{"id":89292,"date":"2020-06-25T13:54:09","date_gmt":"2020-06-25T18:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=89292"},"modified":"2020-06-25T13:54:11","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T18:54:11","slug":"the-view-from-the-balcony-interview-with-a-statue-by-randy-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/the-view-from-the-balcony-interview-with-a-statue-by-randy-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"The View From The Balcony: “Interview with a Statue” by Randy Weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wednesday night I found myself restless\u2014unable to sleep\u2014my head swirling with thoughts about all that was going on in Mississippi regarding Confederate statues and the state flag. After tossing and turning for a few hours I got up, dressed, and drove to The Square. I was the only soul there\u2014or so I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I strolled around a while, eventually landing my posterior on the base of the Confederate statue in front of the Lafayette County Courthouse. I was sipping on a caf\u00e9 au lait and relishing the beauty of the starry, starry night when I heard the unmistakable sounds of grunting and groaning coming from above me. I looked up, and, lo and behold, what to my wondering eyes did appear but the Confederate climbing down from his pedestal! I was stupefied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The pale gray soldier tipped his hat and bowed slightly as one would expect from a Southern gentleman. \u201cMind if I sit a spell, sir?\u201d he asked. \u201cI\u2019m mighty tired of standing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speechless, I motioned for him to sit.
\u201cYou got a smoke?\u201d he asked. \u201cI sure could use one right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still dumbfounded, I gave him an American Spirit and lit it with hands shaky enough to turn cream into butter. Johnny Reb took a long draw, blew out some smoke rings, and continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks, friend. My name\u2019s Ernie, by the way.\u201d
I stammered, \u201cR-r-rand-d-d-dy\u2019s my name.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThanks, R-r-rand-d-d-dy,\u201d Ernie said. \u201cSure has been a lot of commotion \u2018round here lately. People marching, carrying signs, speeches and the like.\u201d
\u201cY-y-y-e-s-s-sir,\u201d I stuttered. \u201cIt\u2019s been pretty intense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou ain\u2019t just whistling. Dixie.\u201d Ernie said. \u201cI\u2019ll be glad when y\u2019all get this thing finished and move my butt to the Confederate cemetery so I can be close to my cousin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour cousin?\u201d I asked.
\u201cYeah,\u201d he said. \u201cMy cousin\u2014Bert. He\u2019s the Confederate statue on the Ole Miss campus. I hear they\u2019re moving him to the cemetery. I wanna go there, too. I ain\u2019t seen ole Bert in one helluvah long time. We got some catching up to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet me get this right,\u201d I said. \u201cYour name is Ernie. You\u2019re the Confederate statue on the Square. Your cousin\u2019s name is Bert, and he\u2019s the Confederate statue on the campus. And you wanna be moved to the Confederate cemetery at the University so you can hang out with your cousin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight. Me an\u2019 ole Bert. Ernie an\u2019 Bert. Bert an\u2019 Ernie. Just like in the ole days.\u201d
I chuckled under my breath. \u201cBert and Ernie. Sesame Street.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a guy with concrete ear wax, Ernie\u2019s hearing was exceptional. \u201cNaw\u2014the Byrds lived on Sesame Street. Our house was on Elmo Alley. Oh, I see what you\u2019re doing there, R-r-rand-d-d-dy. Cut it out.\u201d
\u201cI apologize,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLook,\u201d said Ernie, \u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019re gonna have to concern yourself over this too much anymore. Now that the Holy Trinity of the South\u2014NASCAR, the SEC, and the Mississippi Baptist Convention\u2014are on board for a new flag. Moving me to the place I wanna be ain\u2019t gonna be a big deal. The tide has turned, and not a moment too soon. I was about to suggest that y\u2019all build a wall around the state and charge admission for folks to come see the \u2018Museum Called Mississippi: Where the past is the present and the future be damned!\u2019 But I got one big concern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d I asked.
\u201cReconstruction,\u201d said Ernie.
\u201cReconstruction?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLook,\u201d Ernie said, \u201cthere\u2019s gonna be a new state flag and I\u2019m gonna get relocated. A lotta folks are gonna be pissed\u2014royally. They\u2019re gonna lash out at you and you\u2019re gonna wanna give it right back. Don\u2019t put \u2018em down. Don\u2019t call \u2018em names. Don\u2019t give \u2018em hell. Be kind, or at least civil. If you really want unity and peace, you can\u2019t turn around and put your foot on their throat. They\u2019re your neighbors and they\u2019re about to lose a fight that means a lot to them. They\u2019re not demons. If you treat them the way you wanna be treated you\u2019ve got a better chance of getting the peace and unity you say you want. Comprende, amigo?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cComprende,\u201d I replied.
\u201cTime to get back to my post,\u201d said Ernie. He crushed out his cigarette and climbed back up on his pedestal. Just before returning to attention he looked down at me and said, \u201cWe are products of our past, R-r-rand-d-d-dy, but we don\u2019t have to be prisoners of it.\u201d*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026and that\u2019s the view from The Balcony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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