Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta

by Richard Grant

Eddie Earl told one about an old man who invited his daughter and grandchildren over for a special meal. He had made pulled pork and ice cream. He told his granddaughter to get a plate from the draining board and fix herself some pork. She got the plate and told her mother it was dirty. The old man overheard her, and he said, “It’s just as clean as cold water can get it. Now rinse it off, and fix yourself a plate.” The same thing happened with the ice cream course. The little girl said the bowl was dirty, and her grandfather said, “It’s just as clean as cold water can get it.” Then they went outside and a big black dog jumped up and licked the granddaughter all over her face. The grandfather said to the dog, “Cold Water, you get offa her.”