20 for 20: Episode Eight — Slugburgers, Columns and Cannons

To mark my 20th year of being a cartoonist in Mississippi, I thought I’d dig out 20 tales from the past two decades. Some are funny. Some are serious. All tell the story of how I came to fall in love with this sometimes frustrating but always fascinating state we live in.

I’ve eaten a Slugburger.

Now I have to admit, it was a bit of a gastric risk. There aren’t many restrooms between Corinth and Jackson. But I did it. And surprisingly, I enjoyed it. A Slugburger gets its name because that it used to cost a slug (a nickel), not because it was made from slimy creatures who are vulnerable to salt. Corinth, a railroad crossroads, was the apple of General Ulysses S. Grant’s eye 150-plus years ago. The bloody battle of Shiloh (and later Corinth) resulted. There was no bloody stomach battle over the Slugburger, though. Stop by Borroum’s Drugstore in downtown Corinth and try one. The artifacts on the wall are worth the trip alone.

If you’re into all things literary, head to Oxford where you can visit William Faulkner’s home, Rowan Oak. You can see his typewriter, a nice painting of him in regal clothing and his piano. You can experience the place where he wrote all those books that haunted you in high school. Then you can head out to his grave, throw back a toast and thank him for your first F in English.

The Mississippi Delta in the early fall is spectacular. Acres of cotton make the landscape look like an rare snowfall kissed it. Burning fields paint the sky with an orange haze. A low Mississippi river hides behind the levees with white sandbars exposed. You’re driving through the cradle of the Blues. A stop at the BB King museum in Indianola or the Blues Museum in Clarksville helps you understand that the Blues was the a rose on a bed of thorns. Check out the guest book before you leave. Most of the names will be from around the world. Mississippi’s arts are our greatest export.

Grant also pined for Vicksburg. Not because he wanted to play craps at the casino, but because it was the Gibraltar of the Mississippi. Control it and you controlled the river — and you could choke off the South. Walk up and down the battlefield’s hills and you realizing why it quickly became a siege. Imagine wearing a wool uniform in July while bullets whizzed over your head. Go into the Illinois Monument. I dare you not yell to hear the echo.

The Ruins of Windsor is an architectural ghost. Burned accidentally during a party after the Civil War, no pictures of the grand home exist of it today (I’ve been to a few parties like that) — but a sketch found in a Union Soldier’s diary gives us an idea of what it looked like during its grandeur. Today, the pillars act as silent sentinels, guarding the old homesite from time’s assault. A trip down the Natchez Trace will lead you there (and to Port Gibson, the town with a steeple with a finger pointed toward God.). Stand on an Indian mound, too. The terminus of the Trace is in Natchez. The hometown of author Greg Illes is full of grace and charm. And darn good food.

The Mississippi Gulf Coast takes a licking and keeps ticking. Recovering from Katrina’s cruelty and the BP Oil spill’s stain, proves to be a poster child for resilience. But it’s also more laid back than spots to the North. Head out to Ship Island and understand what whispered to Walter Anderson’s muse. Catch a baseball game or eat a good mean. Then head back north on Highway 49 (enjoy all the new traffic lights). Satsumas or Smith County watermelons are sold on the side of the road on your way back to Jackson. Stop in Hattiesburg and eat at one of Robert St. John’s restaurants. If you pass by the sign to Lux, you’ll see the way to the hometown of the Navy’s first African American Naval Aviator. Jesse Brown’s remains are still on a mountainside in North Korea near the Chosen Reservoir.

Meridian’s Riley Center is one of the most beautiful theaters I’ve ever spoken at. For many years it was hidden behind the wall of an abandoned department store. Today, it’s truly a gem. On the opposite side of the state, the Southern Cultural History Center in Vicksburg has a very familiar stage — if you ever watched Oh Brother Where Art Thou. You can almost hear George Clooney communicating to the masses.

Take a trip from Natchez to Nashville on the Trace but be careful at night: It’s like driving through a petting zoo at 50 mph. Stop in Jackson to check out Mississippi’s amazing State Capitol. Built from the winnings from a lawsuit against the railroads, the Beaux Arts building designed by Theodore Line and was finished in 1903. It’s built on the site of the former state prison. One of the 53 replicas of the Liberty Bell sits in front of it. And it’s also protected by cannons liberated from the Germans in 1914. On the dome, the eagle is covered with gold leaf. Down the road is the Old Capitol. Mississippi seceded from the Union in its house chambers. Today, it is a museum. Soon, a new Mississippi and Civil Right’s Museum will be opening.

You can’t travel anywhere in Mississippi without bumping into history. And you’ll probably see someone you know.

For 20 years, I’ve traveled to every corner of this state from Corinth to the Coast to Vicksburg to Meridian. I’ve driven nearly every mile of the Delta and flown down the Mississippi at treetop level. I’ve seen destruction from the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history. And I’ve seen humanity lift itself back up again.

Mississippi isn’t a place for the middle ground. It will challenge your faith and beliefs. You can’t understand a place as complicated as it just by driving from your home to your office. It makes you stronger — just like a Slugburger does for your stomach.

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