Editor's Note: Denise Ullem used to call Little Rock home. Now she and her family live in New Jersey. Visit her blog. 

My family and I moved away from Little Rock last summer. We left the friendly confines of Arkansas for New Jersey and my husband’s new job. We packed our belongings and left with a mixed bag of tears, gratitude and trepidation.  Gratitude for my husband’s gainful employment and an unknown, yet adventure-filled journey. Sadness about leaving our home, our friends and our comfortable, Southern way of life.

I love our new town and new home -- but that does not stop me from longingly reflecting on some of my favorite Little Rock bits and pieces:

  1. Pansies in February. The cheerful nod of the purple and yellow flowers announced the arrival of spring.  Spring in February?  Yes. Warm breezes pulling up from the Gulf Coast, thawing our toes and promising the warm embrace of sunshine.
  2. Southern accents. Oh, how I miss the lilt and breeze in the voice of a Southerner. Y’alls and heys, filled with graciousness and honey.
  3. Southern conversations. The ease and cadence of a Little Rock conversation lulls me like a rocking chair. Whether you walk into a grocery store, boutique or gas station, you can bet your momma’s best pie that whoever works there will greet you.  And you’ll talk. The conversation might, on first listen, sound superficial. But I learned during my short tenure in Little Rock that those conversations are the light in the days, the lynch pins of Southern culture.
  4. El Porton. Wow, do I miss the white cheese dip from El Porton. Soooo good.
  5. Crawfish boils. I know this tradition heralds from Louisiana, but I was lucky enough to have some dear, dear friends who also heralded from Louisiana. Therefore, I ate my weight in crawfish every spring.  
  6. Duck Duck Goose Sale. I love bargains, and I loved this consignment sale. Strollers, clothes and furniture, oh my! 
  7. Sir and Ma'am. One southern habit the entire country should adopt is the use of "Sir" and "Ma'am." Both my children lived and breathed this tradition while we resided in Little Rock. My husband and I adored it. When we would visit family up north and hear children answer their parents, “Yeah?”, my southern-seasoned ears would cringe. But this tradition does not translate well north of the Mason-Dixon Line. “Sir” and “Ma'am” aren’t seen as respectful terms in the north. They are seen as an admission of age, and carry a certain flip freshness that isn’t respected or admired. Now that we’ve lived back in the north for eight short months, I've had to let my children drop this lovely, eloquent, important tradition. We’ve created place holders -- “Yes, Mommy” or “No thank you, Daddy.” But these lack the lyrical charm of "Sir" and "Ma'am".
  8. Wye Mountain Daffodils. Mmmm, the smell of raw, spring air and the dance of the daffodils. I cherish the photos and memories I have from my trips to Wye Mountain.
  9. Catering To You tortilla chips.  With a side of Corn Dip. You know what I mean.
  10. Y’all.  The fabric and texture of that great city.  When my new friends ask me what I miss most about Little Rock, I always tell them, it’s all y’all – the Little Rockians who accepted me as one of your own, Yankee-accent and all.

Thanks for the warm respite in the south, Little Rock.

 

 

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