Memphis, Tennessee

Prior to the whole 50 states in 30 years quest began and before Pics of Me in Front of Stuff was even a glimmer in my eye I visited Tennessee with my family on our return trip from the Atlanta Olympics to our rural home in Pennsylvania.  We spent a little time in the Smoky Mountains.  I can't say much more than that.  The portion of the trip through Tennessee was certainly much less memorable than the portion spent in Atlanta.  Tennessee for us was really defined by what went on in Atlanta, the Olympic Bombing happened the day after we left Georgia while we were in the Volunteer State.

This guy did not do it.

 That is Richard Jewell and no matter how much the FBI profilers and the media wanted him to be culprit, it was not him.  He should have been a hero and will probably always be incorrectly remembered as a villain.

Whoa, that was as close as I ever get to political rant.  

Sorry about that.
Getting to visit the site of the Olympics was a great opportunity and my mom and step-dad were great for paying for me to go on some great trips both with and without them while I was growing up.  When I look back at my teenage years, especially the early ones, I feel like I was probably an ungrateful little bastard most of the time.  It was probably the same shit everyone goes through growing up due to hormones and teenage insecurities.  (Wow, I just did a Google Image Search for teenage hormones and asshole.  Those results almost made me blush.  This was one of the cleanest images that resulted.)

Maybe I should put Safe-Search back on.

Comparing how I feel about myself now and how I feel about myself now it's like night and day.  Really, it should be completely different considering I am approximately twice as old now.  I will never know where my lack of confidence came from but it was there and I can imagine it made me a pain in the ass to live with and especially ride an a car with over a weeks worth of road trip.  To the Official Parents of Pics of Me in Front of Stuff, I apologize.

Sorry.

Holy shit, is this a LOL Cats picture?  I might have to punch myself in the nuts.

Back to the present, I would like to thank Memphis for being close to Tunica, Mississippi.  I was not a huge fan of Pics of Me in Front of Stuff's time in the 3rd biggest gambling center in the United States.  It is a short ride between Tunica and Memphis, but leaving the bright secure lights of the casino we got to a see a part of the country not many people will witness.  The outskirts of Memphis in Tennessee and Mississippi are a rather depressed  area.  Or at least it appeared depressed to my untrained eyes.  Maybe it was easier for me to see the shortcomings since the area is much flatter than the depressed areas in PA that I earned my first 2 degrees.  No one could hide in the hills because there were not any hills that close to the Mississippi River.  Once Pics of Me in Front of Stuff arrived in Memphis we stuck to the more tourist friendly areas so there was no abject poverty on display but there were some signs that Memphis had been affected by the economic downturn through which this country had been going through since Bill Clinton left office.  I had never been in such an empty mall in my life in December as when I entered Peadbody Place.

Don't go in there CP, it's empty!!

By empty I mean not just a lack of shoppers but also a lack of stores.

Thank God for the other tourist attractions in town.  The first we happened upon was the Pyramid.

Playing off its namesake in Egypt, Memphis, TN has its own pyramid.  Like the Egyptian version its the Pyramid is within spitting distance of a major river (Mississippi vs the Nile). Playing into my whole economically depressed area point from above, the Pyramid is an arena but has not hosted regular sporting events since 2001.  Both the University of Memphis basketball team and the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies played there prior to the construction of the Fedex Forum.  According Wikipedia there are no current plans for regular use of the Pyramid but hopefully something will materialize to keep the building open.  It is a unique building in the United States and the 6th biggest pyramid in the world so somebody needs to figure out how to use it.

Could we mummify and bury them in there in preparation for the afterlife?

 

Is this much different than that?

Moving further away from the Official Parking Spot in Memphis of Pics Me in Front of Stuff, I eventually came upon the Gibson Guitar Factory.

Memphis's prominent musical history features the likes of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Otis Redding, and Al Green just to name a few.  Having a guitar factory downtown just makes sense.  It is a rather new development in Memphis though the exact year escapes me.  It did not turn up in the minimal amount of research effort I am willing to put into finding it.  Like most factories, to the bane of Pics of Me in Front of Stuff's existence, photographs were not allowed.  The tour is worth the $10 it cost because making a guitar is a surprisingly labor intensive and interesting procedure.  Any defects that may occur in the process call for the immediate destruction of that guitar.  The final step is actually playing the guitar to ensure if it sounds right.  In my head the only way to ensure the guitar is working correctly is to play Stairway to Heaven.  Keep in mind I have no musical ability or knowledge, but dammit I wanted to hear Stairway.

My Stairway to Heaven related disappointment disappeared shortly after we left the Gibson Guitar Factory thanks to the Memphis Rock and Soul Museum directly across the street and attached to the Fedex Forum.

Unlike too many new museums like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex and the Sports Museum of America in New York City, The Rock and Soul Museum does allow photographs but without a flash.  Photographs would not do the place justice.  What you really get out of the Roll and Soul Museum is the sound.  While not a music aficionado this museum packed as much of the historical music of Memphis as aurally possible.  Describing how rural and gospel music became soul and country and rock and roll music is a unique historical trip that can be seen in the musical history of Memphis.  There are really too many recording artists and other figures to even try and mention so Pics of Me in Front of Stuff suggests going and seeing the Rock and Soul Museum for yourself.

With all of these attractions, I am sure you are wandering what exactly did Pics of Me in Front of Stuff eat?  To ease your concern there is amazing food in Memphis like there was throughout the South.  Pics of Me in Front of Stuff found its way to the famous Beale St in Memphis.

While not quite Bourbon Street, I imagine Beale Street could be a fun place given the right conditions.  A cold night in the middle of the week in December is not the right conditions.  The weather and timing certainly did not affect the quality of food at B.B. King's.

Those were some damn good ribs.

The ribs and the beer definitely went well with the great house band as well.

Dinner really sealed the deal on a good time in Memphis.  Following some eating, drinking, and digesting all while watching the house band Pics of Me in Front of Stuff made its way back through the night to Tunica.  After a good trip and in comparison to the disappointment that was Tunica, Memphis receives the vaunted Pics of Me in Front of Stuff Seal of Approval!

Tunica, Mississippi - State No. 30

I seriously wrote this fucking post once already and Blogger did not save it for me.  It was funny as shit.  It had some references to The Karate Kid  and shit that I felt really brought the proverbial fucking house down.  Then Mozilla or Blogger or some other shit prevented me from saving it.  My lack of forethought to save brilliant manuscripts on a backup disk in a fireproof box some day for my 2 followers to start a bidding war at Sotheby's or Sothe-bay's (get it?) astounds me.  Why am I swearing so much?  Maybe it's that or the bottle of wine I just polished off.  No, my life is not so sad that I finished off a bottle of delicious Tohu 2007 Marlborough Pinot Noir by myself while polishing off two boxes of Butterfinger minis.  I am in the middle of doing important research to please the members of Pics of Me in Front of Stuff Nation.  Tonight I learned you should read Club Trillion and NUMB3RS is a terrible television show.
I did have a topic before I started this inebriated typing- Mississippi State No. 30 

That picture is blurry with no booze, but it still says Mississippi on that sign.
Here's my favorite joke about Mississippi:
A bus stops and two Italian men get on.
They seat themselves, and engage in animated conversation.
The lady sitting behind them ignores their conversation at first but her attention is galvanized when she hears one of the men saying the following; "Emma come first, Den I come. Two asses, the come together, I come again. Two asses come together again. I come again and pee twice. Then I come once a-more."
"You foul moutherd swine." retorted the lady indignantly. "In this country we don't talk about our sex lives in public!"
"Hey, coola down lady!" said the man, "Imma just tellun my friend howa to spella Mississippi."
That joke definitely does not insult Mississipians which is often my intent when speaking about states that are not my own.  Nope, this joke definitely insults the english speaking of ethnic Italians.  But seriously, as insults regarding Italians coming out of New Jersey, this one is pretty tame.  Italian Americans definitely should be more upset by the Sopranos or The Jersey Shore.  
Mississippi, the Hospitality State, worked it's way to being State No. 30 on Pics of Me in Front of Stuff's hit list thanks to its proximity to Alabama and Alabama's proximity to South Carolina.  Like Alabama, the Gulf Shore of Mississippi is supposed to be nice but in December it's cold like most of the country.  Unlike Alabama, Pics of Me in Front of Stuff had a clear destination before the plans for the recent southern swing were even in their infancy.  The northwest corner of Mississippi houses the 3rd largest gambling center in the United States - Tunica, MS.  Like Vegas and AC, Tunica features the usual major casinos including Harrah's, Pics of Me in Front of Stuff's base of operations in Mississippi.  

 

Here's the casino at night.

I can't lie and tell you how great the time at Tunica and Harrah's was.  Unlike the Strip in Vegas or the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, if you pick Harrah's and don't like the gambling scene there's no option to walk or take a cab to Caesar's or the Trop.  The casinos in Tunica or at least Harrah's are isolated from any other casino or grouping of casinos.  Harrah's has a fine hotel.  It was as nice as any casino hotel I have ever been in, but I have never been so nickeled and dimed by a hotel, casino or otherwise as I was by Harrah's. The restaurants were exorbitant, the fitness center cost money to use, and internet access was not even cheap.  I am sure I could bitch some more about paying for things but I would rather complain about eating at Paula Dean's Buffet.

Ya'll Hungry?

No, I hate you.  Leave me a lone.  Paula's was the only restaurant open either due to it being December or mid-week so Pics of Me in Front of Stuff gorged itself with deep fried Southern comfort food.  No wonder the South lost the Civil War if that's what they ate. Any and all charges would probably cause casualties due to heart attacks.  If I ate that shit all the time you could put my sweat over a baked potato in place of butter and sour cream.  
My disdain for Paula Dean's cooking aside, the casino was also a downer.  Pics of Me in Front of Stuff has been known to throw away it's money away in the right crowd.  Blackjack, craps, roulette, one-armed bandits -  any of those are an excellent for Pics in Me Front of Stuff to lose money.  However, with a much more fiscally conservative CP at my side reckless gambling was not in the cards (get it?).  Usually gambling also features free drinks but primarily due to the lack of crowds there were few cocktail waitresses to be found.  On a bigger night, I could see Harrah's being a fun place to be.  On a week night in December in the middle of the deepest recession since the Great Depression, Harrah's Tunica was rather unexciting.  
The most interesting aspects of Tunica were its proximity to Memphis (I'll probably discuss that in the next post) and the fact the casinos in Tunica are located on the Mississippi River.  

From my understanding of the gambling laws in the Hospitality State casinos are not allowed on land except for the southern-most counties of the state.  If you could not tell by my bitching, Mississippi was not my favorite state to visit.  At least they had some decent billboards.

And that's really as good as Pics of Me in Front of Stuff's visit to Mississippi got.
P.S. I did not have an awesome Karate Kid joke.

No pictures in New Brunswick, NJ

I had an important experience Saturday night at the Harvest Moon Brewery in New Brunswick, NJ though I have only anecdotal evidence.  The Harvest Moon is a nice bar with lots of good beer and a nice mix of people.  It is by no means a college bar despite it's proximity to Rutgers but I have met a number of grad and med students there.  Saturday night was not about the future doctors (M.D. or Ph.D.) present.  No, Saturday night I experienced/witnessed the exact moment when I stopped living in the Sober World of rules and laws and I entered The Bear Fight Zone...


For the uninformed a Bearfight, aside from being a bad idea, is a Jagerbomb followed by an Irish Car Bomb.  It's origin is shrouded in mystery and I have yet to find an excellent description as to where the name came from.  Here's a good reference regarding the Bearfight's mysterious past.  Pics of Me in Front of Stuff has described multiple events involving misadventures that ensued at least partially due to a Bearfight.  There has even been an ode to the drink titled The Summer of the Bearfight.  But never in the two plus years of consuming them has the exact moment in which that door opened and Rod Sirling started talking about imagination and shit happened like it did in New Brunswick, NJ at the Harvest Moon Brewery last Saturday.

To assess the figure above, consider you have to be a less than sober to even consider doing a Bearfight.  No one walks into a bar and immediately plunks down the large sum of cash required to buy both of those drinks for one fast consumption.  No one ever should.  Proper lubrication is required.  I consumed most of a 10-beer sampler of the beer brewed on-premises.  Usually the time post-Bearfight is a slow descent into darkness which has some common characteristics like disappeance (I am looking at you Mets Fan even though you never read this) or finding themselves making out with women of questionable attractiveness (No need to mention names, we've all been there at least once in our lives). 

Some Bearfight related evenings have gone so far as to end in hospitalizations which are not funny until you you pick up one of your friends sitting on a bench outside in a hospital gown.  I have even publicly apologized due to the effects of a Bearfight.  Regardless of how far the evening goes, it is usually over time.  There is usually no point in the night where the sober switch is turned off.  The graph above shows there was no drunken gradient for yours truly Saturday night.  Saturday night I found the switch. The Bartner who was the D.D. was a witness.

This Guy, the usual Bearfight instigator was also present. 

The exact time was not recorded, but in the middle of a conversation I stopped speaking, made a funny face, and then continued on with the conversation.  It was almost like a mini-stroke without the brain damage.  Well...that might not be true, but I do have full use of both sides of my body.  Maybe it was a brain fart.  Maybe it was my brain trying to tell me to stop and go home.  Whatever it was I kept plowing forward shortly afterward.  The brain just received too much alcohol and needed a minute to reboot. 

Anyone else remember the show Reboot?

Supposedly, This Guy laughed at me until the bears went ahead and took a bite out of him, too.  After that point everything is rather blurry.  There are no pictures which might be a good thing.  I have vague recollections of very short women.  Pretty sure there were no pygmies involved, but who knows for sure.  The most important thing is everyone involved got home safely  If I offended any tiny women at the Harvest Moon Brewery, I apologize.  It was not me talking, I was in The Bearfight Zone!

Snow! - The East Coast!

In case you missed it, it snowed a lot on the East Coast on Wednesday.  Considering A.) New York City is the 'Center of the Universe' and B.) the East Coast Media bias in the United States we at Pics of Me in Front of Stuff have to wonder how exactly you are reading this and not know about the snow?  Was your internet, cable, and phone on the fritz this week?  Did you know the Saints won the Super Bowl on Sunday and the Winter Olympics start today?  SERIOUSLY, HOW THE HELL DID YOU MISS THE SNOW?!?!?!?!
But I am just assuming you did not hear about the snow which is unfair.  You know what happens when you assume...

This picture is only tangentially relevant but it tickles my funny bone and it is one of the first hits from a Google image search of assume.  What really happens is 'You make an ASS out of U and ME!'  If you have read enough of this blog you should know Pics of Me in Front of Stuff yearns to be a member of the Center of Excellence for Making an Ass Out of Yourself.  There is no need for helping by making assumptions.  Therefore, I will just stop pontificating on assumptions and make Pics of Me in Front of Stuff an assume-free zone.

Back to the snow.

 

I can not stand being trapped inside by snow so I bundled up and went for a walk outside. Just looking out my back door was not enough. The picture below is outside Pics of Me in Front of Stuff Manor.

Doo, Doo, Doo, Looking out my back door.

 

There is no clear explanation for the need for people to take innumerable pictures of cars buried in snow.  Vehicles are a good reference for snow depth because almost everyone has seen a car before and consider the snow's relative height to that of the snow.  With the advent of digital photogaphy and facebook everyone can now share just how much snow they got with the world.  It's like making a blog where you take photos of yourself near landmarks of minimal interest to those in the rest of the world... Friends of Pics of Me in Front of Stuff all had multiple pictures of their snow covered vehicles and the weather forced me to look at every single one.  It may be surprising Pics of Me in Front of Stuff has any friends, but remember it's facebook.  Everyone has lots of friends in the imaginary world of social networking.  And almost all of mine live on the East Coast and all of them had cars buried in snow.

Even the Official Mom of Pics of Me in Front of Stuff got into the snow-buried car picture act.

That's the cars in the driveway of the Official Childhood Home of Pics of Me in Front of Stuff.

What drove me outside in such harsh weather?  I am not sure if it is the sound of feet crunching in the snow or the muffled serenity of being outside in the snow but a heavy snow makes me want to go outside.  Snow makes everything except for driving more pleasant.  Snow has a strong calming effect on people and tends to make them friendlier.  There is something great about snow that makes everything more beautiful and peaceful and I need to go outside and be a part of that.  Maybe I should take up cross-country skiing.  

Maybe this video can describe what I mean.

Maybe not.   My walk has been compared to a plod.  Try not to get seasick watching. 
What was rather surreal was I usually do not take tha route  for anything but running.  So normally I am in shorts and a t-shirt when traveling down that street.  While I was wearing Under Armour this time it was the cold gear not stuff that is usually covered in sweat.  Funny thing was, I was still sweating.  I had probably bundled up more than what was needed.  But who really wants to be cold anyway?  Certainly not me, but it was cold out there.

 

Coming back to the warm confines of the Pics of Me in Front of Stuff Manor made the walk in Wednesday's Winter Wonderland worth it.  However, the sooner spring comes the better.  Only about a week until pitchers and catchers report!!!

De Soto Caverns - Childersburg, Alabama - State No. 29

When I think of Alabama I think of....
Um....
Well, there was an obnoxious woman who insisted on yelling 'Roll Tide' at me while I was leaving a bar wearing a Penn State hat in New Orleans.  That's right, before I was born this happened.

 

I guess she wasn't too bad.

Yes, it's likely the Crimson Tide will beat up on the Nittany Lions come college football season in 2010.  New QB + new LBs for PSU = bad news.  I can't say I am hopeful for the Lions when they face the Crimson Tide on the gridiron in 2010.  While PSU would probably win in most athletic contests save football and baseball and probably win most academic contests, Alabama has a very good football team.  Joe Paterno is certainly a better person than Nick Saban, Alabama has a very good football team.  My Penn State hat does have one thing going for it: I do not live in Alabama.  That's right, Dirty Jerz is way better than Alabama in just about every way.  The Jersey Shore may lurk in Seaside Heights, but The Situation can't compare to William Bradley Bankston.  It's probably due to the limited incest and the improved oral hygiene in NJ, but who can be sure.

Congratulations on the BCS Championship, Alabama.  Unfortunately for you, you're still in Alabama!
My bad attitude towards obnoxious middle-aged women aside, Alabama is still one of the 50 states and therefore I am required by my vow to visit all of the state regardless of how much incest or squealing like a pig may go on there.  My first choice would have been to visit the Gulf Coast and spend some time in the warm calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

That looks nice, doesn't it?

 

Unfortunately, Pics of Me in Front of stuff decided to visit the South in December.

  

This was the first photo that came up on a Google image search of 'Alabama winter'.

Less driving was required to drive through the northern half of Alabama, stay in Birmingham, and visit De Soto Caverns in Childersburg than try to hit up the Gulf Shore.  It was hard to think of anything to do in Northern Alabama in December.  It does not appear to be teeming with excitement even during the height of the tourist season.  If Pics of Me in Front of Stuff was more interested in hunting Alabama may have been more interesting considering just how much wilderness there is in northern Alabama.  Unfortunately, Pics of Me in Front of Stuff does not feature a blaze orange vest or a gun so hunting was not in the cards.  

Before Pics of Me in Front of Stuff descended on De Soto Caverns, I expected something akin to a state or national park. 

 

That expectation was built on the fact that De Soto Cavern is the first officially recorded cavern in United States history, dating back to a 1796 expedition in the area.  De Soto, the conquistador, was reported as having spent time in the area with the Coosa Tribe and allegedly visited the cavern.  So being linked to a fair amount of American history, you may expect something funded by the taxpayers.  You may be able to tell from the signs, that is not what you get when you visit De Soto Caverns Park.

What you do get from De Soto Caverns is a bizarro amusement park with a cave underneath it. There are over 20 different attractions not including tours of the United States' first recorded cave though not all of them are open in December.  The ones involving getting wet via water cannons and/or water balloons were closed due to the chilly weather as was the butterfly display.  Pics of Me in Front of Stuff did get to travel through De Soto's Lost Trail Maze.

Considering how cold it was and the puddles lurking in the corners of the maze, it was quite a harrowing journey.  Maybe I am not built as tough as De Soto, but I do not go around destroying ancient civilizations either.  After finding our way through the lost trail, Pics of Me in Front of Stuff also panned for gemstones.  They do not put diamonds in that sand but that water sure is cold in December.  One of the employees did mention a previous visitor asked her to break ice to allow for his children to pan for the gemstones.  His name was not De Soto, but apparently his kids were tougher than me too.

All I had to protect me was a lousy mustache.
Another of the employees, a middle-aged Alabama woman, let Pics of Me in Front of Stuff do a second pan for free!  Not all of the 'Bama ladies are that bad!

After panning all of the gemstones we could, Pics of Me in Front of Stuff took a tour of what De Soto Caverns Park is known for...De Soto Cavern.  The cave consists of several rooms featuring a multitude of rock formations.  As caves go it's smaller than Luray Caverns but bigger than Penn's Cave.  Pics of Me in Front of Stuff is not a spelunking organization.  The cave was pretty and well lit as caves go and that made it a lot easier to look around.  Can you imagine someone stumbling around a cave with just a lantern to guide them?  Pics of Me in Front of Stuff appreciates the adventurous spirit, but still thinks their nuts.
There were a multitude of rock formations lit up in unique ways.

Most of the cave provided lots of blurry pictures, like the one above and this one below.

 

 Pics of Me in Front of Stuff just lacks the expertise to take pictures in low light.  Messing with the settings did give a crazy looking image like this one.

 

The lack of photography skills aside, the cave was a very beautiful example of what we do not get to see very often.  When was the last time you saw beauty built on the geologic time scale?  That's millions of years for those of you not scientifically inclined.  God or Nature or whatever omnipotent force you prefer took It's time making this cave.  Think about that and then compare that to the 15 minutes you can imagine it takes me to pump out crap like this blog.  They used to say a million monkeys with a million typewriters could pump out the great works of Shakespeare by just sheer chance.  We now have the internet to prove that is not true.  Someone else said that, I know for sure, but I don't know who.  I can't take credit for it.  

At the end of the tour our guide showed us one of the only places you can be in complete darkness.

 

They call it cave darkness for a reason. 

After the darkness, there was a light show which was in the spirit of the Christmas season and a little heavy on the Jesus.  Considering De Soto Cavern's location the theme was not surprising.  At the very least, the lights were pretty.  They matched the rock formations.  The stalactites and stalagmites were definitely worth the long wait and if you are unlucky enough to be in northern Alabama any time of year I recommend visiting the caverns.  I have a feeling the cool in the cave is a welcome respite to the heat in the summer.  If you get a chance go visit and get out of the heat.

Gladys Knight and Ron Winans' Chicken and Waffles - Atlanta Georgia

Georgia, Georgia,
The whole day through
Just an old sweet song
Keeps Georgia on my mind

Before Pics of Me in Front of Stuff was even a glimmer in my eye, I visited Georgia with the Official Family of Pics of Me in Front of Stuff for the Olympics in 1996.  We did not get to see the Dream Team, but we did see Australia play Denmark in baseball, power lifting, the only male American badminton player lose, and the US Women's basketball team annihilate Zaire's team.  That was probably as international flavor as I have ever seen aside from multiple trips to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.  Considering just how much of a jingo I am, I loved every minute of it.  Unfortunately, being a teenager I imagine I was also a miserable pain in the ass.  Sorry, Mom.  Thanks for taking me to the Olympics!
At the beginning of December I returned to Atlanta, but just for a pit stop between Charleston, SC and Birmingham, AL.  No international competitions this time.

View Larger Map

Instead of visiting the ATL to see the best and brightest in international amateur athletics, Pics of Me in Front of Stuff stopped to get some grub at Gladys Knight and Ron Winans' Chicken and Waffles.  This destination was actually inspired by watching another form of competition - Man vs Food on the Travel Channel.  Adam Richland was in town to tackle the 11-lb Carnivore Pizza Challenge.  Pics of Me in Front of Stuff was not there to gorge itself on copious amounts of pizza and meat.  Hotlanta is only halfway between Charleston and Birmingham and trying to drive with 6+ lbs of dough, meat, and cheese does not me strike as a pleasant proposition.

There was no Midnight Train to or from Gladys and Ron's.

Pics of Me in Front of Stuff decided to focus on Gladys Knight and Ron Winans' Chicken and Waffles.

Before arriving at Gladys Knight's restaurant, I always considered chicken and waffles to include chicken gravy on top of roasted chicken on top of a waffle.  That was probably the Pennsylvania Dutch version. 

You could compare it to an open-faced chicken-waffle sandwich.  I was certainly surprised when this fried chicken version was placed in front of me.  That must be the soul food version.

Fried chicken and waffles?!  Who knew?

I certainly had not considered it.  I now consider it delicious. With a splash of hot sauce, some butter, and some maple syrup and a generous helping of helping myself to some macaroni and cheese this certainly was some excellent comfort food.  Throw in some sweet tea, which was more or less my beverage of choice in the South, and this made me wish Pics of Me in Front of Stuff  had a grandma to make food like this.  Luckily, Gladys and Ron's has multiple locations and Pics of Me in Front of Stuff just needs to find an excuse to visit them.