You Can't Have a Baby Shower Without Cheese Straws

“Headed down south to the land of the pines…”

Airports are one of my favorite places. I love people watching and there are few places as rife with people-watching opportunities as major airports. I sat down in BWI the other day to wait for my flight back to Jackson. Three women waiting for their flight to Birmingham were sitting behind me and, as Southern women are known to do, they were having a conversation at a volume loud enough for their terminal neighbors to hear. They were discussing grand children and baby showers and my ears perked up when they mentioned cheese straws! I knew I shouldn’t invite myself into their conversation but the Mississippian in me was just dying to brag about Yazoo City’s very own Mississippi Cheese Straw Factory! These women were talking about buying Target brand cheese straws, which aren’t that bad, but they’re no MS Cheese Straws.
After a few minutes I gave into temptation and turned around and said, “Have ya’ll ever had Mississippi Cheese Straws?” They said they had not, but conceded that they felt better about the future of my generation knowing the great tradition of cheese straws would not die.
Cheese Straws are a staple of southern pantries. One of the women was talking about picking some up before a baby shower and said, “You just can’t have a baby shower without cheese straws!” And it’s so true. I could probably count on two hands the number of parties I’ve been to that did not include cheese straws in the menu.
Today I realized, once again, one of the many reasons I love food: it connects people. A simple discussion of cheese straws with perfect strangers made me feel that much closer to home. Food is rarely an important component to relationships, but it is often the conduit for good conversations and creating good friendships.