Cindy Ray
1. I live in North Louisiana.
2. I’ve always lived in North Louisiana.
3. All I know about is North Louisiana.
4. I’m in my family tree twice. I married my distant cousin accidentally.
5. Jerry Springer would want me, if he knew about me.
6. I do not personally own a mule, but I’m on speaking terms with several.
7. I eat grits, collards, fried pies, sweet potatoes, cheese biscuits, sweet tea, and most pork. I avoid chitlin’s and other foods which smell like excrement. I have never had occasion to sample possum, but coon isn’t bad.

Mary Lynn Reed
I come from a long line of Georgia Peaches. Seriously. My grandmother’s family is from LaGrange and her maiden name was Peach. I was born in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. We moved to Florida when I was three. I spent my formative years near, around, and in the “city” of Tampa. Then I went back to Atlanta for a fine Southern education at Georgia Tech. After Tech, I strayed for awhile and lived in the midwest, the northest, and California. I live in Tampa, Florida again now. I’m sorry to say that I hate grits and I don’t have a yard dog (anymore), but I do have a PhD and I still proudly say “ya’ll come back now, ya hear”…

Darien Cavanaugh
Why are you Southern? I would have to say circumstances, or situation. I was born and raised in Florida. Being a Florida “native” should count as a bonus. I don’t know what else to say. Can I quote that bumper sticker that reads something like: “American by birth, Southern by the grace of God.” There might be a copyright or something on that, I don’t know. I just remember that when I was a kid about every fifth car in Florida had one of those stickers. I always thought that saying was kind of funny… and awkward. A little embarrassing maybe.

What do you think is Southern? Easy. There is nothing more Southern, or Floridian at least, than pink flamingo lawn ornaments or sand dollars with idyllic images from the Sunshine State “hand painted” on them. In addition to those two things, I would have to say oranges… Alligators… Disney World… Mosquitoes and humidity… I actually do eat a lot of oranges and drink a lot of orange juice. I think about alligators a good bit too. I could tell you some alligator stories…not really any good first-person stories, but stories I’ve heard from other people. Oh, and I had an annual pass to Disney World for three years straight when I was younger. I guess some stereotypes have a bit of truth to them. P.S. The mosquitoes and humidity thing is confidential — it’s kind of an inside joke the natives spring on the snowbirds. Besides, if tourists ever found out about such horrors the entire state would collapse into economic bedlam and sink into the Gulf.

Do you eat grits? No. Hell no. Not unless I’m drunk at Waffle House and forgot to say “No grits” when I ordered my platter. Even then they’d have to be swimming in butter and covered in pepper.

Is your mama an Icon? Hmm… I’m gonna have to go with “enigma” rather than “icon.” Definitely more of an enigma than an icon. Yeah…I think that’s more accurate…but still fair.

Do you have yard dogs? Not anymore. I always did when I was a kid though, and we usually kept them on a chain too. Now I have two pitbulls (again, that should count for something), but they stay inside and sleep in the bed with my wife and me. Since we’re on the subject, a few months after we got the first pitbull I asked my mom to take care of him while I went out of town for the weekend. When I returned, he was chained up in her backyard and looked like he’d been through hell. He’s never been the same.