It’s a long story, but Lois Lane and I ended up in Meridian, Mississippi this weekend. There will be more to come on their beautiful downtown that is being redeveloped. But for now, let me share with you how Lois (once again) stole the show.
My husband wanted to eat at world famous Weidmann’s, but since they are Beagle-intolerant, and it was far too hot to leave a dog in the car, we had to seek an outdoorsy-type establishment.
And lucky for us, right across the street from Weidmann’s was a wonderful outdoor place called the Brickhouse Bar and Grill. They have live music and wonderful made-to-order food. We sat at little cafe’ tables along the sidewalk on the surprisingly cool June evening, with Lois at our feet, and ate delicious bacon burgers and . . .
the most awesome fried green tomatoes ever! Huge, tangy, soft on the inside and crisp on the outside. Perfectly seasoned, just the way you would expect them to be in Mississippi.
I had just thought that I didn’t want to go back to Alabama without someone showing me some good Mississippi hospitality, when  suddenly, Karen and Johnny made my wish come true. The restaurant door opened, and out walked this fun couple, who immediately fell at the feet (almost) of her royal highness, Lois Lane. Karen and Johnny know how to spot a good beagle, because it turns out, they own 25 of them! Seriously! TWENTY – FIVE!
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We all became instant beagle-buddies and they gave us a lesson on how to hunt and train beagles. We watched video clips on Karen’s phone of the amazing way their dogs know how to come when Johnny gives the signal. “Whoop-whoop” and they come running with their white tails waving.
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Look at Lois in the photo above. She really wanted to go home with Karen and meet 25 new cousins. Johnny had just been featured in the local newspaper that day in a story that described his training methods.
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But alas . . . we had to get on the road. I took the last fried green tomato home in a box to reheat in the oven the next day for a special brunch treat.
If you follow me on Instagram (and you really should) you already saw this sign in Buckatunna, (“Buckatunna Mississippi” is my favorite new thing to say) where we stopped to clean the windshield. God gave the South a double dose of bugs to keep the weaker folks from moving here. It took both of us to scrape and clean so we could see to find our way home.
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And when I looked back inside the car, what do you think I saw?
“Ha ha! I ate your fried green tomato!”
I need to let Karen and Johnny know to expect Lois on the next bus back to Meridian.
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Click here to read the story on Johnny and his beagle, Opie in The Meridian Star.