I am fairly awkward when I meet famous people. I usually don’t know what to say and what I say comes out wrong. Not sure why that is — it just is. Recently, I met Archie and Olivia Manning, who are about as close to Mississippi royalty as you’ll find. I’ve lived here for nearly 24 years and never have crossed paths with them until a couple of weeks ago. (Spoiler Alert — they are just as nice and gracious as you’ve heard and would expect.)Me, being goof #1, turned on my dorkiness and said something to Archie like, “I am grateful it’s your number that’s the speed limit at Ole Miss and not Eli’s” and to Olivia I said, “Thank you for all you and Archie do for Mississippi.” Olivia’s response hit me in the heart, “We do it because it’s home.”
Because it is home.
Mississippi is a complicated place. It is full of natural beauty and full of good people who are creative, talented and inviting. It is also a not-so gorgeous place at times that is full of issues that need to constantly be addressed. We hover around 50th in some good categories and near #1 in the bad ones. We suffer from poverty and yet are #1 per capita when it comes to giving. There isn’t much in the middle here. When I talk to ex-pats, they always talk longingly about the day they get to come home –– the #1 reason they left is usually “opportunity.” In Mississippi, you aren’t from the town you live in, you’re from the town where your mama lives. There is a love for this place that I’ve never experienced before — except for in Texas. So many kids I talk to tell me they’re leaving as soon as they can. Yet some come back and fight for their home state. What motivates them?
Because it is home.
I am not a Mississippian by birth but I am one by choice. My children, however are Mississippians by birth and I want the best for them. That’s what drives my cartoons. And if I had a dollar for every time someone told me, ” If you don’t like it, move,” I’d be able to fully fund education. I know a lot of other folks hear that as well. And I am grateful for those who hear it; they are the people who get up every morning and fight for better tomorrow for our state. They risk getting outside of the buoys to drive change. They don’t do it for fame or wealth; they do it because they see Mississippi’s potential. And they fight, scrap and sacrifice for it. It is truly a labor of love. They don’t believe “Only positive Mississippi spoken here.” They believe “Only positive action for Mississippi done here.”
Olivia Manning’s answer helped remind me why those selfless people give so much back to our state: Because it is home.
And this morning, I salute them all.