NewWave
04-20-2007, 02:36 PM
I left a little bit of my heart in Hattiesburg years ago and, from time to time, it still calls out to me. It reminds me that a part of me never left there and never will leave. Hattiesburg was my first real "Home" away from home starting as a freshman at USM. After a while I came to think of it as more of a home to me than the place where I was born and raised. It became my home because it played such a huge role in my personal growth and coming-of-age. Hattiesburg was the scene of many loves and losses, of crushes and friendships, adventures, discoveries, mysteries, good and bad times (but mostly good) and a place where I felt free to get to know ME.
Where else could one find such colorful, eccentric characters as Hattiesburg? Who could ever forget the famous/infamous "Cat woman" that lived in the creepy, run-down, haunted-looking two story house near the Triangle Food Store (that store always reeked of dead fish)? In those days the college kids loved to cruise around cat woman's house hoping to get a glimpse of her shocked-red hair standing on end as she sprang out of the bushes with a water hose to douse those who were careless enough to have their car windows down on Halloween night while making their 57th circle by her house. There were many rumors and urban legends surrounding Cat woman. One such legend painted a picture of her as a Miss Havisham-esque persona who had gone off the deep end, became a recluse and surrounded herself with decaying relics of times long gone by and a supposed wedding that never took place due to tragic circumstances. She had an old moldy car that sat in front of her dilapidated house that was filled to the roof with something but no one could or would dare to ever get close enough to find out. Some said that it was all her unopened wedding gifts others said it was funeral flowers. Everyone was scared to death of her and utterly fascinated with her at the same time. Cat Woman was pretty awesome.
In those days the Mexican Kitchen was on Hardy street and ,to this day, my taste buds still recall the black-peppery flavor of their pink homemade dip/sauce that they placed on the tables in those little sea-green plastic bowls. Burkett's radiator shop had a little restaurant in front of the shop with the best blue plate lunch specials in town for only a few bucks. While you got a new radiator you could have a great lunch or you could just opt for the lunch. You couldn't beat it. Then there was the Gold Post on Hardy. I still miss their shrimp po boys and roast beef po boys with gravy with lots of Tabasco sauce and a cup of gumbo.
And Kamper Park...I used to go there after class on warm early Spring afternoons and just walk around in the grass barefoot of hang out under the trees. My friends and I would throw around the frisbee there. We also went at night just to sit and talk and it was safe then. Nobody ever messed with us. Not to say there wasn't crime in Hattiebsurg then. There has always been some amount of crime there but we were never afraid to walk the streets at night or at any time. We kept an eye out but we generally felt safe.
It was my dream to one day to have a cozy cottage on Adeline and live amongst the huge oak trees. Even years later that dream has not completely faded.
Where else could one find such colorful, eccentric characters as Hattiesburg? Who could ever forget the famous/infamous "Cat woman" that lived in the creepy, run-down, haunted-looking two story house near the Triangle Food Store (that store always reeked of dead fish)? In those days the college kids loved to cruise around cat woman's house hoping to get a glimpse of her shocked-red hair standing on end as she sprang out of the bushes with a water hose to douse those who were careless enough to have their car windows down on Halloween night while making their 57th circle by her house. There were many rumors and urban legends surrounding Cat woman. One such legend painted a picture of her as a Miss Havisham-esque persona who had gone off the deep end, became a recluse and surrounded herself with decaying relics of times long gone by and a supposed wedding that never took place due to tragic circumstances. She had an old moldy car that sat in front of her dilapidated house that was filled to the roof with something but no one could or would dare to ever get close enough to find out. Some said that it was all her unopened wedding gifts others said it was funeral flowers. Everyone was scared to death of her and utterly fascinated with her at the same time. Cat Woman was pretty awesome.
In those days the Mexican Kitchen was on Hardy street and ,to this day, my taste buds still recall the black-peppery flavor of their pink homemade dip/sauce that they placed on the tables in those little sea-green plastic bowls. Burkett's radiator shop had a little restaurant in front of the shop with the best blue plate lunch specials in town for only a few bucks. While you got a new radiator you could have a great lunch or you could just opt for the lunch. You couldn't beat it. Then there was the Gold Post on Hardy. I still miss their shrimp po boys and roast beef po boys with gravy with lots of Tabasco sauce and a cup of gumbo.
And Kamper Park...I used to go there after class on warm early Spring afternoons and just walk around in the grass barefoot of hang out under the trees. My friends and I would throw around the frisbee there. We also went at night just to sit and talk and it was safe then. Nobody ever messed with us. Not to say there wasn't crime in Hattiebsurg then. There has always been some amount of crime there but we were never afraid to walk the streets at night or at any time. We kept an eye out but we generally felt safe.
It was my dream to one day to have a cozy cottage on Adeline and live amongst the huge oak trees. Even years later that dream has not completely faded.