I remember sitting on the hard floors of the porches of my youth listening to old men and women telling stories while swatting flies from wooden rocking chairs. Most were winding stories that stretched across the creek, about folks they were related to in some way, their kin. I doubt my Uncle T. W. was an actual stuntman in one of Elvis Presley’s movies or that my aunt twice removed ever really knew Marilyn Monroe, but they believed wholehearted in the tales that grew larger with each telling.
Nowadays we call it the six degrees of separation, and I have a few stories of my own. It just so happens that one of my favorite housewives is Sonja Morgan on the television network Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York,” and although I will probably only get as close to her as my big flat screen, she and I are connected.
For several years I worked at Earle and Joseph Salon where I cut the hair of a lovely lady whose son lives in NYC, and he even sat in my styling chair a few times while in town. Recently I found out he has been jetting off to exotic locations and snapping selfies with his friends, one of whom is Sonja Morgan. So, there you go. The proof is on Instagram. I’m sure Sonja will be ringing me up for brunch in the Hamptons any day now.
We no longer have to wait for the older generation to gather stories from the local hardware stores, church socials, or party lines because social media has linked everyone together. It’s faster than the mailman and more reliable than the ladies who used to “hear tell” on the gravel road. The hairdressing world is full of dramatic stories like the ones I have heard from my friend Syd who styled the coiffures of supermodel Cindy Crawford and rock icon Tina Turner. Heck, he was the one responsible for Mariah Carey’s wedding hair. Oh, the stories he could probably tell from those styling sessions. One of my former clients worked part-time at the clinic where Faith Hill’s mother was a patient and reported that Faith often drove her mom to her visits. It’s a small world.
Mama always said, “Lord have mercy” and “bless her heart” while on the phone with Aunt Avis. You would never hear one of them repeating gossip, so like they used to say on “Hee Haw,” I listened close the first time!
Stories — whether completely true or the kind that grow taller on down the line — are a big part of being Southern. If Sonja calls me for brunch, I’ll let you know; if she doesn’t and I claim she did, well, I’m just carrying the torch Mama and Aunt Avis lighted all those years ago.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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