Happy 4th. Good Times & Barbeque

In the South, getting barbecue is a tradition. Notice I said, "getting barbecue" not HAVING one. When I lived out West, people had barbecues which was nothing more than what we call griling out. Hamburgers and hotdogs are not what us Southerners call barbecue.

Barbecue IS pork that has been slow cooked over hickory coals in a pit, the meat falls off the bone and is served loose (shredded or chopped) usually with a mustard based sauce.

Well, in my hometown, there is a barbecue legend of sorts. Maurice Bessinger. He is the founder of Piggie Park Enterprises. My mother worked for this guy when she was in high school.

He has several stores in the area and still operates to this day.

Well, here's how today's story goes....

Our state's capital has flown the Confederate flag on its dome for many years. Due to much debate a few years ago it finally came down. Mr. Bessinger, being a "proud Southerner" beleiving in this heritage debated this and fought it, as did many others. When it came down, he began flying it as his restaurants. Today, many see this flag as a symbol of racism. I was proud of the guy for sticking to his beleifs. Up until this point, he had his barbecue sauce and even barbecue in large grocery chains, including Wal-Mart, all across the Country. After his attitude was publically displayed on his thoughts about lowering the flag, every chain pulled his product. They shipped it back at his own expense. Talk about a financial hit!

Well, the story goes on. A couple of years after he wrote a book about himself. I know about this, because he requires his employees to read it before they are hired! And, they have to pay for it out of pocket!! Kind of strange, I thought. I must read your book and pay for it myself upon being hired? Sounds like something a cult leader would do.

I wanted to read it, so I stopped by his store and bought it. His actions had lead me to not patronize his business but only periodically. His quality of food has declined and his prices increased drastically. All that aside I bought the book.

Interesting in its own right, the book is a confirmation that this guy is in short, a loser. An autobiography it is, he complains from the time of his childhood how everyone is against him. He is always right and everyone else is out to get him.

There are several chapters that display this mindset. When he and his father first began years ago, before integration, they served only whites. He complains for chapters and chapters how the lack of segregation impedes our private property rights and we should be able to serve whom we desire. This is true. We should. Nobody can make us service who we do not wish. But, he goes on to say that whites preferred to do businesses with whites and blacks with blacks.

Here's where I get perplexed. He states over and over again that he is NOT a racist. BULLCRAP! Okay, so you think that even today blacks should go to black owned businesses and whites with whites. So, where do Hispanics, Asians, Indians and other races or ethniticies go? Let's say we have a dry cleaners. The blacks have to go to the black owned, whites to whites, hispanics to hispanics and so on. So, that means on this street there will be 27 different dry cleaners! How in the world would this be effective? Where would a person that has more than one nationality? That would be hard!

The funny thing is the guy employed black people. Every story that is told he has to mention that this guy or that woman was black. Typically when I talk about people, I don't mention their race. It's just not something I see. I don't say, oh I had an Asian client that was great to work with. No, it's just I had a client what was great to work with. Not his way of speaking though.

He continues throughout the book to go on and on how he is always right and it's always everyone else's fault, blah blah blah. Yet, the entire time he speaks over and over about how much he is a God-fearing Christian. Is born again. And we wonder why Christianity has a bad name? It's bigots like this that make it bad .

He's always been so quick to defend his rights and sue this person or that person.

Well, someone needs to take action against him. The guy takes magazine articles, photocopies them and then sells them. At an inflated price! This is a copyright violation at best. Yes, he has a literature section in his restaurants where he displays writings that defend his warped beleifs of the Confederacy, racism and religon.

If you are local, get the book and read it.

Personally, I'll never do business there again. I like positive people. Not idiots.

He is up in his 80's now. So, life isn't going to be much more. However, I do understand he is in good health, so another 25 years may be there for him. I mean, he IS such a great Christian in tune with God and all. (sarcasm). The point is; I wonder what his kids will make of the "enterprise" upon inheritance.

Hopefully they can turn what was once a landmark around and at least make the food taste better while getting all that racist crap out of there.

I think about if segregation were still around. Do you know how much business I would lose because I only serviced one race? That's just stupid on all levels. It's funny how he says that even the blacks didn't want integration. That's the first place I've ever heard that. I am not saying it's false. People are afraid of change. If I were a black person in those days of harsh racism and was told I was going to be able to go to a white's business from now on, I'd have a little bit of fear in me. Be wondering if anything would happen to me, how I'd be treated. I mean up until this point, I wasn't even allowed to drink out of the same water fountain. Why? Is my race a contaminant? Get real. Such ignorance and immaturity in those days. I am glad I was not around then.

But, there are many other great barbecue restaurants around the area. So, we don't have to go without. We can all have good food and party together with whomever we wish.