Southern Living

     I think I have finally solved the mystery behind my Southern Living Magazine subscription. Believe me when I tell you that I've had it for years and years and I am quite sure that subscription will run almost until the day when they will - hopefully- lay me to rest beneath a huge blooming magnolia tree. Sure, every now and then I cut out a recipe - let's face it, there is no finicky section - and I love the travel and gardening sections, but the one thing that keeps me turning the pages month after month after month, is the very last page.

     On the very last page of every magazine is a wonderful southern story.  There have been stories on fishing and stories on hunting.  There have been stories on cooking - including the requisite disaster stories (which, hands down I know I can beat) as well as the successes.  There are the stories on gardening. There are the stories on turducten (good luck spellcheck) and the pot of bacon grease that every true southern cook has under the sink or in the fridge.

     The one commonality is that all of the stories are steeped in southern tradition and the best ending a magazine could ever hope for.  And, as I am sitting on my swing on my front porch, sipping my sweet ice tea, they are the reasons that as I close the back magazine cover, I know I am a true southerner. They are also the reason that when the next renewal comes in the mail, I'll be sending it back with "yes" checked.