So far, we've had some really interesting - and by that I mean good - experiences eating across the Southland. We've avoided national chains, but have embraced those we can't find at home. Hardee's and Krystal are great, for different reason. Krystal is like White Castle, but in the South. Yum. I like the BBQ sauce with their tiny burgers. Hardee's Thickburger is delightful. That was a GOOD hamburger.

In Nashville, we ate supper from Mrs. Winner's fried chicken and biscuits. Awesome. Mrs. Winner's is a winner.

Here in Memphis, we went with Corky's BBQ. Wow. It IS that good. I had several moments of joy as I ate their ribs.

Yay for regional faves!

In between battles, I thought I'd do a little goofing around. When I was staying at Franklin Warlick's house in Atlanta, we went down to Jonesboro to check out a battlefield site. We came across a building Frank said was used for a cover of a Lynyrd Skynyrd album, but maybe it wasn't. Oh well. We still took the pictures I combined for this one, which I'd like to use for the cover of my next album:

The South's gonna do it again. Really.

In 1863 and 1864, the Union and Confederacy battled in an area known as "The Wilderness". There were many small skirmishes in this area, along with the major battles of Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. Thousands of men died across this region. Today, these places are peaceful woodlands, quite the contrast to the hells they were when battles raged over them. Stephen Crane noted this difference well in his novel, The Red Badge of Courage. Nature seems to have a way of carrying on with its own schedule in spite of what men may be doing in and around it.

In these places, I can see the cathedrals and gardens Crane's character Henry Fleming noted when he wasn't engaged in battle. I can also see the foreboding gloom if I imagine hard enough and put myself back in the shoes of a soldier battling here almost 150 years ago.