I arrived at the Charlotte, NC airport two days before Christmas and found myself immediately stressed out because I knew it was going to take forever to get my luggage. You see, my Mama decided to throw her annual Christmas party on the very day I was arriving and I had only two hours to get my luggage, drive an hour to our home in South Carolina and get dressed for the big event. I told myself, “Calm down, don’t assume the worst. Maybe your luggage will come out quickly this time. Have faith.” Forty -five minutes later, my luggage finally appeared. The South is simply slow and even the airport is no exception.
I frantically jumped in the car with my Daddy and we began our journey to South Carolina. During the drive, I asked Daddy if he had seen “An Inconvenient Truth” or “Sicko.” He told me he hadn’t seen them and made it pretty clear that he had no intention of doing so. We changed subjects. As Daddy finally made the turn down the long country road that leads to our house, I noticed that again this year our neighbor was flying the confederate flag alongside his Christmas decorations. This irritated me beyond measure but rather than start a debate, I bit my tongue. I realized that I was looking smack in the face of modern Southern America and it was depressing.
I had to run around like a chicken with my head cut off in order to get ready in time but Mama’s Christmas party turned out to be a huge success. It seemed as if my whole hometown of Gaffney, South Carolina was invited…and came. As usual, my Mama’s Famous Sweet Potato Casserole was a big hit. I watched as the overweight guests waddled over to the buffet and loaded up on second and third helpings. I smiled politely as these same folks talked about how fat they were, about their various health issues and about the astronomical cost of their multiple prescription medicines.
At one point, my Aunt Kathy wanted to know what my secret was to staying thin. I told her that I try to avoid red meat, refined white sugar, white flour and dairy products. This was alien to her. I went on to tell her that I had even figured out how to make a healthier version of my Mama’s Sweet Potato Casserole. My Mama overheard this and she and Aunt Kathy agreed that they’d rather be fat than ruin a traditional southern recipe. I didn’t pursue this conversation further because I was distracted by a group of men discussing politics. They questioned the scientific validity of global warming, were convinced that universal health care was a failure in other countries and were adamant that neither a woman nor an African American (not their vocabulary choice) could ever get elected President. These men concluded that Mike Hukabee would make a good President. After all, he is a minister. He’s a man of faith.
Faith permeates everything in the South. South Carolinians rank top of the nation of voters who attend multiple church services each week. I was in a house surrounded by people of passionate faith and I found myself hiding in my thoughts…faithless. Southerners are reluctant to change. They fear change. They won’t even consider changing the ingredients in a recipe. I thought, “How are the Democrats ever going to win this election?”
Later in the week, I went to another party hosted by my high school buddy, Dana. Each Christmas, Dana throws this party as a sort of reunion for our high school clique. I’m the only member of the group that left Gaffney and they get a big kick out of my bizarre liberal philosophies, honed by living in New York City and Venice Beach, CA. The husbands usually stand around talking football while we usually gossip about everyone in town. They fill me in on all the dirt. We relive our crazy high school shenanigans and laugh until we cry. We’ve been doing this for years. It’s always the same. Except this year it wasn’t.
This year Dana opened her front door and she was not dressed in party attire. Instead, she was wearing a Barack Obama sweatshirt. Needless to say, I was stunned. Part of the evening was spent listening to the comedy routine of a drag queen named “Shirley Q. Liquor.” Apparently, Dana and her husband have recently become huge fans and there was even discussion of the group taking a road trip to a gay bar in Tennessee to see him perform. The rest of the evening was spent discussing the lunacy of George W. Bush, the regret of those who voted for him, the horrific state of our nation’s health care system, the insanity of the Iraq war and the absolute necessity of getting a Democrat in the White House. I thought to myself, “Where am I? Who are these people? They are fabulous!”
The most shocking thing to me was that these folks were not only against every Republican in the race, but they were not inclined to support John Edwards, a native South Carolinian. And they were not inclined to support Hillary Clinton because they don’t consider her a fresh start. This group of Caucasian, church goin’, blue-collar southerners were for Barack Obama. I’m talking about men who use the “N” word without thought. These are women who never have and never would even go on a date with a black man and yet intend to vote for him in the South Carolina Democratic Primary on January 26th and hopefully again in the final election.
I left that party with my faith restored and my spirits lifted. I have faith in the good people of the Palmetto state. I have faith in the American South. I have faith that there is a multitude of Southern, Caucasian voters who believe that America is not living up to her full potential and who are ready to shed years of conditioned and sometimes even subconscious racism. I have faith that an African American man could actually win the South Carolina Democratic Primary and even become President of United States of America. However, my newfound faith has its limits. I do not believe that Mama and Aunt Kathy will ever try out my low calorie Sweet Potato Casserole. But I’m going to send them the recipe anyway…in good faith.
Julia Fowler is an actor, dancer, writer, and Pilates instructor. She lives in Venice Beach, CA with her husband, Sam Sokolow.
Mama’s Famous Sweet Potato Casserole
Bake 8 large sweet potatoes in the oven for one hour at 350 degrees. Be sure to lather the skins in olive oil before baking so the skins will slip right off. Let the potatoes cool then peel the skins and mash the potatoes in a big bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 2 cups of evaporated milk and 3 eggs. Add 1 cup of melted butter. Mix all the ingredients with a mixer until you have a smooth liquid texture.
Pour the liquid mix over the mashed potatoes. Add raisins as desired. Stir.
Pour your masterpiece into a buttered casserole dish and bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes or until it’s firm in the middle. Remove from oven. Add an entire bag of miniature marshmallows on top of the casserole. Put the casserole back in the oven to brown the marshmallows. Be very careful not to burn the marshmallows. Remove form oven and enjoy immediately.
Note: If you are taking this dish to someone’s house do not do the marshmallows at home. Instead, add them at the last minute and brown them in their oven right before serving.
My Healthier Version
Follow the same instructions as above but use the following substitutions:
-Instead of Butter use Soy Margarine (Available at health food stores)
-Instead of 2 cups of Sugar use 2 Cups of Sucanut. (Available at health food stores)
-Instead of 2 cups of evaporated milk, use 2 cups of plain Soymilk
-Instead of 3 eggs use 5 egg whites and only 1 yolk.
-Instead of buttering the casserole dish, use canola oil cooking spray
-Instead of Marshmallows…do without. This is no fun. I’m not always loyal to this step.
Julia Fowler is an actor, dancer, writer, and Pilates instructor. She lives in Venice Beach, CA with her husband, Sam Sokolow.