It's Not Necessarily Not the Truth
Dreaming Bigger Than the Town You're From
Chapter One
Story
In the beginning was the word.
Where I'm from, the knowledge and acceptance of that
basic fact is a given. So much so I think it could be
considered an unofficial slogan for the South. Not only
because of religion and the role it plays in places like
North Carolina, where I was born and raised-that would
be way too obvious and literal, especially for a group
of folk who subsist on subtext. In the South, when
people talk about the power of the word, they could be
making reference to God and any of the gospels in the
Bible. But then again, they could be alluding to
folklore, pure and simple, or any other type of tale
with a sage message hidden deep inside of it. After all,
we're a people who believe in the sort of salvation that
comes from a well-told story. And it doesn't matter
who's doing the telling-could be a deacon or the Devil
himself-just as long as he does it right.
Storytelling is as common a pastime in the South as
eating a plate of collard greens or fried green
tomato ... read full excerpt from: It's Not Necessarily Not the Truth ebook
