I Love Southern Culture
(I wrote this on EP when I first joined, then deleted it. It belongs here, I think)
If you aren't from the South, you may already be familiar with a Southern vine called kudzu; if not, I'll give you a brief history of this plant. Kudzu is not indigenous to the South, it was originally was introduced by the Civilian Conservation Conservation Corps to prevent soil erosion in the South, especially the deep South or cotton states, during one of the South's severe droughts that took place during the early 1920's.
The vine thrived in the nutrient depleted, parched soil in the South; growing up to a foot a day, in the right conditions. Kudzu will engulf anything in it's path, making for an eerily beautiful landscape where farms and farming equipment have been abandoned. Similar to Southern women, it covers up the unwanted, and the ugly; it's lovely, and virtually indestructible.
Like Generals Sherman and Sheridan, et al who left large swaths of distruction through the South, almost 150 years ago, men have tried to eradicate kudzu by burning it out, cut it back to the ground, attempt to kill it with every herbicide imaginable; yet this vine, with it's lovely, delicate flowers, roots that go deep beneath the red dirt, is hearty and can not be destroyed. It returns stronger, and lovelier as ever, much like Southern women.
Our strength is our resolve, yet it's also our weakness. To give up isn't in our make-up; there's always a cause or a tradition to hold on to give us hope. Or, as one women in my family mentioned, after one too many gin laced lemonades on a warm evening, referring to her overbearing, buffoon husband, "We can discreetly live the life we please, keeping in mind we'll out live them in the end." Yes, indeed, just like kudzu; you may think you beat it, but it's just resting, and waiting.
If you aren't from the South, you may already be familiar with a Southern vine called kudzu; if not, I'll give you a brief history of this plant. Kudzu is not indigenous to the South, it was originally was introduced by the Civilian Conservation Conservation Corps to prevent soil erosion in the South, especially the deep South or cotton states, during one of the South's severe droughts that took place during the early 1920's.
The vine thrived in the nutrient depleted, parched soil in the South; growing up to a foot a day, in the right conditions. Kudzu will engulf anything in it's path, making for an eerily beautiful landscape where farms and farming equipment have been abandoned. Similar to Southern women, it covers up the unwanted, and the ugly; it's lovely, and virtually indestructible.
Like Generals Sherman and Sheridan, et al who left large swaths of distruction through the South, almost 150 years ago, men have tried to eradicate kudzu by burning it out, cut it back to the ground, attempt to kill it with every herbicide imaginable; yet this vine, with it's lovely, delicate flowers, roots that go deep beneath the red dirt, is hearty and can not be destroyed. It returns stronger, and lovelier as ever, much like Southern women.
Our strength is our resolve, yet it's also our weakness. To give up isn't in our make-up; there's always a cause or a tradition to hold on to give us hope. Or, as one women in my family mentioned, after one too many gin laced lemonades on a warm evening, referring to her overbearing, buffoon husband, "We can discreetly live the life we please, keeping in mind we'll out live them in the end." Yes, indeed, just like kudzu; you may think you beat it, but it's just resting, and waiting.
By:
AutumnSwan
Age:
51-55
,
Female
