Leatha’s BarB-Que Inn – Hattiesburg
(6374 U.S. Highway 98 West – 601 271-6003) Check out their web site (www.leathas.com) for more information and history! Some say Leatha Jackson is the Queen of Mississippi BBQ; one of 14 children in her family, she started picking cotton at age 5; smoky BBQ ribs are offered up with cole slaw, real fried potatoes and huge glasses of iced tea; hard to find but worth the trip; open for lunch and dinner Thursday – Saturday only; no credit cards or checks accepted; highly recommended.

You know you’re a Floridian when:

1. Socks are only for bowling.

2. You never use an umbrella because you know the rain will be over in five minutes.

3. A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store, but everything to do with shade.

4. Your winter coat is made of denim.

5. You can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites.

6a. You’re younger than thirty but some of your friends are over.

6b. Anything under 70 is chilly.

7. You’ve driven through Yeehaw Junction.

8. You could swim before you could read.

9. You have to drive north to get to The South.

10. You know that no other grocery store can compare to Publix.

11. Every other house in your neighborhood had blue roofs in 2004-2005.

12. You’ve gotten out of school early on Halloween to trick or treat before it got dark

13. You know that anything under a Category 3 just isn’t worth waking up for.

14. You dread lovebug season.

15. You are on a first name basis with the Hurricane list. They aren’t Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances…but Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne.

16. You know what a snowbird is and when they’ll leave.

17. You think a six-foot alligator is actually pretty average.

18. You were twelve before you ever saw snow, or you still haven’t.

19. ‘Down South’ means Key West.

20. You think New York drivers licenses should only be valid in New York.

21. Flipflops are everyday wear.

22. Shoes are for business meetings and church,

23. but you HAVE worn flipflops to church before.

24. Sweet tea can be served at any meal.

25. An alligator once walked through your neighborhood.

26. You smirk when a game show’s ‘Grand Prize’ is a trip or cruise to Florida.

27. You measure distance in minutes.

28. You have a drawer full of bathing suits, and one sweatshirt.

29. You get annoyed at the tourists who feed seagulls.

30. A mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level.

32. You think everyone from a bigger city has a northern accent.

33. You know the four seasons really are: hurricane season, lovebug season, tourist season and summer.

34. It’s not soda, cola, or pop. It’s coke, regardless of brand or flavor, ‘What kinda coke you want?’

35. Anything under 95 is just warm.

36. You’ve hosted a hurricane party.

37. You go to a theme park for an afternoon, and know when to get on the best rides.

38. You understand the futility of exterminating cockroaches.

39. You can pronounce Okeechobee, Kissimmee, Ichnatucknee andWithlacoochee.

40. You understand why it’s better to have a friend with a boat than owning a boat yourself.

41. Bumper stickers on the pickup in front of you include: various fish, NRA, NASCAR, Go Gators, and a confederate flag.

42. You were 5 before you realized they made houses without pools.

43. You were 25 when you first met someone who couldn’t swim.

44. You’ve worn shorts and used the A/C on Christmas.

45. You recognize Miami-Dade as ‘Northern Cuba’.

46. You not only forward this but you understand it.

I also have trouble driving from N.MS to Atlanta without stopping at the original Golden Rule in Irondale. (Yeah, I know the “original” was across the highway, and I ate there too)

The Day of Revelation has been a fun one