The New South

So, thanks to PRICELINE, I’m able to spend a few days with my wife in Hilton Head, SC at a reasonable rate. This the largest island in the South, with beautiful beaches and marshes and some Gullah and Civil War history. But basically everything is new and planned (in accord with trendy aesthetics) and improving and expensive. Little is obviously vulgar, and there are plenty of walking and bicycling and other paths. Lots of people are using the paths; not that many slack off all that much on vacation. Nature has been whipped into shape but not overly abused. Almost everyone is rich (compared to most Americans, at least) and white and southern, and there are a number of surprisingly good restaurants (none a deal, except for the early birds). Actually, that’s not surprising, given the taste and a class of the relevant consumers. There are golf courses everywhere, of course. There are also lots of fairly big families, often crammed into relatively small (but always nice) acccomodations. So if you’re Walker Percy, you could feel the despair, but it’s not that easy. (There are also, being the South, substantial, attractive, and well attended Greek Orthodox and Catholic and Episcopalian and all manner of Protestant churches around. Also being the South, there are obviously a good number of religious schools for the permanent residents.) Although HH has only about two generations under its belt (for most people), it has certainly become a PLACE. There’s a lot to criticize, but I’ll leave that to our Porcher friends.