Your thoughts on "To Kill a Mocking Bird"

[Ga.windbreak]

"How much of what you fellas are remembering was influenced by the antebellum south?"

Well, the stories of country livin' in the South reminds me of my distant youth.  Don't know much about any "antebellum south" influence tho.  In fact, no one ever mentioned the War of Northern Aggression within my hearing, I didn't know a thing about it until it came up in the history books in grade school. 

There was some racial "discrimation" for sure but all I ever saw or heard about was based on facts of personal behaviour and cleanliness, or lack of it, not skin color as such.  Hard working, respectful blacks were as about as well respected and well treated as hard working, respectful whites, at least so far as I could tell as a youngun.  And I did get a good and long, if low level, look.

Unlike today, it certainly seemed the blacks back then respected and liked the whites and rightly so because those poor white farmers gave the poor blacks a lot of food and clothing when it was needed and when they could.  The donated clothes were simple and usually well used for sure, but the whites giving them away didn't have any fancy or large collection of clothes themselves.   

Normally, most of the men I knew owned three pair of bib overalls.  And maybe three or four shirts, one was white and the others most likely blue, sometimes the old white ones were dyed blue too.  Each man would kept the newest set of overalls for Sunday, the two older two were for work.  His Sunday dress included a clean white shirt and a tie, frequently loud colors, and wide.  It would be neatly tied around a tighted buttoned collar, then tucked under the bib and held straight on the shirt with a safety pin.  When one pair of work overalls was completly worn out, he would get a new pair and move the previous "dress" set into the work collection.  He usually owned two pair of "brogan" shoes, usually black.  Same drill for the shoes, one set for Sunday, the other for work.  The same system was used to move them down too.  A very small collection of cotton socks were mostly for Sunday too.

And no one killed any mocking birds.

But liberals made new laws to force togetherness.  They taught a lot of non-factual "history" and said a lot of PC stuff just to make things all better.  Now, neither side seems to have much contact with or respect for each other and the only charity is what money is taken away for redistrubted by the government.  Sad, we were all poor then but things were much better in many ways for both groups before all that "improvement" happened.  For instance, back's illegitimacy rate was said to be about 10-15% and most of them were married, now it's said to run closer to >80% and few are married.

Oh, well...with liberals it's the nice thoughts that count, not the actual results.

Lordy, lordy wncchester you do bring back some wonderful memories. Thanks.

I must tell this short story. When I was a young kid (8 - 11) my mom and I lived at the old home place with my Uncle Willie and Aunt Mae. Every Sunday morning my Uncle Willie and I would go into Macon very early and have Breakfast at this hole in the wall on 1st. street. This is where I picked up my love of Waffles (the round ones) then we would get back home just in time to change and drive the Ladies to Sunday school and Church. The rule of the day was no work unless it was necessary and that included the women cooking. Sunday dinner was held around 2 P.M. and more often than not it was Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, pole beans, sliced tomatoes with biscuits and if we (us men) were real lucky (more often than not only once a month) Banana Pudding to top it all off. Supper was raiding the Ice Box for leftover chicken and every one had to clean their own dishes.

Those were the days!!!

[Oldtimer]

One of my early memories is my Uncle Edward and one of the other members of the Pentacostal Holiness most of my family attended.  Edward was close with a dollar, and when he spent money on clothes, he got value for money.  He dressed quite well, suit and tie on Sunday morning.  He was Sunday School superintendant, and later became chairman of the county board of supervisors. 

The man Edward was talking to had on overalls that had been washed so much they were one shade from white.  The only way to tell that the ovaralls weren't white was to compare them to the shirt he had on.  They had also been patched, neatly, of course.  There was no distinction between the two men other than their dress.  Each was equal in the eyes of the Lord and that was what mattered.  Come Monday morning, even the little distinction of dress disappeared, as Edward spent the week in overalls, too.  What counted was if a man worked hard, kept his word, took care of his family, and treated others with respect.  What a strange world that would be today.

[littlecanoe]

This is a story which was passed on to me by my father.  It happened when he was a boy.

That side of my family was dirt poor but the kind of people that you guys have been talking about, the kind that would still give you the shirt off their back if they thought there was a need.

My dad was born in '38 so this probably happened in the '40's or '50's.  My grandfather had bought a boundary of timber and was cutting it out.  He picked up the fella that was going to help him and they headed out to the woods.  Remember that this area of the country was still poor and depressed in those years.  They had worked a few hours when my "papa" noticed that he was pulling more and more on the crosscut saw.  When it became obvious that there was a problem, he stopped and asked the fella what was wrong.  It turned out that the man and his wife had been skipping meals for 3 days to keep their kids fed.

"Papa" told the fella to get his stuff and they loaded up and left the woods and drove directly to the country store.  "Papa" told the man to go in an stock up.  They then loaded the truck up an when to my grandparents house where "Papa" told "Mama" to put a meal on.  He then drove the man home, unloaded the groceries, loaded the man and his family and they went back to the house where my grandparents fed them.  From memories of "Mama's" meals, there would have been pinto beans, fried potatoes, biscuits and probably some corn, all cooked on a wood stove and seasoned with plenty of salt and lard! 

"Papa" died in April of 2005.  He would have been 95 years old if he'd lived until September.  I didn't hear this story until after he had died and I still get a tear in my eyes every time I think about it.  I'm proud of the legacy left to me by such a gentle man.  They were good people who stuck together and helped when it was needed.  It may be a strange world in this post modern era but they definitely had something that we don't.

[wncchester]

" They were good people who stuck together and helped when it was needed.  "

Yeah.  Shairing with virtually everyone was a way of life in the South I grew up in.  And no one thought that honest labor was to demeaning to endure. 

Sadly, the government and modern "educators" have taught folks that the world owes them a living, and a good one at that.  The results are that the adults keep what's theirs closely guarded while their kids steal what isn't guarded or, sometimes even when it is.  They will just beat the honest owners down and take it by force.  That's the way it becomes when people have no sense of responsibilities for themselves, only perceived "rights" to have things taken from others by force, either government or individual force.

Ah, to have the political liberal mindset where all this is good.

[mannyrock]

   Dear Guys,

    Some interesting points about the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.

   The novel was semi-biographical, written by Harper Lee, who grew up in rural Alabama.  She was "Scout" in the book.  Every summer, a strange little boy would come to spend the summer in the house next to Harper Lee, living with his aunt.  He was none other than Truman Capote, one of the finest writers ever produced by the South.   She named him "Dill" in the novel.  Harper Lee and Truman Capote were life long best friends.

    Now, about the novel.  Harper Lee had never written a novel in her life.  She spent most of her life working as a editor for a publishing company, and as an editor for Truman Capote.   

    Then one day she produces this novel, out of thin air, that may be the finest novel ever written in America, and it wins the Pulitzer Prize. After that, she was never able to write a decent novel again.  She wrote a second novel, that totally stunk, and that was about it.

   Most experts believe that she wrote a first draft of To Kill a Mockingbird, then gave it to her friend Truman to take a look at, and that he (not being able to help himself) proceeded to edit and rewrite the entire thing for her.  There is no other explanation as to how it could have been written so richly and beautifully, or as to why she was unable to write anything else.

   As for the contents of the novel and movie, I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and I lived for 28 years in Memphis, Tennessee.  The book is an extremely accurate rendition of how blacks were treated in the South, up through the mid-1960s.  Anyone who thinks it is just propaganda is wrong, or just kidding themselves.    I was there.

   
Regards,

Mannyrock

 
   

[wncchester]

"I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and I lived for 28 years in Memphis, Tennessee.  The book is an extremely accurate rendition of how blacks were treated in the South, up through the mid-1960s."

Sounds more like living in a city, where "liberal" thought dominated, than live it the rural areas.  Have you ever asked how blacks were being treated at that time in Washington, DC, Baltimore, Detroit, N.Y., Boston, Chicago, etc.  Not exactly "southern dominated" places but the treatment was probably worse than in Memphis or Richmond.   We don't have to kid ourselves about mistreatment.

[mannyrock]

Wnchester???

   Memphis and Richmond in the 1950s were "liberal intellectual" cities?  Are you kidding me??  They were then, and are now, about the most conservative cities in the entire country.

   And, during 14 years of my Memphis years, I actually lived 45 miles east of Memphis, on a 40 acre farm, in Fayette County, Tennessee, the most rural county in the entire state of Tennessee.  Research the history of this county, and you will find that lynchings were common.

   Are you calling me a liberal? :-)  Again, you've got to be kidding.  I am the most conservative person you would ever meet.

   There is no doubt that in many of the northern cities, then and now, there is alot of mistreatment of black people.  But after the turn of the 20th century, mandatory racial segretation by force of law did not exist, and black folks were not arrested and jailed for riding in the front of a bus, or eating at a lunch counter, or drinking from a water fountain, or sitting in the downstairs section of a courtroom or movie theater.

   Yes, I am a southern conservative. But that does not mean that I ignore the facts of the history of the South. 

   
   Regards,

   Mannyrock

[wncchester]

"Memphis and Richmond in the 1950s were "liberal intellectual" cities?  Are you kidding me??  They were then, and are now, about the most conservative cities in the entire country."

I didn't say you are "liberal".  I have no basis for that judgment and, unlike most liberals, I don't just assume anyone who disagrees with me is an "enemy". 

Nor did I say the cities of Memphis and Richmond were liberal, except by comparision to rural areas. 

Anyone who has lived in both a rural and metropolitian environment is well aware that within the crowded confines of large city limits, the "liberal" mindset is more predominate.  It's just a fact of life that those who live in towns rarely get their hands dirty at work or ever pay much individual attention to those around them.  They simply can't; there are just too many others around to care about! 

Thus, city folk come to expect government to accomplish what charities they won't do themselves.  Another fact of life.  In the more confined areas, cities, the individual loses value.  His needs are more often ignored by others and racial tensions are more strong.  The much slandered, by city folk, Southern Red Neck (a farmer after all) is, or was perhaps the most charitable citizen this country has ever produced.   Liberals have destroyed much of that with all their "reverse" discrimination and farce "education" in failed social experiments in the public schools.  And real education has also taken a hard hit, but liberals haven't recognised why. 

Liberals are slow learners.  Ideology trumps common sense with them, every time.  The worse things get, the more they demand a greater power to control, and higher taxes, so they can continue to "make things better".  All for the "kids sake" of course.

Even so, "come quickly, Lord Jesus."

[Gary G]

Yup Wn, neighbors used to be nice to one another, helping each other out when they could. After all, one never knew when they may be down and out on their prosperity. But that all changed with all the government programs. Now people look to government for their personal bailout. You don't even need to know your neighbor. See what government has done for us! Are we a better society for it? We are paying for it!!!!!!

[ironfoot]

I don't think I have ever seen the movie start to finish.
I should rent it some time, and read the book.
I heard a commentator on public radio recently talking about media influences on liberals and conservatives.
He said liberals frequently cite "To Kill a Mockingbird" as being the most influential movie in developing their political views.
He said (in a "mocking" tone) that conservatives often cite war movies as influencing them.
My favorite movie is "Master and Commander", a naval war movie about the English/French during Napolean's time. (;-)

[Oldshooter]

public radio

Sorry, That should explain the mocking tone!

[Redtail1949]

the movie was period accurate.

most people both from the north and the south have no idea just how much in their lives has been and still is influence by the events of the civil war and in the south more than the north, the aftermath.

[Ga.windbreak]

I don't think I have ever seen the movie start to finish.
I should rent it some time, and read the book.
I heard a commentator on public radio recently talking about media influences on liberals and conservatives.
He said liberals frequently cite "To Kill a Mockingbird" as being the most influential movie in developing their political views.
He said (in a "mocking" tone) that conservatives often cite war movies as influencing them.
My favorite movie is "Master and Commander", a naval war movie about the English/French during Napolean's time. (;-)

If you love a wonderfully written story and great acting by some of the best who ever stepped onto the silver screen then you will enjoy this work of art.

As for Hollywood or public radio influncing any adult of merit I can only shake my head in disbelief and chuckle.

[SouthernByGrace]

Hey Gw! Good to see you back.

SBG

[Ga.windbreak]

Thank you my friend. It feels good to me also.
Ga

[jamesrus]

Im not sure if im old enough for some of you guys to believe me when i say, i know what living in a town like that is like. Im only 36 but the small town i grew up in has been stuck in time for a while. When i was a kid (not so long ago) i remember riding my bike all over town at all hours of the night. Kids were free to roam, and the grown ups looked out for them all as if they were their own. They tended to scraped knees, wasp stings, and hungry bellies just like we were their own. THe screen doors were all unlocked and the windows had box fans in them during the summer nights. Most mens word was taken for the Gospel truth....because if they lied, they soon became shunned by the population.  No one ws afraid to stop and pick up someone walking along the road. If a family was in need everyone pitched in to help whether it was for food, fixin a car, or even repairing a roof. The old folks were respected and reveered. The town would get together for a cemetary cleanup, or a fund raiser for the fire department. Rivals in the local elections were cordial to each other and didnt believe in flinging the poo. I have an old colored lady who still calls me her Baby, because she looked after me when i was little, just like she did for my father and his siblings. She loved us unconditionally just like her own children. Oh and did i say everyone was related in one way or another, it might be through two marriages but they were still cousins.  I remember street dances, and halloween carnivals.....The Art and Folk Festival..........and most of all the tent revivals...Where i would be scared out of my wits by the fire and brimstone preachers shouting at the top of their lungs.  Ahhh the simpler times, when everything was cut and dried. I wish the town could stay the way it was forever, but alas...progress calls, if you can call it that.


Jamesrus

Towboater extreeme