Good Afternoon from Jackson, MISSISSIPPI!! I am sitting on the porch of my dad's house on a beautiful, sunny Spring day. It has been YEARS since I have been in MS in April, and I quite like it. It's warm, but not sweltering, sunny, breezy - the type of weather that inspires one to smile all day long for no particular reason and get a sudden desire to put on a sun dress and go skipping through a field of daisies - Im still looking for the field of daisies, but I assure you there will be much skipping when said field is found!
So first of all, to try to update those non-facebook users on my photos, here is a link to some of the photos I have posted from my last month of traveling (you are going to have to copy and paste the link because my silly self cant figure out how to make it a hyperlink....go figure!) -
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2063091&id=5901703&l=8aa6e2c094
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2063133&id=5901703&l=1dcbca4303
Anyhow, I have enjoyed my time in the homeland so very much. I had a great time hanging out in Oxford for a few days where the weather was equally delightful. My mom and I spent one gorgeous afternoon sipping sweet tea and eating pecan pie in the Grove on the University of Mississippi campus. For those of you not familiar with Ole Miss, the Grove is a very very important place not only in the lives of Ole Miss students, but in the lives of anyone who knows anyone who ever stepped foot in the town of Oxford. There is much good, old fashioned tailgating that goes on here during football season, and as a child I spent many a football weekend running around free as a bird with my cousins and random friends eating hot dogs, potato chips, and chocolate chip cookies while my parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents listened to the game on the car radio. I never had any actual interest in the game of football and still do not have any knowledge as to the rules of the sport - it still seems like just a bunch of big, burly men ramming into each other as a ball gets passed around the field. But I LOVE the grove - and what a freaking gorgeous place to have lunch with my mom on a sunny Spring afternoon. Almost makes me want to move here - if only the weather in Mississippi could be a year of Aprils!
On Friday, I made my way back to Jackson to meet up with the many family members and friends coming into town for my dad and Susan's BIG DAY. I love family gatherings. I love MY family. We are a diverse group of individuals who live all over the country, but together we can be a pretty fun (and funny) crowd. Plus, throw in the many friends that might as well be family and you have a recipe for a guaranteed good time! Friday evening, my Aunt Claire and Uncle Dick had all of the out-of-town guests over to their house for dinner. I got to catch up with a few cousins and my favorite of all of dad's friends - Scott and Diane! Then the real party began once we got back to dad's house and he and his two brother's broke out into what I have taken to calling "Taylor-oke" - karaoke with a tone-deaf, hip-swiveling Taylor family twist.
And then the BIG DAY! And what a day it was. While Susan got ready at home, my sister, her boyfriend Alex, my brother, his girlfriend Hanna, dad, and I went to Broad Street Bakery (for the third time in two days) for some tasty Catfish po-boys. There is NOTHING in this world that can compare to Broad Street's catfish po-boy and if any of you non-Southern folk ever happen to find yourself in Jackson, MS (not sure why you would!), you MUST go there and eat it. Even Alex who is a bona fide food snob (I say this with the utmost love and respect for the guy), will vouch for the supreme culinary deliciousness of the sandwich!
Lunch at Broad Street - YUM!
Later Annelle, Alex and I took our dogs on a long long walk around the Belhaven neighborhood where my dad now lives. It certainly was not one of those gorgeous Spring days I was boasting about. In fact, it was cloudy, humid, and threatening rain ALL day, but the neighborhood is one of the oldest in Jackson with big beautiful homes that one sees in movies about the old South, so it was nice to wander around admiring all the houses with their big, manicured yards. One front yard even had a chicken coop! While Hobbes (my big Golden Retriever) dragged me from one exciting pee spot to the next, Alex trailed behind us with Murphy whose little Yorkie legs couldnt keep up the pace. Alex later had to actually carry Murphy for the final leg of the journey as he was plum tuckered out from all the activity!
And after quick showers and throwing on a dress and shoes, the real fun began! Two of my best friends from high school - Kilby and Emily - showed up, as did friends of my dad's who I didnt recognize and awkwardly had to say, "Im sorry...who are you?" We marched behind the Belhaven College marching band to the nearby Belhaven fountain where dad proposed to Susan back in August for a short and sweet exchange of vows before hustling back to the house and under the tents just before the rain arrived with a vengeance. And while the band had to call it quits and leave fairly early into the evening due to intense lightening and thunder (no one wanted them to get electrocuted!), the fun continued late into the night as the party was moved inside and the living room became a discoteque. Chris took over as DJ and kept the good times rolling.
Kilby and Emily joined in the fun!
Annelle and I served as one of Susan's many flower girls.
The Bride and Groom!
My sister, brother, and me!
Annelle, Jarratt, and Alex having a grand ole time!
Chris DJs and shows us a few moves of his own.
Sunday morning, Annelle, Jarratt, Hanna, Alex, and I piled into my dad's four-seater car to accompany the happy couple to the airport to bid them adieu as they headed off to South Africa for their honeymoon! And then a few hours later, the five of us kiddos headed back to the airport where all but your truly boarded planes headed for New Haven or Portland to return to lives of school and work.
And so that leaves me here as the lone Taylor in Jackson. But I am certainly not alone. Dad and Susan's house feels like a hostel with the random people coming and going throughout the day as well as the various people staying as overnight guests. It's a big house o' fun. So no worries, dad and Susan, everything is UNDER CONTROL - ha! Have fun and keep on keepin' on! Oh, and Susan - WELCOME to the Taylor family:)!
Two more days soaking in all that is sunny, Spring-like, and Southern and then Im off to meet Blanca in Peru! VIVA!
1 comment:
Cam! it was so great to see you and i hate that i missed you today! Could you email me the picture of us from this weekend? I think your dad did quite well! anyways, have a safe trip to lima and i can't wait to read more about the next few months!! love ya!
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