“She was so steamed up when I was leaving she shouted out how she’d been second-runner-up Miss Tennessee, which is her spotlight of fame. To that, I ended the encounter with the southern woman’s sweetest and most pitying insult.”
“I know that.” He pointed a finger. “I know that one. You said ‘Bless your heart.’”
The Liar
_______________
In the South, ‘bless your heart' situations
arise all day, every day. Walk around long enough, and you'll hear ‘bless
your/their/his/her heart' spoken either vehemently aloud or in a breathless
whisper. It's a versatile phrase indeed. It has a thousand meanings—and just as
many possible responses.