My Virginia

Richmond, Virginia: A Northern City? I'm not exactly sure how, but recently, I stumbled upon this blog by one lady from Georgia, who says Richmond is NOT the South .  Make no mistakes about it,  to her , we might as well be Trenton, NJ. Now, I don't like to call out other people usually , but I couldn't help but notice several errors in her explanations. It's not like I can let it go, I can't. I'm a Southerner, damn it. My family has been in Richmond,  Virginia for centuries, and it stretches all across Dixie as well. My ancestors fought in both the American Revolution, and in the Confederate Army during the War for Southern Independence. When you say Richmond, Virginia,  is not the South, it's like saying ice cream isn't naturally cold.  It just doesn't sound right. I believe this is actually a very old article, and I do apologize.  But I want to address it, because it bugs me when  people make statements that aren't the truth. I am...

Paxton House: Powhatan County, Virginia. Near Tobaccoville (Built circa 1819) Above: Dr. John Gifford Skelton: My 3rd Great Grandfather, born at Paxton in 1815.  It came to my surprise when I found out the Skelton ancestral home was recently sold in 2017 and completely upgraded to full splendor! I was looking up the property online to see if some of the Skelton cousins and myself could visit the property as part of a family reunion . Years ago, I did film the outside, but I never was able to see inside. I found several pictures online available to the public which openly display the inside of the house- which is very remarkable, indeed! Because the property is privately owned, I know it would be difficult to arrange for all of the Skelton descendants to see the inside of the house. While we may be able to tour the grounds of the property, seeing the inside of the Paxton any time soon , seems unlikely. However, I was very thrilled that the estate has published pictur...

Virginia is most lovely in the Spring.  Some people love the fall color of the leaves, but nothing is sweeter than Virginia during the months of March through May. The weather is neither too hot, nor too cool. There are balmy breezes,  beautiful Magnolias in bloom,  the sound of the birds singing, and a rare, but promising glimpse of our beloved Cardinal.  Taking a stroll through a city park,  photographing the scenery along  a rural  roadside, or canvasing the local area for a nice picnic, all seem to be fun activities to do. Since I was born in the Spring, I feel a strong kinship with the Season.  Richmond is full of dogwood trees and cherry blossoms, much like our Nation's Capital. You can see a lot of animals come out to play during this time of year as well. This year, Easter fell in late April, and that is a wonderful thing, because it means it is warm enough for the men folk to bring out their Seersucker Suits for the Mo...

The Christmas Season has officially begun, at least in the sense of commerce.  Mechanicsville, Virginia  had their annual Christmas parade and a number of the Virginia flaggers were there. Living in the liberal cess pool of Richmond, it's kind of refreshing that there are places very close to home that still have that old Virginian spirit.  Although  it was a rainy day, there were many people in attendance.  The spirit of the South lives on through these brave people who fight to preserve our noble history, and let not the names of our ancestors be tarnished by the onslaught of political correctness. Some other traditions in the area, are to lay wreaths upon the graves of the glorious dead. Harking back to a day when people made their own Christmas presents, it is also a demonstration of the Victorian era gone by. Think of a Confederate soldier far from his family,yearning for a warm meal and to be with his darling wife and children. Many of these soldiers mar...

This last election was very painful for me to watch . It signifies the beginning of the end for Virginia. At least the one that I knew. I am sitting here thinking back to when I was a teenager in the 1990's. Fairfax and Loudoun County were deep red Republican.  We were a safe bet for wholesome candidates.  Marriage was believed to be between one man and one woman. Those wonderful , carefree golden days, when Virginia was conservative and Evangelical Christian   . The "swamp" was barely a puddle then. Virginia was largely comprised of White and Black voters. Never in my wildest dreams would I believe socialist friendly candidates could have a hope of winning in Virginia.  It was a good time for Virginia. But the D.C. swamp slowly began to rise, and it overflowed at the crevices of decent civilization.  No one knew what we were in for. Fast forward to 2018.  Gone are the days of George Allen, Virgil Goode, and Jim Gilmore. Hordes of illegal immigrants...

It's easy to determine the obvious. There is no question that Mississippi is the South. Or Alabama, or South Carolina.  Or Georgia.  But there's the "Deep South", and then there's "The South"... That Mason Dixon line is a good start, but the closer you are to the line, the more ambiguous.  I made some maps here as to what I determine the area of predominant Southern culture to be. Instead of making a black and white chart of "North vs South", I include "transition zones"- those areas that are kind of the in between region, or some times "no  man's land". In my maps, notice only the Eastern 1/3 of the country is shaded in. I do not generally consider Texas or anything west of it to be "South". But it can be considered a transition area. Unlike most, I consider the Mid Atlantic region to be a sub region of the South, and not the Northeast.  For that reason, I feel some states can be both Southern and Mid Atla...