It’s easy to forget relaxation is a skill. Sure, you can be sitting, doing nothing, but are you doing it intentionally? Are you actually in a mental limbo, scrolling aimlessly on a phone or running through future to-do lists? That’s not relaxation. If you’re going to relax, put all your effort into it. Savor the slowdown. Enjoy just being.
THE BEST PHOTO YOU’VE SEEN THIS WEEK
Credit: Courtesy Macey Sorrell via AP
Credit: Courtesy Macey Sorrell via AP
When frigid temperatures reached the Sorrell family’s farm in Louisville, Kentucky, they really had no choice. Of COURSE they had to let a newborn calf into their home. It really was a matter of life and death, since the calf was all but frozen — right down to her umbilical cord. The family is also used to letting some of their dozens of animals indoors when need be.
It didn’t take long for the new baby to make herself right at home, napping like an angel alongside the Sorrells’ two (human) children. Have you ever seen such peace?
🐄 READ MORE: Mother cow and calf are warm and well
WHAT’S EACH SOUTHERN STATE’S MOST ICONIC FOOD?
Credit: Chris Hunt/AJC
Credit: Chris Hunt/AJC
Prepare to fight amongst yourselves. HelloFresh released a poll asking people which flavor or dish best represented their state, a question that everyone agrees on and no one takes personally at all.
Here’s what the South said:
- Alabama: banana pudding, pinto beans and cornbread
- Arkansas: catfish, country-fried chicken
- Georgia: peach cobbler, seafood boils
- Kentucky: fried chicken
- Louisiana: crawfish, Cajun cuisine, gumbo
- Mississippi: fried catfish, soul food
- North Carolina: barbecue, Knoephla soup
- South Carolina: soul food
- Tennessee: barbecue
- Virginia: ham (ugh, c’mon Virginia)
Now I really want some catfish. If I had to give one for Georgia, it would be a Waffle House waffle smothered in syrup.
😋 READ MORE: The rest of the country weighs in
SIPS FROM AROUND THE SOUTH
🐢 Galveston, TX: More than 100 sea turtles were released into the Gulf off the coast of Galveston with the help of the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research. People get really emotional about sea turtles, and the scene was no different. People cooed and wept and generally admired the beautiful, resilient animals as they returned to their marine home. More from KERA
💡 Atlanta, GA: Marty Smith is a National Park ranger who’s spent 34 years educating visitors at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. As the site’s chief of interpretation and education, he brings King’s legacy to life with warm, amusing and insightful anecdotes. More from Atlanta Magazine
🚗 Mineral, VA: At Louisa County High School, automotive technology students repair donated used cars as part of their classwork and then donate the cars to local single mothers. A win-win-win situation. More from The Washington Post
🐋 Coastal Georgia: Researchers have spotted 21 right whale calves with their mothers off the Southeastern coast in the last few months. That’s the most sightings since 2011, giving scientists hope and pride that the highly endangered whale could mount a comeback. More from the AJC
🎹 Atlanta, GA: Brittney Boykin, a conductor, classically trained pianist, Georgia Tech professor and director of choral activities at the school, can now add “Grammy nominee” to her long list of accomplishments. Her compositions are featured on two records nominated in the category of best classical solo vocal album. More from the AJC
TELL US SOMETHING GOOD
Is there a cool event we need to know about? Something great happening in your town? Let us know. This is your space, too. SweetTea@ajc.com.
SOUTHERN WISDOM
If we think about our utter insignificance in relation to the vastness of the world, it seems as if our role would be to create significance. And the way we do that is not by focusing on ourselves, but by making connections, by becoming larger, by becoming much larger than we are.
Birmingham native Angela Davis spoke at Tougaloo College in Mississippi recently about creating a just world and following the pursuit of freedom. Essential reading from Mississippi Today.
Thank you for reading to the very bottom of Sweet Tea! Join us next week by subscribing to the newsletter.🍑
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
