Southern Language

Tyler Perry’s stage name is Madea.  Oprah pronounces it like the word “media.”  It doesn’t come from Latin, Greek or anywhere other than American slang.

When we drove Evelyn home in the evenings after her work as the Fee’s housekeeper, her many children would rush to the car to welcome her home, calling out, “Ma deah, ma deah,” short for “mother dear.”

Also, a word of wisdom from Hop Bailey, a fine man, the Fee’s grove foreman for many years:  He’d ask us kids questions, and if we didn’t know the answer, Hop would say it was ok not to know, because, “If you don’t know you jes’ don’t know, and maybe you hadn’t ought to know.”