A few weeks ago I mentioned on the blog that my niece was getting married the first weekend in July, and that hubs and I were driving down to Tennessee for the wedding. (It was beautiful — and so was the bride!)
We generally head south for Christmas to visit with my and John’s family. This was the first time we had traveled down south during the summer for several years. Avoiding the South in the summertime, particularly in July and August, is a conscious choice. Since the wedding was scheduled in early July, we didn’t have a choice about the timing of the trip. Due to the groom starting law school and the bride staring a new job in a new city, the newlyweds had a limited window for scheduling the wedding.
It hovered around 100 degrees the week of the wedding. In the South, that is akin to being in a sauna. This trip called to mind many things that I love— and some I don’t love so much—about the South.
I DO NOT LOVE the heat, the hayfever, and the mosquitoes.
I LOVE the people. On the drive down I can tell when we’ve crossed an invisible line into the South. Folks get friendlier and chattier. Waitresses start calling me hon or precious, or sometimes ma’am.
After the wedding, the wedding party took more photos and then migrated the block or so from the chapel to the reception venue. It started to rain. Someone was holding an umbrella over the bride. Without any prompting, traffic stopped in both directions on the main street through town as they kindly tried to keep the bride from getting wet. A driver in a pick-up truck stuck his arm out the window and waved to the wedding party to come on across and traffic remained at a standstill as they scurried across!
Southerners know how to make authentic sweet tea and at restaurants, they always ask if you want sweet or unsweet. The idea that if you want it sweet you can simply dump a packet of Splenda into your glass is a crazy notion to Southerners. One of our Michigan friends once asked me to bring “real” sweet tea to a get-together. I told her I was happy to also bring deviled eggs or dessert. I felt like a deadbeat only bringing a beverage. She explained that her new daughter-in-law grew up in Georgia and authentic sweet tea would be a treat for her. (For real sweet tea, tea bags are boiled, then steeped in a small pan. Add at least one full cup of sugar to the pitcher of warm tea and stir, then place pitcher in fridge to chill. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but if you pour hot water over dry tea bags as it instructs on some boxes of tea, you are doing it WRONG.)
I’ll admit that I am absolutely biased about how wonderful the people in Tennessee are. So, tell us what’s special about the people in your hometown. What are you most homesick for when you haven’t been “home” in a while? Share in comments.
Chicks on the Case 
I miss all of my family. We retired to Florida 6 years ago and silly us thought we would have lots of company. We have only had a nephew visit for a few days. We talk on the phone or do Facetime but you can’t hug on Facetime.
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Oh, Queen! I hope you are able to visit family soon. We live almost a thousand miles from our Tennessee family and I know the distance makes it difficult to visit as often as we’d like.
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I had real sweet tea once and I swear I could feel my teeth rot as I drank. LOL
I miss having my best friend right around the corner. And my sister. All my friends in Pittsburgh live at least 45 minutes away. Makes just getting together for a spontaneous cup of tea and a chat a little hard.
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Liz, I definitely wish we lived closer to family so we could visit more often! And I grew up on sweet, but I rarely drink it nowadays.
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What a lovely occasion, Vickie! Very best wishes to all. And I loved sweet tea when I lived in the South. (I’m back on the regular here again in New England because they don’t serve it here, other than the gross bottled or syrup kind.) I miss “the neighborhood” back in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, where my kids grew up. You really can go home again, as it turns out.
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In cities, your neighborhood can become your “hometown.” I remember watching the show Selling New York. One of the real estate agents had another baby and needed a bigger apartment. But she was insistent about only looking in a three-block radius because this was her ‘hood! Her parents and sister and all her favorite shopping and eateries were there. Her husband implored her to extend the search by another block or two. She stuck to her guns and eventually a larger apartment in her own building became available!
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The “aloha spirit” truly is a real thing, as folks are warm and friendly in Hilo, Hawai’i where I live half time. They’re also the most courteous drivers I’ve ever encountered, stopping in the middle of a busy street to let you turn left, and waving you to come out if you’re waiting for traffic to stop.
But my favorite thing about the local culture is when youngsters smile at me and say, “Hello, aunty!”
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Aw, Leslie, that’s lovely! I grew up calling all my mom’s friends “Miss Betty”, “Miss Charlotte,” etc.
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I think I’ve had sweet tea once but not in the South, so I have to go someday and get authentic sweet tea!
As for what I miss, probably my high school friends and hangouts. Plus, being from central CA, the huge abundance of fresh fruit at super low prices!
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Jen, running into longtime friends or being to get together for coffee on short notice is definitely one of the best things about living in your hometown!
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Ooh, this sounds wonderful – except for the Southern summer heat. I spent enough time in NOLA in Augusts to have some familiarity with that.
What do I miss most about my hometown, which happens to be NYC? Pretty much everything. I loved how my neighborhood on the Upper West Side is such a community that when I happened to stop in at the corner deli during a visit, the owner greeted me like he’d just seen me yesterday, even though I moved thirty years ago. I miss being able to walk everywhere or hop on a subway. And those walks! I can walk for miles in Manhattan and never get bored. A couple of blocks here in L.A. and I feel like I’m on a forced march. And real NY pizza. I’m sorry but it’s never as good anywhere else. I know because I keep trying to find it wherever I go!
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Aw, Ellen, having a restaurant or store owner welcome you by name is one of the best things about visiting or moving back to your hometown or old neighborhood!
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Mmm, NY pizza–and bagels!
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Sweet tea is something I’ll never try, I like my tea unsweetened with lemon and a bit of mint (I brew several bags of black tea with 1 bag of mint tea). In addition, I cold brew the tea so it doesn’t get cloudy in the refrigerator. It’s good that there are different preparations of tea for people with different tastes!
My hometown is on Long Island, NY, but have lived most of my life in NYC. Although NY has a reputation of being an unfriendly place, most of the time the people i interact with are friendly and helpful. Going back to my hometown is always bittersweet because of all the changes over the years since I lived there. I’ve had a number of events at the high school I graduated from over the past few years and I love to see all of the improvements, the best was attending the dedication of the theater to my beloved chorus teacher. Visiting with him and several high school friends brought back so many memories!
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Judith, old memories is one of the best things about visiting your hometown. But, so is seeing the improvements and new places in town!
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I’m a transplant to N.C. and have learned that Sweet Tea is a cherished item. A northern gal, mostly Michigan, I’d dealt with too many winters and when the bug to move south hit, I got rid of all the boots and gloves. I’m asked often Sweet or Unsweet. I’d love to indulge but body and heart says differently. However, the delight on my new friend’s faces when they order S.T. makes me smile. Yes, there is a difference. Come visit, you’all.
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Wila, when we drive to Tennessee at Christmas, I leave the U.P. wearing Uggs boots and a parka. I shed layers of clothing along the way. By the time we make it to Memphis I’m wearing a long-sleeve T-shirt most years!
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Glad you made it to the wedding, Vickie! I grew up in a small Maine town, and I miss the scenery, but some of the minds were small too.
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Thanks, Priscilla! Growing up in a beautiful place is reason enough to feel homesick!
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A CUP of sugar—at least—in a pitcher of tea?? That’s more sugar than I eat in a month, maybe two! LOL
I love that you got to go home and get another taste of home, Vickie, even if it had to be in the heat of the summer.
Colorado is a constant delight. I grew up here and knew I wanted to raise my kids here, but as marvelous as it is, every August I get melancholy for college. I absolutely loved living in the dorms at Chapman, having long leisurely meals with friends, endless cups of coffee, hanging out until all hours, trying on new ideas and personas, doing all kinds of things with all kinds of people from all kinds of places. It’s something that simply can’t be replicated. I’m still friends with so many of those people, but it will never be the same again, even if we’re all in the same place together. Truly halcyon days.
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Becky, it’s nice you have such fond college memories, and are still in touch with many people from that time. And it’s wonderful you’re able to live in your home state and raised your kids there!
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Actually, your description of people in the south sounds lovely. We need more politeness in Southern CA.
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Aw, Mark, I’m glad you’re out there setting a good example of a nice guy in SoCal!
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Being a Native Texan for forty-eight years, I was transplanted under duress to North Georgia with my husband’s work. It was hard. But now that I have been here for twenty-five years, I love the South. It is easier to travel to other states. In Texas we originally had to drive 525 plus miles to get out of the Rio Grande Valley and get to Fort Worth. It was easier to travel in Mexico then. It was hard leaving real Tex Mex and chicken fried steaks behind though. And you still can’t find that here (not as good here at all), but the trees/forests are gorgeous, so close to many mountains (Texas had a lot of flat land where I grew up), the people friendly (except for some of the people moving here from northern states). I love all the sayings here that we didn’t say in Texas. I don’t drink tea anymore–Cokes or water. In Texas we did not have sweet tea back then. You just added sugar, but now they ask sweet or unsweet. Now I have the best of both worlds. But “Remember the Alamo” and “Bless your pea pickin’ little heart.” I miss all of my family and my best friends that all live in Texas. It is nice to go home and touch the earth there. I need to bring a jar of it here.
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Aw, nicely said, Madeleine. There are many things I love about living in the U.P. But when we drive across the Mississippi River bridge into Memphis, my heart flutters a little! Dorothy was right. There’s no place like home!
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I am a life-long Texan. I love it here because of the very friendly, helpful people. Also I love the mild winters with very little snow, ice, and super cold weather. I hate to wear a coat! The summers are not as nice, though. Although I don’t drink sweet tea, most people do here. I drink mine unsweetened with lemon.
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There’s a reason lots of folks head south for the winter! I can heartily recommend a trip to the U.P. in the summer. Temps are mostly upper 7os/low 80s!!
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I’m sweet on sweet tea, Vickie!! That all sounds wonderful. A good friend just moved to Tennessee, and they are loving the Southern hospitality. (Hospitali-tea?)
Oregonians are a friendly lot, as well, and we love a good a conversation about great hikes, good beer, and strong coffee. ❤
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Kathy, I’d love to hang out with you in a coffee shop in Oregon — as long as I don’t have to hike there!
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Vickie, I agree with you about the south. I grew up in NJ and went to college in Michigan, then with great trepidation, moved to North Carolina in 1977. Now I’ve lived here for nearly 50 years, and I’d never want to live anywhere else. Sweet tea, country ham, North Carolina barbecue, collards and butter beans – who would want to live without them. I can carry a pistol on my hip in my small town and nobody looks twice at me. Folks are friendly, polite and caring. A number of years ago, the rental house I lived in caught fire and I lost my dogs and all my stuff. A couple days later, I got a check for a couple hundred bucks from the ladies at a nearby Baptist church (which I did not attend) just because they wanted to help. I didn’t need the money and gave it to charity, but I never forgot the gesture.
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Tom, you obviously found your hometown — even if it’s not where you were born! Your menu list is making me hungry!
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