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Z.C. CHRISTIE
Copyright © 2012 Z.C. Christie
All rights reserved. Reproduction or utilization of this work in any form, by any means now known or hereinafter invented, including, but not limited to, xerography, photocopying and recording, and in any known storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without permission from the copyright holder.
Cover Design by Booklocker Express
Interior Design by Gwen Gades
INTRODUCTION, DEDICATION, PREFACE, ACKNOWLEDGMENT, FORWARD, BACKWARD, ONWARD AND UPWARD, ETC.
Did I leave out any of these “official” book declarations? The words or blurbs that are in the front of book I pick up?
I didn’t want those statements in the front of this book. I do realize people are used to seeing this sort of thing, but here are my feelings on the matter: o come to know me by reading any declarations stuffed in the front of a book. You won’t discover why I write as I do, unless read what I’vewritten… not what someone thinks of what I’ve written.
If you read my scribblings and like what you’ve found, why not write and tell me your thoughts on them? I would love to hear from you, really.
So go forth, read… see what you discover and hopefully, I’ll hear from you soon.
In the Beginning…
I never planned on writing a book. I’ve scribbled stuff ever since I was small… filled notebooks, kept journals, and I am a prolific list maker. But write a book? About what?
I didn’t have these massive, epic stories in my head like the big shots of literature. I wasn’t full of spiritual insights or revelations that I felt compelled to share with mankind. I had no real expertise, degree, or special training in anything technical, inventive, or otherwise, unless you count managing Continual Crisis and Chaos in a Slightly Crazed Family.
All I had was an endless stream of notes, thoughts, anecdotes about my family, little stories of things I had experienced or had caught my interest, and a bunch of lists.
Nothing that was going to make a big splash in the literary world, or get me invited to appear on a late night talk show, where I would chatter away about the book, while trying to keep the world from seeing up my skirt by keeping my legs tightly crossed. (Have you ever noticed how those damned cameras seem to be aimed right at the guest’s crotch? And nearly all of the female guests wear a skirt or a dress? And then they spend most of their air time tugging the hem down?) Not for me, no thanks.
People have asked if I write for Fame, Fortune, and Recognition… and I guess they’re not bad things to have, some people seem to want that sort of thing. Fame, well, my language is a tad colorful at times, and any interview with me would inevitably have a series of Fortune is always handy in anyone’s life, but it truly isn’t everything. Recognition? If I look in a mirror every day and know who the heck I am, that’s good enough for me. So no, I don’t write to try and achieve those things.
I write because all those words, thoughts, memories, and junk whirling around in my brain have to be purged on occasion, or my head would explode. I don’t my head to explode, as it’s the only one I have and I sort of need it. There is only one way for me to purge all that built up junk, and that is by writing it down.
So what you will read from me are my true thoughts, actual stories and memories, real reactions, desires, hopes, fears, phobias, bad habits, and everything else.
I have been told that some of these stories, especially those about Husband, are amusing (trust me, they weren’t funny at the time). It’s not all I write, though. So don’t be surprised if in some tales you see me whine, get bitchy, make stupid ass decisions, become sad, or even heartbroken. I’m just like you and experience these sorts of feelings, so I write about them. It’s how I survive emotionally, sometimes.
On Being Anonymous: My kids, after reading the stuff I wrote about them, reminded me that they had to live and work on this planet, and if I to do this project, could I at least do it anonymously? To keep these silly people happy, I decided to borrow ancient family names (from long dead family members, they won’t mind) to use in place of my own. But you’ll get to know the real me through what I write, and that’s what counts anyway, isn’t it?
So, hello there…it’s really great to meet you.
Life in Louisiana
YOU’RE MOVING WHERE?
There were a goodly number of my Northern friends and relatives, who upon learning that we were relocating from the Midwest to the Deep South, called or emailed me to express varying degrees of concern.
They had seen the infamous Mardi Gras footage on television for many years, showing tourists and college students partying or vomiting in the streets, drunk as a skunk and tearing their clothes off. is where I was moving with my On purpose? No one they knew moved to such a place on Were we sure of what we were doing?
Did I know it was called the Deep South for a reason? Why didn’t we just move back up North? There were probably swamps and pits of quicksand down there! What if the people weren’t Everyone reacted as though I planned on moving with the family to the wilds of Borneo, or someplace… sheesh, its only Louisiana, people, relax. I assured everyone that we had landed in an actual jet in an actual airport, interviewed without incident, had toured the town and seen people driving cars and wearing shoes. We had seen evidence of computers, cell phones, and everyone at dinner had used a knife, fork and spoon, the same as we did.
I didn’t witness one soul getting drunk or taking off a single piece of clothing. Husband accepted the contract, we packed up the house, the kids, all the animals, said farewell to the Midwest and drove south to our new home in Looz-ee-anna or Weezy-anna, as the natives pronounced it, depending on their accent.
The local people were wonderful, you would never meet a stranger. Everyone said hello and smiled, or waved as they drove or walked by. People you met while waiting in line or riding on an elevator would strike up a conversation, discover that you were new to the area and invite you over for dinner. And mean it.
You quickly learn Southerners will say anything about another person, even if it’s not terribly polite, as long as it has the phrase, “bless his/her heart” tacked onto it.
“You’ve gained at least 30 pounds, I swear you have, baby, bless your heart.”
“I declare, darlin’, that color makes you look downright jaundiced, doesn’t it? Bless your heart.”
“Miss Rose, is that fat man over there in that awful suit your husband? Bless his heart.”
Everyone, regardless of age, calls one another by their first names, with a Mister or Miss on the front. A four year old child could greet a 90 year old woman by saying, “Hey there, Miss Adeline!” and that is perfectly acceptable in the South. It threw me into Gone With the Wind mode daily, until I became accustomed to it, and even though I moved away from there many years ago, I still greet folks that way.
Food and music are both major things in Cajun Country. I’m allergic to a lot of seafood, so I never indulged in the vast number of dishes Southerners could concoct from this stuff. My boys became addicted to boudin (), gumbo, jambalaya, and
