Pie Pans of the Carolinas

This past Friday, Michael and I went to see the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean. A strong left turn, a deviation--if you will--from my normal enjoyment of stories about moonshine and/or magnolias. But a Southern gal's got to branch out every now and then. True, I've always found solace and comfort in the stories that are set in the South. Gone With The Wind, Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood ... are but a few. Coal Miner's Daughter, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, and Cold Mountain are stories I have in book form and in my DVD collection. I could compile a list, but that's not what this blog entry is about.

My point is that although my favorite stories are set in the South, I also love to get out of Dixie and stretch my imagination to places and times I've never been. It's really a healthy thing to do.

Set in the days of primitive ocean voyages, Pirates of the Caribbean ventures into the sea ... taking with it the imaginations of those writers that no doubt descended from sailors who told the ghostly and ghastly tales of their voyages upon their return home. Possibly these tales were also passed down ... generation-to-generation.

The action is so packed with nail biting peril; it's often exhausting as you watch it. The story line takes a back seat to the one-liners of its characters and the special effects and magic of Hollywood.

This week, I was passing by a roadside stand and decided to stop in to buy a tote bag of peaches. The old codger behind the warped and wooden desk appeared as if he'd been picking in the sun way past his prime. He smiled a toothless grin that made me giggle and nod back politely.

"Got us a sale on ... tomatoes and cukes up front ... melons in the box out back. And they's some real purty pie pans the Missus is sellin' on them crates out front. She says they'll bake a cobbler better 'n any old glass pan ya got. She makes them pans hersef."

"Oh, really?" I asked.

"Yep," he said. "I let ya have two of 'em for the price of one."

I smiled and gathered my bag of peaches, after squeezing a few. "Well, okay ... peach cobbler sounds good. I'll take two of those pans. The blue one and red one."

He winked and bagged up my purchases. As I pulled my pie pans out of the bag after I got home, I turned them over. Made in China glared up at me. I thought of the old codger at the produce stand who reminded me of one of the pirates in the movie.

I'm thinking Disney might like my story ... Pie Pans of the Carolinas ...

Naw. I can't imagine a swashbuckling Johnny Depp saving any woman from buying an old man's pie pans at a roadside stand.

Blessings to you and yours.