Food, Faith & Groundhogs

If you don’t like the weather in ____________, just wait a minute. I’ve lived in four different states that each claimed this folksy quip as their own pronouncement of the unpredictability of their weather. Each attributed this to a favorite son. Oklahoma said it originated with Will Rogers. In Illinois they thought it was surely in one of Abe Lincoln’s famous speeches and in Tennessee they swore Elvis was the first to utter this phrase. My current home state of Indiana has competing myths – David Letterman, James Dean, John Mellencamp.

There is another declaration that seems to have a questionable origin. This one has to do with church goers and their love of good food. Growing up with a stepfather who was a Baptist minister I experienced a great many pitch-ins, pot lucks, dinners on the grounds, and prayer breakfasts. “There’s one thing for sure about Baptists, we really love to eat.”