Years ago, when I lived in New Orleans, there was an elderly lady from Tchula, Mississippi who every now and then, on a Sunday night, would accidentally call my phone, as my number was one digit off from her granddaughter's.  She was overly apologetic and I couldn't make her understand that hearing her voice warmed my heart and I'd go to bed with a smile that night.

This guy is so respectful and non judgemental of these old rural towns.

My grandparents lived in Durant in the 80s. I have so many memories of there. I had to pause when you showed the train station. I remember riding amtrak there and looking out the wi dow for my grandad, he was over 6 feet so you could spot him easily, being so excited. Walking to the piggly wiggly and to the gas station for candy. Such fun and innocent times. It's so sad to see the town like this. ❤ RIP to David and Beola my grandparents 🙏🏽

23:54 to the right in the grass is a monument that honors the men of the town who fought in world war 2. My grandfathers name is on that monument as he served on the Natoma Bay in the Pacific.

I've always said that when you're down south, it always looks like you're stuck in time.

So many memories — as you were riding through Pickens, Goodman, and Durant, I was literally calling out places and homes before they would appear seconds later on the screen. Holmes County was the backdrop of my childhood because my mother and father (and both sets of grandparents) were born and raised there, and this video just brought back so many memories, especially when you drove past my grandmother’s old house.

Piggly Wiggly began in 1916 as a curbside pickup store and was the first self-service store with checkout counters. There are currently around 500 Piggly Wiggly stores in the US with 108 located in Alabama and others scattered throughout 18 states! At one time Piggly Wiggly was a very big deal.

Joe you missed the black cowboy at 3:33 that was riding a very, expensive and talented horse that was a Tennessee Walker. it prances when it trots, making the ride very smooth for the cowboy. its really an amazing thing to see.

I was born in 1954 in Detroit.  Mom was born in Lexington in 1924.  Her family was living out from Belzoni by 1930 or so. They were black sharecroppers.  Mom and I would visit Belzoni once a year.  We could take the City of New Orleans train out of Chicago and get into Durant about 10 p.m. granddaddy would pick us up and we would ride to Belzoni, about an hour.  In this video, he drives past the train station.  We last took the train in 1966.

I’m from Lexington MS and my grandparents still live there. We grew up poor but happy. My best memories are in Lexington ❤

It’s funny that Pickens is in shambles but the churches are pristine. There’s a lesson there but I cant really put it into words

There use to be an old motel on the south end of Pickens called the Grape Motel, Pickens Grape Motel. It was in the 1973 movie "Thieves  Like Us"

you always seemed so shocked by the low income numbers, but let me tell you American seniors are living on way less than some of these quoted incomes. I make 1050 a month from social security and yes I am living off that. I worked for over 50 years single mom and this is all the government says I'm worth I worked right up until last summer 50 to 60 hours a week at 71 years old until my heart said wow you need to slow down or Im gonna stop on you. That might of been best because living on what the government gives me isn't living!! Yes I managed to put a very little away but that is enough if I'm very frugal to supplement my joke of ss for maybe 3 years. Most seniors don't have anything to fall back on So before you go all shocked on the low incomes you report maybe take a moment and step into some of our realities. Sorry didnt mean to rant but I am so frustrated by how our seniors and veterans are treated in the greatest country in the world.

You see abandoned old town centers like that all over the US.

Can you imagine the people running for office do not even go to those places to see what they can do for them. I guess some people’s lives are worth more than others.

Joe, that building that you're curious about in Lexington use to be a jail.  I'm from Durant.

Hi Joe&Nicole,  
Farmers were the life line of our communities.  Modernization can be so cruel.
Thanks for making this video.

Love watching these videos showing life as it was in the past and how it is today. Really quite depressing how bad it's become as the years have passed.

Piggly Wiggly was pretty much the only grocery chain willing to locate in rural areas. When the population dropped there was no longer enough business to support the store. Dollar General is a poor substitute.

An old man I worked with 20 years ago in Jackson lived there in Goodman and commuted to Jackson to work for Advance Autoparts.  At one time he owned that old Parts Plus but sold out when he got an offer he couldn't refuse.  Seeing it now I'm glad he got out when he did.  After his wife passed he moved to Arkansas with his daughter and grand kids where he passed away about ten or so years ago. Kept hoping I'd see his house.