I laughed myself into hysterics at those. I think one's sense of redneck-ness becomes much more acute if you grew up in the north and then moved to a highly redneck area. Right, Howie?
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
I laughed myself into hysterics at those. I think one's sense of redneck-ness becomes much more acute if you grew up in the north and then moved to a highly redneck area. Right, Howie?
I would strongly agree. I moved from Grosse Pointe, MI which is filled with mansions and yacht clubs and mucho old money to Greer, SC. Let me tell ya, Bill -- it don't get more "red" than Greer, SC. I must pass at least 10 - 15 rebel flags each day on my 10 minute drive to work. Some fly in front yards, some are license plates hung on the front of pick up trucks. I also pass goats, cows and horses on my way to drop my kids off at school. This place is "red" as "red" can be.
I have to tell you that most rednecks are nice people. And, due to the fact that I spend just about every weekend around the baseball diamond, I can do one helluva redneck coach impression.
Here's a favorite story. During an 8-year-old All-Star Tournament game, a fight broke out in the stands between two women. Some men jumped in and pulled them apart. One of the women yells at the other as she's restrained, "We'll settle this Sunday at church!"
I was watching Slingblade the other night with my son. I told him that when I first watched this movie a few years ago I didn't think places like that existed anymore...until we moved to one.
Over the past two years I've been able to adapt. I understand that the rebel flag is a sign of southern pride that only really bothers Yankees. (I own two t-shirts myself just to bother other Yankees.) I eat grits, BBQ and can almost swallow a glass of sweet tea. Matt Kenseth's "my boy." I know how to catch bass and crappie. I now know there are white Baptists - and lots of them. I'm still trying to figure out how to grow a lawn in red clay and near drought conditions. I listen to David Allen Coe, Bosephus and Waylon. I know that a dry county has nothing to do with rainfall. And, most importantly, I now believe the SEC is a better conference than the Big 10. (That one was tough to accept but made my conversion complete.)
Git r done!
Mike
__________________ Yankee by Birth, Rebel by Choice
Last edited by Howard_Rourke : 06-08-2007 at 09:11 AM.
Over the past two years I've been able to adapt. I understand that the rebel flag is a sign of southern pride that only really bothers Yankees. (I own two t-shirts myself just to bother other Yankees.) I eat grits, BBQ and can almost swallow a glass of sweet tea. Matt Kenseth's "my boy." I know how to catch bass and crappie. I now know there are white Baptists - and lots of them. I'm still trying to figure out how to grow a lawn in red clay and near drought conditions. I listen to David Allen Coe, Bosephus and Waylon. I know that a dry county has nothing to do with rainfall. And, most importantly, I now believe the SEC is a better conference than the Big 10. (That one was tough to accept but made my conversion complete.)
Gir r done!
Mike
We like your kind of transplant. Welcome to the neighborhood, my boy
Kenseth is from Wisconsin...he's a Badger, not a redneck...or a yankee.
__________________
Two Bears Dadda? Two Bears Benno, just two. ______________________________ ___________
There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit. ~Al Gallagher, 1971
Kenseth is from Wisconsin...he's a Badger, not a redneck...or a yankee.
Kenseth is from Wisconsin but now lives in North Carolina. So, like me, he's a Midwesterner who moved to the Carolinas. Besides, I like the way he drives and stays away from the "drama queens" of NA$CAR.
__________________ Yankee by Birth, Rebel by Choice
My acclimation to Carolina red clay country mirrors yours, although after over 30 years, I still can't eat grits or drink the thick, syrupy sweetened tea. Now BBQ, either NC eastern or western style, and an occasional hush puppy (when I'm not intending to eat in compliance)....that's a different story....love the stuff.
The Mooresville, NC area was quite a shock for this transplant from the Rochester, NY suburbs when I first moved here. The town had a number of textile mills (all closed now....NASCAR team shops seem to have taken the place over in recent years) and little but farmland outside of town limits. Mooresville had a KFC, a Hardees and a What-a-Burger, one "fancy" restaurant that served steaks, chops and other dinner fare and a couple of other places that served mostly lunch. The KKK still marched down Main Street on occasion. Things have changed considerably since.
Soon after arriving, I joined Civitans and started working with a Boy Scout troop. I quickly learned that there were an awful lot of fine people around here. Sure they might have a portrait of Robert E. Lee on Charger over their couch, but that's far better than a velvet Elvis. I also may have had trouble understanding some of the accent and expressions for a while, but it's been a great experience. Well, perhaps with the exception of their constant, and often innovative efforts to get me to eat grits (gritcicles, anyone?).
__________________ "May you live every day of your life." - Jonathan Swift
__________________ 'I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. ' ~Frank Sinatra
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you are tougher,
smarter, faster and better looking than most people.
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