A Star is Born

One of the nicest discoveries running out of Tupelo, Mississippi is the Natchez Trace. This road less traveled follows the path traced by migrating animals, Indians, conquistadors and pioneers moving west. About midway along the trace you come across French Camp, established in 1812 by a French merchant who sold wine, beer and Cheetos to travelers needing to restock their supplies.

It's easy to slip back in time at this little stop. The boardwalk goes to the "package store". That's "liquor store" in Mississippi-speak.

We found these three men replacing a worn-out hardwood floor in one of the cabins. This old "new" floor came out of a textile mill in North Carolina.

These men are part of a corps of volunteers who travel the country doing work at historic sites such as this.

We wonder if our home in Sedona would qualify. Probably not. But it does need some work.

If you're one of those people who harkens for the simpler life, you'll sure find it here. Of course, the nearest WalMart is no more than twenty miles away.

Europeans are interested in this sort of Americana. The shorter fellow is from either Portugal or Italy. One of those places over there. He's a photographer putting together a coffee table book on the Natchez Trace. Here's he's getting a release from one of French Camp's living history participants. Paul says he was playing Frederick Douglass but looked more like Walt Whitman.

And here, less than a half-hour from French Camp, you'll find that WalMart. Welcome to Kosciusko (kos-choos-koe), a town named for a Polish officer who became an American Revolution war hero: Taduesz Kosciusko. We called it "Cuzco", as in Peru. That didn't fly well.

We spent the night at an RV park near town and did our best the next day to play the part of tourists (actually, Kosciusko is a pretty place) but we were both bushed because of a pounding rain all night long. Paul said it sounded like Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich holding forth on the roof of the all-new for 2010 2285 Lance travel trailer with slider.

Among the sites worth seeing is the world-famous "think tank" the
Cato Institute. It's in a strip mall, right next to Dollar General.

Kosciusko has fewer than 8,000 residents but four billion fire ants. This is one of their mounds.

Daisy started digging. Not good.

This is not a big town but it has 72 Baptist churches. Here's the two-page listing. You are solidly planted in the Bible Belt. Oh, there's one Catholic church.

We were there just as the Easter Passion Play was being presented. It's something that the whole town turns out to see. (Presented by a local Methodist church.)

But what probably brings most visitors to Kosciusko is that this is the birthplace of Charlie Musselwhite, world-renowned harmonica virtuoso. Born here in 1944. Never heard of him???????

Well, you've probably heard of this woman...

Down Oprah Winfrey Road....

You'll find the birthplace of this woman, born in a tiny farmhouse on the outskirts of town in 1954. Oprah lived here for six years before moving to Milwaukee.

Even as a little girl she showed great promise.

This was once the church where...

Oprah had her first audience. As a child, she recited "The Resurrection of Jesus" in front of the congregation one Easter morning.

Roots run deep and Oprah hasn't forgotten her hometown. Despite her billions of dollars and world-wide fame, she occasionally visits Kosciusko. She gives back to the community and funded the five-million dollar Boys and Girls Club.

Lots of bling, Mississippi-style here in Kosciusko.

On the road out of Kosciusko, you come to the fair city of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, Mississippi that is. Made infamous by the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers. No smart ass statements can be made about this. It is simply interesting to pass through these places that we've heard so much about.

The film "Mississippi Burning" was based on the ambush and murders of the three men by the KKK. The FBI employed the services of the Mob in "coaxing" confessions out of the killers. No kidding. Look it up. But despite the strong-arm tactics, only recently was one of the klansmen finally brought to justice.

What, a Mexican restaurant in Philadelphia, Mississippi? Like so many places we've passed through in the South, there's a sizable Mexican population living and working here.










From Philadelphia we moved onto the small town of Russell and the heroic dog rescue we mentioned earlier. Then it's down to the beautiful Gulf Coast at Dauphin Island, Alabama, close to where much of "Forrest Gump" takes place.

Gotta run. Taking Daisy to the beach. Adios.