Southern Comfort

Last night we got home from our annual vacation to Myrtle Beach with Joe's family. I forget that my in-laws are products of the deep south. They have lived all over the country, and despite their southern accents, they seem Midwestern to me. There are no Confederate flags hanging on their wall and we have resisted trips to the local barbecue joint that doesn’t welcome blacks. But we do eat collard greens and cornbread stuffing when we visit them in Columbia.

Myrtle Beach is the deep south, and there were sporadic reminders all week long. Driving down the touristy strip of Myrtle Beach, Joe’s sister and her husband -- who recently moved from Omaha to Columbia -- got a little caught up in the southern-ness of it all.

Roger: I want one-uh-them confederate flag boogie boards!

Traci: And I want one-uh-them airbrushed Roger-Loves-Traci T-shirts!

For the record, they did not get either of these items.