Wedding at Brierfield
Flying back down South for a weekend wedding… The invitation reads:
Five o’clock at Brierfield Farm
Little River Road
Brierfield, Alabama
Meander to the barn afterward for the reception
Dinner the previous night is at the Birmingham Country Club. Sunday is a polo match. This all feels very horsey, like I’m going to run across Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles and Wills of Wales somewhere in the church pews. I take back what I said about the South being a bastardized version of 18th century Gallic society. Maybe we Southerners are just trying to capture a little piece of England, the Mother Country, that place we originally came from. No wonder I try to create a little piece of Alabama up here in the Big Apple. It’s a survival skill of some sort; I convince myself that I’m back home, but the best version of “home”—a home with tolerance, poetry readings, Barney’s, diversity, the Film Forum, chaos, Cipriani’s, skyscrapers, roof-top gardens, symphony in the Park, a chance to reinvent myself.
Of course, what I really want, is to share this new home of mine with someone I love. Southern Boy, where are you?
October 6th, 2005 at 7:44 am
Gee, Belle..
I always enjoy reading your posts, but this one in particular really reminds me of my own life..
October 6th, 2005 at 8:51 am
Wow. Talk about hittin the nail on the head. Personally, I have this cheap framed poster of a panoramic view of Chicago over my bed. I never really figured out why I brought it. When I moved here 2 1/2 months ago I threw away a ridiculous amount of stuff, but kept that poster for some reason. I guess it’s really just to create a “little piece of Illinois” in my room.
On another note, I haven’t quite figured out who “Southern Boy” is. Is he just a general figurative character or is he a real person that you left behind on good terms?
And on that note, are you really looking for “Southern Boy” or are you looking for someone new? You know, someone who can teach you something. . .new ideas, new customs, new quirks for you to fall in love with?
-Mark
http://mlakin.blogspot.com
October 6th, 2005 at 8:54 am
Belle,
He’s in Atlanta.
October 6th, 2005 at 8:55 am
Who’s in Atlanta?
And, yes, Southern Boy is real.
October 6th, 2005 at 9:48 am
I’ve dated all types, but Southern boys definitely take the cake (that’s why I’m marrying one!) They just ooze that charm that gets under your skin.
As for the decorating, I think we all just want to be reminded of where we come from. It shapes who we are and who we are going to become.
I’ve just moved to a state considered part of the midwest (gawd forbid) but you can bet I’ve got a thousand reminders of Louisiana around me.
October 6th, 2005 at 10:01 am
Just wait until you start hearing “Oh you’re such a New Yorker” for every little thing you do.
It can be hard to go home again.
October 6th, 2005 at 10:58 am
Sounds like you need a road trip.
October 6th, 2005 at 11:16 am
Personally, Southern charm is the way to go. If it isn’t the slow, twangy accent that rolls from the mouth of a Southern man then it’s the tanned skin and devil-may-care attitude.
I’m not sure that I’ll ever have the heart to leave Texas and, even with the terrifying conservative majority, but there are plenty of publishers here and several fantastic opportunities.
Besides that, what would life be like without Southern boys??? I can’t dare imagine!
October 6th, 2005 at 12:22 pm
Yeah. Hot accent. Give me southern over east coast any day.
October 6th, 2005 at 12:27 pm
no stock avail. in nyc???
October 6th, 2005 at 2:24 pm
Polo in Alabama?
October 6th, 2005 at 3:17 pm
Personally, I love accents. English and Southern are two of my favorites. I can only imagine how sweet Belle’s voice must sound.
October 6th, 2005 at 3:43 pm
God Stretch, you’re such a fucking pervert. D’you just trawl through blogs for females to lech over? I’ve lost count of the number of revolting comments addressed to female bloggers on my blog roll from you….
October 6th, 2005 at 4:37 pm
Belle,
I am a Southern Man myself, and I once lived in The City as well, and thusly I have partially converted to Yankeedom (I too am a big fan of tolerance, Barney’s, Film Forum, Cipriani’s, symphony in the park, etc.). Your posts remind me of the many adventures, trials, and shall we say learning experiences that I can now look back upon fondly. I always said that everybody has their own NY. The city is a great and exciting challenge. Getting a nice slice of home up there isn’t always easy darlin’. It is wonderful that you are making it your own though. I for one am rootin’ for you to get what you want, and appreciate you sharing with us your journey in such an artful way.
October 6th, 2005 at 7:28 pm
Go home Belle…what you find in NYC is not worth the risks I am hearing about on the news. You ARE the bullseye as long as you live there. I suppose it is not for me to care, but in knowing you from what you write, I want more, not less …
October 6th, 2005 at 7:31 pm
Mimi — No, I just have a few favorites.
If any of the bloggers that I comment on are offended, they can let me know and I will stop (commenting or reading or whatever they request).
As for being a pervert, I am guilty as charged.
Dirty ole man
October 6th, 2005 at 8:42 pm
Belle,
Where the hell have you been all my life? I’m lookin’ for some lovin’ too.
October 6th, 2005 at 11:01 pm
Looks like Mark is applying for the job.
October 7th, 2005 at 12:36 am
Cut “stretch td” some slack, Mimi; today is Half Nekkid Thursday…and you are a stripper.
October 7th, 2005 at 1:49 am
Kenju said…
Looks like Mark is applying for the job.
me Mark??
if so then ya gotta expand on that comment
October 7th, 2005 at 1:55 am
i’m heading up to ny in a few weeks for the first time (taking a tour of Parsons Design School, hopefully gonna get in). anything i should watch out for as a southerner, other than the lack of sweet tea( a rumor?)?
justin
justincash.blogspot.com
October 7th, 2005 at 9:01 am
Guess no one can resist the Southern charm… and anyway, guess it’s how people from all walks of life who bring along a little bit of where they come from to a city that makes it more ‘cosmopolitan’. There’s where the cultural hybrid comes from.
October 7th, 2005 at 9:41 am
Please tell the groom I said hello and congrats– I’ll be in charlottesville for work– your blog is so great belle…xoxo
October 7th, 2005 at 10:02 am
Great blog! I really liked the one about your grandfather. He sounds like someone that I know. Could he be dear to me too? I guess I can only hope. You keep saying you are a “Southern Girl”, I thought southern girls drank wine with a screw-on-top. I can hear you screaming towards the south with laughter.
October 7th, 2005 at 10:43 pm
Hey, we Yankees in the Midwest aren’t so bad. True that fly over country hasn’t figured out putting obscene amounts of sugar in tea makes it infinitely better. We’re a bit more stuffy in the north, but maybe you southern folk could cut us some slack considering the stinkin’ arctic winters we have to deal with up here! I love NY, I love the south, I love diversity, adds spice to life.
October 8th, 2005 at 2:18 am
down south obviously!
October 8th, 2005 at 5:38 am
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October 8th, 2005 at 5:59 am
maybe I could play the zouthern boy you love? you know, pretending to be from the zouth secret area or planet. humm… dark green alien outfit, very big black eyes and an antenna. or an half-man half-bull situation would be sexier?
October 8th, 2005 at 11:58 am
Belle–somethin my mama always told me– If you love em- set em free– if he comes back to you– he’s smart– if he’s not– hunt him down and kill em!
Give SB a bit of time to grow up… Men aren’t worth marrying until their 30’s anyway! Remember– date and play and have fun in NYC.. Thats what this time is for you,spread your wings, do things for yourself, enjoy some play time! Come home to find the man you’ll eventually be with. The guys up north are a bit “rough around the edges!”
Yeah-& to Mike,, they even have Polo in Houston– we’re not a bunch of back-woods freaks in the South!
October 8th, 2005 at 7:18 pm
Southern men?
“What men call gallantry and the Gods adultery
is much more common where the climates sultry”
make sure you find a man who can quote you Byron!
IN PRAISE OF THE DON
King Don ruled his kingdom with a feather
Filled with ink, regardless of his state:
Compos mentis, mildly drunk or altogether
Catatonic (skulling champagne by the crate);
None revealed in such exquisite fashion
The joys, regrets and dangers of our passions