Hey y'all from Mississippi. I'm in the land of dial-up here, so I'll keep this fast because I'm keeping the phone busy while I'm typing this. But I'm reading Tony Pierce's How to Blog, which is totally putting me in the mood to type fast and think later.

Erica's parents picked us up in Jackson and we went out to eat at a place that did everything as a variation of gyros (which is to say that all their sammichs were wrapped in pita bread) with lots of outdoor seating, vaguely mediterrean decor, etc. I was just starting to think, "so this is what Jackson is like," when Erica's dad said, "this place doesn't feel like Jackson at all." We did a whirl-wind, drive-by of the places Erica lived and worked when she lived in Jackson and then drove home to Vicksburg.

Did someone have a sale on monuments or what?

And straight off to a memorial for the father of one of Erica's friends. He's a great guy (Erica's friend) but this is only the third time I've seen him. Better circumstances could certainly be found. But he really is great (Erica's friend) and at the point in the memorial when the pastor asked for people to get up and share their memories and nobody was for a minute I thought of standing up and saying, "I'm just the friend of a friend of the son of this man, but if the father had a tenth of the generousity and friendliness of the son he raised, then he was a great man." But then, thank goodness, some actual friend of the father stood up and got things started and I didn't force myself on these strangers. And I got all misty-eyed during "Lord of the Dance" (well, I always did like that hymn -- those Shakers sure could write catchy tunes).

And batter fries and black-eyes peas for dinner. Could there be BBQ in Fuzzy's future this trip? And Erica's parents got some Stewart's Key Lime soda for me! What sweeties.