Southern Style

As a child, I was never bored I spent hours gawking going through my mother's home decorating magazines seeing things I'd never seen that we could never afford So full of spacious Southern homes described as “gracious” all wrapped in white porches with white wicker chairs, clean, pristine untouched, untainted by 'common' people and poverty When they said “gracious” they didn't mean universally welcoming But there were other issues featuring “rustic” things cabins and sheds, antique folk art and cast iron beds carefully curated collections of antiquated stuff... and these were my favorite fads by far Yes, I thought- here was something a style more attainable for the likes of me Rough, aged structures with cracks in the walls like my great aunt's hundred-year-old cabin, except theirs were prettier than hers, all gussied up- without the necessary utilities utensils and ugliness of everyday life Theirs were not actual homes, but mere display cases for fancy flea-market finds a backyard curiosity not an actual place to live- because Oh no- they would never consider actually living there For there is nothing picturesque about poverty