MY SOUTH

Ever Vigilant ^ | Robert St. John

[AUgrad]

Damn right!

[MrConfettiMan]

I thought this thread might interest you.

[andysandmikesmom]

I was born and raised in Chicago...but when my hubby went into the army, and we were stationed at Ft. Bragg, N.C., it was going to be a big move for us...

Well, we lived in there, in the rural areas on North Carolina, for five wonderful years, and it was like heaven...

It was so different from Chicago, and it took some getting used to, but oh my, what a glorious part of the country to live in...

I remember, my mom came down and spent the whole month of April with us...and she just could not get over the explosion of azaleas, wisteria, dogwoods, crepe myrtles, and all the other beautiful flowers, that painted the whole area like a wonderful picture...

The food, the people, the weather, the language with its wonderful southern accent, and the whole atmosphere of being in the south, is something I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life..

We were eventually transfered to Ft. Lewis, Washington, and so we are now in the Pacific Northwest, and have made it our permanent home...it too is a wonderful and beautiful place...

But living in the south, was one of the highlights of my life, and something to be cherished forever...people who speak ill of the south, obviously have never taken the time to go live there for a while, and soak it up...

[JRandomFreeper]

I like boudin, but mudbugs are just about my favorite.

/john

[Leesylvanian]

The author was probably referring to northern Virginia, which is infested with those from Las Vegas, Cleveland, and New Jersey.

[wardaddy]

THe south truly has changed greatly. That's why it's so fallacious to assume it was not once a barbaric impoverished hell-hole, which it was. More's the achievement today.

Oh really....so we used to suck real bad but now we've improved so much and isn't that great!!!

Your kind of compliments that denigrate and applaud condescendingly at the same time are the kind we've learned to ignore thankfully.

Thanks for educating we impoverished barbaric hell-hole dwellers on our "improvements".

It's fallacious of you to assume we don't know when we're being defamed even if it's hidden in the guise of a back handed compliment.

Can't bring up the South on FR without some do-gooder self righteous paternalistic cretin removing his or her head out of their arse to say something demeaning so they can feel better about themselves in their all knowing glow of self virtue.

[Lorraine]

Just emailed this thread to my Dad who retired to the beautiful LA (Lower Alabama) town of Niceville, Florida. The Panhandle can definitely be considered the South. We lived in Pensacola a few years and loved it.

[wimpycat]

In my South, ACC Basketball is king, we eat Nabs and put peanuts in our Pepsi.

In my South, we put a lot of ice in our sweet tea, and think that no meal is so bad that a good biscuit can't make up for it.

In my South, old people can say pretty much what they want, and no one will stop them.

In my South, strangers in oncoming cars wave "Hey" to each other.

In my South, we don't spend much on weddings (no dancing or drinking), but we'll go bankrupt over a funeral.

In my South, we put our eccentrics right on the front porch where everybody can see them.

[Bahbah]

I had the wonderful experience of living in the south (North Carolina) for two years. It is beautiful, but it is really the people who make the difference.

[Malcolm]

The majority of people in Metro Atlanta originate from out-of-state. I don't have any problems with Yankees here; they are for the most part polite and respectful. It's the ones that have never been here that hold those biased view and attitudes about the South. If my only exposure to the South was via TV and movies, (Beverly Hillbillies, Gone With The Wind, The Dukes of Hazard, etc), I might hold those views myself. But anyone who thinks Hollywood has pigeonholed the South has not been down here. I can't speak for rural areas, as I have always lived near Atlanta, but most of the Southerners that I know are educated, speak with little or no accent, and are as cultured as anyone else. Maybe you could have made this argument 100 years ago, when Southern education was laughably substandard. But we're talking about 2002, not 1880. Any non-Southerner who does not take all the info about the present-day South into account is just as brainless as any Southern stereotype he has in mind. But I really don't worry about such attitudes. Like I said, if they really think this way, it is them, not us, who are ignorant, and that to the Nth degree.....

[billbears]

Where's the fatback? I haven't seen anything about fatback. Yet to meet one yankee that will eat a piece of fatback

[Illbay]

My South is the best-kept secret in the country. Please continue to keep the secret....it keeps the idiots away.

By publishing this list, you realize we are going to have to kill you.

BTW, bump for REAL southern heritage, the kind that doesn't entail rebellion against the United States of America--unless you want to count CULTURAL rebellion, then I'm on the bandwagon!

Except for that NASCAR thing. I still prefer the Symphony...

[oyez]

Might as well face it. If you ain't Southern you ain't sh*t.

[GBA]

Here's a joke from S. California (with my apologies):

   After having their 11th child, an Alabama couple decided that was enough, as they could not afford a larger bed. So, the husband went to his veterinarian and told him that he and his cousin didn't want to have any more children.

The doctor told him that there was a procedure called a vasectomy that could fix the problem but that it was expensive. A less costly alternative, said the doctor, was to go home, get a cherry bomb (fireworks are legal in Alabama), light it, put it in a beer can, then hold the can up to his ear and count to 10.

The Alabamian said to the doctor, "I may not be the smartest man in the world, but I don't see how putting a cherry bomb in a beer can next to my ear is going to help me."

"Trust me," said the doctor.

So, the man went home, lit a cherry bomb and put it in a beer can. He held the can up to his ear and began to count:

    "1"

    "2"

    "3"

    "4"

    "5"

At which point he paused, placed the beer can between his legs, and resumed counting on his other hand.  

[The Shrew]

Great post. I manage to live about two months a year in the South, Carolinas and Georgia mostly. I am impressed.

Letitring; I heard a rumour this might interest you.

Regards,

TS

[gartrell bibberts]

Wonderfully well put. The attached website (American Enterprise Magazine - one of my favorites) has an article that expresses the same thoughts - but for ALL of the "Red" states. http://www.taemag.com/taem02d.htm

[wimpycat]

For this I wish to say thank you, each Sunday at my Mothers we have lunch as a family, my youngest is just 12 and he gets upset if for any reason we don't attend( missed 1 since he's been born).

Does your youngest get to sit at the "big table"? I was at least twelve before I got to sit at the big table and drink out of a real glass instead of a jelly jar at Grandma's.