Ode to sweet tea

I'm usually not a big fan of those "odes" to deep cultural icons, but I liked this one devoted to sweet tea. Truthfully, I actually prefer unsweetened tea, but every once in a while -- while eating catfish or a meat-and-three in an authentic place or ... -- you just have to have sweet tea.

Anyway, I liked this particular ode for a couple of reasons. First, the author grew up Jewish in Atlanta and now lives in Boston (I think), yet you can tell he truly considers himself to be a Southerner. I guess I shouldn't be surprised about that, but I like his constant use of "we" when describing "out" affinity for pecan pie, etc.

I think, though, what really caught my eye was his theory that it's not the tea itself, but the ice that appeals to Southerners. Now I know that theory has more holes in it than a rusted out F150 (Southern imagery), but I like the way he ties sweet tea to a larger cultural phenomenon.

Tea was mostly a drink for the upper class, and early on, it was the rich who had access to the ice that came down on ships or in wagons. ... One historian, Joe Gray Taylor, wrote in Eating, Drinking, and Visiting in the South: An Informal History that the rural electrification—and, consequently, refrigeration—wrought by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s was "probably more appreciated for the ice cubes it provided … than for any of its other services."

As I read that I thought, "Gee, he may be on to something." See, I know a lot of folks who happen to be inordinately fond of ice in their drinks. I'm not talking about the "yeah, it's nice to have some ice in a drink" people. I'm talking about folks who put so much ice in their glasses that there's hardly any room for beverage. In fact, I'll speculate that part of the reason a former relationship didn't work out was that she and I had vastly different opinions on the importance of ice! I never thought of that as a Southern thing, but maybe it is.

Regardless, I enjoyed reading a tribute to Southerness that didn't focus on pride in stubborn backwardness. Heck, he didn't even mention Freebird. Not once!

I may live in Massachusetts now, but I still consider myself Southern at heart. In the fall, I ask the bartender to let me watch the [UGA] Bulldogs game. In the spring, I feel a potentially suicidal need to stop wearing a coat. And in the summer, I still look for sweet tea. Even on the rare occasion I can find someplace that has it on the menu, it's often slightly off. Maybe it isn't sweet enough. Maybe it's the lack of free refills. Whatever it is, it chills me.

By the way, did I read that correctly? No free refills?!?! Is that a common thing "up north"? And "we're" supposed to be ashamed?