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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
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Grandma Pookie here to promote my new book โ€œFoโ€™ the Souls of Poโ€™ Folk: Ghetto Proverbs and Affirmations.โ€ I want to share with the peoples 10 of my favorites:

1. If you work overtime, you wonโ€™t get paid.

2. If Oprah gives you a free car, you must pay sales tax.

3. A bird in the hand means meat for a week.

4. After eating a delicious smothered pork chop dinner at Miss Bonqweeshaโ€™ s grandmommaโ€™s house, pop a tic-tac in yoโ€™mouth.

5. If you reply to those get-rich quick infomercials on late-night television, all I can say is: โ€œA fool and his/her money will soon depart.โ€

6. If you cannot control yoโ€™ kids, remember this proverb: โ€œA child is a joy to behold, so please be holding yoโ€™ child.โ€

7. If you keep yoโ€™ head while others are losing theirs, youโ€™ll be the only one left to get a haircut.

Memories of my favorite 70โ€™s TV show โ€œBarettaโ€ inspired me to share these jewels:

8. Donโ€™t go to bed with a price on yoโ€™ head.

9. Keep yoโ€™ eye on the sparrow when the going gets narrow.

Finally, be encouraged by this very special proverb for the holiday season:

10. Too much chitterlings make the blood pressure go higher and higher.

I hope my book will uplift the depressed souls of poโ€™ folk as G.W. continue to make the world go โ€™round.

Ken Stiggers is a TV producer in Jackson and the co-host of Lyric Lounge Thursdays at Daiquiri World.

Previous Comments

i was sneaking a peek at the new jfp last night during a reading at lemuriabooks.com and laughed out loud a few times while reading this one. thankfully, i was outside on the deck, enjoying a free beer and a smoke. stiggers, your pieces keep getting better and better. since the hiatus on ‘ask joanne’, this is the first thing i turn to. and then city buzz, and then ‘clip-clop’, and on and on… keep up the good work!


I agree with you, Jay, Ken gets better and better. We’ve started sending them to Altweeklies.com to let the rest of the world in on our little Stiggers secret. By the way, mark your calendar: Thursday, Dec. 23 is Ken Stiggers night at Santiago’s. The spoken-word community, Santiagos and the Jackson Free Press are honoring Jackson’s own resident satirist. Spread the word. I know you may be working, but tell other folks to drop by before they head to your bar. There will be more details in the JFP. Also, we miss JoAnne’s column, too, but it’ll definitely be back — with a different hat, she proudly informs me. She and the great Unita Blackwell are finishing their book; thus, her sabbatical.


Is Ken at Santiago’s or Daquiri World on Thursday @ 8 pm? The Lounge Blog’s Best Bets said Daquiri World? I’m Very Confused now(Yes, I am back in the area visiting my folks !)

MFP Solutions Lab logo

The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippiโ€™s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.