Once a Southerner, always a Southerner

Revisiting the South

We have been lucky in this life to have traveled and lived in different parts of the world.  But no matter how old we get, or where we go, people hear us talk and ask us where we are from. They hear that twang and they know we aren’t from around the parts we are visiting. Our accents tell the world we are from the South.

Recently we made our way back “home” to the South.  We went to Atlanta, Georgia, to attend a retirement party for Mike’s brother.  Then we did a side trip to Lowndesboro, Alabama to visit with some old dear friends. 

As soon as your feet hit the ground in the South, you start to get a sense of calm. You hear the familiar accent.  You wait for the moment you hear the words ”sweet” or “unsweet” when requesting iced tea. You hear the “yes ma’ams” and “no sirs” at every turn.  People are kind, like they are most everywhere, and for a moment or two you can almost forget about our political and social divisions.

Atlanta

In Atlanta we spent a couple days helping to prepare for the retirement party.  Mike’s brother, Bobby, retired at the end of 2024. To celebrate, he had invited 45 people for drinks and dinner at the beautiful home he shares with his husband, Paul.  His invitation said it all:

How could we not go?

One morning we went shopping for food and wine at the amazing Dekalb Farmer’s Market.  The market has been an Atlanta fixture since 1977.  It operates out of a 140,000 square foot warehouse (the same size as a typical Costco) in the suburb of Decatur.  It’s safe to say that if you can’t find it at the Dekalb Farmers Market, you probably don’t need it.  

Mary was particularly impressed by the spice section.  We didn’t have a lot of room in our carryon bags, so she didn’t come home with everything she wanted.

Photographs are not permitted inside the Farmers Market, so we relied on these from TripAdvisor. We’re not sure how they got them!?

After the market, we stopped at Community BBQ in Decatur for a delicious lunch of pulled pork, bar-be-que beans, slaw and, of course, some sweet tea.  Perfect!

While we were eating, six guys in police tactical uniforms, with guns and radios hung on their belts, came in to order.  Mary saw “Bomb Squad” written on several of their shirts.  We were alarmed at first, but then realized that if the Bomb Squad was sitting down to lunch, everything was probably all right in the neighborhood.  

The party was a big success.  The guests enjoyed a lavish buffet of appetizers, three entrees, and a chocolate cake decorated for the occasion.  Rae, the bartender, kept glasses full all evening, including for the champagne toast.

The only problem that we saw was that Bobby and Paul had overestimated how much food and drink would be needed.  As a result, they’ll be eating and drinking party food for weeks to come.  Hopefully, every meal of leftovers will be accompanied by happy memories of a delightful evening.

Lowndesboro

Lowndesboro, pronounced “Loundsboro”, is a tiny Alabama town of less than 100 people located just off US Highway 80 between Selma and Montgomery.  Our friends Sherod and Rosa live in a small house on a country road outside the village.

We had spent a few days at their home just before we moved to Portugal in 2021.  That was the last time we saw Sherod.  We had seen Rosa when she guided us around Stockholm during our visit in 2023.

When visiting Lowndesboro we stay in the “Swedish Embassy”.  It’s a one room suite that our friends built next to their home, so Gunnar, Rosa’s Swedish father could have some autonomy as he aged.  After Gunnar passed away, they continued to use this compact but fully functional little home for guests.  It has all the comforts of home except a TV.  So at night, instead of wasting our time watching TV, we had to entertain each other.  That’s easy to do with good friends and good food.

Dinners ran long, with lots of laughter and stories about good times past.  One night was pulled pork (yes, again!).  Another was smash burgers cooked on the grill.  On our last night there we enjoyed boiled shrimp and corn on the cob.  (And despite what the map says now, we know the shrimp came from the Gulf of Mexico!)

Rosa is an Episcopal priest, still active in ministry.  (Sherod is a retired priest.)  When she’s not tending to her spiritual flock, she’s looking after her other flock – 15 laying hens, a guinea fowl rooster named Manny Roberto, and two geese.  Throw in the two cats and two dogs, and it’s quite a menagerie.  

For breakfast one morning, Mary cooked one of the goose eggs to see what it would taste like. It was twice the size of one of the hen’s eggs.   Mike did the tasting – it was delicious.  These would make great omelets!

Mary (a.k.a. “Dr. Doolittle”) also made friends with some of the locals.

Traveling is fun…but

We had a great time visiting with our family and friends down south.  We enjoyed the food. We enjoyed sitting outdoors in our shirtsleeves.  But after a week away, we were happy to return to our little town in the “inland Northwest”.  

One more food story from Lowndesboro coming in the next post.

We’ll see y’all again in a little bit,

Mary and Mike

The Cook and The Writer

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If you went “back home”, where would that be? Who would you see? What would you eat? Leave your recollections in the comments below or via the Contact Us form.