On The Road Again. . .

Sometimes it's just nice to get out and about, take a drive to no particular destination, maybe in one giant loop which lands me right back at home.

As a child, I can remember traveling with my dad all over the state as he went from project to project as required by our old family business. I've been to some far and away places, some near ghost towns, to the high hills of northeast Mississippi and the black dirt flatlands of the delta, through the piney woods of southcentral to the salt marshes and bayous of the coast.

Mississippi is a beautiful state, filled with hospitable and lovely people, but mostly it's a quiet and rural scene and I like that. Come with me, why don't you.

A few weeks back I was driving through Yazoo County, which is home to our Governor Haley Barbour, the late comedian and racontuer Jerry Clower, as well as actress Stella Stevens, Ex-Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Espy and author of My Dog Skip, the late Willie Morris.

A ride through the countryside just east of Yazoo City features rolling hills and large swathes of pastureland as well as major stands of hardwood around the Big Black River, which is a fine area for hunting white-tailed deer and squirrel. Back to the west, just past Yazoo City, the hill country decends into the horizontal beauty of the delta farmlands, a facinating place within itself.

As I drove around Yazoo County recently, I couldn't help but feel good about the beautiful day and the gorgeous environs and it made me feel pity for those who live in congested cities and concrete jungles.

The only concrete you might find around here would be an occasional bridge traversing one of the many tributaries that wind their way ultimately into the Big Black and beyond.

Some of the hills level off into green pastures that are home to many a farm animal.


When you come to a sign like this, it doesn't matter which way you go, there'll always be something interesting around the corner.

Like a "primitive" Baptist Church.


Or an old abandoned building at Pierce Crossing where people probably traded, a generation or two ago.


Or maybe just a funny road sign.


Or a lovely tree in winter foliage.

Whatever destination you have in mind, you never know what you might find over the next curvy hill in Mississippi, but I'm sure of one thing, you will be pleased when you finally get there.