Sweet Tea, Fried Chicken, and Lazy Dogs: Reflections on North Carolina Life

Even though this book is aimed at those who grew up in North Carolina, anyone who grew up in a sleepy little town will relate to the stories Bill Thompson shares in this collection of essays. Thompson touches on the things that small town and rural life bring: the fact that everybody knows everybody so any misbehavior will make it back to Mom & Dad; how Grandma knew exactly what you were up to even though she seemed to just be sitting on the porch shelling peas. Thompson explains perfectly that to be in North Carolina is to be "down home" and not "up yonder" (Washington DC or NYC), not "out there" (Kansas or Oklahoma) or "way out there" (California). Thompson ponders the imponderables - where else but in North Carolina could you find a college professor who is a self-described redneck who voted for Jesse Helms and Bill Clinton? -"where else can you order a thick hamburger steak with fries and black-eyes peas while sitting in a highbacked whicker chair at a table with a linen tablecloth?" Where else will you find a book that takes you back home with such fondness for North Carolina small town life. Mmmmm... you can almost smell those biscuits!