Things I'll miss about the South

When I first moved from Hawaii to the South, I was kinda nervous--y'know, strange place, weird people. They were killing Asians that year. Lots of bad press, and despite the whole half-white thing, I knew people wouldn't stop to ask my percentages. Funny how growing up in an Asian society--and people who didn't grow up there have no clue, Hawaii is as Asian as it comes--people looked at me and saw "white", but when I moved to VA, people looked at me and saw "other". I got a lot of comments about slanty eyes, but what really surprised me was how many people didn't know Hawaii was a state.

"You speak very good English for someone from Ha-wai-ya..." Well, yeah--since Americans overthrew the monarchy. In the history books, they say it was because they didn't think the "natives" could govern themselves. I think it was because the Missionary Boys wanted cash. The first governor went on to found Dole Pineapple.

But I got used to it here--Northeastern North Carolina bbq is wonderful, all greasy and piggy, with little bits of fat, and the flour is great for baking. Red Band (from North Carolina again) is a soft wheat--the closest you can get to it anywhere else is White Lily. Sauer of Richmond does great sauce, and Rumford is the World's best baking powder--no lie. It's never really cold, but it does get seriously hot, and in the morning when the mist rolls in across the swamps, you can hear the crows and watch the Blue-crested herons.

North Carolina is on fire again--lightning strikes hit the peat bogs, and the stench is everywhere. Hard to put out peat fires, they smolder for weeks.