The South Will Rise Again. Yee-haw.

Sometimes its weird being a Southerner.

Don't misunderstand me, oftentimes its wonderful. Really wonderful. We can wear shorts year round. We can get away with wearing flip-flops to church. We can work on our washer and dryer in our front yard. Things like that.

But then sometimes, its just weird.

Like last night, for instance. Last night was Longhorn football.

Let me now state for the record that I am doing good to be an NFL girl, but college football? Really? I just don't get it. They don't wear those big, honkin' diamond earrings like the NFL'ers do. They don't drive Hummers. Or shoot people outside of night clubs. So what is all the fuss about? Granted, I've never been to a college football game. Ever. But I cannot imagine enjoying anything where a drum line is involved.

But that's just me.

But last night? I wish you could have seen the group of people my mom and dad had over to their home. It looked like the county jail had a free period between 7pm and 11pm and they all headed to mom's house. (I can say this freely because they were all family. If they were like, just "acquaintances" I would never speak such. But since they're family...)

We had people in every chair in the house, dogs roaming around, we had cream cheese in over half of the dishes that were made, Dr. Pepper cans were spilling over out of trash bags and one person even brought their Longhorn Snuggie.

Did you know they made Longhorn Snuggies? I did not. (This is not my aunt by the way, but she looks like she'd be a hoot-and-a-half, don't she?)

It was quite the redneck free-for-all. And I say this knowing that I enjoyed every minute of it. Even down to the perfect brownie pan.

Because what kind of Southern shin-dig is it if you don't have at least two As Seen On TV products? It's not one, I'll tell ya that.

Oh sure, the Longhorns lost. And I had I been watching the game I would have been so upset. But instead I just listened in on the conversations going on around me and found that to be far more stimulating than anything the 'Horns could pull off. Just listen:

"Did you know ____ got arrested again for gettin' in a scuffle with the law."

"Old Missus _____ left her husband. Said he beat her. He didn't beat her. He needed to beat her. But he didn't."

"How'd you burn your arm?"
"With a flat iron."
"With a huh?"

"...I tell you what, I ain't never seen one alive. Only dead. They are so pretty dead it's a shame God ever game 'em breath to begin with."
"That's the same thing I said about my first wife."

"You know that ol' doctor gave me something for that but I didn't ne'er take it. I just decided to stare at it till it went away."
"How's that workin' for ya?"
"Its gone."

And it was then that I promised the Lord, "If you let me out of this house without seeing what in the world they are talking about, I promise to watch college football and appreciate it for all its Southern goodness." I have a debt to repay.