Day 5: Jackson, MS to Clinton, MS to Montgomery, AL

I wake up at 7:00 a.m. in the the Old Capitol Inn and decide to take a trek up to the rooftop before breakfast - the view is fantastic and there is a fall chill in the air. The view looks something like this, but more stunning than my disposable camera can capture. Breakfast in the dining room is probably the BEST meal I've had on my entire trip, the biscuits are fluffy and buttery, the grits taste like cheese and have the warm stick-to-your-ribs characteristic, AND the fresh-baked strawberry muffins with homemade icing make me close my eyes and smile every time I take a bite.

I'm pretty excited to meet the rest of the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) staff after having such a good time with Judi and Diane last night. Judi was kind enough to show me exactly how to enter the parking deck of the building when she drove me back to the Inn last night - the deck has an entrance that appears as if you must drive onto the sidewalk first. I definitely would have circled the building if not clued into this detail early. I'm given a security check and visitors badge at the door and walk upstairs to the NEW offices of Mac - just having moved in the month before, they have done an incredible job of unpacking. The hope is to eventually use some of the new space that they have for a gallery that would be open to all visitors and eventually host rotating exhibits.

The entire staff gathers at 8:00a.m. in Executive Director, Malcolm White's office and one by one I hear what they have been up to. The camaraderie in the room is palpable and I love hearing about how connected these folks are to the community - not one of them has had a week where they did not leave the office to be in the field at least once. I have a few moments to talk with them about next season's nomination process for www.SouthernArtistry.org/ and the thirty-nine Mississippi artists who joined this year, then I join a few of them in Judi's office to outline the Administrative Tool that they are able to access for information about the artists on SouthernArtistry.org - it is a timely visit because they are moving into building a Mississippi, grants-focused database, which they would love to have some of the same features.

I follow Diane to her car for the drive to lunch, and ask her all about her 'other job' as a professional storyteller. Listen to the demonstration that she does for me with Grandma, who is along for the ride with us. I am tickled.

We arrive for lunch at Hal and Mal's, Malcolm's family restaurant/brewery. Malcolm's brother Hal comes out to greet us and talks soccer before disappearing back into the kitchen - I have the Portobello salad special and when offered one of Diane's tamale's am quickly told that I should not put the corn husk in my mouth - Diane unwraps it for me and we talk about having a Mississippi Tamale Trail and the great work being done at the Southern Foodways Alliance, where Malcolm has just returned from a conference.

After lunch, Diane and are not able to enter the Mississippi Museum of Art (closed on Mondays) so we go instead to a locally-owned gallery, operated by three women/artists. It's over on the side of town where Eudora Welty's house and final resting place are. Listen to a little bit about the Artichoke gallery and the demonstrations that they offer.

Next, it's onto the Clinton Visitor's Center where I'm greeted by tons of artists from the registry - record attendance for my workshop on websites and e-marketing. The kind staff of the Clinton Arts Council was there, including (pictured from left to right excluding myself, Diane Williams, and MalcolmWhite) Janie Fields, Libby Aydelott, and Barbara Selby - they provided refreshments and were kind enough to help me close the blinds so that I could project my presentation. They also helped keep the room temperature bearable with that many people - magic indeed. Malcolm introduced himself as their public servant and talked about plans to endow arts programming in Mississippi through a privately-funded pool and he was followed by Diane Williams who encouraged people to look around them and meet everyone in the room since SouthernArtistry.org is not only about connecting Southern artists to the general public, but also about connecting artists in the region to one another. The workshop runs from 2:00-5:00! An hour over. It's good to see folks excited about Web sites.

I get on the road now to Montgomery, AL - four hours way - with 17,452 miles on the odometer. It's been a great day.