Celebrating- Southern Style

Seeing how I've been a delinquent blogger lately and my primary electronic communication has been back and forth with my publisher's editorial staff as we begin the process of producing another writing curriculum, I thought I'd better post at least something so I don't lose all of my readership! So, I thought I'd post about an event we attended last night that I feel reflects the "southern" experience, both redneck and refined, better than anything I've ever attended.

We attended a high school graduation party for the son of our friends, Tony and Anne Winters. We've known the Winters family for a few years and we all attended church together until our family switched last year. Tony and my husband are great friends and flying buddies. Tony is a pilot and John is a wannabe pilot.

Tony and Anne run the National League of Junior Cotillions. Basically, from what I understand of it, they teach etiquette, dancing, and generally prepare young ladies and gentlemen for their entrance into society. A couple of years ago their daughter was the featured debutante in Teen magazine.

Anne is the picture of refined southern culture. She's tall, slender, beautiful and all graciousness, goodness, and kindness. Tony...well...they do say opposites attract, don't they? He is quite a character, very much like my own husband, and when the two of them get together you never know what trouble or fun might come of it.

They live in a sprawling old southern home that has been passed down through the generations. When we arrived at the party, we were met by the gardener who instructed us to park in the "lower stables" aka the bottom horse pasture. Their grounds are lovely. The party took place in the big yard inside the circle drive out back. The whole semi-circle is surrounded by roses bushes of every kind and they were all in full bloom so color and fragrance abounded. Large, old trees provided shade. Tables and chairs covered the lawn and some were tucked away under the large canopy that covered the food. A trampoline and one of those big inflatable things that kids jump in was parked near the big white barn.

The meal couldn't have been more traditional southern: BBQ pork, BBQ chicken, baked beans, coleslaw, French fries, hushpuppies, yummy peach cobbler, homemade ice cream, sweet tea, and freshly squeezed lemonade.

For entertainment we had a bluegrass band and The Firehouse Cloggers, the oldest clogging group in the nation. I absolutely love bluegrass! Those cloggers, many of which looked to be in their seventies, had incredible energy. The best part was when they each chose a partner from the party guests. You should have seen all those teenagers dancing like hillbillies. None of them could clog worth a flip so they resorted to all sorts of leapin' and heel kickin'. The guest of honor even let loose with a short break dance. Hilarious!

All in all, the evening was a fun break from the routine and we got to see some friends from our former church that we hadn't seen in a while. That was our short foray into the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Now it's back to work as usual.