Even though I am sitting here in front of my computer with a splitting headache, which I have now had for almost nine hours after cutting grass in the god-awful South Louisiana heat, I am nevertheless going to write a blog entry because, well, headache notwithstanding, I feel like writing a blog entry this morning (It’s almost 2:00 A.M.)

“And what, pray tell,” you ask, “are you going to bore me with this time?”

What I am going to bore you with is a little ditty about Southern cooking. Why? Well, perhaps because I was inspired after reading an article by AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe in Friday’s The Advocate, my newspaper of choice, in which he relates that the Southern states in this nation are still the leaders when it comes to obesity, as they were when a similar government survey was conducted three years ago. In fact, the plumpest states are Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana, and West Virginia, in that order (Advocate, 2008, p. 6A). And as Stobbe points out, rather unnecessarily in my opinion, the reason Southerners tend to be heavier is because they consume a traditional Southern diet, meaning one that is high in fat and calories because so many dishes are fried. Also contributing to the problem is what my daddy would call “the lay of the land,” for it seems the bodies of people who live in the South, despite sweating so much, are at a disadvantage since the topography of the South tends to be relatively flat; unlike the bodies of people who live in higher elevations, for example Colorado, the thinnest state, which have an advantage since they have “to labor a bit more” just to breathe, at least according to William Dietz, head of the Center for Disease Control’s nutrition, activity, and obesity division (Advocate, 2008, p. 6A).

You know what? I really don’t care what any survey says because, personally, I think Southern cooking is wonderful, even if it is high in fat and calories. I can recall all the great dishes my mama used to prepare and which my daddy, my siblings, and I all consumed with such great relish: Southern fried chicken, which was crispy yet greasy; fried pork chops, also crispy yet greasy; country-fried steaks with sawmill gravy; mashed potatoes with gravy made from whatever meat was being served for the meal; green beans with chunks of salted pork floating in them; collards with chunks of salted pork floating in them: squash with chunks of salted pork floating in it; homemade vegetable soup with chunks of salted pork floating in it; fried green tomatoes; fried okra; fried ham; and for dessert, fried apple or peach fritters, depending upon what fruit Mama had on hand at the time (In the summer, the fruit was fresh; in the winter, however, it was usually dried).

Yum, but Mama’s meals were good, and we washed everything down with iced tea so sweet (real sugar) that had we been so inclined, which we weren’t, we probably could have stood a spoon up in the glass. And we would sit at that table, all five of us, sweating since we didn’t have air conditioning, and swatting at the occasional wayward fly that had managed to wiggle its way through a hole in one of the window screens or maybe the screened door, and as we downed all that high fat, high calorie food, we never once thought, “Hey, this is bad for me.” Instead, we enjoyed every mouthful; and after the meal was over, we kids went running back outside to ride bikes, climb trees, or participate in other childhood activities, while Daddy, depending upon the day of the week, either went back to work or tilled the garden or mowed the grass or did other fatherly chores, and Mama washed clothes by hand, scrubbed floors, or did other motherly chores.

“So?” you say, sounding puzzled. “What’s your point?”

My point is that we were active, and because we were active, although Mama had gained a little after having three kids, none of us was obese. And what does that tell you, huh?

And now I think I’ll go take a handful of Extra Strength Excedrin.

Strobbe, M. “Southern States Lead in Obesity Again;” Associated Press. The Advocate. Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Friday, July 18, 2008; p. 6A.