Quote of the Day (Roy Blount Jr., on Southern and Northern Manners of Speaking)

“The salesperson in Atlanta may give you just as glazed a look as the one in Boston. But the former is more likely to say, ‘These overalls are going to make your young one look cute as a doodlebug’s butt.’ Southerners still derive energy from figures of speech, as plants do from photosynthesis….

“[In one form of Northern hospitality], you walk into a dry cleaner’s for the 30th time, and the proprietor, recognizing you at last, says, ‘You again!’ If you are willing to accept that he is never going to welcome you, then you’re welcome. The advantage of this form of Northern hospitality is that it works irritation right into the equation, up front. Let’s face it: People irritate one another.”—Southern humorist Roy Blount Jr., in Save Room for Pie: Food Songs and Chewy Ruminations (2016)

(Photo of Roy Blount Jr. taken at the 2007 Texas Book Festival, Austin, Texas, Nov. 3, 2007, by Larry D. Moore.)

Quote of the Day (Roy Blount Jr., on Climate’s Influence on Southern Hospitality)

“Southern hospitality is an institution. Before air-conditioning, climate was a factor. In the South, people were more likely to be sitting out on the porch when folks showed up. You couldn’t pretend not to be home when there you were, sitting on the porch. You could pretend to be dead, but then you couldn’t fan yourself.” —Southern humorist Roy Blount Jr., in Save Room for Pie: Food Songs and Chewy Ruminations (2016)

(Photo of Roy Blount Jr. taken at the 2007 Texas Book Festival, Austin, Texas, Nov. 3, 2007, by Larry D. Moore.)

Quote of the Day (Roy Blount Jr., Honoring Cooking With Grease)

“I feel that I will never cease

To hold in admiration grease.

It's grease makes frying things so crackly,

During and after. Think how slackly

Bacon lies before its grease

Effusively secures release.”—Southern humorist Roy Blount Jr., “Song to Grease,” in Save Room for Pie: Food Songs and Chewy Ruminations (2013)

(Photo of Roy Blount Jr. taken at the 2007 Texas Book Festival, Austin, Texas, Nov. 3, 2007, by Larry D. Moore.)