We can’t say we speak for all of Fondren, but we’ll try. And what we want to say should come as no surprise. You know as well as we do what a funky little ‘city within a city’ we have here. It is Jackson’s hippest neighborhood ™. This past weekend’s Zippity Doo Dah® festivities illustrated that loud and clear. Where else could you have found the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales, one of THE most recognized ‘brand marks’ in all the world, AND a group of ladies (and some men) who call themselves queens of a tasty orange potato? And then there was the Mississippi Mass Choir, crammed on to a tiny stage, emanating anything but a tiny sound. There were stores who rolled out the proverbial pink carpet to welcome visitors from, literally, across the globe. And, there were games and prizes and a contest where only the strong survived (we’re, of course, talking about the Sal & Mookies pizza eating contest.) We mention all of these things to say it was a diverse and wonderful weekend. And we mean that in so many ways.

All throughout the weekend, we found young and old, black and white, gay and straight and rich and poor – all sharing a street corner to hear The Bouffants and the Delta Mountain Boys. We witnessed countless occasions of random acts of kindness: a spectator who answered the call from the stage to run an errand or make sure something was done. People pitched in – and in major ways. YOU gave, and gave generously, to help the children of Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital. We can’t wait to share a final total with you, but we can already say it is a gift from the heart that we will present to these children and their families very soon – on your behalf. As THE Sweet Potato Queen herself would tell you, it was “all for the chirren” and the weekend began and ended with that in mind. Whether you bought raffle tickets for a ride on the Clydesdale wagon (congrats Kresty and Nancy!) or took a chance on winning a Patty Peck Honda Civic (yay, Judy!), you spent your hard earned dollars to make Batson a better place. But you did more than that. Continue reading “An Open Letter of Thanks to You” »