Go West, Young Man!

You know those Walgreens commercials that talk about a place called Perfect, where every front lawn is fresh-cut and verdant, where every picket fence is as pure white as a brand new MacBook, and where everyone is just so darn friendly it makes you question the whole human condition? “Of course, we don't live anywhere near Perfect,” these commercials attest, “so we have Walgreens.” Well, I’ve found a place that’s every bit as perfect as Walgreens—if not more so—but without the prophylactics and codine. This utopia is called Vicksburg, Mississippi, and it’s only a forty-five minute’s drive westward from Jackson. A few friends and I went there on Thursday for the grand opening of a traveling Smithsonian exhibit at the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation. The foundation isn’t as notable as their property: they own the auditorium where the banquet scene took place in O Brother, Where Art Thou?. In that very same auditorium there was a fun blues concert and just outside a free picnic (with delicious fried catfish, of course) accompanied by a bluegrass quartet. All the residents of this small town showed up dressed sharply for this cultural event and were all so friendly. We took a stroll around the town as well, which is best known for its bloody submission to General Grant in the early summer of 1863 and being the birthplace of Coca Cola. By the way, I didn’t get the opportunity to tour the battlefields, but I’m sure they look like the myriad other battlefields that have been transformed into state or national parks. Who needs the battlefield anyway? The town is beautiful, but I can not explain exactly why. Somewhere between its location—perched on a hill overlooking a small bend in the Mighty Mississippi—and the way in which everything is in its proper place and in its pristine condition, it’s just…let’s see, “Perfect”. Unfortunately, I wasn't smart enough to take pictures while in Vicksburg. Oh well.

However, I did take some pictures recently of the State Capitol in Jackson: