DeSoto Magazine February 2017

Paisley Pineapple

The Red Door

Olive Branch, MS 662-895-2111 shop.paisleypineappleob.com

Pontotoc, MS 662-489-1074 thereddoornorthms.com

DeShea’s (inside Baptist Hospital)

Country Gardens Boutique

Oxford, MS 662-232-8176 desheas.com

Memphis, TN 901-753-5887 countrygardensmemphis.com

The Bunker Boutique Hernando, MS 662-469-4400 bunkerboutique.com

The Corner Shoe Store Tupelo, MS 662-842-7965 cornershoestoretupelo.com

Southern Traditions

The Upper Level

New Albany, MS 662-534-0410

Collierville, TN 901-854-3533

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february CONTENTS 2017 • VOLUME 14 • NO. 2

features 46 Doggone better Canine therapy fosters hope

62 Fitness Trends Get going with what’s happening

54 A Gowned Affair See Mobile’s Mardi Gras museum

departments 14 Living Well Fixing hearts at Baptist

42 On the Road Again Hattiesburg, Mississippi

18 Notables Meri Amour’s heartfelt vision

44 Greater Goods 68 Homegrown Brown Family Dairy

22 Exploring Art African American museums

70 Southern Harmony Ruby Wilson

26 Exploring Books The Reagans’ love letters

72 Table Talk Mississippi’s Mary Mahoney’s

30 Into the Wild Tales of Tishomingo

76 In Good Spirits Mardi Gras in a glass

34 Exploring Cuisine Olive or Evilo?

78 Exploring Events

38 Exploring Destinations Going to Gracehill

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80 Reflections Unbreaking my Heart, Unconditionally

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editor’s note } february Bottled Love

In all of digital technology, I don’t believe any screen will ever come close to replacing the written word on a page. I find it ironic while our minds this month have dwelled on love letters like the Reagans, fraternal twin sisters Jenna and Barbara Bush wrote an eloquent honest letter to sisters Sasha and Malia Obama. And thus, a penned tradition continues.

T his month (besides love letters) we’re filled with all things having to do with the heart. Compared to the news or politics, it’s a welcome change. Gentlemen, if you’re lacking in ideas for Valentine’s, we can help.

Nothing will turn her head like a stay at Gracehill Bed and Breakfast. Let Eric’s story reveal a place located somewhere near the clouds.

For a kitchen idea, read about Hot Spring’s Evilo to learn about an entire world of olive oils. I personally bought the blood orange and chocolate!

If the winter doldrums have set in, try a museum. Over in Mobile, Mary Ann explored the Mobile Carnival Museum where the Mardi Gras coronation gowns will completely amaze with their rich history and details. Both in Mississippi and on the national stage, the country welcomes the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson. The latter opens later this year.

FEBRUARY 2017 • Vol. 14 No.2

PUBLISHER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR Adam Mitchell PUBLISHER & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Paula Mitchell EDITOR-AT-LARGE Karen Ott Mayer ASSISTANT EDITOR Andrea Brown Ross

Meanwhile, one of my favorite people hits our pages this month. Years ago, I met Billy Ray Brown when he was still laying the foundation to his local dairy. In fact, I called him several times anxiously awaiting when he would be ready for an interview. Then, he was milking four cows. Today, his local dairy operation milks 36 cows.

Re m e m b e r m y e a rl i e r statement about the letters? Well, milk is no different in this case. People like his milk, but they love Billy Ray’s heart-filled dream.

What are you dreaming about these days? Capturing someone’s heart? A new hobby or a new destination? Remember that love still abounds. Maybe it’s in a milk bottle or on the page, but it’s yours to find.

Karen

CONTRIBUTORS Devin Greaney Robin Gallaher Branch Mary Ann DeSantis Jill Gleeson Clint Kimberling Kathryn Hill Rebecca Bingham J. Eric Eckard Andrea Brown Ross Jim Beaugez Chere Coen PUBLISHED BY DeSoto Media 2375 Memphis St. Ste 205 Hernando, MS 38632 662.429.4617 Fax 662.449.5813 ADVERTISING INFO: Paula Mitchell 901-262-9887 Paula@DeSotoMag.com DeSotoMagazine.com Get social with us!

on the cover Everyone loves therapy dogs! These furry, gentle friends love unconditionally and relax those who need comfort, courage or companionship. Read more about these special dogs on page 46.

For Happy.

14 years of being a good boy.

©2017 DeSoto Media Co. DeSoto Magazine must give permission for any material contained herein to be reproduced in any manner.

Any advertisements published in DeSoto Magazine do not constitute an endorsement of the advertiser’s services or products. DeSoto Magazine is published monthly

by DeSoto Media Co. Parties i n t e re s t e d i n a d v e r t i s i n g s h o u l d email paula@desotomag.com or call 901-262-9887. Visit us online at desotomagazine.com.

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living well }

heart attacks

Fixing Broken Hearts

By Ginger Porter. Photgraphy courtesy of Baptist Memorial Hospital - DeSoto

Chris Massey, a Mississippi state senator from DeSoto County, had a relatively routine day. He was completing his usual boot camp style workout when he began to feel nauseated. He felt clammy and lightheaded and noticed a heaviness on his chest. He made it to the office, where an ambulance was called.

The dispatched ambulance was able to transmit EKG results directly to Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto and its cardiac services department. Diagnosis: STEMI (ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction, a type of heart attack). The cath lab was ready with a small army of health personnel scrubbed and in place when Massey’s gurney entered the 16 DeSoto

hospital. Within a half hour, three stents were placed in major vessels, making them firehoses of oxygenated blood to replenish the body. The heart attack was over and he was on to recovery.

“We know time is muscle and life. We are accountable to have the patient stabilized and procedures done within 90 minutes of being picked up by ambulance,” says Arie Szatkowski,

M.D., a cardiologist with Stern Cardiovascular Foundation and director of cardiac services at Baptist DeSoto.

“We can’t affect the travel time, but we can affect the time from door to completed treatment. We are looking at times below the 40-minute range, which is well below the national average.”

In its quest for best outcomes and peak efficiency, Baptist DeSoto implemented a system with all ambulance companies in Mississippi, installing an application on ambulance phones that notifies the hospital that cardiac patients are on the way and transmits EKG results. With this information, the cardiac team and lab can be standing ready for the patient and have an idea of what type of heart problem the patient is experiencing.

Even though the cardiac interventional doctors knew they might get called in, even in the middle of the night, for false positives they agreed that it was worth the sacrifice.

“In the past, we wouldn’t be ready to go until an EKG was done in the ER, and you are talking 30-60 minutes of lost time,” Dr. Szatkowski explains.

The hospital’s cardiac care philosophy rests on accountability. There are many heart care registries, and all use certain metrics to measure performance. Baptist DeSoto works with all registries so excellence would not be confined to one area of heart care. As a result, Baptist DeSoto has excelled in many areas. The hospital recently won the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR ACTION Registry-GWTG Platinum Performance Achievement Award for following recommended treatment guidelines and meeting a 90 percent standard for specific performance measures. Also, the American Heart Association gave the hospital a gold award for reaching stroke treatment targets.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi named Baptist DeSoto a Blue Distinction+ Center of Excellence for cardiac care. The designation is part of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi’s statewide Cardiac Care Collaborative, which

focuses on best practice care coordination with an emphasis on quality and prevention.

“The BCBS distinction was given to six hospitals in Mississippi that are performing at the highest levels for bypass surgery patients and heart attack management. They have charged all six hospitals with creating an action plan that will drive the metrics even better,” says Dr. Szatkowski.

The action plan focuses on two critical areas: providing the best outcomes at a more affordable cost and getting people back to normal life and work immediately.

Senator Massey is impressed with Baptist DeSoto’s awards and recognition, but he is more impressed with the staff and his treatment.

“I have high praises for Baptist. Thanks to Baptist and the good Lord, I am still here today,” he says.

The senator is back to work and has follow-up appointments every six months. “We got Senator Massey in and out in as quick a time as possible, but no heart attacks are textbook. You have to be prepared to adapt to the situation, whatever it may be,” Dr Szatkowski says. “Achieving the awards and metrics is important, but nothing compares with someone thanking you for saving his life.”

“

We know time is muscle and life.

We are accountable to have the patient stabilized and procedures done within 90 minutes of being picked up by ambulance.

Dr. Arie Szatkowski

Arie Szatkowski M.D., FACC The Stern Cardiovascular Foundation

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notables } meri armour /lebonheur ceo

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For the Children, For Memphis

By Jill Gleeson. Photography courtesy of Lebonheur

The way Meri Armour tells it, barbecue made her do it. Well, at least partially. It was late 2006 and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital CEO/President Peggy Troy, who was leaving her position, was gently pushing Armour to take her place. The only problem was that Armour, senior vice president of Cleveland’s Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, didn’t want the gig. She was happy at Rainbow. But she finally gave in and came to Memphis with her husband, Don, and son, Mac, to take a closer look at Le Bonheur – and the city.

And then the Rendezvous worked its magic.

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“We had a tour of the hospital and what was impressive to me was the enthusiasm of people who worked at Le Bonheur,” Armour recalled. “They so wanted to be better.

They so much wanted to do the right thing. And I was taken with seeing the kids, and of course seeing how much the staff cared about their welfare. And the other thing that did it was, someone said, ‘Well, you need to go to Rendezvous.’ So we went and had dinner and the waiters were great – they explained all this stuff to us about Memphis. We went back home and decided that this was an adventure we should do.”

By February, 2007 Armour had taken over her new role as Le Bonheur’s CEO/president. Her goal was simple, if not easy: Turn Le Bonheur into a first class-children’s hospital.

To that end she led the hospital during the building of its new $340 million facility from 2008 to 2010, has concentrated on recruiting top-notch staff and implemented a strategy focused on family-centered care.

In November, Le Bonheur surgeons successfully separated conjoined twins, winning the hospital much great PR, though as noted, “It’s a great story and the twins and their parents are absolutely delightful people, but they’re one family.

We deal with 15,000 families coming in and out of this hospital over the course of a year.”

“The thing at Le Bonheur I’m most proud of,” Armour continued, “is that we took the typical clinical perspective and turned it into this whole mindset of kids come first, parents come second. We really do try to engage them, involve them and consider them part of the health care team for the long haul. I think my job is to make sure the family of Le Bonheur takes the very best care of the kids and their families and that we return them back to their homes healthy, safe and better educated than when they came here.”

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital is Armour’s last career stop. Throughout her tenure she’s been approached by recruiters from other facilities, but her commitment to Le Bonheur is absolute, if her path to it has been a bit winding.

Born in Buford, Georgia, Armour and her brother

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were raised by a strong, resolute single mother who moved the small family first to Detroit, and then Cleveland. Armour, who as a child loved the Cherry Ames books about a mysterysolving nurse, always intended to follow in her literary heroine’s footsteps.

She made her dream come true in 1973 as an R.N. at Ohio State University Hospital, later earning masters degrees in nursing and business administration from Case Western Reserve University. In 1987, Armour transitioned to hospital administration with her role running the prestigious Cleveland Clinic’s children’s hospital and adult unit. Rainbow came calling in 1996. Over the years, Armour has ameliorated any longing she felt for nursing by mentoring the young women in the field who have crossed her path.

“I think that women leaders don’t do enough to promote and help young women in their careers,” Armour said.

“I think that’s an important step for all of us. I try to do that to the best of my ability, meeting with people, talking through their career goals, trying to say to them ‘You can do this. You just have to really want to do it, and you have to want to do it well.’ My mom used to say to me, “You’re going to have to work twice as hard as any man to be thought half as good but do it, because that’s what’s required and what people will expect from you.’ And I do think there are challenges for women in leadership roles.”

As for their adopted city, Armour and her husband love it with the fervor of natives. “We’ve found Memphis to be everything a family could look for,” she said, “it’s inviting, people are hospitable and there are great restaurants. We’ve found such warmth and kindness here that’s different, frankly, than the Northeast. And my husband likes the fact that he gets to play golf nearly year round. We want to be part of a city that’s going to grow and change and develop over time. And whatever part we as a family can play in that, and Le Bonheur can play in that…I want to make certain that we’re helping making Memphis be better.”

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exploring art } african american museums

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Museum Milestones

By Clint Kimberling. Photography courtesy of National Museum of African American History and Culture

The American story is incomplete without the inclusion of the African American story. That is, to understanding black history and culture is essential to understanding American history and culture. This story has been brought to the forefront and is now more accessible than ever with the opening of two museums— the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson scheduled to open in December.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is part of the Smithsonian Institution and first opened its doors in September 2016. The museum allows visitors to experience powerful moments in African American history, culture, and community. Situated on almost five acres and located near the Washington monument, site of Martin

Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the museum contains almost 37,000 documents, media, and other artifacts.

The exhibits move chronologically and cover three major themes—slavery to emancipation, segregation to today, and community and culture. The segregation to today concourse, features Ku Klux Klan hoods and robes, and DeSoto 25

lynching ropes. The windowed coffin that once held the mutilated body of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old murdered in Mississippi in 1955, is isolated in a room of its own. This section also includes a nod to the fact this history is ever evolving with the inclusion of artifacts from the Black Lives Matter movement.

The community and culture section focuses on African American achievements in fields like music, art, sports and the military. Some of the items on display here include Michael Jackson’s fedora, Lewis Armstrong’s trumpet, and Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves.

The final section is referred to as the contemplative court. It serves as a meditative space that will allow visitors a place for quiet reflection after viewing such powerful and moving images.

While the national museum tells a complete story of the African American experience, the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum examines in full the impact that the Civil Rights Movement had on Mississippi’s history. The vast majority of the exhibits cover the years 1945 – 1976.

Opening in December 2017, the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum will be the first state-sponsored civil rights museum in the country. The museum is envisioned as a space to engage in meaningful public dialogue that not only recognizes and honors the past, but also fosters reconciliation, promotes healing, and illuminates a common path forward.

The Museum features seven galleries of exhibits encircling a central gallery, “This Little Light of Mine”, that will be a focal space and provide an entryway to each of the other exhibits. This central gallery carries the theme of the entire museum; throughout Mississippi, ordinary people engaged in the extraordinary struggle to make real America’s promise of equal rights for all. A stunning sculpture honoring civil rights veterans is the focus of this dramatic light-filled space.

The central gallery, which Lucy Allen, museum division director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, refers to as “the heart of the museum”, presents a stunning sculpture featuring an interactive light display that also plays music. The installation is intended to celebrate and honor those who were lost in the civil rights movement.

“It symbolizes the fact everyone has a light. And if we come together, our lights will shine brighter. It’s a way to think about looking forward and making a difference,” said Allen.

The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is unique in that it shares stories of ordinary people as well as well-known Mississippi civil rights heroes like James Meredith or Medgar Evers. Their stories are given equal weight. In the last gallery, “Where Do We Go From Here?”, visitors are encouraged to leave comments, feedback, and questions to be incorporated into the exhibits. There are plans to have this section continually updated.

The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum will open in conjunction with the Museum of Mississippi History. The two museum projects will share a reception area, theater, auditorium, museum shop, and parking but will have separate areas for exhibits. The opening ceremony for both museums will be held December 9 as part of a larger Mississippi Bicentennial celebration and will feature notable speakers, music, activities for children and families.

Visit ms200.org for more information on the museums as well as information on other bicentennial events and celebrations.

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exploring books} reagan letters

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With Love, the Reagans

By Robin Gallaher Branch. Photography courtesy of reaganhome.org, The Washington Post and The Sun

Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis were film stars, sweethearts, and then a married couple. Their extraordinary entwined life journey took them from Hollywood movie sets to Sacramento and the governor’s mansion and then to Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, and the White House. They served as President and First Lady for two terms, 1981-1989.

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On the way and in between, they wrote letters to each other, lots of them. These letters, recorded in “I Love You, Ronnie: The Letters of Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan” (Random House, 2000), chronicle their romance.

Their correspondence brings smiles this Valentine’s month. The letters rarely mention other famous people or world events they happened to be shaping; instead they nurtured that rarity, a heart’s home between a man and a woman.

Throughout the decades of their marriage, their love grew, mellowed, stayed fresh, faced trials, and kept a fun-loving spirit. The thousands of pictures taken of the Reagans reflect genuine happiness in their faces.

The book with Ron’s letters and ongoing reflections

by Nancy reveals why they were so happy. The letters begin with their courtship, a letter postmarked October 3, 1950 and written on stationery from the Santa Rita Hotel in Tucson where Ron was on location shooting “The Last Outpost”, and end with his letter to “My Fellow Americans,” November 5, 1994, in which he informs the nation that he is now afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease. Although private citizens by that time, the couple decided to alert the public of his condition in order to promote greater awareness of the disease. That short, warmly personal, and well-written letter by the former president mentions Nancy specifically four times. He calls her “my beloved Nancy” and wishes that he “could spare Nancy from this painful experience” he will face.

Spanning 44 years, the letters came to Nancy by Western Union, were found by her in hotel rooms the couple shared in their travels, and arrived as store-bought cards. The best were accompanied by hand-drawn doodles like flowers, stars, xxx’s and ooo’s. Endearments and family names make 30 DeSoto

the letters sparkle. Ron, or Ronnie as Nancy called him, was the better, more imaginative writer. Nancy, or Mommie Poo, as she became known as their children grew, excelled in appreciation.

Ronnie seemed to write with a grin. After a day’s hard work away from her, he wrote because he missed her. He described his love in hundreds of ways, waxing eloquent on his yearning to return home.

Ronnie had a sense of fun. One Mother’s Day as Governor of California he wrote from 39,000 feet, quipping that from that altitude it was not only hard to find a card but also, sadly, “there aren’t even any flowers!” He wrote that every day was happy for him “because of you.” He repeated what was an ongoing theme of his life: “I am happy you are my wife, happy you are a Mommie—I’m just plain happy. I Love You.” He signed it “Your Guv (You can just call me Excellency).”

What woman wouldn’t smile with that kind of endearment— and even playfully curtsy when “Excellency” arrived home at the governor’s mansion?

He signed his notes with pseudonyms like Guess Who, Your Husband, Your Own Guv, Poppa, Your ranch hand. She was his Special Agent in the White House.

A hand-drawn likeness of Ronnie crying accompanied a note on March 4, 1980; next to the drawing he wrote, “Look what happens when I’m without you.” He signed it Your Roommate. She was his Nancy Pants and Career Girl.

On Valentine’s Day in 1977 Ronnie wrote instead to St. Valentine. He asked St. Valentine to whisper in Nancy’s ear that “someone loves her very much and more and more each day.” He requested that St. Valentine tell Nancy that “someone” was sitting across the room from her right now and all she had to do was “turn her head to the left.”

No doubt Nancy gave that “someone” her lovely smile. Nancy once tried to beat Ronnie to an anniversary letter, but he, as usual, won. Undoubtedly, however, her note brought a twinkle to his eye, especially since she signed it xxx and wrote, “I’m so proud of you—every day—I could pop—.” She couldn’t remember life before him. “Everything began with you.

My whole life—so you’d better be careful and take care of yourself because there’d be nothing and I’d be no one without you---.”

Ronnie reflected on the word wife.

“It’s amazing what the four letter word, “wife,” covers when it’s applied to you. It means a companion without whom I’m never quite complete or happy. It means the most desirable woman in the world who gets more desirable every day. It means someone who can make me lonely just by leaving the room. I live in a perpetual warm glow because of you. From the bottom of my heart I thank you for being my wife.”

Their letters reveal how two people became one by nurturing the other’s good traits, and extending kindness, genuine compliments, little courtesies, and repeated encouragements. They looked for and found ways to have fun. It’s a fine legacy.

Ronald Reagan, 1911-2004 Nancy Reagan, 1921-2016

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into the wild } tishomingo state park

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Tales of Tishomingo

By Kathryn Winter. Photography courtesy of Tishoming County Tourism

Tishomingo State Park could quite possibly be where East meets West.

Located in Tishomingo County at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains just northeast of Tupelo, lies this historic park that boasts rock climbing, canoeing, kayaking, camping, fishing and hiking. Sprawled out across 1,530 acres, the park features seven separate trails for a total of 13 miles of unique hikes. For those who enjoy camping, there are 62 developed sites with water and electricity, some near the 45 acres of Haynes Lake (stocked with catfish, bream and bass.)

From April to October, the park offers a float trip on Bear Creek, which is a scenic stream that meanders throughout the bluffs of the state park. The 6.25 mile canoe trip offers scenic views of lush greenery, sandstone bluffs, and a canopy of pines.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) opened the park to the public in May of 1939, and many refer to it as “Mississippi’s best kept secret.” Terry Harp, manager of Tishomingo State Park said it features a lot of rock outcroppings and the hiking trails are boulder strong, making it easily comparable to parks in East Tennessee and North Carolina.

“I hear a lot of visitors saying they didn’t know Mississippi had anything like this. The park is very unique to the state- there’s a lot of history that can be found here.”

Tishomingo is coming up on its 80th birthday, and many of the same CCC built structures like the trails, picnic tables, campgrounds and cabins remain.

“I don’t know if the guys who built the structures knew that generations later these buildings would still be enjoyed,” Harp said.

“People rent the lodge out for weddings, class reunions, family reunions, all kinds of different events really.” One annual DeSoto 33

event that Tishomingo participates in is the First Day Hike Event in conjunction with America’s state parks. This will be their fifth year to participate. On January 1 of the nation-wide event, participants can start off the New Year getting outdoors. “We’re getting people to think about recreational hiking activities, and thinking about a healthy lifestyle. This is becoming one of our bigger events. With the trails, it fits perfectly.”

According to Harp, the trails stay busy year round.

Couples can make a day out of hiking the trails, or spend the weekend camping. The park has received a variety of awards, including top 25 most romantic spots. The trails feature natural springs, waterfalls, rocky creeks and streams, cliffs, rock walls and large outcrops. They range from easy to moderate with historical markers detailing the significance of the area. Rock climbing requires a helmet and a free permit (available in the park office) and is popular at the formation known as Jean’s Overhang. The park offers other amenities such as: a seasonal swimming pool, three disc golf courses, a couple of small playgrounds, an 1840s pioneer cabin and a swinging bridge crossing Bear Creek.

In the fall many people come to the park to have family pictures made with the lush scenery in the background.

“If you like to be outdoors this is your park,” Harp said. “If you like wifi and staying connected to the internet you probably 34 DeSoto

won’t like it here. There’s little to no cell service out here, or in the cabins. Many people from Memphis and Jackson love to come here for the weekend to unplug and get away from the city.”

The big family cabins are heavily rented, but reservations can be made online, through the office or the call center. “Reservations are recommended-holiday and special event weekends we fill up. We can take reservations up to two years in advance. The premium campsite near the lake might be in the higher range, but there are a variety of prices we offer.

You can also have your favorite site reserved,” Harp said.

Tishomingo has tent campsites, full RV hookups, and furnished cabins. The park draws a lot of visitors from Alabama and Tennessee, and visitors can drive through the park to enjoy scenic views as well on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Archaeological excavations found traces of Native Americans in the park as early as 7,000 B.C. The tribes were able to produce high-quality tools from limestone, and created pottery from clay dug out of the hills.

“There is a heavy Native American presence here.

Chief Tishomingo was the last of the Chickasaw nation before relocation to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears. This area was his favorite hunting ground and they came here prior to it being a park. When the water level is low you can see old stone fish

weirs on the lake.�

Deer, raccoons, turtles, birds and fish are all some of the typical wildlife sightings in the park. Some campers bring hammocks and barbeque at the pavilions located on site. The stone cabins feature wood burning fireplaces- a plus for when it does occasionally snow during the winter season. According to the Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks website, Tishomingo was recognized by Reserve America as one of the nation’s top 100 family campgrounds. Over 4,000 parks and campgrounds nationwide were evaluated. It was also voted the Top 25 in the following categories: bird watching spots, amazing spots, canoeing spots, fishing spots, kid friendly spots along with many more. www.mdwfp.com/parks-destinations/ms-stateparks/tishomingo

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exploring cuisine } olive oil

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Evilo Beef

Evilo = Olive

By Rebecca McCormick. Photography courtesey of Rebecca McCormick

When it comes to culinary trends of the last decade, olive oil has slid from the annals of history to main streets and kitchens of America. That’s precisely why Justin and Charlene Simon opened Evilo (“olive” backwards), a retail store in downtown Hot Springs, Ark.

“We stock more than five dozen varietals of olive oils and vinegars – each of which, like wine, reflects flavor as a byproduct of geography, growing conditions and care with which the fruit is harvested and stored. Because we love to share what we have learned, much of our showroom floor is devoted to tasting stations.”

Olive trees have roots in the cradle of civilization.

Cultivated before written language was invented, they are native to Asia Minor, from which area they spread to Iran, Syria and Palestine to the rest of the Mediterranean Basin. As kingdoms expanded, so did the agricultural footprint of olive groves. In North America, olive trees were first introduced by Christopher

Columbus. Franciscan monks followed later, planting olive trees (Mission Olives) as they marched across California.

Throughout history, the humble olive has been associated with prosperity and is consistently expressed in art, as well as religious, medicinal and culinary traditions. Ancient mythology says the goddess Athena presented Greeks with the gift of olive oil as a useful medium for light, food, heat, medicine and perfume.

Caroline Beck, editor of Pressing Times, an olive oil newsletter, says adding olive oil to your daily diet is a smart idea. “So far, medical research has focused on three core areas of nutritional value. It’s a healthy-choice fat because it helps to DeSoto 37

normalize cholesterol ratios in the bloodstream; it contains a high content of antioxidants to strengthen the immune system; and it contains anti-inflammatory agents, like oleocanthal, that act as a natural ibuprofen-like substance.”

The Simons agree, pointing out not all olive oils are created equal. “Extra virgin olive oil is considered the best grade to deliver healthy benefits because it is the least processed of all olive oils,” says Justin. “Best described as natural olive juice, it is processed without excessive heat or chemicals that would change its chemical makeup—which is why extra virgin olive oil maintains the highest levels of healthy components.”

Even among extra virgin olive oils, there can be wide variances in health benefits. “If you don’t have a direct relationship with your olive oil producer, your best bet is to find a reputable retailer who does,” adds Charlene. “We’re always eager to help our customers learn the basics of olive oil terminology and what different labels mean.”

Refined olive oil uses chemicals and high heat to neutralize competing tastes produced from mixing different qualities and breeds of oil. “These oils still come from the ‘first press’ of olives,” says Eryn Balch of the North American Olive Oil Association. “If the quality of the original oil is not good enough to be virgin or extra virgin, it is refined to remove the bad odors and flavors and then blended with some virgin to be called ‘olive oil’ again.”

Unrefined olive oil does not undergo chemical refinement, but is the result of extraction and bottling only.

Because producers cannot add chemicals, only good-tasting ripe fruit is used, resulting in an acidity less than two percent.

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The Simons recommend unrefined oil for low temperature cooking or cold dishes.

Extra Virgin olive oil is cold pressed, using the highest quality fruit to produce the most olive flavor with an acidity under one percent as determined by the International Olive Oil Council (IOCC). Because it contains the most nutrients, it is also considered the healthiest variety. A low smoke point makes extra virgin oil the best choice for salads, dipping and cold dishes.

Charlene says one of the simplest ways to add a creative touch to your culinary repertoire is to combine infused olive oil with barrel-aged balsamic vinegar to toss with salad greens, create marinades, dress pasta, or drizzle over fruits and vegetables. Try pairing lemon olive oil with strawberry balsamic for pork, chicken, salads and veggie dishes. Or kick up your favorite entrée with a splash of green chili olive oil and jalapeno balsamic.

Feeling adventuresome? Ditch the margarine and splash sweet potatoes, salmon, waffles or pancakes with a blend of butter-flavored olive oil and maple balsamic. “If you can dip it or drizzle it, I want it,” says Justin. “And once you try some of these combinations, you’ll be hooked, too!”

In addition to Evilo, the Simons own Bathhouse Soapery in downtown Hot Springs, with additional stores in Natchitoches, La., St. Charles, Mo. and Memphis, Tenn. Their daughter, Charlene, owns Fat Bottom Girl’s Cupcake Shoppe, featured on the popular television series Cupcake Wars.

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exploring destinations } gracehill b&b

Sunrise from Gracehill Veranda

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Top of the Hill

By J. Eric Eckard. Photography courtesy of Gracehill Bed and Breakfast

With about 17,000 bed and breakfast inns in the United States, the variety of such accommodations nearly is endless.

From renovated schools and churches to 200-yearold houses and modern-day mansions, B&Bs offer a distinctive traveling experience not typically found in today’s hotels and resorts.

“Every B&B is unique in some way,” said Kathy Janke, owner and innkeeper at Gracehill Bed and Breakfast in Townsend, Tenn. “For Gracehill, there are two things that make us unique – the food and the view.”

The views are obvious when you arrive at the property.

Nestled between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Chilhowee Mountain near the tiny village of Townsend, Gracehill offers majestic vistas from each of its four bedrooms.

“They come for the breakfast, and they come for the sunsets,” Janke said.

For Janke though, the sunsets and the views are the

easy part. There’s no research or preparation to display the mountains and greenery. But the food truly has become a challenge after serving thousands of meals over 16 years in operation.

Janke has collected more than a dozen cookbooks and thousands of loose recipes that she has catalogued over the years from which to plan her meals.

“It’s a monster of my own making though,” Janke said. “I keep track of what everyone eats, and I never repeat a menu for a guest – even for my most frequent guests.”

But not only will she change menus for the guests, she’ll also switch out china, silverware, stemware, napkins and flower arrangements to make each dining experience different – regardless of how many times a guest visits Gracehill.

With four dining locations from which to choose, DeSoto 41

guests also can experience a different view at each breakfast. In addition, guests have four bedroom options when deciding on Gracehill – Spellbound, Roman Holiday, Casablanca and Key Largo, a tip of the cap to classic films. Roman Holiday features Italian antiques; Key Largo has a waterfront room feel; and Casablanca’s palm leaf fan and oak antiques take guests to a land far away.

All four rooms feature whirlpool tubs and three of the four have fireplaces. Gracehill’s most requested room is Spellbound - its “smallest and darkest,” Janke said. But it has a two-person tub, separate steam shower, flat-screen TV and a private balcony overlooking a waterfall.

“B&Bs are an eclectic mix,” Janke said. “They can be in a modern house or an older, historic home.

“The norm now is a B&B with bedrooms that have their own bathrooms and a lot more amenities – whirlpool tubs, fireplaces, steam showers.”

Guests also can opt for picnic lunches or afternoon and evening hors d’oeuvres trays. And for those on a romantic getaway, Gracehill also can provide massage therapists for an additional cost.

“Things have changed so much over the years,” Janke said. “Guests are looking for the little things – the higher end stuff – and that’s what we have here.”

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Janke started work on Gracehill in 1998, and it took more than two years to build the inn and the road leading up the property. Her first guests stayed at Gracehill during the Thanksgiving holiday in 2000.

And although she says that the views and food make Gracehill unique, it’s also Janke herself that offers guests anything other than standard overnight stay.

She has a degree in biology, and she’s worked as a police dispatcher, a landscape designer and later worked for a builder. Janke and her mother, Marilyn, also operated a 145site campground, with a gas station, store and deli for 10 years in the 1980s and ‘90s.

And although Janke has been cooking for others for three decades – at the campground restaurant and now Gracehill – she said she really didn’t become passionate about food until the past three or four years. But this surprising revelation has more to do with family than it does serving meals.

For years, Marilyn would help Janke decide on menus for the Gracehill guests. But four years ago, Marilyn lost her eyesight.

“She used to go through cookbooks and recipes in magazines, and when she could no longer do that, I started doing it for her,” Janke said. “That’s when I became passionate about food. I mean I have enjoyed cooking since 1985 when I

bought my first restaurant, but I totally have become passionate in the past three to four years.�

And it shows. Over the years, Gracehill has won nearly 30 cooking awards, including three in 2016 from the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center Blue Ribbon Country Fair, for its toffee, cranberry toast pecan muffins and pound cake.

Gracehill is just minutes away from Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area of Tennessee, which attracts 11 million visitors a year and boasts hundreds of hotels, motels, campgrounds, resorts, cabins, cottages and many other accommodation options for those visitors.

At Gracehill, the draw always will be the views. Janke’s personality and passion for cooking is like icing on her awardwinning pound cake.

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on the road again } hattiesburg, ms

g r u b s e i Hatt ippi Mississ

9:00 Breakfast at the Depot Coffee House and Bistro inside downtown’s Bakery Building. Enjoy a gourmet coffee or tea with a made-fromscratch breakfast yummy. They also serve soup, salad and sandwiches for lunch. After breakfast explore The Bakery Building which houses the event location The Venue, Blooms flower and gift shop and Blush Salon.

10:00 Stroll the shops downtown for clothing, gifts and antiques. Be sure to stop by Lucky Rabbit, which is only open the first Thursday through Sunday of the month. Shopping becomes an event! They feature items from local artists and craft vendors plus music and food while you shop around.

12:00 T-Bone’s Records & Cafe is the perfect lunch spot complete with great music. This locally-owned record store and cafe serves salads, sandwiches and soups as well as the best cold brewed coffee in town.

They can also help you find any out-of-print or hard to find music.

1:00 Visit the Hattiesburg Zoo, which is home to nearly 100 species of animals from around the world. February 18 and 19 the zoo hosts a Renaissance Festival with games, crafts, turkey legs and more.

3:00 Take a short drive to the African American Military History Museum located inside America’s only remaining, original African American USO Club. The museum houses hundreds of artifacts, photos and tributes to those who served in the Armed Forces.

5:00 Tour Southern Prohibition Brewing Company downtown. See the beer making process and enjoy some samples. Tours are Thursday - Friday 5-9 p.m. and Saturday 1-5 p.m.

6:00 Dinner at Crescent City Grill. Owner Robert St. John has spent over three decades in the restaurant business. The menu is extensive offering everything from steaks and pastas to bayou favorites like po-boys, seafood crepes and shrimp étouffée.

Stroll over to Branch, another Robert St. John creation, for an afterdinner drink. Sip an Amarillo By Morning or Yawning Dog cocktail at the beautiful bar.

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hattiesburg.org downtownhattiesburg.com thedepotbistro.com tbonescafe.com zoohattiesburg.com hattiesburguso.com soprobrewing.com crescentcitygrill.net branchcocktailbar.com

Hattiesburg is home to one of only seven Saenger Theaters built and operated throughout the South by the Saenger brothers, Abe and Julian. Completely renovated in 2000 the Saenger is a wonderful place to see a show or hold an event. Its original 778-pipe Robert Morton Pipe Organ is one of the few remaining organs of its kind in the United States and is a centerpiece for the theater.

You can tour the theater by calling 601-296-7478 or check future performances at hattiesburgsaenger.com.

DeSoto Magazine sends our deepest sympathies and prayers to the families affected by January’s tornadoes.

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greater goods } valentine’s

Valentine gifts for Her

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1. Give, Love, Laugh Braclet, Paisley Pineapple, 6542 Goodman Rd #115, Olive Branch, MS 2. Hot Chocolate on a stick, Cynthia’s Boutique, 2529 Caffey Street, Hernando, MS 3. Girl’s t-shirts and accessories, The Bunker, 2631 McIngvale Rd #106, Hernando, MS 4. Hobo accessories, SoCo, 2521 Caffey St, Hernando, MS 5. Snoozies, Merry Magnolia, 194 E Military Road, Marion, AR 6. Kendra Scott jewelry, The Pink Zinnia, 134 West Commerce Street, Hernando, MS 7. Mississippi made pottery, The Wooden Door, 2521 Caffey Street, Hernando, MS 8. Skosh jewelry, Frank, 210 E Commerce St, Hernando, MS 38632 46 DeSoto

Valentine gifts for Him

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1. Cowhide coozies, The Wooden Door, 2521 Caffey Street, Hernando, MS 2. Vinyard Vines socks, SoCo, 2521 Caffey St, Hernando, MS 3. Leather flask, Cynthia’s Boutique, 2529 Caffey Street, Hernando, MS 4. Men’s gifts, The Bunker, 2631 McIngvale Rd #106, Hernando, MS 5. For her and him! Inis, Engergy of the Sea products, Bon Von, 214 W Center Street, Hernando, MS 6. Morgan Row men’s t-shirts, Ultimate Gifts, 3075 Goodman Rd E # 16, Southaven, MS 7. Swell bottles, Merry Magnolia, 194 E Military Road, Marion, AR 8. Travel accessories, Ultimate Gifts, 3075 Goodman Rd E # 16, Southaven, MS DeSoto 47

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what dogs do

Canine therapy comforts hurt and sick

By Robin Gallaher Branch. Photography courtesy of Adrian Hickmon and Jo Anne Fusco

An elderly woman, a resident in skilled nursing care at Florida Presbyterian Homes (FPH) in Lakeland, Florida, a continuing care facility, rested quietly in her darkened room after breakfast.

“ M o m ? ” queried her daughter gently and turned on the light. “Good morning. I’m here with a new friend Ann and her dog, Sugar. Sugar is cuddly.

Sugar would like to meet you. Is that OK?” DeSoto 49

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Gwen, the mother, smiled and said, “Sure thing!” Ann Kinsey, 69, is a new FPH duplex resident and already a great favorite in the facility’s skilled nursing section in part because of nine-year-old Sugar, a Shih Tzu. They are frequently seen on the 48-acre campus because of Sugar’s walks. “

“May I put Sugar next to your left arm?” Kinsey queried. “Sure thing!” Gwen responded. Kinsey pulled up a nearby green chair. Gwen’s eyes were still closed. (For legal reasons, residents in nursing care facilities do not give their full names for print articles.)

Kinsey, a retired elementary school teacher from Hillsborough County in Florida, carries Sugar’s required documentation. When working, Sugar, leashed, wears her red heart dogtag; Kinsey brings Sugar’s shot record and papers showing she is a registered therapy dog with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.

“She’s such a calm dog,” Kinsey said. Sugar gave Gwen, who is 94 and recovering slowly from pneumonia, a chance to smile and her daughter a chance to release internal tension over her mother’s health.

Sugar has her own health issues.

“I’ll retire her next year when we both turn 70,” Kinsey said. A year in a dog’s life is about seven years in a human being’s life.

“She has cataracts and macular degeneration.”

Like many dogs and owner/ handlers, Sugar and Kinsey temper each other. When Sugar, on a leash, doesn’t want to go somewhere, she sits down. Kinsey pulls for a moment, soon gives up, and carries her.

“It’s easier,” she said. “I’m very obedient.”

Sugar doesn’t growl and wisely ignores other dogs. Those are parts of the registration requirements for the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. “She pays no attention to other passing dogs,” Kinsey said.

Etta Owens, FPH Dean of Residents, gives therapy dogs and their handlers/owners free rein on campus.

“We’ve been doing it for four years and never had any problems,” she said.

The owners and dogs come to FPH common areas or visit room-to-room. The dogs, all sizes and breeds, come so often to FPH that residents know them by name and have favorites. A fun pastime on an indoor walkway is a wheel(chariot) ride. For that event, two boxers pull a wheel(chariot) to the cheers of other residents. “Everybody knows when it’s time for the chariot ride!” Owens said.

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somewhere, she sits down. Kinsey pulls for a moment, soon gives up, and carries her. “It’s easier,” she said. “I’m very obedient.”

Sugar doesn’t growl and wisely ignores other dogs.

Those are parts of the registration requirements for the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. “She pays no attention to other passing dogs,” Kinsey said.

Etta Owens, FPH Dean of Residents, gives therapy dogs and their handlers/owners free rein on campus. “We’ve been doing it for four years and never had any problems,” she said.

The owners and dogs come to FPH common areas or visit room-to-room. The dogs, all sizes and breeds, come so often to FPH that residents know them by name and have favorites. A fun pastime on an indoor walkway is a wheel(chariot) ride. For that event, two boxers pull a wheel(chariot) to the cheers of other residents. “Everybody knows when it’s time for the chariot ride!” Owens said.

“Dogs unlock socialization, intimacy, and companionship. These animals bring out those qualities that we staff can’t 52 DeSoto

unlock,” Owns said.

Jo Anne Fusco is co-founder with Anne Weiss of West Tennessee Therapy Dogs. The group has 60 dog/handler teams that cover Shelby County in Tennessee, serve nearby Mississippi counties, and go as far as Chattanooga

The dogs must be trained and professionally evaluated. For example, are they obedient and leash trained? Can they change position? Can they relate to people on crutches and in wheelchairs? Can they obey the command, “Leave it”? This is very important, for if someone drops a pill or food, the dog must leave it and not eat it.

The dog has to allow its coat and paws to be touched by stranger “and even touched clumsily,” Fusco said. Growling disqualifies a dog.

The evaluation is similar to the Canine Good Citizenship evaluation of the AKC, the American Kennel Club.

“Therapy dogs are chosen for their temperament, their great temperament. They pass their evaluations and bring joy and happiness to people,” Fusco said.

Fusco has been volunteering with therapy dogs for 16

“Dogs unlock socialization, intimacy, and companionship. These animals bring out those qualities that we staff can’t unlock,” Owens said.

Jo Anne Fusco is co-founder with Anne Weiss of West Tennessee Therapy Dogs. The group has 60 dog/handler teams that cover Shelby County in Tennessee, serve nearby Mississippi counties, and go as far as Chattanooga

The dogs must be trained and professionally evaluated. For example, are they obedient and leash trained? Can they change position? Can they relate to people on crutches and in wheelchairs? Can they obey the command, “Leave it”? This is very important, for if someone drops a pill or food, the dog must leave it and not eat it.

The dog has to allow its coat and paws to be touched by a stranger “and even touched clumsily,” Fusco said. Growling disqualifies a dog.

The evaluation is similar to the Canine Good Citizenship evaluation of the AKC, the American Kennel Club. “Therapy dogs are chosen for their temperament, their great temperament. They pass their evaluations and bring joy and happiness to people,” Fusco said.

Fusco has been volunteering with therapy dogs for 16 years. She and Boss, a British Golden Retriever and trained therapy dog, often visit the West Cancer Center in Memphis. “The people look so down. Their shoulders are sagging. But their posture changes when they see a therapy dog,” Fusco said. “The dog takes their mind off whatever they’re facing”

Fusco and her dogs have attended many funerals. A recent one was for a mother with four young children who died of cancer. One of the children led Boss around.

Barbara Dengler is a member of Southeastern Therapy Animal Resources, Inc. (STAR) in Charleston, South Carolina.

STAR has over 70 members and 60 dogs.

Sometimes two people, usually a husband and wife, are registered to handle one dog.

“I think therapy dogs are born, not trained. It’s just their personality and in their personality they are intuitive. They’re happy for people to pet them and they’re happy to lie quietly. Therapy dogs know they’re there to do their jobs,” Dengler said.

Dengler noted that dogs have preferences. “One dog may like a memory unit and another may like working with children,” she said.

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Dengler has been volunteering for 15 years; a story she loves to tell concerns a first grader. The girl had trouble reading and remembering “popcorn words, single syllable words like of, and for,” Dengler said.

The child began reading to Sammy, a Shih Tzu. Dengler told the child that when she couldn’t remember a word to whisper to Sammy, who was on her lap. “Sammy will tell me the answer and I’ll tell you,” Dengler explained. The system worked quite well. Sammy turned out to be a skilled and patient reader and listener. The child blossomed. At the end of the year, she read very well. “Reading with a dog helped build her confidence,” Dengler said.

Dogs also benefit institutional staff members who are often under stress. “Dogs come and bring a respite. Staff members giggle as they watch the dogs work with the patients,” Dengler said. Dogs are also good visitors in a waiting room “where it’s very, very boring,” Dengler said. She finds that those who have been frightened by dogs observe therapy dogs and may get over their fear.

“Dogs are an emotional touchstone to get people out of a bad moment. Dogs are good in so many places—a homeless shelter, a family shelter, foster care situations, adult day care, and hospice, places where it all isn’t happy moments,” Dengler said.

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One such facility using canine therapy but in a slightly different way is Capstone Treatment Center, a Christ-centered, residential, behavioral-care program in Searcy, Arkansas. The center focuses on helping families with sons ages 14-24 who “struggle with a wide range of self-destructive behaviors” including alcohol and drug abuse, pornography, and self-harm, according to its website. “We call it canine companion therapy,” said Adrian Hickmon, founder and executive director.

When a boy enrolls in the three-month program, he is immediately given a puppy, and not just any puppy but an AKC-registered Labrador Retriever. The boy has morning and evening duties like feeding and cleaning the puppy’s pen. The program is structured so that the two have an hour or more a day to roam the compound or play together.

The idea is that the puppy gives, as dogs do, unconditional love. It’s not uncommon for staff members to see a boy asleep on the grass during break time with a “wad of fur on his chest.” The dog helps the boy’s decompression time “and never asks stupid questions,” the way a therapist does, staff members joke.

For some boys in the program, that dog becomes a deep-core relationship “at a time when they have few deep friendships and feel very alone,” Hickmon said.

In a clinical sense, the boy/dog bond helps develop

neural pathways for attachment capacity in the boy’s brain. “It helps a boy strengthen his ability to form deep, rich, quality relationships with people,” Hickmon said.

The puppy is the boy’s to keep and helps in relapse prevention once the program ends because, as Hickmon said, “the boy is never alone.”

And what about Sugar? A day or so later Sugar and Gwen met again. The daughter wheeled Gwen outside for a walk in an FPH garden. Sugar and Kinsey were volunteering at a side entrance. Gwen stroked Sugar’s ears gently. “You’re such a sweet girl,” she crooned. therapydogs.com westtntherapydogs.org capstonetreatmentcenter.com

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Mobile’s Carnival Museum is home to gowns, robes and history

By Mary Ann DeSantis.

Photography courtesy of Mary Ann DeSantis & Mobile Carnival Museum

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Most people assume Mardi Gras traditions in the U.S. began in New Orleans, but history says otherwise. While the “Big Easy” may have the largest and most decadent celebrations, Mobile, Alabama, gave birth to the revelry that is a precursor to the Lenten season that begins in February.

French pioneers observed the first Mardi Gras in the New World at Fort Louis de la Mobile, a tiny settlement on a bluff near Mobile in 1703 – more than 30 years before New Orleans held its first parade, which Mobile folks actually helped organize for their Bayou friends. In 1704, Mobile established Masque de la Mobile, the first secret society similar to today’s current-day mystic societies. In 1710, the “Boeuf Gras Society” was formed and paraded from 1711 through 1861, when “the War of Northern Aggression” – as it is called in Mobile – quieted the annual celebration just briefly.

Nowhere is this history more apparent than the Mobile 58 DeSoto

Carnival Museum where 14 galleries are filled with Mardi Gras memorabilia, including elaborate bejeweled royal robes and gowns of queens and kings from Mobile’s Mardi Gras royalty.

“A lot of people do not realize Mobile’s role in the history of Mardi Gras,” said Judi Gulledge, executive director of the Mobile Carnival Museum, which opened in 2005. “The biggest difference today is that we are family focused with a lot of generational involvement.”

The other difference is that the 70-plus Mardi Gras organizations are called mystic societies, rather than krewes as in New Orleans. The mystic societies in Mobile give formal

invitation-only masquerade balls, known as bal masqués, where strict dress codes are followed complete with masks and elaborate costumes.

“Our most popular exhibits are the royal robes,” said Gulledge. “People just can’t imagine the magnitude the royal monarchs go to when celebrating their reigns, which is usually only one night.”

The garments worn by the Mardi Gras royalty are called royal robes and include gowns, collars, and trains for women.

Royal robes for men often include costumes and trains. The elaborate attire is created anew each year at the monarch’s expense and is seldom re-used. In rare circumstances, according to Gulledge, family members may DeSoto 59

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use all or part of another family member’s regalia. Monarchs are occasionally the grown children of masquerading royalty from previous years.

“It’s not unusual to have three generations of one family in a mystic society,” explained Gulledge. “Grandpa could have been an officer two or three times, so when he’s tapped as a monarch it’s a reward for the family. Being Mardi Gras royalty is very much an honor extended to show appreciation for time and talent given to the organization.”

The next year’s monarch is tapped almost as soon as Mardi Gras is over in late February. By April, preparations have begun on royal robes because it takes about nine months for them to be created. And the monarchs choose what they want the costumes to reflect.

“You really have to see the robes up close and read each story,” said Gulledge. “The story is a reflection of that person’s personality and what they wanted his or her reign to represent.”

The Mobile Carnival Museum displays costumes from the two mystic societies that hold public coronations: The Mobile Carnival Association, which owns the museum, and the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association.

“We couldn’t possibly display costumes from the more than 70 mystic societies in Mobile, and that number grows each year,” said Gulledge. “

Housed in the historic BernsteinBush mansion on Government Street in downtown Mobile, the museum chronicles more than 300 years of Mobile’s Mardi Gras history. The mansion’s small front entrance belies the massive warehouse and galleries inside as well as the fun that surrounds Mardi Gras.

Colorful displays tell how the modern-day celebrations evolved from a papiér-maché ox, in honor of Boeuf Gras, being pulled down Dauphin Street.

Riding a simulated parade float in the museum’s interactive exhibit is probably the closest that most people will come to being in a Mardi Gras parade. Surrounded by tableaux vivants (or living pictures) of crowds, you can almost hear the painted figures yelling for the highly collectible doubloons and beads.

Visitors should plan to spend a full morning exploring the museum, which is both entertaining and historical. Tour DeSoto 61

guides will share little known trivia, such as the fact pig bladders were used for early balloons and Moon Pies, the traditional marshmallow cookie, were first thrown by Mobile’s revelers.

Located at 355 Government Street downtown, the Mobile Carnival Museum is open on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children under 12. For more information, visit www.mobilecarnivalmuseum.com.

TRAVEL TIP: BEST VIEW FOR PARADES

Mobile attracts more than 850,000 people for a variety of parades and balls during the two-and-a-half weeks of Mardi Gras celebrations. If the weather is good, that number can top one million.

Fat Tuesday will be celebrated on February 28 this year, but the festivities begin weeks before with the first official parade -- the Conde Cavaliers Parade – on February 10. The masked balls actually begin in early January.

If you plan to visit Mobile during carnival season, you’ll have the best view of parades from Royal Street in front of the Historic Battle House Hotel. In fact, the balcony of the hotel will be filled with revelers who’ll have a bird’s eye view of the parade route. Be sure to stop in at the popular Joe Cain Café, also on Royal Street, to learn more about the colorful character who revived Mardi Gras celebrations after the Civil War. Cain led the “Lost Cause Minstrels” in a procession through the city in 1866 in defiance of occupying Union troops, and he’s revered to this day with “Joe Cain Day” on the Sunday before Fat Tuesday.

MARDI GRAS WORLDWIDE

Although Mardi Gras origins can be traced to medieval Europe, it was the French who brought the celebration as we know it to their New World colonies. Just as Medieval Christians prepared one last day of feasting before the penitential season 62 DeSoto

of Lent began, early settlers used up their eggs, butter and milk -- fatty ingredients forbidden during Lenten abstinence -- to make pancakes and pastries. Thus, Fat Tuesday is often called Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday, which comes from the word shrive, meaning confess.

Mardi Gras, which literally translates to Fat Tuesday from French, is celebrated around the world with countries adding their own special traditions. Students samba their way through the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, reportedly the world’s largest carnival. In Germany, the Fastnacht celebrations mark the “eve of the fast,” and in Italy, Venetians don intricate Carnivale masks.

While many places in the U.S. celebrate Mardi Gras, only a handful of places are known for authentic experiences on Fat Tuesday. Not surprisingly, those areas were once under French rule: New Orleans, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Mobile, and Pensacola.

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Rope Work

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Find youR

OWN fitness fad

By Devin Greaney. Photography courtesy of riminiwellness.com, trustworthyfitness.com and reebokcrossfit.com

With each new year, more ideas about getting fit appear on the horizon.

Whether its running, crossfit, biking or even psychological support, it can be tricky navigating the latest craze and determining the safest program. In the end, however, finding what works for you is the path to success.

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CrossFit

Zumba

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When Arsenio Hardrick decided to make a change, the Memphis paramedic was working Thanksgiving 2013 at a Millington Fire station and went for a short walk between calls. He was hoping to get hired as a firefighter, but at 468 pounds, the physical agility tests would be problematic.

He knew he had to make changes.

“This is over with,” he said. “I had my mind set up that ‘you’re gonna do it’,” he remembered. He asked some of his fire and EMS buddies for ideas and realized nutrition was the most important. He also started walking, then jogging. CrossFit became his new hobby.

The first 50 pounds came off easily. “It really changed my whole life. I didn’t realize how much it was hindering me.” He passed the firefighter test and then went to work in Southaven, Miss. and now Nashville.

Perhaps the most enduring fitness trend focuses on prevention and wellness.

Since 1987, the Church Health Center in Memphis has encouraged MidSoutherners to prevent illness as much as treat it. Now part of the Crosstown Concourse, the organization’s healthy lifestyle classes are given on a regular basis for the community and employees.

“Twenty-one days really establishes a habit, 60 days formulates that habit,” said Sheila Ann Harrell, coordinator of health promotion. “Living a healthy lifestyle is about reminding ourselves what that is,” She said.

Like Hardrick she was not always as healthy as she is today. “I was a caregiver for ten years and it took a toll on my body. I was going to the emergency room and it was stress related.”

Though she says she’s far from perfect as to making healthy decisions, she has a passion for learning what she can do to make better decisions. She loves the Church Health Center’s philosophy of “healing the mind, body and spirit.”

Another popular move for those trying to establish good habits and need support is to find a personal trainer. A personal trainer, however, is not just about lifting weights.

Kristan Huntley, a Memphis personal trainer, holds her fingers about three inches apart showing how big her study guide was to get her personal training certificate. She became a member of Envision gym. “I realized I had no idea what DeSoto 67

I was doing!” She hired gym owner Mark Akin as her trainer and found a love for working out. “I’ve always loved helping people,” she said. After realizing she had never felt better in her life after regularly working out, she decided this was the career for her and passed her curriculum late last year.

“As a personal trainer you are always trying to figure out the best exercise for their goals. Most people don’t have time to spend two hours everyday at the gym,” she said. “I like a boot camp style workout because I get bored quickly.” She said. “I also love kickboxing because I like to hit things!” She advises to make sure your instructor is qualified.

CrossFit can cause injury if it is not done right.

“Zumba may or may not burn 1,000 calories but the most important thing is to find what you love that gets you moving and go with it,” she said. “It really makes a difference if you find what you love doing.”

“You see long-term changes when you make goals attainable,” she said. “We don’t preach about New Year’s resolutions. We emphasize you can make goals everyday.”

Fitness, weight loss, muscle gain, looks or keeping up with their children or just to keep moving are just some of the reasons people look for training help.

Her best advice came from Envision owner Mark 68 DeSoto

Akin. “Your brain is telling you your body feels tired but don’t listen to it. Trust in your body and the fact that you can do it!”

Robert Creech, president of the DeSoto Athletic Club, sees wearable technology as one of the most obvious fitness trends. A few years ago the wristwatch was going the way of the pocket watch. Now, pass 10 wrists and you will see a Fitbit, Vivofit, Apple watch, Misfit, Mi Band or maybe all of them.

There is also popularity of body weight training: push ups, pull ups, squats. He has seen the high intensity workout training gain in popularity for those with no time to spend an hour doing workouts. “Women with no interest in looking like Miss Universe are getting more and more into weight training.”

The truth is the physiological make up of most females simply will not allow them to get ‘bulky’ and woman are now feeling empowered to ‘lift heavy’ in the gym with the result being a slimmer, more toned body and one beaming with selfconfidence, according to Creech.

He also sees more group training, rather than individual. “Typically what you will see is two forms of group training, large groups of 10 to 20 people and small groups of two to four. The idea here is to get a very effective workout at a fraction of the cost of traditional one-on-one personal training.

Another place exploring the newest workout is Flight Conditioning, a fitness spot in the Mid-South which opened in Hernando this past New Year’s Day.

“We have countdown classes which is similar to CrossFit, boot camp classes. We also have a conditioning and running class which is mostly all body weight workout which is coupled with running and rowing,” Rian Voyles, the owner said.

She is hoping for more activities later in the year. “The twohour gym session is phasing itself out.

The get it in, get it done, get it really fast and get tired is becoming more popular,” she said. “It’s a lot more fun!”

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homegrown } brown family dairy

Mississippi’s Milk Man

By Andrea Brown Ross. Photography courtesy of Cynthia Hollingsworth

For many of us, we’re only a generation or two from past family members who owned a milk cow. Having a family cow was common, at least for those who didn’t live in town. And I guess that’s where the appreciation for the cream at the top of the milk originates.

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But even today, the older generation can reminisce as they swig on a glass of milk from the Brown Family Dairy, located just outside of Oxford, Miss. And the millennials?

They all seem to have their own favorite food they like with it. Predictably, cereal. Particularly, cereal with some sort of chocolate flavor in it.

While family farms have decreased at an astounding pace in past decades, the concept of the family farm is nothing new. For Billy Ray Brown, a native of Oxford, Miss. he has accomplished something that is largely uncommon in the dairy industry today. Unlike many young farmers who step into an established family owned farm, he started from scratch and with a whole different view.

“I wanted to farm, be my own boss, but I didn’t have an abundance of land to work with,” explained Brown.

After considering what kind of specialty farming was viable on small acreage, and considering what is in high demand from consumers, he set out to build a four stall milking parlor in 2008. In the summer of 2009, he began milking with four jersey cows.

Starting with small outdoor markets, Brown quickly realized how much his customers appreciated that his cows were grass fed with no growth hormones. In addition, customers could pay an initial deposit for a glass jug. Every week, customers exchange their empty containers with a full jug, making the returns a critical part of his business model. In fact, when customers fail to return the glass containers, Brown has no choice but to resort to plastic ones.

Now with Brown Family Dairy milk being sold in over 30 locations, and as a key ingredient for the Sweet Magnolia Gelato Company out of Clarksdale, Miss. Brown credited the Hernando Farmers Market with being a key factor in his success.

“From the city officials and market staff who helped us navigate getting the appropriate permits, to our steady flow of returning customers, I’m not sure we would have made it without them,” said Brown.

“I don’t think we missed a Saturday in Hernando in eight years. We’re there all 52 weeks. I was there Christmas Eve, in fact,” he shared.

And as a farmer’s wife myself, I can attest to the fact that farming is not just a job, it’s a way of life. While my husband manages a beef cattle operation, running a dairy presents its own unique demands. Cows don’t know when it’s a holiday or the weekend, when you’re sick, or if you had plans. Dairy cows are milked twice a day. Every day.

“I basically do daylight and dark milkings. I tweak times according to the season and weather. For example, in the summer, it’s so hot, I may wait till 7 p.m. to milk.”

As demand for his milk has increased, so has his workload. Now milking 36 cows and offering whole, naturallyreduced fat, and heavy cream varieties of milk, Brown truly relies on family full time to help. Wife, Paula, does the bottling four times a day, seven days a week. Their three children help out as their schedules allow around school and extracurricular activities, and younger brother, Shane, came on board recently to help with milking and delivering six to seven days a week.

“We met Bubba Baldwin at the farmer’s market eight years ago. The following Saturday he was there saving me a spot, ready to help distribute the milk to waiting customers.

He’s been there ever since. At this point, I don’t think we could run him off,” joked Brown.

The dairy has also expanded its options to customers, now offering milk in plastic containers, sausage, pork chops, and other hog and beef cattle cuts. As far as future plans, Brown remains optimistic.

“ I hope that someday my kids and their families will want to be involved in some aspect of the business, if that’s what they want to do,” he shared.

And if you were curious about Brown’s favorite food with his milk, he thinks the answer may surprise you.

“Spaghetti. I know it may sound strange, but I love to eat spaghetti with a glass of our milk. Of course, you can’t go wrong with a glass of chocolate milk either. I like to just drink that by itself a lot of days.”

Brown’s success began with a small dream that he never let go. “It’s taken me years to get to this point, where I can work for myself. I truly love my job.”

If the line at the Hernando Farmers Market is any indication, he must be doing something right.

Find Brown Family Dairy on facebook for more information and locations.

Andrea and Billy Ray are first cousins who both appreciate cows, raising kids in the country, and sharing a good story.

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southern harmony } ruby wilson

Remembering the Queen of Beale Street

By Jim Beaugez. Photgraphy courtesy of billboard.com

Ruby Wilson, widely known and remembered as the Queen of Beale Street, earned her crown over four decades of performing in the music clubs on Memphis’ famed strip. Although she passed away in August 2016, her legacy is alive at venues like B.B. King’s, where she performed regularly for decades.

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Wilson grew up in Ft. Worth, Texas, where she met B.B. King—who became her godfather—and started singing at church and in local clubs. She caught the ear of gospel singer Shirley Caesar at age 15 and began touring with her band. After marrying her first husband, who was also a gospel singer, she moved to Chicago with him and directed church choir before moving back to Texas and working as a jazz singer.

Wilson moved to Memphis in 1972 at the prodding of Isaac Hayes, who wanted to record her. She began teaching in the Memphis school system and performing at Beale Street venues such as Club Handy, The Peabody and Club Royale.

As her star began to rise, she performed with King, Hayes, The Four Tops, Ray Charles and a widening circle of influential artists, and signed a recording contract with Jackson, Miss.based Malaco Records, the epicenter of Southern soul music. The label put out her first album, simply titled “Ruby Wilson”, in 1981. She would go on to release nine more albums during her lifetime.

Wilson’s talents often took her overseas to places as far flung as Switzerland and Australia, while she continued to perform at home and at events like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. She even performed for President Bill Clinton and the United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II. When B.B. King’s club opened on Beale Street in 1992, she began performing a weekly residency that brought her famous title, “The Queen of Beale Street.”

In the 1980s, Wilson began a sojourn in Los Angeles, where she mingled with stars and performed on the Sunset Strip. She opened shows for comedian Joan Rivers and performed with actress Sharon Glass of “Cagney & Lacey”, while housesitting in Malibu next door to Dick Clark and down the street from Madonna.

Wilson later cultivated a film career that brought opportunities to perform alongside legends such as Samuel L. Jackson in “Black Snake Moan,” Gene Hackman in the film adaptation of John Grisham’s “The Chamber,” and Woody Harrelson in Oliver Stone’s “The People vs.

Larry Flynt.”

Wilson, the former church choir girl, brought her singing career full circle by performing in churches throughout her adult life, including Rev. Al Green’s Full Gospel Tabernacle. In recent years, she received a brass note on the Beale Street Walk of Fame and the W.C. Handy Heritage Award for Lifetime Achievement, and sang for soul legend Bobby Rush on his 80th birthday.

“Ruby Wilson was a southern lady of deep soul and profound feminine power, with majestic down-home musical sensibility that made her Beale Street’s queen,” remembered guitarist and musical director Vasti Jackson, who worked with her on the WGN television show “Blues Goin’ On.”

“She was a jewel to work with, an incredible singer, with a captivating stage persona.

Offstage she was every body’s favorite aunt, wise grandmother or street-wise big sister.”

Wilson’s health began to slide starting with a stroke in 2009, which left her unable to sing for four months. She returned to the stage the following year and continued to perform at B.B. King’s and the Itta Bena restaurant, while also appearing in the blues documentary “Delta Rising” with Morgan Freeman.

A heart attack left Wilson in a coma for several days in August 2016, and she passed away at Methodist South Hospital in Memphis on August 12 at age 68. Thousands of fans attended a funeral procession in celebration of her life on Beale Street.

“She was an extraordinary ambassador for Memphis, and soul, and R&B and gospel,” Rollin Riggs, a partner at Resource Management Group, told The Associated Press. “She had an exceptional stage presence that made you fall in love with her, no matter what style she was singing.”

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table talk} mary mahoney’s

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Dining with Mississippi’s Mary

By Cheré Coen. Photography courtesy of marymahoneys.com

Sometimes opportunity arrives when we least expect it. And sometimes it provides something better when that opportunity gets taken away.

For Biloxi native Mary Mahoney, the opportunity came when the Tivoli Hotel owner suggested she take over the hotel lounge. Her husband Bob Mahoney was working as the night auditor so she agreed, even though she had no knowledge of mixing cocktails, explained her son, Bobby Mahoney Jr.

“It was pretty wild at the time,” Bobby Mahoney said of Biloxi in the 1950s. “We were basically like Las Vegas.”

Mary Mahoney worked at the Tivoli for 11 years, until

the hotel’s new owner pushed her out. Losing her job, however, turned out to be the best thing to happen to Mahoney — and the Gulf Coast. She, her husband and her brother, Andrew Cvitanovich, purchased what was thought to be the oldest building in Biloxi and turned the structure and courtyard into a restaurant that’s renown around the country.

“If he (the Tivoli owner) wouldn’t have kicked her out of that cheesy place, she never would have ended up in this DeSoto 75

larger venue,” Bobby Mahoney said.

Mary Mahoney’s restaurant has been serving seafood favorites since 1964, when it opened on Ascension Day, Bobby Mahoney explained. Many celebrities and politicians have graced the establishment, presidents have invited Mary Mahoney to cook for them and she was honored with numerous accolades over the years, including being the first woman president of the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce.

Visitors to Mary Mahoney’s, in what is known as the Old French House, will immediately notice the similarity to old New Orleans architecture. French colonist Louis Frasier built the home of brick and cypress in 1737, using slate from the ballast of French sailing ships as roof shingles. The building includes a brick-walled cellar, unusual for the Gulf region, that’s now used as a wine cellar. It’s believed that French Gov. Jean Baptiste Bienville ruled the French Louisiana colony from this building.

The Frasier family owned the Old French House until 1820, and the house remained a residence until Mahoney transformed it into a restaurant and bar, continuing the tradition of history walking through its doors.

Pres. John Kennedy sent Mahoney a telegram thanking her for her support.

In 1979, Pres. Jimmy Carter invited her to a rose garden ceremony when Pope John Paul II visited the United States. That year she also fed 200 people of the Mississippi congressional staff.

In 1982, Mahoney was named the Small Business Person of the Year from Mississippi, and visited the White House for the honor. She returned in 1984 to serve softshell crabs and crab claws to Pres. Ronald Reagan and then Vice Pres. George H.W. Bush., Bobby Mahoney said.

“Mother was like an ambassador from the state of Mississippi,” he explained.

“People thought we (Mississippians) didn’t know what was going on at the time. She tried to change the perspective, that we did know what was going on.”

Hurricane Katrina gave Mary Mahoney’s pause in 2005, Mahoney said, and visitors to the restaurant can view the waterline — where the Gulf waters pushed through during the storm — thanks to a plaque on the dining room’s mantle.

“The Katrina hurricane pretty much did us in,” he said. “We had five feet of water all over the restaurant. We were just far enough off the Gulf to not get structural damage, but close enough to get water damage.”

Mahoney was injured and his brother bitten by a snake during Katrina but the restaurant was back online on Nov. 3, only 55 days following the storm.

Once again, celebrities passed through its doors. Anderson Cooper interviewed author John Grisham at the restaurant, who was in Biloxi hoping to raise money for coastal recovery (Mary Mahoney’s is in two Grisham novels). Cooper and his Mississippi father, author Wyatt Cooper of Quitman, were no strangers to the establishment, Mahoney said.

“Anderson Cooper walked in and I said, ‘Your daddy was here years ago with your brother,’” Mahoney remembered. “And Anderson said, ‘That was me!’ He later remarked to people that the past came back to meet him in Biloxi, Miss.”

Mary Mahoney has passed on and her brother’s children own the restaurant while her son, Bobby, is general manager. Heading into its 53rd year, the longstanding Biloxi landmark still serves up Gulf seafood, with about 50 percent of those dishes involving crabmeat.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Bobby Mahoney said of the menu. “It’s been working for 52 years.”

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in good spirits} mardi gras cocktails

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Cocktails for Carnival

By Cheré Coen. Photography by cmgajcfoodandmore.com

You might think it’s easy coming up with drinks for Carnival celebrations. If you’re of the blow-out persuasion, any drink would be welcomed during the decadent period ranging from Twelfth Night (Jan. 6) to the day of Mardi Gras, always the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.

But if you’re like most Southerners, there’s a party involved, and that means planning for something special. A hearty punch goes well with any Mardi Gras festivity. The colors are lively, it serves many and the spirited ingredients put everyone in the Carnival mood.

Cassandra Harrell features a perfect party punch that can fill a punch bowl in her latest book, “Soul Food Advisor: Recipes and Tips for Authentic Southern Cooking.” The recipe involves Southern Comfort, a whiskey that hails from New Orleans. The spirit was invented as a liquor by French Quarter bartender Marin Wilkes Heron who disliked the whiskey heading downriver from Kentucky and Tennessee in the late 1800s. Using spices and fruits available through the New Orleans port, he came up with Southern Comfort in 1874, a recipe which remains a secret to this day.

“Even though this recipe calls for a fifth of Southern Comfort, once all the ingredients are mixed together, you’ll be surprised at how you really don’t recognize how much whiskey is in it,” Harrell writes in her book. “It actually tastes like a fruit punch, and most people want a second and third serving.”

Southern Comfort Party Punch 2 liters 7 Up or Sprite 5 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice 6 ounces frozen concentrated orange juice, thawed 6 ounces frozen concentrated pink lemonade, thawed 1 bottle (a fifth) Southern Comfort

4-5 drops red food coloring, more if needed 4-5 thin orange slices An ice ring or large ice cubes Direction: Make sure all punch ingredients are cold before mixing. In a punch bowl, mix 7 Up, lime juice, orange juice, pink lemonade, and Southern Comfort. Add 2-3 drops of food coloring; mix well. If more food coloring is needed, add a drop at a time until you reach desired color. Stir.

Float orange slices on top of punch. Stir in ice and serve immediately in punch glasses.

If single serving cocktails are more your style, here’s a recipe for Mardi Gras Mambo by the Court of Two Sisters of New Orleans, a long-standing restaurant known for its gorgeous courtyard and Sunday brunch.

Mardi Gras Mambo 1 1/4 ounces vodka 1 1/2 ounces orange juice 1 1/2 ounces pineapple juice 1 dash grenadine Direction: Pour vodka, orange juice and pineapple juice into a Collins glass filled with crushed ice. Top with grenadine. Garnish with a flag (we suggest one of the Carnival colors of purple, green and gold).

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exploring events } february Extreme Deep: Mission into the Abyss Through March 3 CTI 3D Giant Theater Pink Palace Museum Memphis, TN Audiences will be plunged into fantastic places and meet amazing creatures while exploring the most dramatic continent on earth, “Africa! For more information, visit www.memphismuseums.org or call 901-636-2362.

The Garth Brooks World Tour with Trisha Yearwood February 2 - 4 FedEx Forum Memphis, TN For more information, call 800-745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com.

Jerry Lee Lewis February 4 Sams Town Casino Robinsonville, MS 8:00PM For more information, call 800-745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com.

MidSouth Home Expressions February 3 - 5 Landers Center Southaven, MS The MidSouth Home Expressions Show, with special guest Pete Nelson, is the best way to start that journey of wanting or needing to renovate, update and redecorate homes, both inside and out! For more information call 662-470-2131 or visit midsouthhomeexpressions.com.

Shen Yun February 7 - 8 Cannon Center for Performing Arts Memphis, TN Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Shen Yun was established in New York in 2006 by elite Chinese artists. They came together with a shared vision and passion—to revive the lost world of traditional Chinese culture and share it with everyone. For tickets call 888-974-6999 or visit shenyun.com.

Eden Brent February 10 Panola Playhouse Sardis, MS 8:00PM The Panola Playhouse will open a new concert series with Greenville native and three-time Blues Music Award winner Eden Brent on February 10th. For tickets visit panolaplayhouse.com or call 662-487-3975.

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The Illusionists - Live From Broadway February 10 - 12 Orpheum Theater Memphis, TN Direct from Broadway, the world’s best-selling magic show is coming to Memphis. This mind-blowing spectacular showcases the jaw-dropping talents of seven of the most incredible Illusionists on earth. For more information, call 901-525-3000 or visit www.orpheum-memphis.com.

Blackberry Smoke February 11 Horseshoe Casino Robinsonville, MS 8:00PM For more information, call 800-745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com.

Eric Church Holdin” My Own Tour February 18 Landers Center Southaven, MS 8:00PM Tickets are $25.00-$89.00. Purchase tickets at LANDERS Center box office 662-470-2131, www.ticketmaster.com or call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.

Joey Alexander February 23 Germantown Performing Arts Center Germantown, TN 7:30PM Last year, at the age of 12, Joey released his debut album “My Favorite Things” to great acclaim. The Indonesian jazz prodigy has become one of the youngest musicians ever to be nominated for a Grammy award; and not in one, but two categories–Best Improvised Jazz Solo and Best Jazz Instrumental Album. For more information visit gpacweb.com or call 901-751-7500.

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical February 28 - March 5 Orpheum Theater Memphis, TN BEAUTIFUL – The Carole King Musical tells the inspiring true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history. For more information, call 901-525-3000 or visit orpheum-memphis.com.

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reflections} unbreaking my heart, unconditionally

Unbreaking My Heart, Unconditionally

By Jill Gleeson. Photography courtesy of quotesideas.com

A friend of mine recently pronounced Nashville my “mating grounds.” He isn’t far off. Six years ago I met my exboyfriend “T”, a travel writer like me, there during a press tour.

We’d hit it off immediately, and in the way couples in movie romances might have even fallen in love a little, the night we first danced slow and sweet in a steamy honky tonk on Lower Broadway.

But in early June last year he dumped me, leaving me with little explanation and not so much as a forwarding address, never to be heard from again.

He pretty much destroyed my heart. I spent months sobbing copiously in public places, everywhere from the gym to the grocery store. And then I got an opportunity to take another press tour to Nashville, a place I didn’t know if I could stand to be in, so large loomed its association with “T”.

Terrified stepping inside its limits would plunge me into a deeper depression, I was at the same time hopeful as a hound dog begging a scrap of steak that the trip would serve as a sort of exorcism.

And so almost exactly six months to the day that “T” split up with me, I once again found myself in a honky tonk on Lower Broadway. I remember I went to the bar to get a drink, turned around…and there he was. My next romance. CC took one look at me and I took one look at him – at his fierce green eyes, sinewy muscles and wide, white-toothed grin – and there was never any doubt what was going to happen.

We spent as much time together that weekend as we could and met up in Charleston, West Virginia, equidistant from our respective homes, New Year’s Eve weekend. CC is different than me…laidback and laconic, he looks and sounds 82 DeSoto

like the California surfer he once was; my red hair gives clue to my energy level and temperament. But he owns a wild heart like I do, and here’s the thing I really love about him: He accepts me for who I am. There is no artifice between us, only the ability to communicate with absolute honesty.

I’ve been thinking a lot about New Year’s Day when we whispered stories about our lives. CC told me deeply personal things about himself and I responded by revealing secrets I’d never shared with my vanished boyfriend. I don’t think I understood until then that never, not for one moment, “T” ever loved me unconditionally. I always felt I had to watch my step, to be careful, to never reveal any closeted skeletons to him. Not only would he not understand, he would judge. And is conditional love really any kind of love at all?

I’ve come to believe that spending years in a relationship where the thought of me was cherished rather than the actual me was far more damaging than the brutal breakup.

What can be more painful than living with the subtle but always present suggestion that not all of you is worth love?

Today, I’m healing nicely, and as for CC and me, we’ll be road tripping through Memphis this February around Valentine’s Day. If you see us, say hi. We’ll be the couple spilling secrets in each other’s ears.

Jill Gleeson is a freelance travel and lifestyle writer based in Pennsylvania.

Her blog, GleesonReboots (www.gleesonreboots.com), and infectious personality have garnered national attention. Her online column for Woman’s Day debuted last month.