Southern Winds [Paperback]

W. Everett Beal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 2000

This book reflects on the life of a southern gentleman, his growing up years in Valdosta, Georgia through the days of owning a pharmacy in Griffin, Georgia. He recalls good times and bad, stories depicting honest struggles with the tenets of his heritage during the early days of integration. He knew that changes were being made and that all change must start from within. Anecdotes explain how this came about in his life. The racial issue continues to be one of immense importance.Change was needed and granted, but the South had a hard time giving up their beliefs, traditions, customs and prejudices. Transformation occurred quickly as the government implemented the law, and blacks demanded immediate recognition.The children of today arent taught southern American history. They have no idea what really transpired during this era. The author invites change through the message in Southern Winds.The book encourages all races to ignore color and strive for unity, love and compassion between each other. The moral message is to judge people by their character and personality, not by the color of their skin.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

W. Everett Beal has written over 400 articles for magazines and newspapers. Born and raised in Valdosta, he moved to Griffin, Georgia to practice pharmacy. Retired with wife, Judy, he lived at Sky Valley for 16 years before returning to Griffin. The author lived and breathed every moment of Southern Winds.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (July 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595100813
• ISBN-13: 978-0595100811
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,346,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A southern gentleman remembers, July 24, 2005

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Southern Winds (Paperback)

Southern Winds by W. Everett Beal (who I believe to be in his 70s) is one Southern gentleman's experience growing up and living in the south. Beal begins his journey with the arrival of his ancestors from Scotland and continues with his immediate family in Valdosta, Georgia and then moves on as an adult to Griffin, Georgia.

Beal honestly and courageously discusses the good and the bad of the south and of the heritage he acquired through being born "Southern." That heritage included segregation, integration and all of the issues surrounding the change that descended upon his world in the 1960s.

There are moments Beal lovingly recalls his boyhood adventures, the cultural songs and games, as well as the love and respect he felt for the black men and women who cared for his family and their property. However, other times the experience of integration, though acknowledged as right, was confusing and perceived as allowing no time to accept the change. What had always been accepted as "the way it was done" was no longer acceptable or appropriate.

This is an interesting and personal view of a culture that is closed to those who have not been born into it. The treatment of black people-thought acceptable, even seen as benevolent by white folks-is at times painful to read. The difficulty of change can be seen as the author continually refers to black people as "coloreds." I didn't feel that he was using the term in a derogatory manner (though others might perceive it to be so), I just felt that that is the way it always has been. Beal writes about the way things are when most people only have the courage to think it. Anyone wanting a first-hand account of Southern life in turbulent times should read Southern Winds.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mint Julep Anyone?, March 18, 2001

By 

Sandy Chambliss (St. Marys, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Southern Winds (Paperback)

Southern Winds is a delicious personal account, of Mr. Everett Beal, a southern pharmacist, growing up in the racially divided south during the time of integration. This book tugs at all your emotions. I urge you to take a nostalgic journey into the deep south, where you will laugh with Mr. Beal as he tells the story of the runaway coffin, cry with him as he witnesses the devastation of local businesses in this time of racial unrest, be proud of him for the stand he takes in defending his pharmacy as riots break out in town around him, and most of all admire him for having the courage to speak out about the injustices visited upon himself personally in the days gone by. If you listen closely and remain very still, you can almost hear his soft southern drawl narrating as you turn the pages. Mint Julep anyone?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A southerner's point of view--to a northerner, December 27, 2002

By 

Janet Elaine Smith "Author of the Patrick and... (WI, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Southern Winds (Paperback)

As a northerner, I found Everett Beal's account of life in the south in a time when it seemed that nothing would ever be the same again completely captivating. His up-close-and-personal account of such issues as black/white relations and possible uprisings, when he had to "hide out" at the pharmacy where he worked were open and honest. It was a real eye-opener to someone who never experienced these things except from afar.
I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a real picture of this era. It was not only informative, but filled with Mr. Beal's wit and humor, as well as his sensitivity.