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| Just hangin' out by the fence |
southern belle noun \ˈsə-thərn bel\ : a woman from the Southern United States who personifies beauty, gracious hospitality and refined manners
I've seen dyed-in-the-cotton Southern belles at the tender age of five and the squishy age of ninety-five. The prissiness swims in our collective gene pool; the dedication to make-up, hair, fingernails, clothes, shoes and monograms is bound in polished strands of DNA.
After biting a Southern belle, a mosquito will immediately check itself in a mirror.
I know some. I'm related to some. Most days, my own Southern belle tendencies lead to excessive primping. It can be tedious, fixing up to walk to the mailbox.
I encountered a different type of belle today: The Walmart Belle.
The Walmart belle I spotted was slathered in foundation that may or may not have had Alabama red clay in the ingredient list. Her eyeshadow could have inspired Crayola to send a scouting team. The mascara? Black, heavy, and clinging to an impressive pair of false lashes.
Southern belles chime softly and charm well. They are polite to a fault.
Walmart belles clang loudly and run over your foot without a backward glance.
She is not to be confused with your typical Walmartian. Most of them, I'm convinced, are oblivious to their appearance or in some state of psychosis.They're on innocuous errands, maybe there to communicate with the mother ship.
The Walmart belle knows what she looks like—she spent three hours getting ready—and is apparently there to be seen and appreciated. In the absence of an employee to scream at, she chooses to communicate with her family by bellowing long-distance.
If you spot one, protect your elegant shoe. Those carts are heavy and can leave tread marks.
Love from Delta.
