About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 2024)
Written and Illustrated^by Our Readers S lackpole is a heartwarming, funny, thought- provoking and quirky representation of Athens and its people. Our staff is thankful for all of our Flagpole readers who contribute to writing and illustrating our end-of-the-year annual issue, allow ing us to take a break during the holidays. We enjoy reading all of the submissions, and those that didn’t make it into print can be found online at flagpole, com. We’ll be back with the first Flagpole of 2025 on Jan. 8. Bless Your Heart By Eric Somerville My friend, Steve, moved to Georgia a few years ago from New York. He lived his whole life there but is not at all the “typical” New Yorker we think of here in the South. He is kind, respectful, quick with a smile or to lend a hand. He witnessed many things during his career as a police officer, and reflexively assesses the behavior of those around him. With the keen observation that would impress Jane Good- all herself, Steve quickly noticed the subtlety of that most Southern idiom, “Bless your heart.” There have been books, magazine articles and news paper stories written about “bless your heart.” Mr. Zach Newcastle wrote in 2015, “...the phrase is largely seen as Southern code, a way for Southerners to insult someone in a less direct way.” Tracy Moore added more recently, “It’s the nicest way you’ll ever be called an idiot.” And when former President Donald Trump dinged former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in 2016 (via Twitter, of course) by telling her, “The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!” She replied simply, “Bless your heart.” Steve commented to me one day that while “bless your heart” sounds very thoughtful and sympathetic, it seemed to him more often to really mean “I told you so” or “Tough shit.” I, of course, found this hilarious. I explained to Steve that when spoken by an adult to a child, “bless your heart” almost always conveys genuine empathy or consolation. However, when spoken by one adult to another adult about a child, as in “bless his heart,” the meaning could just as likely be, “He’s as dumb and lazy as his daddy.” When referring to a third-party female over the age of 19, “bless her heart” is almost always a veiled critique of her poor judgement in men. The only exception might be if the target of the gossip has experienced a recent family tragedy. Intent gets even murkier if “bless her heart” is expressed in a group of middle-aged Southern women about a middle- aged acquaintance who is not present at the time. Here, context is everything, and often one needs to know the full social and family history of all women involved if there is any reasonable chance of discerning the meaning of “bless her heart.” A few summers ago, my family and I spent a day in New York City while awaiting a flight to Europe and decided to grab a bite at a genuine New York deli before heading back to the airport. I sent Steve a message and asked for his rec ommendation. He sent us to Katz’s Deli on East Houston Street. Katz’s Deli was established in 1888. It’s been run by the same family for over 100 years and is famous for its pas trami sandwiches. My wife and daughter, both vegetarians, were largely out of luck, because Katz’s is much like Satur day Night Live’s “Olympia Restaurant.” No matter what’s on the menu at the Olympia Restaurant, everyone gets a cheeseburger, chips and a Pepsi. At Katz’s, everyone gets 22 pounds of pastrami between slices of white bread and a pickle spear. Steve sent me a message later asking what I thought about Katz’s. I politely told him it was pretty good, but asked, “Would it kill them to add some lettuce and a slice of tomato?” He replied, “It would kill most New Yorkers.” “But I feel like I have eaten a whole cow,” I lamented. “Even just some token ruffage would have been great.” To which he replied, “Bless your heart.” Athens in Harmony By Pat Priest I first saw Mokah Johnson, the director of the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement (AADM), in action in 2016 when she organized a prayer vigil with Athens for Everyone to lament the recent deaths of Black men at the hands of the police and to mourn officers killed in Dallas around that register byjan15 art.uga.edu NEW UGA COMMUNITY ART SCHOOL drawing other people january 28 - april 8 tuesdays from 6 to 8:30 pm LISTEN. TONIQUE BOTTLE Co. LISTEN & LEARN. LISTEN FOR GOOD. LISTEN LOCAL. LISTEN TO YOUR HEART. LISTEN WITH CONFIDENCE. LISTEN TO THE EARTH. LISTEN TO A STORY. LISTEN & LAUGH. LISTEN FOR PERSPECTIVE. LISTEN UP. LISTEN & LOVE. NOW OPEN! 52S BARBER STREET SUITE 120 1UE-SAT 12pm- Bpm SUN 1pm-5pm wiih* ■ spirits - b«r non-ale bevs * barware .a gssheptonique shoptQ ntque.com m 16 FLAGPOLE.COM ■ DECEMBER 25, 2024 & JANUARY 1, 2025 MARISA MUSTARD
