Willie Morris

We were cooking dinner at Willie's house.

At Willie Morris' house.

Yeah.

That's another show we're going to do.

And I do too.

Absolutely.

So Chef Willie Morris, the great writer, Mississippi writer, he used to host these dinner parties.

And he would always handwrite the menu out, much like the menu card that we passed around.

And, and it was also a chance-- This is a common theme for Mississippi writers, you know.

The, th- Willie Morris, who within the borders of Mississippi is like a pope, you know? I mean, this guy lay in state in the m- in the rotunda of the Mississippi State Capitol, and only, really only governors up to that point had done that.

Uh, outside of Mississippi's borders, I don't know if Willie Morris is as well known, though he certainly wrote some amazing books that were acclaimed.

But he had a, a memoir called North Toward Home, and I've read that book twice now, uh, once as a teenager and once in the last couple years, and it reminded me of, uh, something that is important, I think especially for Mississippians in particular, which is you need to go be an expat to fully appreciate being a Mississippian, especially if you're a white dude.

You know? It's, uh, it's something to be in a town like Boston and say, "Hey, I'm Charlie, I'm from Mississippi," and to see that look on people's eyes.