Photo – National Geographic
Grand Old Days
by Nancy B. Brewer
The ruffled dresses, petticoats and fancifully ways,
Ice tea, fried chicken and all our Southern ways,
Are slowly fading down the river,
Like ships upon the bay
Poise and manners have gone astray,
Replaced by the rude awakening of modern way,
Our Southern independence fought and lost,
Souls pass and bodies decay.
Yet, who will shed a tear or shout hooray?
If only I could beg or plea you to stay,
Would you smile and kiss my hand,
Just once more.. for the grand old days?
Mrs. Brewer is an author of historical fiction, reenactor, and story-teller from North Carolina. She is the author of Carolina Rain and Beyond Sandy Ridge. Her web site is http://www.nancybbrewer.com/
beautiful poem
http://kindredblood.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/a-challenge-to-the-scv-mechanized-cavalry/
The vision of the “southern belle” has sure changed since the war…see last picture…
OK, Corey, I’ll have to admit that you win some chuckles with that series. I’ll have to hand it to you on that one. I’ll also note that it’s hardly a major accomplishment though. Much to our disgrace, when you’re looking for photos of rednecks and bikers using Confederate symbols, it is a target rich environment. With that said, you also know that if there were such a thing as a true Yankee culture with identifiable symbols, that would also be a target rich environment.
No, the vision of the Southern Belle hasn’t changed – nor has the vision of the Southern gentleman. It’s a big world out there with lots of people with very different ideas about what constitutes respect for others – and for themselves. We certainly aren’t going to try to defend the actions of a biker club that wants to use Confederate heritage for their own purposes. The best that I can say about that is that while so many Southerners have become afraid to admit to their heritage – much less actually display the symbols of that noble heritage – at least these folks still display the Confederate flag. Through ignorance and and a very different lifestyle, they are actually disrespecting what they claim to promote. To their credit they are trying (failing, but trying).
The Southern Belle is still very much alive. She has just become a very rare and precious thing.
Now that you have taken a post with a beautiful poem and a beautiful photo to illustrate it, and dirtied it up with a link to photos of drunken, beer-swilling bikers with Confederate emblems, do you feel like you’ve accomplished something? Do you take pleasure in trying to smear the culture of others because you have none yourself? I just have a hard time understanding the idea that if someone has higher ideals and noble goals, that one could take pleasure in trying to tear them down. It’s really rather sad, and you have my genuine pity.
Dear Sirs,
The forebears of yours truly, were settlers and the descendants of settlers (a few may have become plantation owners) in the Dutch East Indies, a colony of the Netherlands. The parents of yours truly, having received a strict upbringing by Dutch and German Christian missionaries, and later educated by British professors, were rather shocked by the impropriety here around New York City, and this was the early 1960’s (yes, the crudeness depicted in the Sopranos is true). Since it has become even more permissive since then, one wonders why, the “culture” of these United States is widely admired throughout the world today. We hope the South, in spite of the general erosion, is still incomparably more friendly and polite than up here.
A New Jersey Copperhead