Steel Magnolias

Ever watched Steel Magnolias?

I think that movie is one of the best, most accurate depictions of southern women that I have seen.

Magnolias are big, beautiful, fragrant flowers that bloom from around mid April - late June. They stand out on the trees, their fragrance fills the streets and while delicate,  they are able to withstand the intense southern elements.

BIG and beautiful: Southerners do things BIG. BIG hair, BIG cooking, BIG hospitality, BIG mouths and so much more. Again, I love that movie because of it's on-the-nose accuracy. I've always heard, "If you're gonna do it, do it BIG!" You can always count on us to do the gargantuan. If we have a party, a dinner or whatever, you can simply expect that it's going to be an EVENT to remember. Even our small is BIG.

Fragrant: Southerners are known to be the most thoughtful, hospitible persons ever. Their "sweetness" fills an entire room, except that I can name a certain Northwesterner who pretty much takes the cake. SHE thought of EVERYTHING when I visited. Amazing Tzav! I used to live in The Hospitality State (Mississippi). We will share our entire lives with you, accepting and loving you as family even if you are a stranger. We will inevitably give you pet names and call you "dahlin", "suga pie", "honey" and "precious". We will always "Bless your heart" at every opportuntiy.



*** We will not only share our lives with you, but the lives of everyone else as well.
It is common knowledge that southerners are into everybody's business. It's the truth. Having worked as a stylist in a southern salon much like what's shown in "The Steel Magnolias" movie, I can tell you - southern ladies are just exactly like that. We want to know everything there is to know about you and then we will call everyone we know and tell them all what we learned. If it's good, we'll praise you and try to get you elected as mayor. If it's not, we'll talk sweetly to your face and raise our eyebrows behind your back. Bless your heart.

Able to withstand the elements: Southern people are often the brunt of jokes, but they are some of the strongest around. Southerners (and this I certainly know from experience) have a bit of a pride issue. We may be dying on the inside, grieving and suffering intense pain, but you will never know it and we will pass it off with a "fiddle-dee-dee". Our home-life may be shattered, but dahlin', we'll invite you to a dinner party at our house and all you will see is 'the perfect household'. We may be sick, tired, depressed and ready to crack on the inside, but our hair will be done, our nails polished and our lipsticked smile will give you the direct opposite impression. I think that's why there are so many "family secrets" in the south, though that may be common everywhere.

There is an unspoken culture that when something is wrong, you are not to let anyone know, it will all eventually work out. If you're hurting, you don't share it, you deal with it. To do otherwise would be you are weak, and being  mean and cruel to the one you're leaning on. You pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, you work your way out and handle the situation. Granted, the south is also known for it's many that survive only on the welfare system, but even those on welfare will not often allow you to see what's really going on. We're just not that honest. Hmm, is this a strength? or a weakness? Depends on who you're asking. The Southern Gentleman is the one who thinks one thing and does another. The Southern Lady is the one who can make anyone comfortable in her presence. Anything else would just be wrong.

***********************************************************

Magnolia memory -

As children, we would climb the house-height magnolia trees, lay in their branches completely covered by the leaves and pick the inside flowers. We would tear the giant petals off one by one and roll them up. When you put pressure on the bright white petals, they would crinkle and turn brown at which point you would tear off the brown spots and let them drop to the ground. Why? We were bored and there were plenty of flowers to go around. We would tear each petal off, layer by layer until we got to the center. We would then pick it apart as well. First all the curly fuzz, but sometimes we would stop there and the core of the flower was like a pointy bulb about the size of a small lemon. They would be our toys. Sometimes we would keep picking layer by layer of what would have been petals until we got to the core and there was nothing left. This is what we did when there were no tad poles to play with. Ah, the bayou.


I found this link and just loved it. You have to visit this website.