Thursday, December 23, 2010

the deep south...

I traveled yesterday from Lynchburg VA to Lakeland GA. It took me a little over ten hours with traffic. I realized last night, however, that I can always tell when I have hit my home sweet home of the deep South. Truly there is nothing like it. Many people make fun of it…I know I do especially since I have been to other places. But for the most part, I am proud to say that I was born and raised here, in the southern United States. It has helped shape me into the woman I am. It has also helped me appreciate things in life that many people take for granted.

There are many ways that I realize I have hit south Georgia. I would like to share some of these.

1. My friend Heather and I realize that for a southerner 50 degrees is cold, but it is quite hilarious when you see a grown man in a fur necked coat, gloves, and a hat when it is 50 degrees. Haha.

2. The next way to know you have hit the south is the opposite extreme. Heather saw a man with no shirt in forty degree weather on the side of the road attaching a trailer to a pick-up truck. The image of this just makes me laugh. You got the one man dressed like an Eskimo and the other one like it is summer time and he is beasting his work. Ha.

3. You know you have hit southern Georgia when you stop at the gas station and every other vehicle is a pick-up truck with a rugged looking man in it….usually with a big antenna or dog box in the back for hunting….hahaha.

4. This one I like. I know that in many places chivalry is dead. Of course the women helped kill it because some of us do not allow men to be men and take care of business. BUT I love the fact that every place I have been so far a man has held the door opened for me or let me cut in line. I mean it is the little things we tend to take for granted but I like it when they do that. Thank you kind sirs for treating me like a lady. :)

5. You know you are in south Georgia when you see several cars parked on the side of the road at a bridge…and standing outside are several old men with fishing poles fishing…over the side of the bridge. Haha. I mean it is cold out and they are still trying to catch a crawdad or something.

6. You know you are in South Georgia when you can’t understand a single word from the man talking to you in the supermarket. Every word sounds like a mumble jumble of syllables…if you could hear me talk like them it would sound really really funny. I can’t even begin to type it out except it would look something like-a wernt ober yonder n gotsda tracterrr outta da woods n billy bob werentttt eben rreredy to goo yetr. (I just stand there and smile sweetly and say yes sir over and over again). I mean I can’t even begin to keep trying to type it out. It reminds me of translating my friend Joey’s talk when we first moved to Lynchburg for school. (sorry Joey. Lol.).

7. So, this is in no way disrespectful but over the last several years I have noticed when I come home that the some women in the south, especially those in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, tend to wear a lot of make-up and big hair. This definitely applied to my recent visit to Tennessee but I notice this difference a lot more recently in my home town. Maybe they believe that is the way a true southern belle should look. I am not sure. But either way the trend has definitely not subsided even with the aging of Dolly Parton whom many of them remind me of. Haha.

I am sure I will think of more of these to come over the weekend. One thing is for certain, the air is definitely fresher down here in the deep south. I took a deep gulp of it when I exited my car yesterday. Too bad I can’t take some of it with me when I leave to go back to Virginia.

This is just a glimpse of the deep South...

1 comment:

Jessica said...

By the far the best comment was concerning the aging of Dolly Pardon! :)

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