A Peanut Butter Sandwich and A Glass of Sweet Tea

There's nothing like a good old peanut butter sandwich followed by a big glass of sweet tea. It's pure heaven. I should say ice tea because here in Georgia the sweat part is assumed. Now, I drink mine with a slice of orange. Yes, my granny would just roll over in her grave if she knew I polluted my tea with such a thing. She'd also roll over if she knew I only use three quarters of a cup of sugar per half gallon. It's not real tea if ain't syrup. 

There was a time in my life when I only drank unsweetened tea and I would have rather died than admit I ate peanut butter. These were what I now call my smart years; the years I spent trying to outrun my southern history. This was nearly impossible given my background (That's a whole other post). I stripped all the accent from my words. I spoke only proper English. When I wrote stories, I never allowed my characters to speak as true southerners, natural and all. Nope these stories were the most intelligent stories you ever read. I even got quite a few published. But I never was too happy. I sure didn't have fun writing them. 

So, that's why you won't see me ripping a piece of writing apart due to grammar and punctuation. I know there's a lot of ways to say what we as writers and storytellers have to say. Getting caught up in the perfection of it all has its price too.  

I've spent way too much time eating dry, stringy roast beef instead of peanut butter sandwiches. My lesson was creativity and voice. Now, when I get a hankering for peanut butter or even butter beans, I go for it. It's a lot more fun. And, I always drink my ice tea sweet. 

Ann