Favorite Sons

Anyone remember favorite sons at conventions?  

At the National Convention in 1960 in a speech that felt as if it mentioned his name dozens of times, Mississippi nominated its governor, and favorite son, Ross Barnett, to be the Democratic presidential candidate. For some reason, my family latched onto that idea, but not in a way flattering to the governor. (Barnett was a rabid segregationist.) His name became a household word to cover a variety of negative characteristics usually related to narcissism. Not a common occurrence in Pennsylvania homes.

In the early 1980s, I was in a taxi in Jackson, Mississippi when a car came careening up behind us, barely missed the cab, swerved onto a lawn, drove right across the grass and continued as if the sidewalk were an exit ramp.  

The cab driver did not seem shocked, “That’s Ross Barnett.”  I can’t imagine there would have been a lot of people from the Northeast who appreciated that.  

I could have said, “What a Ross Barnett!” I thought better of it. After all, he was their favorite son. 

© 2024 Jane Kelly