to wave a Rebel flag and use it to stir your toddy.

The good news was the Nation's #1 team didn't totally embarrass UM as could have easily been the case. What's more, no one in the alumni section said anything too rude to Dr. Leon about his silk LSU Tigers necktie, though we did endure some commentary from neighbors, most of it directed at the referees and some taunting the quarterback with "Stupid!"

Stan wore his headphones listening to the radio throughout the game, so Dr. Leon and I had a good talk about whatever came to mind. Ole times there, not forgotten, look away. All that.

I told Stan The Man that we will make this LSU game an annual tradition, which means next year Dr. Leon will welcome us to Bayou Country and the legendary Tiger Stadium down there in Baton Rouge. With the L/J having moved back to Oxford now, I see my accent tune-ups likely to occur more often. More about that . . .

Yes, there is more that I did during Thanksgiving, but it's too much for here, so maybe next time. Maybe in "Part - The Second" when or if that happens.