The lights really have gone out in Georgia...

Who didn't love Julia Sugarbaker?

Her fiery grace, her self-assured gait, her ability to scathe with a smile and a lilt in her voice. She was fiercely loyal and passionately protective of those she loved. She knew what she believed in and wouldn't settle for anything less.

Who didn't want to be her when we grew up? Sure, Suzanne was beautiful, Mary Jo was sweet and Charlene was, well, bless her heart. I never did want to be Charlene.

But Julia - Julia was the force to be reckoned with. A woman who wouldn't leave things unsaid, but never said too much. Unlike me, the perfect response came in the moment, not three hours after a conversation concluded. That cutting, absolutely on-point comeback was right on the tip of her tongue and somehow never made her seem any less ladylike or in control. She wasn't demure, but was undoubtedly an old school Southern belle.

Just like you'll see embroidered on a gift store pillow (don't deep thoughts belong on pillows?): A Southern woman is a Mack truck disguised as a powder puff. Such was the example Julia Sugarbaker set.

And the woman who brought her to life, Dixie Carter, seemed to carry those very same traits. I remember squealing and running to the TV when I saw her speak at a Miss America pageant one year. (And I was well past five years old at the time. That's how happy she makes me.) She embodied charm and grace with a forthright demeanor - a rare combination.

I was so sad to hear that Dixie Carter passed away this past weekend. She will be missed.

Here's one of her most famous scenes, standing up for her sister and scaring the goodness out of Miss Georgia. I love how she ends her diatribe, "Well now you do..." No one could have done it better. The lights really have gone out in Georgia.