Resolving Urban Decay With Better Laws

One of the biggest reasons we have urban decay is the simple fact that it's usually more profitable for developers to start with undeveloped land than to renovate or re-purpose existing structures.

We could level the playing field by using the tax code.  The result would yield huge economic, ecological and sociological benefits.  There already are some elements of this in the tax code, but more is needed. 

I would even go so far as to say, we would benefit if the tax code made it significantly more profitable for developers to renovate and reinvest in existing areas than to bulldoze new undeveloped land.

One of the biggest reasons people give for abandoning their cities and moving to bedroom communities is lower taxes.  That's pretty easy to fix.  There should be a tax on the people living in these bedroom communities and let the proceeds go to the city they abandoned but still feed off of economically.

Movie Nicknames For Jackson Buildings

Ghostbusters Building

For years, Jacksonians nicknamed the Standard Life Building, the "Ghostbusters Building" after the 1984 comedy.  In the film, they used a real apartment building at 55 Central Park West, NY, that does have a reasonal resemblance to the Jackson structure, mainly because they both utilize the same architectural style and were built the same year (1929). 

The "Real" Ghostbusters Building

The Jackson Ghostbusters Building

I always thought the SLB looked more like the Empire State building, with a less elaborate finial.

Darth Vader Buildings

Some locals have taken to calling the City Centre development on Lamar St. (formerly the Milner and Petroleum Buildings) the "Darth Vader" buildings for their black glass and chrome exteriors.

Darth Vader Buildings

The Signature Dish for Jackson

What's the signature dish for Jackson?
Maryland has crabcakes, Memphis has barbeque, New Orleans has po-boys and gumbo, but what dish best epitomizes Jackson?  Do we even have a signature dish?

I posed this question by twitter and face book and directly with some restaurateurs and chefs I know and got some interesting answers.  Cheese grits, fried catfish and fried pickles were all mentioned, but the one dish people most associate with Jackson is Comeback Dressing.

Comeback Sauce really is the perfect signature dish for Jackson.  Our historic claim as its birthplace is pretty solid.  Although it's popularity is growing and spreading rapidly, Comeback Dressing appears to have originated in Jackson in the 30's and 40's, first at the Rotisserie Restaurant (now closed), then spreading to the Mayflower Cafe and the Elite Diner (both still operating).

Growing from downtown, many Jackson restaurants now serve their own version of the sauce, as well as restaurants in Oxford, Hattiesburg, Vicksburg and the Gulf Coast.  There's even a bottled version you can buy online.

Being a condiment rather than an entree, Comeback is an extremely versatile dish, complimenting not only salads, but sandwiches and fries as well.  Old timers swear by serving it just on saltine crackers.  There are endless possibilities for the sauce among creative chiefs, giving them an opportunity to put their own stamp on the local favorite.

How Does it Help Us?
Jackson is suffering from something of an identity crisis following a painful twenty-five year economic decline.  I'm convinced that an important part of the city's recovery can come from identifying its significant and indelible cultural markers like what our signature dish might be.

Ideas like this form signposts from restaurant to restaurant, letting people know they're still in Jackson, culturally if not physically.

Besides just serving the sauce, I think we should celebrate it as well.  Perhaps having a contest to see who makes the best Comeback Sauce, or maybe who makes the most interesting and tasty dish with it.  People love a contest, and it might be a point of pride for the restaurant who can say they have the best comeback sauce in town.

Mississippi Mummy

Mississippi State Capitol forgery

In the 1920s, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History purchased a large collection of Native American artifacts from Colonel Brevoort Butler.

Included in these artifacts was one item that was clearly not of Native origin, an Egyptian mummy.

For decades this item was on display in the State Capitol Building, becoming a much-loved attraction and source of local pride.

In 1969, Gentry Yeatman, a medical student with an interest in archeology, asked the museum for human remains to study for evidence of disease. Permission was granted to remove the mummy and for it to be sent to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for an autopsy. Radiological examination showed a few animal ribs and several square nails holding together a wooden frame.

Upon closer examination it was found to be primarily composed of papier-mâché. German newsprint was found as well as an 1898 issue of the Milwaukee Journal. The fake mummy has now become more famous than ever and transformed into a prized possession linked deeply to the folk history of Mississippi.

The Case of the Dummy Mummy