So I got seriously ticked off this weekend when reading a large adoption blog and forum that I frequent. The post was about this religious fanatic threatening the owner of the blog because she was the anti-Chirst. (eye roll) The owner of the blog said that her research showed her that the persons IP was from Massachusetts. Then this other person comments about how they were just “SHOCKED” that the religious fanatic would be from MA, they would expect that from the South or the Mid-West because there’s a lot of “bible-thumping” down there. I was SO irritated that the person would just indict millions of people in one fell swoop. That kind of stuff makes me crazy….like when people indict the whole South as being racist.
Really, can you be so ignorant as to not recognize that there are fantastic people everywhere, racists everywhere, bigots everywhere, religious nuts everywhere, compassionate people everywhere? I would like to know how the North East and the West Coast got a “pass” on having racist people or religious kooks? Do we forget that the Jonestown church was based out of San Francisco? This blog is not the first time in the last year that I have been faced with the whole, “Everyone in the South is a bigot thing.” Or the “Bible thumper” thing.
So today’s TT is in honor of all things Southern that are good and that I have grown to love since moving here in 1990.
- Frito Pie.
- Corn Nuggets. Essentially fried creamed corn. Oh my!
- Fried pickles.
- Men who open the door for women entering buildings.
- Men who tip their cowboy hats and smile when a woman walks past.
- Barbecue. The debate will always rage about what style is best, but I say it’s ALL GOOD.
- When a funeral is going by on a regular road people pull to the side and show respect.
- The many, many ways that y’all can be pronounced and used in a sentence.
- Sweet tea. Or half and half. Or half tea half lemonade.
- Bluegrass music
- Jazz
- That all types of soda are called Coke.
- Southern Hospitality.
- Chick-fil-A (born in GA)
- Any sign of snow or ice causes chaos on the roads. If a single snowflake falls, the city is paralyzed for three days and
it’s on all the channels as a news flash every 15 minutes for a week. All grocery stores will be sold out of milk, bread, bottled water,
toilet paper, and beer. - “Fixin’ to” (I don’t use this phrase, but it cracks me up)
- Big Trucks. I am so used to this now that when I travel to other parts of the country I instantly notice that there are less on the road.
- Fried okra and cornbread.
- Parents jumping all over their kids if they forget to say “Yes, ma’am” or “No, sir.” And Mr. and Mrs. So and so.
- That people having guns for protecting their family and property is more readily accepted.
- Family get togethers are a food fest.
- How if you drive through a neighborhood, even if it’s not your own, people wave at you.
**Edit from Louanne – Ruth Ann’s post had me laughing that I mentioned all that food and didn’t mention Tex Mex. Mmmmmm Pappasito’s! And Half Price Books, my favorite bookstore that I forget got started here! Good stuff! I also wanted to say that all men in Texas don’t wear Cowboy Hats and ride horses. Mike was born and raised here and doesn’t own a hat, boots or a horse 🙂
I know that many from the South will say FOOTBALL, but I am not a sports girl and I don’t get the obsession. But that’s okay, it’s still part of the charm.
Now, if you are from the South or visited the South, what are your favorite things that I might have missed?