God, you crack me up. I can’t wait 'til you’re published, and I can say I knew you when.
Can I share a (less well-told) southern story?
I was probably 10 years old. My family from Houston (which may or may not have included my dad - he hated visiting the Valley) was visiting my Mom’s sister Lois and her husband James down in McAllen in the Rio Grande valley. Lois had three daughters, Darlene, Glenda, and Shirley, and a son Sonny. (Yep - he was James, Jr.)
Mom was the youngest of 12, and closer in age to the girls than to her sister. One night on our visit, Mom, Shirley and I “snuck out” to go eat Mexican food in the middle of the night. They had been talking all night in the bedroom that I was trying to sleep in - and decided they needed to go drinking. And they took me! We went to some place, and I had Shirley Temples while they drank beer. I loved the music and the dancing. I have no idea how many they had, but when we finally snuck back into the house, Aunt Lois was awake. A terrible argument occurred, and Aunt Lois slapped the piss out of Shirley, while my Mom tried to stop her.
Sampiro: I think Dixiephrenia would be more appropriate as the title of a collection of essays (some scholarly, some humorous, some a bit of both) by a variety of sons and daughters of the South, with contributions from a few “carpetbaggers” as well. Since you’ll be the sole author of the book you’re thinking of penning, you should select a title that hints at your unique perspective. As David Sedaris is known for such volumes as Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, so shall you be celebrated as “Mr. Casseroles for the Dead”!
As much as I like the term Dixiephrenia and Lord knows I understand it as a born and bred southerner myself, I like Casseroles For The Dead as a title for your book more. To me Dixiephrenia sounds more like a scholarly probe into the psyche of southerners. While I’d love to read it, I’m afraid the average reader would shy away from it.
Samprio you obviously have an international following here on the Dope but your book will no doubt have the most appeal to southerners. Every southerner understands Casseroles For The Dead. It’s just what you do when somebody dies. I have heard southern ladies say, countless times, that they fixed a certain casserole because (insert name of the dearly departed) always liked it, as if (name of dearly departed) was going to raise up and have a big heapin’ helpin’ of Aunt Vera’s chicken ‘n dressin’.