Living in the land of Dixie and proud of it!

[Darth Denkay]

Hey ya'll! We've got threads for individual states but I thought one for a broader geographical region might be fun. As a proud Southerner, of course that's the one I am going to create.

I was born in Tennessee (Chattanooga) and have lived my entire life here (although I now live in Memphis). I have no intention of ever leaving. Sometimes though I read references to the South that are fairly disparaging, often around how we communicate, how smart we are, or whether we wear shoes. Honestly I'm offended by those statements. It seems as though folks in other areas of the country look down on us - anyone else get that feeling.

Proud Southerner!

[NotAnAverageGuy]

the only term I get offended by is: dumb redneck

ahem I am a redneck but I am far from dumb

[Zimmeh]

It upsets me that people say how Florida is no longer a part of the South because of the Hispanic population.

[Queerasfck]

Hey ya'll! We've got threads for individual states but I thought one for a broader geographical region might be fun. As a proud Southerner, of course that's the one I am going to create.

I was born in Tennessee (Chattanooga) and have lived my entire life here (although I now live in Memphis). I have no intention of ever leaving. Sometimes though I read references to the South that are fairly disparaging, often around how we communicate, how smart we are, or whether we wear shoes. Honestly I'm offended by those statements. It seems as though folks in other areas of the country look down on us - anyone else get that feeling.

Proud Southerner!

How do you feel about the Confederate flag? Do you (or any one else that cares to respond) view the flag as a symbol of culture or as a symbol of racism?

[weatherboi]

How do you feel about the Confederate flag? Do you (or any one else that cares to respond) view the flag as a symbol of culture or as a symbol of racism?

Symbol of racism. I am a 4th generation Floridian. It is a racist flag!! The south has the reputation it does for a reason!!

[Toughy]

the only term I get offended by is: dumb redneck

ahem I am a redneck but I am far from dumb


......laughin...........but ya got to admit there are indeed some rednecks that are not the sharpest pencil in the pile.....and some of them are my relatives.....

[Write14u]

......laughin...........but ya got to admit there are indeed some rednecks that are not the sharpest pencil in the pile.....and some of them are my relatives.....


Yeah Toughy, I agree with ya, but let me tell ya: There are rednecks all over. It is in no way exclusive to the South. *grin*

The confederate flag is definitely a racist symbol, but there is plenty of legit pride to be found within the region that doesn't require that symbol.

I'm definitely proud of where I come from. And there's a lot more intelligence among us than we get credit for. It's just like Jeff Foxworthy jokes, however: It's the least intelligent among us who end up on TV describing how the tornado sounded as it came through. *grin*

Just my 2 cents.

[Kast]

I just moved from the 'Land of Dixie' after being born and raised there... to Germany the other day. I thought it would be a big culture shock...but upon leaving the Frankfurt airport, I noticed the countryside looks just like all the Southern states, NC, SC, Georgia, even the Florida woods in places.

I made a web page yesterday to show my family how similar the deep South is to Germany so that they wouldn't worry about me:

http://my-stuff-dot-com.com/Heidenheim/Heidenheim2index.htm

[weatherboi]

I just moved from the 'Land of Dixie' after being born and raised there... to Germany the other day. I thought it would be a big culture shock...but upon leaving the Frankfurt airport, I noticed the countryside looks just like all the Southern states, NC, SC, Georgia, even the Florida woods in places.

I made a web page yesterday to show my family how similar the deep South is to Germany so that they wouldn't worry about me:

http://my-stuff-dot-com.com/Heidenheim/Heidenheim2index.htm



Wow what an adventure!! Love the pics and yes very similar!! Pizza place looks cool too!!

[Zimmeh]

Hey Kam,

Very nice pictures and thank you for sharing them. I have a friend in Ireland and it is very gorgeous there.

Have a good Christmas,

Zimmy

I just moved from the 'Land of Dixie' after being born and raised there... to Germany the other day. I thought it would be a big culture shock...but upon leaving the Frankfurt airport, I noticed the countryside looks just like all the Southern states, NC, SC, Georgia, even the Florida woods in places.

I made a web page yesterday to show my family how similar the deep South is to Germany so that they wouldn't worry about me:

http://my-stuff-dot-com.com/Heidenheim/Heidenheim2index.htm

[NotAnAverageGuy]

......laughin...........but ya got to admit there are indeed some rednecks that are not the sharpest pencil in the pile.....and some of them are my relatives.....

yeah but classing me with the rest of them doesn't sit well with me, as far as the flag I own one and display it in my bedroom, I do not see it as a racist symbol but a source of pride.

The confederate flag or the "rebel flag" "the navy jack"

The Confederate Navy Jack, also called "The Southern Cross," is a rectangular precursor of the Battle Flag, usually about 5×3 feet. The blue color in the saltire (the diagonal cross) is much lighter than in the Battle Flag, and it was flown only on Confederate ships from 1863 to 1865.

The design was originally made by South Carolina Congressman William Porcher Miles with the intent to be the first national flag, but it was rejected by the Confederate government for looking too much like crossed suspenders. It was used by a few army units, including the Army of Tennessee as their battle flag from 1864-1865. (After General Joseph Johnston took command of the Army of Tennessee from Braxton Bragg, he ordered its army-wide implementation to improve morale and avoid confusion.) Today, it is the most universally recognized symbol of the South, where it is commonly called the rebel or Dixie flag. This flag is often erroneously called "the Confederate Flag". (This Flag is often incorrectly referred to as the Stars and Bars; the actual Stars and Bars is the First National Flag.)


The Confederate Navy Jack, 1861-1863Sometimes, the saltire is described as a "Saint Andrew's Cross." But it is unclear if this was the original intent, since Miles' proposals never mentioned this. "St. Andrew's cross" refers either to the national Flag of Scotland (a white saltire over a blue field), or the naval jack of Russia (a blue saltire on a white field). St. Andrew is said to have been martyred on a diagonal cross and is a patron saint of both Russia and Scotland. A legend dating from medieval times held that Saint Andrew's remains and relics washed up on Scottish shores, after a ship intended to convey them for safe keeping in a remote monastery was lost at sea. Most of the white Southern elite at the time of the War traced their ancestry to Britain, and Southern elites tended to identify their heritage as Anglo-Saxon, although much of the white population were in fact either Scots or Scots-Irish during the 19th century.


What is usually called "The Confederate Flag" or "The Confederate Battle Flag" (actually the Navy Jack as explained above) is still a widely-recognized symbol. The display of the flag is a controversial and very emotional issue, generally because of disagreement over exactly what it symbolizes. To many in the US South it is simply a symbol of their heritage and pride in their ancestors who held out during years of war under terrible odds and sacrifice. Others see it as a symbol of the institution of slavery, or of the Jim Crow laws established by the many Southern states enforcing racial segregation within their borders for almost a century later. As a result, there have been numerous political fights over the use of the Confederate battle flag in Southern state flags, at sporting events at Southern universities, and on public buildings. According to Civil War historian and southerner Shelby Foote, the flag traditionally represented the south's resistance to northern political dominance generally; it became racially charged during the Civil Rights Movement, when protecting segregation suddenly became the focal point of that resistance.

Over time the flag has acquired a wide range of meanings, some apparently contradicting one another. Since the CSA was fighting for independence during the Civil War, much as the United States did during the Revolutionary War, the Confederate Flag has always had connotations of rebellion, patriotism, self-determination, dissent, freedom, and liberty. Since the issues of slavery and, later, segregation, are deeply intertwined with the CSA and the Civil Rights Movement, the Confederate Flag has connotations of racism and slavery. Part of the enduring power and controversy of the flag stems from its symbolization of both liberty and slavery, both freedom and segregation. The United States flag, the "Stars and Stripes", can be seen to stand for similar contradictory symbols as well. Racism has been as much a feature of the North as of the South. The Antebellum slave system depended on financial investment from the North. The Confederate Flag can symbolize treason, yet the American Flag is seen by some to symbolize empire and conquest. But because the Stars and Stripes is the national flag today, it remains relatively free of the kind of controversy that surrounds the Confederate Flag. As John M. Coski put it in his book "The Confederate Battle Flag", the Confederate Flag remains a powerful symbol and is unlikely to go away.

On April 12, 2000, the South Carolina state senate passed a bill to remove the flag of the former Confederate States of America from on top of the statehouse dome by a majority vote of 36 to 7. Placed there in 1962, according to one local news report, "the new bill specified that a more traditional version of the battle flag would be flown in front of the Capitol next to a monument honoring fallen Confederate soldiers." The bill then went to the House, where it encountered some difficulty. But on May 18, 2000, after the bill was modified to ensure that the height of the flag's new pole would be 30 feet, it was passed by a majority of 66 to 43, and Governor Jim Hodges signed the bill five days later. On July 1, the flag was removed from the South Carolina statehouse. Current state law prohibits the flag's removal from the statehouse grounds without additional legislation. Police were placed to guard this flag after several attempts by individuals to remove it. Some regard the flag as easier to see in that location than when it was atop the State House Dome.

More recent studies, however, show changing attitudes toward the Confederate battle flag, particularly among blacks - perhaps due to media reports of the issue stemming from legislative battles regarding the flag's official use in Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. In 2005, two Western Carolina University researchers found that 74% of U.S. African-Americans polled favored removal of the flag from the South Carolina Capitol building. Cooper & Knotts, 2005 As battle lines over the use of the flag have (again) hardened, the NAACP and many civil rights groups have attacked the flag. Other groups such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans have actively protested the use of any Confederate flags by the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups, stating that the hate groups are blemishing the memory of the ancestors of the SCV.[1] Some members of the SCV have even faced down Klansmen at their rallies and marches, to protest the inappropriate usage of these flags.[1] The NAACP maintains an official boycott of South Carolina, citing its continued use of the battle flag on its Statehouse grounds.


there is a tad bit of education about it, cited from yahoo answers

[weatherboi]

yeah but classing me with the rest of them doesn't sit well with me, as far as the flag I own one and display it in my bedroom, I do not see it as a racist symbol but a source of pride.

The confederate flag or the "rebel flag" "the navy jack"

The Confederate Navy Jack, also called "The Southern Cross," is a rectangular precursor of the Battle Flag, usually about 5×3 feet. The blue color in the saltire (the diagonal cross) is much lighter than in the Battle Flag, and it was flown only on Confederate ships from 1863 to 1865.

The design was originally made by South Carolina Congressman William Porcher Miles with the intent to be the first national flag, but it was rejected by the Confederate government for looking too much like crossed suspenders. It was used by a few army units, including the Army of Tennessee as their battle flag from 1864-1865. (After General Joseph Johnston took command of the Army of Tennessee from Braxton Bragg, he ordered its army-wide implementation to improve morale and avoid confusion.) Today, it is the most universally recognized symbol of the South, where it is commonly called the rebel or Dixie flag. This flag is often erroneously called "the Confederate Flag". (This Flag is often incorrectly referred to as the Stars and Bars; the actual Stars and Bars is the First National Flag.)


The Confederate Navy Jack, 1861-1863Sometimes, the saltire is described as a "Saint Andrew's Cross." But it is unclear if this was the original intent, since Miles' proposals never mentioned this. "St. Andrew's cross" refers either to the national Flag of Scotland (a white saltire over a blue field), or the naval jack of Russia (a blue saltire on a white field). St. Andrew is said to have been martyred on a diagonal cross and is a patron saint of both Russia and Scotland. A legend dating from medieval times held that Saint Andrew's remains and relics washed up on Scottish shores, after a ship intended to convey them for safe keeping in a remote monastery was lost at sea. Most of the white Southern elite at the time of the War traced their ancestry to Britain, and Southern elites tended to identify their heritage as Anglo-Saxon, although much of the white population were in fact either Scots or Scots-Irish during the 19th century.


What is usually called "The Confederate Flag" or "The Confederate Battle Flag" (actually the Navy Jack as explained above) is still a widely-recognized symbol. The display of the flag is a controversial and very emotional issue, generally because of disagreement over exactly what it symbolizes. To many in the US South it is simply a symbol of their heritage and pride in their ancestors who held out during years of war under terrible odds and sacrifice. Others see it as a symbol of the institution of slavery, or of the Jim Crow laws established by the many Southern states enforcing racial segregation within their borders for almost a century later. As a result, there have been numerous political fights over the use of the Confederate battle flag in Southern state flags, at sporting events at Southern universities, and on public buildings. According to Civil War historian and southerner Shelby Foote, the flag traditionally represented the south's resistance to northern political dominance generally; it became racially charged during the Civil Rights Movement, when protecting segregation suddenly became the focal point of that resistance.

Over time the flag has acquired a wide range of meanings, some apparently contradicting one another. Since the CSA was fighting for independence during the Civil War, much as the United States did during the Revolutionary War, the Confederate Flag has always had connotations of rebellion, patriotism, self-determination, dissent, freedom, and liberty. Since the issues of slavery and, later, segregation, are deeply intertwined with the CSA and the Civil Rights Movement, the Confederate Flag has connotations of racism and slavery. Part of the enduring power and controversy of the flag stems from its symbolization of both liberty and slavery, both freedom and segregation. The United States flag, the "Stars and Stripes", can be seen to stand for similar contradictory symbols as well. Racism has been as much a feature of the North as of the South. The Antebellum slave system depended on financial investment from the North. The Confederate Flag can symbolize treason, yet the American Flag is seen by some to symbolize empire and conquest. But because the Stars and Stripes is the national flag today, it remains relatively free of the kind of controversy that surrounds the Confederate Flag. As John M. Coski put it in his book "The Confederate Battle Flag", the Confederate Flag remains a powerful symbol and is unlikely to go away.

On April 12, 2000, the South Carolina state senate passed a bill to remove the flag of the former Confederate States of America from on top of the statehouse dome by a majority vote of 36 to 7. Placed there in 1962, according to one local news report, "the new bill specified that a more traditional version of the battle flag would be flown in front of the Capitol next to a monument honoring fallen Confederate soldiers." The bill then went to the House, where it encountered some difficulty. But on May 18, 2000, after the bill was modified to ensure that the height of the flag's new pole would be 30 feet, it was passed by a majority of 66 to 43, and Governor Jim Hodges signed the bill five days later. On July 1, the flag was removed from the South Carolina statehouse. Current state law prohibits the flag's removal from the statehouse grounds without additional legislation. Police were placed to guard this flag after several attempts by individuals to remove it. Some regard the flag as easier to see in that location than when it was atop the State House Dome.

More recent studies, however, show changing attitudes toward the Confederate battle flag, particularly among blacks - perhaps due to media reports of the issue stemming from legislative battles regarding the flag's official use in Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. In 2005, two Western Carolina University researchers found that 74% of U.S. African-Americans polled favored removal of the flag from the South Carolina Capitol building. Cooper & Knotts, 2005 As battle lines over the use of the flag have (again) hardened, the NAACP and many civil rights groups have attacked the flag. Other groups such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans have actively protested the use of any Confederate flags by the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups, stating that the hate groups are blemishing the memory of the ancestors of the SCV.[1] Some members of the SCV have even faced down Klansmen at their rallies and marches, to protest the inappropriate usage of these flags.[1] The NAACP maintains an official boycott of South Carolina, citing its continued use of the battle flag on its Statehouse grounds.


there is a tad bit of education about it, cited from yahoo answers

This is great NSAG but can you find where the info on yahoo answers came from. I am just wondering the source...yahoo answers can't be source....just place you pulled it from.

The confederate flag is a symbol of pain for a very large and relavent group of people. The "pride" associated with it has been the cause of many deaths of innocent people over our country's history. Some symbols and the history behind them are not meant to be worshipped. IMO Only!!

The Confederate battle flag, called the "Southern Cross" or the cross of St. Andrew, has been described variously as a proud emblem of Southern heritage and as a shameful reminder of slavery and segregation. In the past, several Southern states flew the Confederate battle flag along with the U.S. and state flags over their statehouses. Others incorporated the controversial symbol into the design of their state flags. The Confederate battle flag has also been appropriated by the Ku Klux Klan and other racist hate groups. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, more than 500 extremist groups use the Southern Cross as one of their symbols.

I personally wouldnt want to be associated with it. I am 100% Southern guy born and raised...There is soooooo much more history in this great region to be proud of. People are not forced to use the flag as a symbol of pride they choose to. In doing so it just makes progressing the attitude towards the south that much harder.

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/confederate1.html

[NotAnAverageGuy]

This is great NSAG but can you find where the info on yahoo answers came from. I am just wondering the source...yahoo answers can't be source....just place you pulled it from.

The confederate flag is a symbol of pain for a very large and relavent group of people. The "pride" associated with it has been the cause of many deaths of innocent people over our country's history. Some symbols and the history behind them are not meant to be worshipped. IMO Only!!

The Confederate battle flag, called the "Southern Cross" or the cross of St. Andrew, has been described variously as a proud emblem of Southern heritage and as a shameful reminder of slavery and segregation. In the past, several Southern states flew the Confederate battle flag along with the U.S. and state flags over their statehouses. Others incorporated the controversial symbol into the design of their state flags. The Confederate battle flag has also been appropriated by the Ku Klux Klan and other racist hate groups. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, more than 500 extremist groups use the Southern Cross as one of their symbols.

I personally wouldnt want to be associated with it. I am 100% Southern guy born and raised...There is soooooo much more history in this great region to be proud of. People are not forced to use the flag as a symbol of pride they choose to. In doing so it just makes progressing the attitude towards the south that much harder.

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/confederate1.html
No sources were sited for her entry. Sorry, people pull snips from anywhere and don't cite them.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061010204138AAYMKLx

I notice alot of people look at the negative parts instead of the exact history and the positive parts of it but hey that's their thing, not mine.

[weatherboi]

No sources were sited for her entry. Sorry, people pull snips from anywhere and don't cite them.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061010204138AAYMKLx

I notice alot of people look at the negative parts instead of the exact history and the positive parts of it but hey that's their thing, not mine.

Positive is a relative experince. There is a large majority of people that know there is no positive to it. It is an oppressive symbol.

[NotAnAverageGuy]

I am sorry you feel it's an oppressive symbol

I see it as pride as to the south fighting against the north during the civil war but hey that's just me and a few of my other comrades out there who fly the rebel flag along side the american flag.

[weatherboi]

I am sorry you don't

You and your friends may want to understand a little more as to why the south was fighting so hard against the north. Slavery!!

[NotAnAverageGuy]

We are aware of that, we have read both sides of the issue. We are not DUMB REDNECKS like some think.

[weatherboi]

Well if you read the history then you understand the hater stance the south took in order to defend oppression and slavery with that flag as the symbol. You and your friends are either making a conscience decision to defend that or you don't really understand it. Please know I am trying to understand the intent behind defending such a notoriously offensive symbol. What did you and your friends read that brought you to the decision. I know it can't be from that yahoo answers thing you posted.

[NotAnAverageGuy]

We understand the hater stance and we understand the stance behind why some folks stand behind the flag.

We have our reasons for why we do stuff, we defend it because our ancestors fought in the civil war and all that it stands for even the negative aspects. Most of us come from a long line of slave owners, some of us are members of certain organizations that y'all find nasty, etc. But this is MY life and MY friends, we will defend what we feel is right, just as you have the right to fight against it.

Noone will ever agree to things and that is fine with me I have no quams, but I will stand behind the rebel flag till I die.

[weatherboi]

I enjoy alot of the things you say but I am not surprised at your view. Goodluck with that to you and your friends.

[NotAnAverageGuy]

Yup no problem.

[christie]

Just some additional food for thought since we have stumbled onto symbols and how some may find them offensive...

Under the flag of the United States of America do we continue to oppress homosexuals. Any slaughter and removal of Native Americans from their homes after the Flag Resolution of 1777 would have been under the flag of the United States of America.

It has been pointed out that not all history and symbols of our country should be celebrated, yet I am certain that we all have participated in the Pledge of Allegiance, Southerners, Northerners, Midwesterners, West Coasters alike...

Now, please don't assume that I embrace the Confederate Flag and how it has become a symbol of all things ignorant alive and well in the South. I am, however, a proud Southerner. Proud of my family heritage and proud to pass that history, both good and bad, onto future generations.

Being a Southerner encompasses a good deal more than the stigmas of slavery, oppression, conservative Bible-Belt wearing, uneducated, backwardsassness... as someone else mentioned, its usually the two tooth wonder who makes the news and embodies the whole, "Hey Bubba, watch this!"

After all, we have BB King (born on a plantation in Mississippi), Elvis, The Grand Ole Opry, the Parthenon (located in Nashville), Ellen Degeneres, Oprah and Paula Deen... I mean really, what more could you want but some amazing music while you eat something saturated with butter and garnished with bacon waiting for either Ellen or Oprah to come on??

[Darth Denkay]

How do you feel about the Confederate flag? Do you (or any one else that cares to respond) view the flag as a symbol of culture or as a symbol of racism?

To be honest I do view it as both, it is a part of history - however, knowing what it does symbolize I would never display it.

Symbol of racism. I am a 4th generation Floridian. It is a racist flag!! The south has the reputation it does for a reason!!

Weatherboi,

Could you explain what you mean by the sentence in red?

I guess I shouldn't be terribly surprised, but I had actually hoped that this thread would be a place where southerners who are proud can hang. It is interesting though, and I think part of the problem, that just mentioning the South brings up the Confederate flag and rednecks. This is what I am speaking to in terms of stereotypes that really bug me. There are aspects of our history that I am not proud of - of course there are aspects of the entire country's history that I'm not proud of, but since we're talking about the South I won't go there.

As Write14u stated, there are so many things about the South that I am proud of, that I prefer. Our cooking, the beauty of the area, the hospitality, the slower tempo of conversation - SWEET TEA!!!!! So much more than a flag and rednecks.

Let me add that I am not defending slavery in any way, form, or fashion. It is a terrible part of our history, but I wonder why it still defines us today? I can't remember the last time I saw a confederate flag displayed.

So, anyone else proud of who we are???

[Darth Denkay]

:goodpost:

Thank you Christie for so eloquently elaborating on what I sorta brushed across - you did it justice. And you rock!

Just some additional food for thought since we have stumbled onto symbols and how some may find them offensive...

Under the flag of the United States of America do we continue to oppress homosexuals. Any slaughter and removal of Native Americans from their homes after the Flag Resolution of 1777 would have been under the flag of the United States of America.

It has been pointed out that not all history and symbols of our country should be celebrated, yet I am certain that we all have participated in the Pledge of Allegiance, Southerners, Northerners, Midwesterners, West Coasters alike...

Now, please don't assume that I embrace the Confederate Flag and how it has become a symbol of all things ignorant alive and well in the South. I am, however, a proud Southerner. Proud of my family heritage and proud to pass that history, both good and bad, onto future generations.

Being a Southerner encompasses a good deal more than the stigmas of slavery, oppression, conservative Bible-Belt wearing, uneducated, backwardsassness... as someone else mentioned, its usually the two tooth wonder who makes the news and embodies the whole, "Hey Bubba, watch this!"

After all, we have BB King (born on a plantation in Mississippi), Elvis, The Grand Ole Opry, the Parthenon (located in Nashville), Ellen Degeneres, Oprah and Paula Deen... I mean really, what more could you want but some amazing music while you eat something saturated with butter and garnished with bacon waiting for either Ellen or Oprah to come on??

[christie]

Just 'cause I needed to see if I could actually post a youtube:

YouTube- Jason Aldean - She's Country

[Write14u]

As with much in life, hate can be passed down generationally and this happens a lot in the South. I already expressed my thoughts on displaying the Confederate flag, but I'll say one thing: I've seen just as much racism and hatred in other areas of the country. Southerners, however, don't pull punches. If they're a racist sonofabitch, they'll put it right out there, unlike some of the people I've met from other regions who are just as racist but perhaps smarter in that they don't voice it. Racism and hatred -- and the symbols that advocate it -- need to be erased.

Now, moving on to honor the spirit of Wicket's inital post ...

I've lived my entire life in the South, although I've traveled the U.S. extensively. I love the South. I love driving down a street and having some grandpa at his mailbox wave to me. I love my mom's pecan pie and recognize that tea just isn't right unless it's sweet (even though I'm not fond of it. LOL)

The U.S. is just amazing in its beauty and the South is no different. There are beautiful mountains and rolling plains. There's stark beauty to be found in some places and oddities in others. There's something that's oddly crazy beautiful about kudzu overtaking an abandoned house.

I freely acknowledge that there are weird things that happen anywhere in this country, but I'm here to tell you, you haven't seen true weird til you've seen Southern weird. There's things that happen here that couldn't ever happen anywhere else.

There's so much diversity in the music the South has accounted for, from the best of blues and jazz to country and even rap.

The bad stuff stands out like a wart on the end of a nose, but as Wicket says, there's much to love and enjoy here.

So that said, I'll leave you with some of my favorite lyrics from my favorite band, Alabama:
"I'll speak my Southern English, as natural as I please. I'm in the heart of Dixie, Dixie's in the heart of me."

[weatherboi]

To be honest I do view it as both, it is a part of history - however, knowing what it does symbolize I would never display it.



Weatherboi,

Could you explain what you mean by the sentence in red?

I guess I shouldn't be terribly surprised, but I had actually hoped that this thread would be a place where southerners who are proud can hang. It is interesting though, and I think part of the problem, that just mentioning the South brings up the Confederate flag and rednecks. This is what I am speaking to in terms of stereotypes that really bug me. There are aspects of our history that I am not proud of - of course there are aspects of the entire country's history that I'm not proud of, but since we're talking about the South I won't go there.

As Write14u stated, there are so many things about the South that I am proud of, that I prefer. Our cooking, the beauty of the area, the hospitality, the slower tempo of conversation - SWEET TEA!!!!! So much more than a flag and rednecks.

Let me add that I am not defending slavery in any way, form, or fashion. It is a terrible part of our history, but I wonder why it still defines us today? I can't remember the last time I saw a confederate flag displayed.

So, anyone else proud of who we are???

Hey there Wicket!!

The south has the reputation it does because it is still deeply influenced by generations of a region of people that were brought up to think it is ok to oppress. I see it influence in my nieces. I hear the "n" word used by ingnorant southern guys and gals constantly that surround my everyday life through work. Like it is no big deal. The south has always been the slowest part of the country to progress since the beginning of this country. It is in our history. This is what I meant by that statement. Hope this helps!!


Ohhh BTW I am proud of my southern heritage. I just dont feel a need to address it. I do feel a need to address the flag and people who feel a need to defend it. I think it makes the south look bad and goes against the progression of the region.

[Unndunn]

I have lived my entire life in Connecticut and am a proud New Englander. But I have to say that I have loved the people I've met in the South. When we were young we used to pile into the station wagon and head south to visit our grandma in Florida. Even as kids we noticed that people are much more open and friendly in the southern states. The food is better too!

We have plenty of people up here who would be called rednecks if they lived elsewhere. There are a lot of politically correct types here and I find that most people don't say how they really feel about things. I don't think that's good. It might look nice on the surface but there's still plenty of racism and intolerance here too, it's just that most of it is hidden.

My point? I've always liked Southerners and think that they have the right idea about a lot of things in life, so keep doing your thing, Dixieland!

Plus they don't have two feet of snow in their yards right now (I hope) :)

[WILDCAT]

I believe we have a deep heartfelt connection from where we are from, regionally. Most of us!

The "SOUTH" is beautiful is so many ways. To deny the racist history behind it and ongoing hateful sentiments are a problem though, IMHO. (Think Katrina and the government's lack of response - again, just MY OPINION here.)

I love the southern accents, the wonderful food, mixed cultures, actually a great deal of the history and if I was from there I would want to be proud of my heritage - just as I am from being raised here in the north.
__

When I moved (years back) to Houston from PA, I was stuck in a traffic jam with my partner then... and across the radio came this DJ saying "All of the GOD DAMN YANKEES here are screwing things up and we should do something about it"! I still had PA plates on. We had moved there during the job crunch back here in the north, and it was BOOMING there in that area at that time - for expansion.

Although, the "illegal" immigrants were being hired the most for construction and the new influx/building of the city jobs - as they could be hired for under minimum wage - and off the books. And "no insurance" coverage...

Anyway, my lover and I slowly looked the the left and then to the right in our car - to see if "maybe" anyone happened to be on the same radio station and see our plates. Let me tell you, I will never forget that. (Now please this isn't about "Texas", only one experience of southern FEAR and bigotry.) My one friend was beat up too, being pulled over by the police - as she had queer women's bumper stickers on her truck.

And I was politically active then, when I went there - meeting up with folks who had moved there from New York. We demonstrated against the KKK affiliated police who had gone into a housing project and beat up Eleanore Bumpers - just a sweet elderly woman, minding her own, but was used as a message by the KKK! (I think I have the name right here, this was back in the very early '80's.)

And then HERE... in my area. There are a "couple" of young guys (primarily young - maybe a few older guys) who have a confederate flag in the back of their big trucks - who really don't understand what it means. (They think it is about guns and the wild west and stuff like that.) However, they also happen to be racist in attitude, against queers, Jews, etc... anyone, but white straight males.

Also, folks are called "redneck" here too. It is not just a southern expression. I don't think that is fair that that expression is derived from the south and their "history".

Now, having said THAT... folks around here are clearly uncomfortable with that flag otherwise. But, I am uncomfortable with the American flag - for I do feel the Native Indians were here first. So, yes... when I go to the post office for stamps - I say, "anything but the flag". That is not that I don't love this country, that I don't support the folks fighting for us in other counties (in the military), etc... That is JUST "my expression" through a simple choice.

But, if you are from the south, I believe you should be proud. I don't believe you should feel shame and guilt for what happened before us. I don't with the Native Indians and African Americans here (I did when I was younger and first learned about this all, that our history books were NOT quite "accurate" about) - but, I DO feel terrible that white folks DID these atrocities to other living human beings and I feel a certain responsibility and obligation, even IF only to stand up against such symbols used in the most inappropriate ways. (Meaning fear inducing and such - to "keep folks in their place", such as the misuse of that flag.) Pride? IF you are standing behind a horrible part of history with your beliefs? That is not the good side of the south to be proud of, IMHO.

This is kind of rambly... I want to state that I wouldn't come into this thread and post, "me and by friends are in groups that you all wouldn't be too happy about". How do you think that makes ANY person, NOT into "what you are possibly inferring" here, (that you would state that you canNOT even write about it) feel regarding "safety" in being part of this community then?

If one is talking KKK or Neo-Nazi/skinheads... remember they HATE all of us, queers included.

Really. Just think about it. Please. Thank you.

WILDCAT

[christie]

I don't think any evolved Southerner disputes that racism is alive and well - and as others have pointed out, its not indigenous to the South. Perhaps the issue is that Southern folks tend to speak their minds and wear their "isms" as a badge of honor.

My family, while not officially affiliated with any of the groups who think that 400tc sheets are better costumes than bed linens, is racist. Its not just against African Americans, but against anyone who isn't Caucasian, Baptist, Heterosexual, and Conservative. Imagine their dismay when I use the outspokenness taught at their knee and my very existence forces them to be silent about the "queers, fags, dykes (insert any other derogatory term here)."

My brotherinlaw (Jess's brother) proudly displays his confederate flag and it IS his symbol of racism and oppression. I thought that for Christmas we might give him a rainbow flag to run up along side of it... LOL

I don't think that the use of "illegal" aliens in the workforce is a Southern issue. I am sure the practice is a national issue...

Back to the all good things Southern... food... now there is something to celebrate! Nothing better than a slab of Memphis-style dry ribs washed down with the "house wine of the south"... iced tea so sweet its like instant diabetes! Kentucky bourbon... don't even get me started on my ongoing affair with Jim Beam backed by Sundrop soda :toast: (If you aren't familiar with Sundrop, lemme know and I will be glad to educate you!)

Southern women... my oh my... who else but Dixie Carter as Julia Sugarbaker could tell you that you are the most ignorant fucktard on the face of the planet in that melodic southern drawl while dressed in a lovely powersuit and make you LIKE it??!?!?!? :thud: Anyone who knows me in real life, knows that I have that drawl and it seems to disguise the sharp tongue and makes the everpresent sarcasm more palatable... I like to think of it as camouflage.

I'm sure that there are many things that are associated Southern that we should not be proud of... but like with everything else, I don't get to pick only the parts that I like... being Southern, to me, means that I take the good and the bad and try to live my truth. Southern is just another descriptor to me... and one I wear proudly.

Christie

[Legendryder]

You know, it is very funny to me. I live and have lived in Georgia for nearly 25 years, have been a very out gay person, and have never once had anyone give me any problems about it. Matter of fact, the only time I have ever been given a problem was up in Ohio. Most of my friends are straight, biker types. I don't know if that is the difference or not.

My sister lives in San Fran, and everytime I go out there, her friends do anything they can to get me to talk. Guess they like the accent or something. I find the people around here have a great sense of humor about the perception others have of Southerners. I am looking for a t-shirt to send my sister. I live not too far from where the movie Deliverance was filmed. There is a t-shirt that says "Paddle faster, I hear banjo music!" I really need to find that one to send her. rofl

[WILDCAT]

No, I wasn't intending to imply that hiring illegal immigrants was a "southern" thing. Not at all.

I was simply stating why I went to Texas then, and had difficulty finding work. I believe the immigrants were used in the worst kind of way at that time - there. Then. My experience.

This same practice is going on in the north too, right now...

(Texas is a major Mexican boarder state of course. It was "win/win" for the condo and complex contruction corporations/businesses during that time.)

Yep, there are bigots everywhere. Ohio included. PA for sure. And on and on... it sadly goes. Regarding the flag and southern pride (?) Please, continue on.

And I'll bow out here...


PEACE

[Legendryder]

Personally, I could care less if someone wants to fly that darned rag (er, flag), to me it just gives everyone a warning that a dumbass lives here. All they get from me is an eyeroll.

As far as living in the south? I live here cause I love it. Some on the best areas in the country to ride motorcycles. It fits me right down to the ground. Low speed, high drag. :motorbike:

[Dude]

We understand the hater stance and we understand the stance behind why some folks stand behind the flag.

We have our reasons for why we do stuff, we defend it because our ancestors fought in the civil war and all that it stands for even the negative aspects.


Most of us come from a long line of slave owners, some of us are members of certain organizations that y'all find nasty, etc.

But this is MY life and MY friends, we will defend what we feel is right, just as you have the right to fight against it.

Noone will ever agree to things and that is fine with me I have no quams, but I will stand behind the rebel flag till I die.


Your reasons would be what exactly?
Even the negative aspects to me means you are all about white power.

You say slave owners with such an ease it feels to me like your proud of that.

What are you defending that feels sooo right?
The right to fly your flag in your bedroom?
To feel proud of your white roots?

Why not hang it in the back window of your pickup or front window of your apt. if
your so proud of your stance?
Have you lost any friends or dates after they saw your symbol of hate?

Would you really die for what your flag represents to a
black person?

[daisygrrl]

I’ve been watching this thread with a lot of interest, and there’s been a lot of ‘thangs to chew on’ :-)

I want to get this out of the way: As for the ‘rebel flag,’ it does make me uneasy to see it actively embraced when it is used to represent hatred and human exploitation. Recently, when I was traveling across the South, I saw a huge Confederate flag at a local business; I honestly did not feel safe in stopping there alone (and with a rainbow-oriented tattoo on my wrist). That’s just how I feel.

Born in Alabama, and transplanted to Florida, I’ve lived in the 'deep' South most of my life. And, I’ve finally gotten to the place where I do embrace being a Southerner—for the reasons that several posters (Christie, Wicket, Write) have mentioned. I love (and try to embody) some of the good stuff: the hospitality, the accent (when it suits my purposes--it's a-m-az-ing what a southern drawl can getcha sometimes), opening doors for others, the home-cookin’, and even the silly lil way we banter together [an example is you-tubed below].

I feel at home in the South and I would prefer to live here; I simply adore the charms of Southern ladies and butches (nodoubtaboutit). That being said, I know there is hatred and blatant ignorance still thriving here; but, this is not regulated to one region or type of person.

YouTube- Steel Magnolias "He is a boil on the butt of humanity!"

[NotAnAverageGuy]

Your reasons would be what exactly?
Even the negative aspects to me means you are all about white power.

my reasons are my own, I said it shows my pride of my heritage

You say slave owners with such an ease it feels to me like your proud of that.

What are you defending that feels sooo right?
The right to fly your flag in your bedroom?
To feel proud of your white roots?

Yes and yes
Why not hang it in the back window of your pickup or front window of your apt. if
your so proud of your stance?

At my apartment complex we are not allowed to fly any flags, it is stated in our lease agreement, the only place that can fly the american flag is the complex office.


Have you lost any friends or dates after they saw your symbol of hate?

no I have not

Would you really die for what your flag represents to a
black person?

Yes I would

I'm curious, what organizations are you a member of?

I am confederate states of america member, its a small group of my friends who get together to discuss things and beliefs. It does no harm to anyone because we do not take it outside of our own homes.

[hottprof]

*Disclaimer there maybe use of era related terminology in the attached links if this offends you my apologies. However, if you pick up any history book about the American Civil War you will read the “politically incorrect” rhetoric of the day. *

*I do not typically post in controversial threads because my words I feel are better spoken on topics I may or may not agree with. But it has come to my attention through my friends here on this site that my words are needed in something that is not all “fun and fluff.” *

Oh wow, where do I start (this thread is a bummer and has unnecessary dramatics)... though I do have to say as a historian I am really appalled by the so called teachings of American students, being the product of the public school systems hell even I am not happy with all of my education but that is neither here nor there. I wish personally that people would first think about what they are saying and how they say it instead of just speaking out of pure hatred and anger towards another human being regardless of their beliefs. Just because someone does not agree with you doesn’t mean that pressing your opinion of the matter on them will get them to change their minds. It is hard to change 200+ years of personal and familial history with one post.

The battle flag of northern Virginia vs the confederate flag:

http://www.civilwarhome.com/battleflag.htm
http://www.civilwarhome.com/confederateflags.htm
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CLASS/AM483_97/projects/sarratt/intro.html

since this is a web thread I will all assume if you want to learn you will read and learn if not that’s cool too I am just trying to clarify this is a learning experience for all of us.

It is easy to use any kind of symbol to define your belief system. The cross is something some Christians use to define their belief. The pentagram is a symbol of belief for some pagans. The American flag is something to define the beliefs of a nation. The rainbow pride flag is the belief that no matter with color, creed, nationality or sexual desire your belief in it gives you hope. The swastika was something the Nazis used to define their belief. A Starbucks cup is defined as the belief that coffee will make your day right. An African American fist in the air is defined as a Black Panther movement. Two fingers in the air making a “V,” defines the belief in peace.

Symbols became that way for a reason. Someone somewhere believed in them. So take your own beliefs and learn from others. It doesn’t matter what color or creed you come from just know that WE are a community here and need to embrace others opinions. We do not have to enjoy them or even like them but we should open our minds to them…

Besides I thought this was a thread about being a proud southerner… and where and how I am going to have my first real southern cooked food (sure stereo typical but the south to me means AMAZING FOOD, warm hospitality and a slowed down pace of living.) I still have not had homemade grits, collard greens with bacon, fried chicken with biscuts and gravy with a side of mac and cheese.

Smiles :frog:

*just my dollars worth hate me if you want*

peace

[daisygrrl]

I just ran across Ms. Laura's "Southern Guide to (Internet) Dating" and had a bit of a laugh-fest. Perhaps this guide explains why some people (including myself) prefer to date Southerners (or Southern-appreciators). I love the whole decorum & manners ("unspoken rules", which can be broken after years of knowing someone). Plus, everything sounds so much purdier when said in a Southern drawl, don't ya'll thaank soo?

YouTube- Southern Guide to Internet Dating Chpt 1 (what to say)

[evolveme]

I was born in the South (in a place nestled up close to the mouth of the mighty Mississippi), lived all but a handful of my years in the South (almost entirely the Deep South) and, yes ma’am, I’m proud of it.

Daniel de Preux : “It is easier to run North and join the crowd. But to stay and fight, that's the Southern woman.”

And I do. See, I could move to say, Berkley, California, where nearly everyone I meet will share my political philosophy but what is the fun in that, I want to know? There’s so much more work to be done here, and as I have said, the story, like the soil, is richer. Further, I could move to parts of the Pacific Northwest where I could go days without seeing a minority, but here, where I live, more than 30% of the population is Black, and a great many of us are poor to lower middle and working class. That is partly why the story is richer – the characters are so interesting, y’all.

We’re all rubbing up against each other here, fighting for a piece of the pie (make mine pecan). This kind of struggle – going on now a long time – certainly works to keep racism (as with other isms) good and alive, but the South is not unique in hosting racism. Folks who won’t let go of a notion of “The Confederacy” don’t help things, and sociologically speaking, there are a good many more of these folks who are poor and white than there are wealthy and white. This is because racism thrives among two groups when they are fighting for resources, and historically, Black people as a group have not met with the opportunity (read: it has systemically been denied them) to achieve the resources at the same level/to the same degree as white folks.

Now before you gear up your jingoism and start posting about that one Black guy who loves his rebel flag and contributes to Civil War reenactments, or that (tiny) legion of “aristocratic” whites who believe the Confederate flag should live proudly outside Southern statehouses, I’ll remind you that those are piteous anomalies and merely anecdotal, and that the subject of this thread revolves around why the South is so damn cool, which those stories ain’t got snot to do with, but thanks.

We’re a hard scrabble people while mostly maintaining a decorum not unlike chivalry. Southern Hospitality is legion, and everyone, everywhere knows about it. If they haven’t experienced it, well, they should have. Sugar, you sit right down and we’ll fix you right up with a glass of something good and cold to drink and how ‘bout some warm biscuits and butter and we’ll just tell you all about it? And everything and everyone else? We tell the best stories, see.

You won’t be bored. Nor hungry. Nor thirsty.

Our food literally makes the concept of “comfort.” (Descendent of slave food, it needed to do just that.) Except if it’s Cajun, then you don’t want to get too comfortable or you might be sittin’ too low and not be able to reach your glass of beer right at that moment when you really need to wash down some cayenne. But awww, it’s good, yeah!

Southerners move a little easier, talk a little slower than everybody else. I’m in love with their faces and hands, with their easy gestures and give-away-smiles. On the whole, they’re less suspicious, but give ‘em a reason not to trust you, and brother, back it up. Which lends itself to: If you ever need good back up, find a Southerner. It’s likely their indignation at the very idea of dishonor will have them bowin’ up big as a king cobra. Now, don’t be frightened; see, Southerners might even make the best lovers, too. What with all that in-born sensuality. (Something about the temperate climate and high humidity keeps things a-cookin’. )

I really could go on, but I’ll give somebody else a turn.

[NotAnAverageGuy]

*Disclaimer there maybe use of era related terminology in the attached links if this offends you my apologies. However, if you pick up any history book about the American Civil War you will read the “politically incorrect” rhetoric of the day. *

*I do not typically post in controversial threads because my words I feel are better spoken on topics I may or may not agree with. But it has come to my attention through my friends here on this site that my words are needed in something that is not all “fun and fluff.” *

Oh wow, where do I start (this thread is a bummer and has unnecessary dramatics)... though I do have to say as a historian I am really appalled by the so called teachings of American students, being the product of the public school systems hell even I am not happy with all of my education but that is neither here nor there. I wish personally that people would first think about what they are saying and how they say it instead of just speaking out of pure hatred and anger towards another human being regardless of their beliefs. Just because someone does not agree with you doesn’t mean that pressing your opinion of the matter on them will get them to change their minds. It is hard to change 200+ years of personal and familial history with one post.

The battle flag of northern Virginia vs the confederate flag:

http://www.civilwarhome.com/battleflag.htm
http://www.civilwarhome.com/confederateflags.htm
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CLASS/AM483_97/projects/sarratt/intro.html

since this is a web thread I will all assume if you want to learn you will read and learn if not that’s cool too I am just trying to clarify this is a learning experience for all of us.

It is easy to use any kind of symbol to define your belief system. The cross is something some Christians use to define their belief. The pentagram is a symbol of belief for some pagans. The American flag is something to define the beliefs of a nation. The rainbow pride flag is the belief that no matter with color, creed, nationality or sexual desire your belief in it gives you hope. The swastika was something the Nazis used to define their belief. A Starbucks cup is defined as the belief that coffee will make your day right. An African American fist in the air is defined as a Black Panther movement. Two fingers in the air making a “V,” defines the belief in peace.

Symbols became that way for a reason. Someone somewhere believed in them. So take your own beliefs and learn from others. It doesn’t matter what color or creed you come from just know that WE are a community here and need to embrace others opinions. We do not have to enjoy them or even like them but we should open our minds to them…

Besides I thought this was a thread about being a proud southerner… and where and how I am going to have my first real southern cooked food (sure stereo typical but the south to me means AMAZING FOOD, warm hospitality and a slowed down pace of living.) I still have not had homemade grits, collard greens with bacon, fried chicken with biscuts and gravy with a side of mac and cheese.

Smiles :frog:

*just my dollars worth hate me if you want*

peace



If you visit the south, a recommendation from me to you:

http://www.ladyandsons.com/

Paula Deen's restaurant

[christie]

*

Besides I thought this was a thread about being a proud southerner… and where and how I am going to have my first real southern cooked food (sure stereo typical but the south to me means AMAZING FOOD, warm hospitality and a slowed down pace of living.) I still have not had homemade grits, collard greens with bacon, fried chicken with biscuts and gravy with a side of mac and cheese.


No need to go all the way to SC to see Paula... stop in VA and you'll have one of Richmond's top three chef's cooking for you... yep, that's my Jess!!

You know our door is always open... you might have to share a bed with the two rotten mini schnauzers or a couple of demon cats, but come the morning, there is NOTHING better than the sausage gravy...

[Jess]

No need to go all the way to SC to see Paula... stop in VA and you'll have one of Richmond's top three chef's cooking for you... yep, that's my Jess!!

You know our door is always open... you might have to share a bed with the two rotten mini schnauzers or a couple of demon cats, but come the morning, there is NOTHING better than the sausage gravy...


Lord yes, we love some gravy! One day I will convince her to have grits the proper way.. without sugar!!! LOL!

I know, I know.. the only civil(ized) war that goes on around here is Savory grits VS dessert grits. I usually defer to Barney...

YouTube- Barney Fife - Nip It

[NotAnAverageGuy]

Lord yes, we love some gravy! One day I will convince her to have grits the proper way.. without sugar!!! LOL!

I know, I know.. the only civil(ized) war that goes on around here is Savory grits VS dessert grits. I usually defer to Barney...

YouTube- Barney Fife - Nip It (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de_P2aUZJyA)

what about grits with butter or grits with fruit?

[christie]

Lord yes, we love some gravy! One day I will convince her to have grits the proper way.. without sugar!!! LOL!

I know, I know.. the only civil(ized) war that goes on around here is Savory grits VS dessert grits. I usually defer to Barney...

YouTube- Barney Fife - Nip It (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de_P2aUZJyA)


Dear gawd... Hy has figured out youtubes... ya'll may regret this...

That being said... leave my grits ALONE... grits with butter and sugar are like ice cream to me...

Not that I eat them anymore... but if I do... they will be loaded with all things diabetes and heart disease...

[Jess]

Huge fan of the grits! My yankee dad ( native new yawker) would poo poo the grit yet he would nosh on scrapple for chris'sake!

I prefer stone ground ( coarse, slow cooking) grits cooked with butter, chicken stock, heavy cream a smidge of roasted garlic and a heaping helping of grated cheese. Serve it up as a side dish for shrimp or a cajun spiced ribeye or for breakfast with grilled andouille and carmelized onions. Leftover grits can be turned into a torte of sorts ( or grit cake) by mixing a custard into it and adding chopped country ham ( or other fav salty meat!) and baking to "set". Great for slicing and grilling or serving as a "bottom" for canapes or makes a great treat with a salad for a lighter lunch.

I can be as passionate about all things southern. The food is just one of the many things that endear me to this part of the country!

Y'all come back now, ya hear?!?!

[turasultana]

Huge fan of the grits! My yankee dad ( native new yawker) would poo poo the grit yet he would nosh on scrapple for chris'sake!

I prefer stone ground ( coarse, slow cooking) grits cooked with butter, chicken stock, heavy cream a smidge of roasted garlic and a heaping helping of grated cheese. Serve it up as a side dish for shrimp or a cajun spiced ribeye or for breakfast with grilled andouille and carmelized onions. Leftover grits can be turned into a torte of sorts ( or grit cake) by mixing a custard into it and adding chopped country ham ( or other fav salty meat!) and baking to "set". Great for slicing and grilling or serving as a "bottom" for canapes or makes a great treat with a salad for a lighter lunch.

I can be as passionate about all things southern. The food is just one of the many things that endear me to this part of the country!

Y'all come back now, ya hear?!?!

OMG I do believe me and Stray need to come over to dinner...then stay till breakfast. :)

[Jess]

OMG I do believe me and Stray need to come over to dinner...then stay till breakfast. :)

Y'all come on down... the same two schnauzer or two kitty rule applies though.. ya may get bed buddies :D

[turasultana]

Y'all come on down... the same two schnauzer or two kitty rule applies though.. ya may get bed buddies :D

We have 5 cats, there are ALWAYS bed buddies. :)

[hottprof]

If you visit the south, a recommendation from me to you:

http://www.ladyandsons.com/

Paula Deen's restaurant


OMG that looks and sounds amazing do you think Paula will be there?.. too bad it is in Savanah georgia... oh well.. so does that mean you are asking me on a date? just askin'

No need to go all the way to SC to see Paula... stop in VA and you'll have one of Richmond's top three chef's cooking for you... yep, that's my Jess!!

You know our door is always open... you might have to share a bed with the two rotten mini schnauzers or a couple of demon cats, but come the morning, there is NOTHING better than the sausage gravy...


oh I know the door is always open However.. sleeping with unfamiliar pet dander will leave me unable to taste any of the southern cooking.. so lets work on that one... I do love a homecooked meal that I do not have to cook...

Thanks ya'll for the suggestions and hospitality...

Smiles :frog:

[NotAnAverageGuy]

OMG that looks and sounds amazing do you think Paula will be there?.. too bad it is in Savanah georgia... oh well.. so does that mean you are asking me on a date? just askin'




oh I know the door is always open However.. sleeping with unfamiliar pet dander will leave me unable to taste any of the southern cooking.. so lets work on that one... I do love a homecooked meal that I do not have to cook...

Thanks ya'll for the suggestions and hospitality...

Smiles :frog:



Date? Maybe? :giggle: Only if you share the fried green tomatoes with me.....

[hottprof]

Date? Maybe? :giggle: Only if you share the fried green tomatoes with me.....

I will share I promise ... though, I have never had those either...

I am so deprived (totally kidding)....


Smiles :frog:

[NotAnAverageGuy]

I will share I promise ... though, I have never had those either...

I am so deprived (totally kidding)....


Smiles :frog:

Ohhh I got a promise? FGT are awesome.... but I like Fried Pickles better.

And yeah you are deprived from certain foods.

:rolleyes:

[hottprof]

Ohhh I got a promise? FGT are awesome.... but I like Fried Pickles better.

And yeah you are deprived from certain foods.

:rolleyes:

southern food... though when I was in Texas when I was younger I had dill pickled cactus... oooooh and pralines OMGosh sugar shock.... so good

what kinds of "weird" southerm foods do you love that might sound weird to someone not from the south...

Smiles :frog:

[Write14u]

No need to go all the way to SC to see Paula... stop in VA and you'll have one of Richmond's top three chef's cooking for you... yep, that's my Jess!!

You know our door is always open... you might have to share a bed with the two rotten mini schnauzers or a couple of demon cats, but come the morning, there is NOTHING better than the sausage gravy...

Well, I'm definitely in the bottom three of anywhere's cooking (unless we're talking grilling), but come on down and I'll take you over to momma's. In the South, now that's sacred. *grin*

[Write14u]

southern food... though when I was in Texas when I was younger I had dill pickled cactus... oooooh and pralines OMGosh sugar shock.... so good

what kinds of "weird" southerm foods do you love that might sound weird to someone not from the south...

Smiles :frog:

Southerners will fry anything: Twinkies, green beans, asparagus. You name it.
I guess it depends on what you consider weird. I mean, to some, crawdads might be weird.
*grin*
Oh, and I say to hell with Paula Deen. If you want some good cooking and a taste of the south, this is where you need to go: http://www.mrswilkes.com
They seat you around a big ol' dining room table with 8-10 of the bestest buddies you never met before and everyone passes around platters of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, mac and cheese and big ol biscuits, and good god, you better save room for dessert. *grin*

[Jess]

Southerners will fry anything: Twinkies, green beans, asparagus. You name it.
I guess it depends on what you consider weird. I mean, to some, crawdads might be weird.
*grin*
Oh, and I say to hell with Paula Deen. If you want some good cooking and a taste of the south, this is where you need to go: http://www.mrswilkes.com
They seat you around a big ol' dining room table with 8-10 of the bestest buddies you never met before and everyone passes around platters of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, mac and cheese and big ol biscuits, and good god, you better save room for dessert. *grin*



Well alrighty then! I LOVE this style of dining! Thanks for the link...

I love the way Southerners do everything with gusto! Cooking is not just cooking.. it's a sport!

Beware any dining experience that is preceeded by "Wooooooohhhooooo!!"

YouTube- turkey drop 2007

[christie]

Well alrighty then! I LOVE this style of dining! Thanks for the link...

I love the way Southerners do everything with gusto! Cooking is not just cooking.. it's a sport!

Beware any dining experience that is preceeded by "Wooooooohhhooooo!!"

YouTube- turkey drop 2007 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9M7s0eiUT4&feature=related)

Just an FYI... we will NOT be trying this method out. While I constantly threaten to wax Jess's eyebrows while Hy sleeps, I would rather them be unruly than singed.

Speaking of the South and traditions... What holiday traditions are geographic? Do you trudge over the hill and thru the woods to cut your own tree?

My parents grew up both very very rural (tobacco farm - no indoor plumbing and tar paper "shotgun house" in Florida). For Christmas, part of their presents were oranges and nuts. Both were considered highly special and reveered. To this day, they put oranges and nuts in the grandkids' and great grandkids' stockings.

My father's birthday is December 23rd. Because it is so close to Christmas, he usually just gets socks, undershirts and briefs. Its his tradition to have a picture made with briefs on his head! LMAO... Tomorrow is his 74th birthday and it won't be complete until his drawers are on his head. I can't wait to see it. :)

Christie

[Jess]

One of the beautiful things about the south.. is how we don't hide our crazies... we adore them!

YouTube- Crazy People in the South

[daisygrrl]

That being said... leave my grits ALONE... grits with butter and sugar are like ice cream to me...

Yes--this is exactly it! I love 'em naked save (except) some buttah! Sugar, though...I may have to try that...



I love the way Southerners do everything with gusto! Cooking is not just cooking.. it's a sport!

Beware any dining experience that is preceeded by "Wooooooohhhooooo!!"

YouTube- turkey drop 2007 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9M7s0eiUT4&feature=related)

Dad-gum, that looks like fun! I love the dude who hollers: "I think we have [achieved] fire!"



what kinds of "weird" southerm foods do you love that might sound weird to someone not from the south...

My family does a lil something called "chocolate and biscuits"--it's just cocoa, tons of sugar, and some yummy biscuits :-) It never ceases to make someone wrinkle their noses.

come the morning, there is NOTHING better than the sausage gravy...

And, biscuits (my absolute weakness), purdy purdy please?! :awww:

[daisygrrl]

One of the beautiful things about the south.. is how we don't hide our crazies... we adore them!

YouTube- Crazy People in the South (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3KQgulBzh0&feature=related)

In response:
[Gosh-darn, I love me some Ouiser]

YouTube- OUISER BOUDREAUX: "I'M NOT CRAZY M'LYNN..."

[hottprof]

http://www.mrswilkes.com


Aside from twinkies (never had one never want one)... I can not do family style unless I am with people I know and NO little kids. There is a place around me with good ole "Amish" ie Pennsylvania Dutch cooking (my kinda food) that serves it family style but I can not fathom it. I have seen people sneeze then pass the bowl, putting their fingers in it, *gag*... but if we all got together and went there are better possibilities.


My family does a lil something called "chocolate and biscuits"--it's just cocoa, tons of sugar, and some yummy biscuits :-) It never ceases to make someone wrinkle their noses.

that actually sounds good. no nose wrinkle here...

Smiles :frog:

[Jess]

In response:
[Gosh-darn, I love me some Ouiser]

YouTube- OUISER BOUDREAUX: "I'M NOT CRAZY M'LYNN..." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npowfjbAMc8)

At some point, ALL things go back to Steel Magnolias.. or Forest Gump!

This is my Forest to her Jenny :awww:


YouTube- Forrest Gump - I know what love is

[Jess]

Aside from twinkies (never had one never want one)... I can not do family style unless I am with people I know and NO little kids. There is a place around me with good ole "Amish" ie Pennsylvania Dutch cooking (my kinda food) that serves it family style but I can not fathom it. I have seen people sneeze then pass the bowl, putting their fingers in it, *gag*... but if we all got together and went there are better possibilities.



that actually sounds good. no nose wrinkle here...

Smiles :frog:

OK.. You may be onto something with the sharing a table ( and bowls) with strangers.. coz down here.. some are a lot stranger than others!

[Write14u]

Well alrighty then! I LOVE this style of dining! Thanks for the link...

I love the way Southerners do everything with gusto! Cooking is not just cooking.. it's a sport!

Beware any dining experience that is preceeded by "Wooooooohhhooooo!!"

YouTube- turkey drop 2007 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9M7s0eiUT4&feature=related)

Yeah, that video also probably started with "Hey y'all, watch this!"

[Write14u]

Aside from twinkies (never had one never want one)... I can not do family style unless I am with people I know and NO little kids. There is a place around me with good ole "Amish" ie Pennsylvania Dutch cooking (my kinda food) that serves it family style but I can not fathom it. I have seen people sneeze then pass the bowl, putting their fingers in it, *gag*... but if we all got together and went there are better possibilities.

Smiles :frog:

OK.. You may be onto something with the sharing a table ( and bowls) with strangers.. coz down here.. some are a lot stranger than others!

Yeah, but we're much more polite down here in the South.

And the best thing about the South is that "Bless your(/their) heart" covers everything. It can be meant sincerely or facetiously. It's wonderful. It can cover the worst insult ever.
"Why Johnny ain't got a lick of sense, bless his heart."

And for the record, everyone should REALLY, REALLY encourge e to tell y'all about her momma!

[Jess]

I'm game! Miss e.. "nice shoes, howsyermomma?"

[Write14u]

I'm game! Miss e.. "nice shoes, howsyermomma?"

and the rest of the family....you can't forget the "them"

So it's more like:

How's your mommeranem?

[Jess]

and the rest of the family....you can't forget the "them"

So it's more like:

How's your mommeranem?


LMAO! I thought that right as I hit send! This post was almost edited to add:
andem????

[Write14u]

People gonna be thinking we're crazier than we are. LOL

Hey e.....come give these fine people a story about your momma, purty please with sugar on top?

[NotAnAverageGuy]

This thread has made me hungry

[Legendryder]

Yes--this is exactly it! I love 'em naked save (except) some buttah! Sugar, though...I may have to try that...



Dad-gum, that looks like fun! I love the dude who hollers: "I think we have [achieved] fire!"



My family does a lil something called "chocolate and biscuits"--it's just cocoa, tons of sugar, and some yummy biscuits :-) It never ceases to make someone wrinkle their noses.



And, biscuits (my absolute weakness), purdy purdy please?! :awww:

Well, I make some of the best sausage gravy ya ever put in your mouth. But, my all time favorite, hot bauld (sic) p-nuts from the lil ole man on the side of the road.

[Legendryder]

Sorry about the biggo Bob pic. rofl

[christie]

One of my favorite things about the South is music... even in a particular genre, there are many flavors for the ears to taste...

One of my other favorite things is southern women. We rock. Period.

Here's to celebrating all us grownass southern women!

YouTube- Southern Girl - Amos Lee

[christie]

To my dearest Forest...

YouTube- Tim McGraw feat Faith Hill - I Need You (HQ) Official

[Apocalipstic]

To go back to the beginning of the thread.

I love to go barefoot and proud of it! It is warmer in the South.

There are red necks everywhere. Go to a tractor pull in Los Angeles and look for yourselves.

The North actually is way more segregated than the South. In Detroit and Chicago for example the races live pretty separately, not in case in Nashville. I was shocked the first time I visited Detroit, I found it amazingly racist. Still. My G/F is from upstate New York, they did not even go to school with anyone Black or Latino, in the 70's and 80's and her family uses the N word (she does not).

Actually NEW YORK used to be the center of slavery, it was just earlier than in the South. Slavery came to the South with the cotton gin much later on.

Black slaves built the White House and most of our country, its not just the South who had slavery.

The confederate flag? Yes, most people see it as racist, I don't fly it. I did however see a Vespa with a confederate flag on it the other day and almost wrecked laughing.

I love Nashville, it is a great place to be.

It makes me angry to hear about people in the South being dumb and having a bad rep. Come on, everywhere has its drawbacks.

[Jess]

One of my favorite things about the South is music... even in a particular genre, there are many flavors for the ears to taste...

One of my other favorite things is southern women. We rock. Period.

Here's to celebrating all us grownass southern women!

YouTube- Southern Girl - Amos Lee (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slUIDNUnbO4)


Yes indeedy, we love some southern women! We saw this family perform this song last year at the Ryman... Her voice and the acoustics of this wonderful hall of music history brought chills and still do when I hear it! Hope y'all like it!

YouTube- Cherryholmes - Mary Don't You Weep

[christie]

While I may not be the biggest Amy Grant fan... well, this says it best:


YouTube- Amy Grant Tender Tennessee Christmas

[Write14u]

Well, I make some of the best sausage gravy ya ever put in your mouth. But, my all time favorite, hot bauld (sic) p-nuts from the lil ole man on the side of the road.

That guy lives near you too? *grin*

[Legendryder]

That guy lives near you too? *grin*

That guy is everywhere. One of these days, I'm gonna be "that guy". My big want in life is to be the bauld p-nut guy. We all gotta have goals, yanno?

[Legendryder]

Oh, and by the way, here is the CSA website link, just in case anyone THOUGHT this wasn't a racist website, yeah right: http://www.confederatestatesofamerica.org/masterindex.htm

Pretty funny, through out it keeps saying "This is NOT a racist website". Well, gee, if it wasn't why the heck do you keep saying that? Duhhhh.

[Legendryder]

Oh, and by the way, I can take everything this "non-racist" website says, and cite proof that disproves it. So, please, try me. I have nothing else better to do. And a huge academic data base or two to smack you down with. Try me.

[Apocalipstic]

Oh, and by the way, I can take everything this "non-racist" website says, and cite proof that disproves it. So, please, try me. I have nothing else better to do. And a huge academic data base or two to smack you down with. Try me.


Maybe the flag in itself is not racist, but for me, as long as there is a perception of racism, I can't fly it or have anything to do with it.

It does irk me a bit when people outside the South completely see racism and slavery as a Southen issue.

and while we are on the subject of things that irk me...laugh.
It irks the HELL out of me when someone calls me a Southern Belle.
VOMIT
I was not presented at a debutant ball and would not want to be and do not live on a plantation. :angry:

[Toughy]

Aside from those stars and bars as a symbol of slavery and racism; it is also a symbol of a group of States who seceded from the United States......traitors to this country during the Civil War and today.

What I find ironic is the same folks who believe in 'America love it or leave it' think the US was founded as a Christian nation, and wear little US flag lapel pins are also the same ones who belong to the CSA and fly and defend the flag of traitors.

===========
by the way.....we drink sweet tea in the southwest also......actually I thought we in the southwest invented sweet tea.......laughin....

[Apocalipstic]

OK, so the Smokey Mountains!

One of the things I love about the South is the closeness to so many different things. Hills, mountains, beaches, lakes, waterfalls, scenic drives, and so much history!

From the Border Islands to Key West, to Beale Street, to Dallas, to Little Rock, Dauphin Island, Disney World, Atlanta....I could on and on and on....the Everglades, Miami, Athens (all of them), New Orleans.......

But the best part of all, is it usually is not hella cold. :)

[Write14u]

by the way.....we drink sweet tea in the southwest also......actually I thought we in the southwest invented sweet tea.......laughin....

You just think that stuff you drink out there is sweet tea, Toughy. hah!
You can't even find real sweet tea west of the Mississippi. And I include Texas in that. Putting sugar into the tea after you get the cup doesn't make it real sweet tea. LOL


OK, so the Smokey Mountains!

But the best part of all, is it usually is not hella cold. :)

And the choir said, "Amen" to that sista!

[Apocalipstic]

You just think that stuff you drink out there is sweet tea, Toughy. hah!
You can't even find real sweet tea west of the Mississippi. And I include Texas in that. Putting sugar into the tea after you get the cup doesn't make it real sweet tea. LOL




And the choir said, "Amen" to that sista!

Sweet tea in Tennessee has more sugar in it than actual tea. It's kind of a syrup watered down by ice. You don't add the sugar with a spoon, you use a measuring cup or 2, or 3.

What I don't get is iced coffee??? WTH?

[Bob]

Sweet tea in Tennessee has more sugar in it than actual tea. It's kind of a syrup watered down by ice

I thought this was commonly referred to as "Jack Daniel's". ;)

[Write14u]

Sweet tea in Tennessee has more sugar in it than actual tea. It's kind of a syrup watered down by ice. You don't add the sugar with a spoon, you use a measuring cup or 2, or 3.

What I don't get is iced coffee??? WTH?

That's exactly how it's made down here. You take you boiling pan of tea and add in a cup or two of sugar and then some cold water and put it in the fridge. *grin* And voila! Real sweet tea (and I don't even drink the stuff)

I'm with you on the iced coffee. What's the point, I mean? I like mine good and lukewarm. *grin* Well, see, I like hot coffee, but then I let it simmer on down to lukewarm and guzzle it. And yes, I know I'm strange.

[Apocalipstic]

When I was a kid we lived in Argentina, when we would visit Nashville, my mom would make bean bags of grits and pinto beans to smuggle them into Argentina. I still think of grits as a special treat!

[Apocalipstic]

I thought this was commonly referred to as "Jack Daniel's". ;)

Yummy! My grandmother said Jack was medicinal and actualy added sugar to it!
I am a Jim Beam girl myself! :) or Maker's for holidays.

That's exactly how it's made down here. You take you boiling pan of tea and add in a cup or two of sugar and then some cold water and put it in the fridge. *grin* And voila! Real sweet tea (and I don't even drink the stuff)

I'm with you on the iced coffee. What's the point, I mean? I like mine good and lukewarm. *grin* Well, see, I like hot coffee, but then I let it simmer on down to lukewarm and guzzle it. And yes, I know I'm strange.

I do the same thing. I make it hot, let it cool a bit and guzzle. Ice in it is WEIRD. Like today. its 40 degrees and one of my Ohio co-workers has some iced coffee with whipped cream on it? Yuck.

[Apocalipstic]

In my family, we "baul" the water and sugar to make a syrup to use in the tea. This is different from "bauling" the peanuts.

Martha Stewart calls it "Simple Syrup" 1c water & 1c sugar boiled/bauled until it's kinda thick. It's also great in Mojito's and Juleps, keeps you from having that grainy scum on the bottom of your glass.

Who likes grainy scum, anyway?

-June


Grainy scum is gross!

I love love love mojitos!

and

I want pecan pie. Now.

Do y'all say pEEcan oor peCAn?

[Bob]

Do y'all say pEEcan oor peCAn?


Uh, peCAHN, of course. And it's PRAWlines, not PRAYlines.


/native Louisianian

[Apocalipstic]

Uh, peCAHN, of course. And it's PRAWlines, not PRAYlines.


/native Louisianian

I say peCahn, but praylines! :)

[Write14u]

I say peCahn, but praylines! :)

I go either way, PEEcan or PeCAHN. Speaking of which, my momma called and has two of 'em ready for tomorrow night, no matter how it's pronounced.

Speaking of grits, the only way I knew to eat them was with sugar. My dad said it's because they were such a special treat when he was growing up. They got oatmeal all the time, but not grits. So when they got grits, they fixed them the same way as they did their oatmeal -- with sugar.

[Apocalipstic]

I go either way, PEEcan or PeCAHN. Speaking of which, my momma called and has two of 'em ready for tomorrow night, no matter how it's pronounced.

Speaking of grits, the only way I knew to eat them was with sugar. My dad said it's because they were such a special treat when he was growing up. They got oatmeal all the time, but not grits. So when they got grits, they fixed them the same way as they did their oatmeal -- with sugar.

Oh man that sounds great! The pies I mean. :)

I like my grits with red eye gravy!

What kind of gravy you eat is a huge thing in the South...Sawmill, chocolate, red eye, tomato....my favorite of all is red eye. I made poor Cynthia, my long suffering Yankee G/F learn how to make it. *beam*

[NotAnAverageGuy]

Sweet tea in Tennessee has more sugar in it than actual tea. It's kind of a syrup watered down by ice. You don't add the sugar with a spoon, you use a measuring cup or 2, or 3.

What I don't get is iced coffee??? WTH?

I add granulated sugar to the pitchers of tea I make, I used to use all that artifical sweetners back in the day but now its just plain sugar.

[Jess]

I go either way, PEEcan or PeCAHN. Speaking of which, my momma called and has two of 'em ready for tomorrow night, no matter how it's pronounced.

Speaking of grits, the only way I knew to eat them was with sugar. My dad said it's because they were such a special treat when he was growing up. They got oatmeal all the time, but not grits. So when they got grits, they fixed them the same way as they did their oatmeal -- with sugar.

Oh my gay! You just validated my wife's whole sweet vs savory grits thang! We have a rule about the discussion of food on the plate though.. What's on HER plate is HERS.. she is free to enjoy it anyway she chooses. Even if it's so very very wrong! LOL!

I make my sweet tea by bringing bags to a boil.. simmer for five min. Let stand for about ten.. add sugar while still hot... then place in pitcher and fill with ice instead of water. I will cap off the pitcher with more ice after that has melted. I think the "shock" effect of the ice makes it better, but that's just me.

I do use a simple syrup for mint Juelp's. And very specifically Kentucky Colonel Mint. You would be amazed at the arguments surrounding the "origin" of the Julep. What most southerners do agree with however, is the amount of bourbon used. Read: LOTS!

[Kast]

I love the various Southern accents... I like the New Orleans and especially Savannah's. I could sit and listen to someone from Savannah speak all day long and I'd be drooling.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Holiday... for the Christians - do you traditionally open your presents on the eve or on the morning?

[Write14u]

Oh my gay! You just validated my wife's whole sweet vs savory grits thang! We have a rule about the discussion of food on the plate though.. What's on HER plate is HERS.. she is free to enjoy it anyway she chooses. Even if it's so very very wrong! LOL!

I make my sweet tea by bringing bags to a boil.. simmer for five min. Let stand for about ten.. add sugar while still hot... then place in pitcher and fill with ice instead of water. I will cap off the pitcher with more ice after that has melted. I think the "shock" effect of the ice makes it better, but that's just me.

I do use a simple syrup for mint Juelp's. And very specifically Kentucky Colonel Mint. You would be amazed at the arguments surrounding the "origin" of the Julep. What most southerners do agree with however, is the amount of bourbon used. Read: LOTS!

Jess, I was in college before I knew there was any other way to eat grits. *grin*
But I saw your version earlier in the thread and that sounds like the way some of the upscale restaurants do it around here and it tastes damn good. I'll be quite happy to sample yours!

[hottprof]

Well, I make some of the best sausage gravy ya ever put in your mouth. But, my all time favorite, hot bauld (sic) p-nuts from the lil ole man on the side of the road.

okay I could look it up but I need to know from the sources...

what the heck on earth is hot bauld peanuts.. lol... boiled? peanuts... what does that even taste like? I know what roasted ones are... but this is new to me.. please share

Smiles :frog:

[Write14u]

okay I could look it up but I need to know from the sources...

what the heck on earth is hot bauld peanuts.. lol... boiled? peanuts... what does that even taste like? I know what roasted ones are... but this is new to me.. please share

Smiles :frog:


Oh wow, where to begin ...
It's hard to explain. Yes, bauld = boiled (just said in the vernacular).
Boiled peanuts taste nothing like roasted. When peanuts are boiled, they take on the flavoring of whatever you boil them with (they have specialty versions too, like the hot, cajun ones our peanut guy brings around to our news room).

A lot of people will actually suck on the shell first to get the full flavor before pulling it open for the peanuts. mmmmm.

You really need to come check out the Southern delicacies. *grin*

[Jet]

I'm a yankee and will never change although I live in Atlanta. The culture, people, and sensibilities are distinctly different from the north and it took a lot for me to get used to them. I'm respectful of southern sensibilities and traditions but will never adopt them. I guess you just have to be born and bred. Also, I came here for a southern woman; it didn't work. By divesting myself of southern ways that remind me of her, it helps to remove myself from any memory of her. My reasons for being in Atlanta now are business.

[Write14u]

I'm a yankee and will never change although I live in Atlanta. The culture, people, and sensibilities are distinctly different from the north and it took a lot for me to get used to them. I'm respectful of southern sensibilities and traditions but will never adopt them. I guess you just have to be born and bred. Also, I came here for a southern woman; it didn't work. By divesting myself of southern ways that remind me of her, it helps to remove myself from any memory of her. My reasons for being in Atlanta now are business.

*laughs*
Then that makes you what the old-timers refer to as a "damn Yankee."
Yankees are northerners. Damn Yankees are Northerners who don't go home.

As for divesting yourself of the South, that's totally your choice.
I've found that over the years, I've incorporated much of the people I've been with. I still consider myself an honorary NYRican even though I'm no longer with my girlfriend who is. It's a proud heritage that I grew to love. Picked up a few Texan traits along the way, as well.

And maybe you're right about being born and bred. I've run across a bunch of sensibilities I'd never think twice about adopting. (For example, don't even think about getting me in a hurry. *grin*)

[shadows papa]

Happy Christmas Eve,y'all! I was born and bred in southern Middle TN,close to the Alabama line,and although I have lived all over the US and in a couple of foreign countries fate keeps bringing me home.Not sure for how long this time but I love every minute of living in the South.I come from at least 6 generations of Indians,moonshiners,sharecroppers and horse thieves :D. Everyone is all about the food,and don't get me wrong I love me some Southern cooking as anyone who talks to me for more than 5 minutes will find out! But one of my favorite things about my part of the world is the literature.I can't quantify it but I would venture to guess that at least 50% of what we would call classics in fiction and some in non-fiction come from writers born in the South.The greatest playwright to ever put pen to paper,Tennessee Williams,is the grandson of a graduateof the University of the South,which my granddaddy and great-granddaddy helped build and maintain.Robert Penn Warren and Harper Lee are two of my faves.I won't go into the whole list or I will be here all day.So,any thoughts on the literature of the South?? Merry Christmas y'all! Shad

[Jet]

Big fan of Harper Lee and Tennessee Williams

[Kosmo]

Happy Christmas Eve,y'all! I was born and bred in southern Middle TN,close to the Alabama line,and although I have lived all over the US and in a couple of foreign countries fate keeps bringing me home.Not sure for how long this time but I love every minute of living in the South.I come from at least 6 generations of Indians,moonshiners,sharecroppers and horse thieves :D. Everyone is all about the food,and don't get me wrong I love me some Southern cooking as anyone who talks to me for more than 5 minutes will find out! But one of my favorite things about my part of the world is the literature.I can't quantify it but I would venture to guess that at least 50% of what we would call classics in fiction and some in non-fiction come from writers born in the South.The greatest playwright to ever put pen to paper,Tennessee Williams,is the grandson of a graduateof the University of the South,which my granddaddy and great-granddaddy helped build and maintain.Robert Penn Warren and Harper Lee are two of my faves.I won't go into the whole list or I will be here all day.So,any thoughts on the literature of the South?? Merry Christmas y'all! Shad

Really enjoyed reading 'Mississippi Sissy' by Kevin Sessums. Worth checking out.

[Duchess]

I'm from St. Augustine, FL. and I absolutely love it. When I was growing up the percentage of Black/multicultural families was 11% of the population. Nevertheless, I felt right at home.

St. Augustine is not your typical southern city. It's a huge melting pot of people from all over:happyjump:. I didn't experience the uncomfortable rascism feeling until I moved to Atlanta. It was a Black store owner:explode: that made reference to my Asian eyes and the fact the the guy I called dad just happened to be a white man.

Anyways, I'm very proud of home. I know that the south and white people are not the gatekeepers of racism. Living in the south has always been really comfortable for me and home is definitely where my heart is.

St. Augustine still represents friendly people:thumbsup:, fantastic seafood, great beaches:shark:, intensely fascinating history and yummy drive thru cocktails..:drunk:

YouTube- St. Augustine, Florida - RV Today Archive

[daisygrrl]

But one of my favorite things about my part of the world is the literature.I can't quantify it but I would venture to guess that at least 50% of what we would call classics in fiction and some in non-fiction come from writers born in the South.The greatest playwright to ever put pen to paper,Tennessee Williams,is the grandson of a graduateof the University of the South,which my granddaddy and great-granddaddy helped build and maintain.Robert Penn Warren and Harper Lee are two of my faves.I won't go into the whole list or I will be here all day.So,any thoughts on the literature of the South?? Merry Christmas y'all! Shad

Yes! I love love Southern literature.

Tennessee Williams is one of my fave southern authors; I even adore the movies based on his work (the homo-eroticism is toned down or cut out, but that gaping hole was pretty evident even to '50s viewers).

Flannery O'Connor is one of my heroes in the literary world; she wrote (mostly) short stories--and they're brilliant. Gothic with a lot of internal struggle (that is never resolved), especially in relation to Christianity/religion.

I've also read Margaret Michell's Gone With The Wind--which is even better than the film!

I could gab about Southern Lit all day long, but I'll stop and say:

Merry Christmas, Ya'll!

[Jess]

Yes! I love love Southern literature.

Tennessee Williams is one of my fave southern authors; I even adore the movies based on his work (the homo-eroticism is toned down or cut out, but that gaping hole was pretty evident even to '50s viewers).

Flannery O'Connor is one of my heroes in the literary world; she wrote (mostly) short stories--and they're brilliant. Gothic with a lot of internal struggle (that is never resolved), especially in relation to Christianity/religion.

I've also read Margaret Michell's Gone With The Wind--which is even better than the film!

I could gab about Southern Lit all day long, but I'll stop and say:

Merry Christmas, Ya'll!

Love Southern women writers! O'Conner is def my favorite, because of the gothic nature of her stories. In good company with Carson McCullers, Eudora Welty, Alice Walker, Blanche McCrary Boyd, Patricia Cornwell, Anne Rice and a friend of mine Sheri Reynolds

Who can leave out Faulkner, Twain, Capote, Poe, and Thomas Wolfe, and John Grisham? The list of Southern writers goes on as do novels written about the South by "yankees". I had forgotten That Harriet Beecher Stowe of Uncle Tom's Cabin was from CT!

I also get confused by some folks who seem to write from a Southern experience that don't live in areas I see as the south. I always "felt" Hemingway was a Southerner at heart, though he was from ILL. He must have been a "wannabe" southerner..LOL

Great thoughts to embrace about the South!

Merry Christmas Ya'll!

[daisygrrl]

Love Southern women writers! O'Conner is def my favorite, because of the gothic nature of her stories. In good company with Carson McCullers, Eudora Welty, Alice Walker, Blanche McCrary Boyd, Patricia Cornwell, Anne Rice and a friend of mine Sheri Reynolds

Who can leave out Faulkner, Twain, Capote, Poe, and Thomas Wolfe, and John Grisham? The list of Southern writers goes on as do novels written about the South by "yankees". I had forgotten That Harriet Beecher Stowe of Uncle Tom's Cabin was from CT!

I also get confused by some folks who seem to write from a Southern experience that don't live in areas I see as the south. I always "felt" Hemingway was a Southerner at heart, though he was from ILL. He must have been a "wannabe" southerner..LOL

Great thoughts to embrace about the South!

Merry Christmas Ya'll!

What a great list, Jess--I really love Walker's stuff. And, I forgot to mention that I dearly love Dorothy Allison, especially her novel Trash!

And, I really enjoy the wit of Mark Twain (another Southerner) who once said, "Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry."

I also like, too, Jess that you mentioned about someone being able to be an honorary Southerner :-)

xoxo :cc:

[Zimmeh]

One of the things that I loved growing up as a child was listening to the stories of my grandfather who was from Lookout Mountain, AL and my grandmother who was from Tuscaloosa, AL. My grandfather and my dad both played the guitar, and my family would drive to my great-grandmother's house in Pakatka, FL for Christmas and we would have a huge family dinner complete with my dad, grandfather and great aunt playing their guitars and singing.

That is one thing that u muss at this time of year, but I am having fun with my three nephews and two nieces passing these Christmas memories onto them!

Have a wonderful and Merry Christmas everyone.

Zimmy

[WolfyOne]

Took me a while to get through this thread with all the stopping I had to do to listen to YouTubes, but it was worth it. Especially when everyone got back on topic and moved away from the flag.

All ya'll made me hungry for southern cooking. I was born and raised in Chicago. Moved with a GF back in my younger days to TN. I last 3 months there and wound up back in Chicago. It wasn't because I didn't like it. It was because jobs were hard to come by in that area in the 80's. I learned to eat grits with sugar and always like hot cereal. I would, however, not have a problem eating it other ways. In TN I learned what hillbilly steak was. Many places offered pit bbq and hillbilly steak, so my curiosity got the better of me and I had to try it. Later, I found out I'd been eating it my whole life. Only when my mom cooked it, she just called in fried bologna. I ate pulled pork with a clear sauce that was quite hot and I loved it. Fishing in the Smokey Mountains was wonderful and beautiful. I learned what a mudpuppy was as I pulled up a stringer of trout and one was sucking on the last one on my stringer. Scared the crap out of me. Made me veer back and as I was trying to stand slipped on a pebble and found myself in the cold creek water. I found out where I lived that they do breakfast, dinner and supper. There is no meal called lunch or at least ther wasn't back then. A sup is the same as a sip. I could go one and on, but I think I've wrote enough for now.

I adore southern women and have lived with a few of them. My biggest problem when I was younger was not with the women, but with the work in the south. The security of always being able to go home (Chicago). Since living in Oklahoma for nearly 3 years, I've not wanted to go back north for anything other than the types of food I miss that isn't as good or available here. I can finally say without a doubt, this is home for me and I feel comfortable.

[sharkchomp]

I was born in Wisconsin but moved to Tennessee when I was nine years old and have lived here since. It is home. My beautiful home. The mist that rises from the fields in late summer mornings. The fog that rolls across the lakes in the fall. The red and yellow leafed trees that dot the hillsides like large lollipops in late fall. UT football. The two inches of snow that fills grocery stores and causes 1,000 wrecks and pure panic for all Southern drivers! And spring!! Azelias, red buds and dog woods!!! Tulips and flocks! The hungry fish awakened from the winter slumber, damned near jumping in your boat for the promise of a fresh lively worm!!! Watching the mountains turn green, like kudzu creeping slowly up the mountain crests. And summer, lakes and streams full of hot people, meandering down the little river on tubes. Humidity surely produced by the devil himself. Summer afternoon showers that are just aggrevating enough to make your grass grow for you to mow. This is my Tennessee.

~~~shark~~~~~~~

[Darth Denkay]

Dana makes the same threat to me - which is why I sleep with one eye open... Hey, I do shave down the middle so I don't have a uni-brow, isn't that enough?!?!?!?!?!

Just an FYI... we will NOT be trying this method out. While I constantly threaten to wax Jess's eyebrows while Hy sleeps, I would rather them be unruly than singed.

Christie

Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who has kept this thread alive and in the good Southern spirit. I go through periods where I can't get online much and the past week was one such stretch. It warms my heart to come in hear and feel all the SOuthern love!!!!!

Ya'll have brought up so much that is part of my Southern pride. The beautiful and diverse lands, the slow pace - FOOD, the music, the women, the hospitality. And I had never even thought about Southern writers but that's definitely another slice of the southern pie. Which, by the way, I pronounce peCAN, preferably the chocolate peCAN my mother makes!

Love me some Dolly Parton, and I'm not a big fan of country music. Speaking of Dolly, we have Dollywood too!!!!!

I know there was more I was going to mention but I'm drawing a blank. I'll be back and post more as I think of things.

Ya'll keep posting, ya hear!



and while we are on the subject of things that irk me...laugh.
It irks the HELL out of me when someone calls me a Southern Belle.
VOMIT
I was not presented at a debutant ball and would not want to be and do not live on a plantation. :angry:

Sorry can't help myself...
But, but, but, I had you pegged as the Belle of the Ball , please say it's true?!?!?!

[TheBellyBionic]

Oh man that sounds great! The pies I mean. :)

I like my grits with red eye gravy!

What kind of gravy you eat is a huge thing in the South...Sawmill, chocolate, red eye, tomato....my favorite of all is red eye. I made poor Cynthia, my long suffering Yankee G/F learn how to make it. *beam*

Ha! Dreadgeek has southern roots, too, and I've learned to cook a lot of southern food since we've been together. Before I met her, I was 30 years old and had never tasted grits, collard greens, or sweet tea. Now I make them all, and we just had some seriously good homemade from scratch biscuits and gravy for dinner. I'm stuffed.

I had no idea people put sugar on grits. I always eat them with cheese and Frank's Red Hot sauce. I tried them with maple syrup once, but that was kind of gross.

[Duchess]

Oh wow, where to begin ...
It's hard to explain. Yes, bauld = boiled (just said in the vernacular).
Boiled peanuts taste nothing like roasted. When peanuts are boiled, they take on the flavoring of whatever you boil them with (they have specialty versions too, like the hot, cajun ones our peanut guy brings around to our news room).

A lot of people will actually suck on the shell first to get the full flavor before pulling it open for the peanuts. mmmmm.

You really need to come check out the Southern delicacies. *grin*

Boiled peanuts are the best. Especially when you buy them from the old guy in a little shack on the side of the road...:cheer:

Duchess

[Duchess]

I had to satisfy my grits craving today. I cooked them in milk, never water, and added a little sugar, butter, cinnamon and a couple of peach slices..Yummm :eating:

Before I go to bed, I'll make my oatmeal raisin walnut pecan cookies.. You guys have me in the mood to bake..:cooking:

Duchess

[Write14u]

Boiled peanuts are the best. Especially when you buy them from the old guy in a little shack on the side of the road...:cheer:

Duchess


First things first: Good to see you, darlin! *grin*
And you're totally right about the guy selling them on the side of the road. We've gotten lazy. There is a peanut guy who brings them to us at the paper. Alas, I rarely have cash on me.

[Duchess]

First things first: Good to see you, darlin! *grin*
And you're totally right about the guy selling them on the side of the road. We've gotten lazy. There is a peanut guy who brings them to us at the paper. Alas, I rarely have cash on me.

Hi Sweetness....That's pretty highfalutin of y'all..Ok, it's just me gettin' jealous cause I don't get boiled peanuts delivered..:tease:


For those of you that don't know, highfalutin means............
[edit (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/w/index.php?title=highfalutin&action=edit&section=5)] Adjective

highfalutin (comparative (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/wiki/Appendix:Glossary#comparable) more highfalutin, superlative (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/wiki/Appendix:Glossary#comparable) most highfalutin)
Positive
highfalutin
Comparative (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/wiki/Appendix:Glossary#comparable)
more highfalutin
Superlative (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/wiki/Appendix:Glossary#comparable)
most highfalutin


(US, informal (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/wiki/Appendix:Glossary#informal)) Self-important (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/wiki/important), pompous (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/wiki/pompous); arrogant (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/wiki/arrogant) or egotistical (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/wiki/egotistical); tending to show off (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/wiki/show_off) or hold oneself in unduly high regard (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/wiki/regard). It's only a matter of time before some highfalutin developer builds a huge hotel and ruins the scenery.

[Zimmeh]

Good Morning Wicket,

My dad and his family listened to the old country music such as Hank Sr, Ernest Tubb, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash and Dolly. I turned to rock and roll when I was 13, but I do listen to the old country music from time to time. My roommate who is from New York, never had chili and one day I decided to make it and he nearly fell over. I make it with mild beans and chili mix, but the next day that stuff lit him up like a lightbulb, hehe...

Have a good Sunday,

Zimmy

Dana makes the same threat to me - which is why I sleep with one eye open... Hey, I do shave down the middle so I don't have a uni-brow, isn't that enough?!?!?!?!?!



Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who has kept this thread alive and in the good Southern spirit. I go through periods where I can't get online much and the past week was one such stretch. It warms my heart to come in hear and feel all the SOuthern love!!!!!

Ya'll have brought up so much that is part of my Southern pride. The beautiful and diverse lands, the slow pace - FOOD, the music, the women, the hospitality. And I had never even thought about Southern writers but that's definitely another slice of the southern pie. Which, by the way, I pronounce peCAN, preferably the chocolate peCAN my mother makes!

Love me some Dolly Parton, and I'm not a big fan of country music. Speaking of Dolly, we have Dollywood too!!!!!

I know there was more I was going to mention but I'm drawing a blank. I'll be back and post more as I think of things.

Ya'll keep posting, ya hear!



Sorry can't help myself...
But, but, but, I had you pegged as the Belle of the Ball , please say it's true?!?!?!

[Arwen]

You just think that stuff you drink out there is sweet tea, Toughy. hah!
You can't even find real sweet tea west of the Mississippi. And I include Texas in that. Putting sugar into the tea after you get the cup doesn't make it real sweet tea. LOL


Oh NO you did NOT.

As someone who was raised in Louisiana which just happens to be west of the Mississippi, I'll issue a throwdown to you.

My sweet tea vs yours.

Hmmph. ;) Bring it, sportswriter.

I do like calling myself a Southern Belle and/or a Steel Magnolia. There are things I love about the South and things I hate.

What do I hate?

THE BUGS! Nice thing about living in Colorado was that the fleas completely died off in the winter. And I never saw even one palmetto bug.

What do I love?



Lazy bayous just waiting for me to slip the canoe in and go for a while
Gators sunning themselves on the bank.
Great Blue Herons fishing like old men who never want to leave the bank
Spanish Moss which is a true indicator about who won between the French and Spanish cultural invasion of the South. It used to be called Frenchmans's Beard.
Evangeline's Oak
Box sliding on the levee
Mint Juleps
Knowing what someone means when they say "who dat"
Knowing the right response to "where you at" is "hello"



All of that and more is Louisiana to me.

Oh edited to add that my preferred grits are with butter, salt and pepper and a fried egg on top.

Although I do love Grits & Grillades.

[Hudson]

food, specifically grits, as weapon (http://forbezdvd.com/blog/2009/12/12/she-threw-hot-grits-on-him-for-breaking-up-with-her/). only in the South.

:heartbeat:

[NotAnAverageGuy]

food, specifically grits, as weapon (http://forbezdvd.com/blog/2009/12/12/she-threw-hot-grits-on-him-for-breaking-up-with-her/). only in the South.

:heartbeat:


:ambulance:

[Write14u]

Oh NO you did NOT.

As someone who was raised in Louisiana which just happens to be west of the Mississippi, I'll issue a throwdown to you.

My sweet tea vs yours.

Hmmph. ;) Bring it, sportswriter.

I do like calling myself a Southern Belle and/or a Steel Magnolia.

Heh! It's already been brung! *grin*
Dearest Southern Belle,
I dare say your tea is pretty damn good. But you KNOW you can't find good sweet tea in the restaurants down there. You have to admit it. LOL

P.S. I love how people call them Palmetto bugs. Hell, they're just big ol' flying roaches. *wink*

[WolfyOne]

I had to satisfy my grits craving today. I cooked them in milk, never water, and added a little sugar, butter, cinnamon and a couple of peach slices..Yummm :eating:

Before I go to bed, I'll make my oatmeal raisin walnut pecan cookies.. You guys have me in the mood to bake..:cooking:

Duchess


Yummy, now I'm wanting cookies and oatmeal are my favorite.

Do you do cookie mail order?
Can't blame a boi for trying.

[Niceguy]

I also get confused by some folks who seem to write from a Southern experience that don't live in areas I see as the south. I always "felt" Hemingway was a Southerner at heart, though he was from ILL. He must have been a "wannabe" southerner..LOL


Hemingway did some of his writing in his barn studio at his second wife's family home in Piggott, AR. "Fathers and Sons", "A Clean Well-Lighted Place", "Wine of Wyoming", and part of "A Farewell to Arms" were written there. The house and barn are now a museum.


As for the topic of the thread... Anyone who knows me very well knows how proud and passionate I am about being born and raised in Arkansas and the south. I've traveled all over the country and have yet found a place I'd rather live. I can take a joke as well as anyone, but jokes about Arkansas and the south get really old. I find it interesting when people who get offended by other stereotypical jokes such as butch and femme jokes can make stereotypical jokes about certain states or regions and not realize they can be just as offensive.

Btw, if anyone is interested in a tour of Arkansas, I might know a good tour guide! ;)

[Arwen]

Heh! It's already been brung! *grin*
Dearest Southern Belle,
I dare say your tea is pretty damn good. But you KNOW you can't find good sweet tea in the restaurants down there. You have to admit it. LOL

P.S. I love how people call them Palmetto bugs. Hell, they're just big ol' flying roaches. *wink*


Well, I'd have to utterly disagree with you on the good sweet tea in restaurants, honey. Even here in Texas they have good sweet tea. Find a McAllister's next time you are in this area. :) I actually bought a jug to take home.

My preference is to call them "SHRIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK" but I've found that many of my acquaintances prefer to have their ear drums left intact.

Hemingway did some of his writing in his barn studio at his second wife's family home in Piggott, AR. "Fathers and Sons", "A Clean Well-Lighted Place", "Wine of Wyoming", and part of "A Farewell to Arms" were written there. The house and barn are now a museum.


As for the topic of the thread... Anyone who knows me very well knows how proud and passionate I am about being born and raised in Arkansas and the south. I've traveled all over the country and have yet found a place I'd rather live. I can take a joke as well as anyone, but jokes about Arkansas and the south get really old. I find it interesting when people who get offended by other stereotypical jokes such as butch and femme jokes can make stereotypical jokes about certain states or regions and not realize they can be just as offensive.

Btw, if anyone is interested in a tour of Arkansas, I might know a good tour guide! ;)

I'll take you up on that tour guide! :) I love your state. My best friend moved there so I visited a lot in my younger days. Of course, it was just up to Crossett and Hamburg. LOL

You are right about the stereotyping jokes. I honestly think that most of those types of jokes are fear-based. Whether that fear is a fear of the unknown or a real fear, I just wouldn't know. Have to be on an individual basis. :)

But I try not to categorize all Yankees as stiff and rude. I can only control what is in my hula hoop. :*

[Write14u]

Well, I'd have to utterly disagree with you on the good sweet tea in restaurants, honey. Even here in Texas they have good sweet tea. Find a McAllister's next time you are in this area. :) I actually bought a jug to take home.

My preference is to call them "SHRIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK" but I've found that many of my acquaintances prefer to have their ear drums left intact.


Psst, McAllisters is a chain, not a real restaurant, and from what I hear, yes, they do have good tea. But as a rule, it's pretty hard to find brewed tea with sugar already added. Just sayin. *grin*

I remember my freshman year in college. We walked into the dorm and there was a HUGE effing "palmetto" up on the wall. My friend with me was from Oregon and it was the first she'd ever seen. You should have seen the look on her face when I just slipped off my shoe, smacked it then walked away. LOL

As for Yankees, I know a number of them and they're all pretty good peeps. Some of them have strange ways, but it's their upbringing, I imagine. *grin*

[NotAnAverageGuy]

NC bbq, yummo

how I miss that bbq

[Duchess]

Yummy, now I'm wanting cookies and oatmeal are my favorite.

Do you do cookie mail order?
Can't blame a boi for trying.

You're such a sweetie pie I might consider it. :)

Duchess

[Jess]

food, specifically grits, as weapon (http://forbezdvd.com/blog/2009/12/12/she-threw-hot-grits-on-him-for-breaking-up-with-her/). only in the South.

:heartbeat:


LMAO! Wondering if she takes any other advice from Madea?!?!


YouTube- Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion - 13. "Grits and Skillet"

[Zimmeh]

That was hilarious!

LMAO! Wondering if she takes any other advice from Madea?!?!


YouTube- Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion - 13. "Grits and Skillet" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N_6--RgdAQ)

[Write14u]

So, I called up my mom the other day to make sure she was picking up some food for tomorrow. For us, it's always been a tradition of black-eyed peas (for good luck) and collard greens (for money) that we eat on New Year's Day to set the year up right. I talked with another friend of mine in a border state and she said for them, it's cabbage for luck and money. Any of you got any other food traditions?

[Zimmeh]

None that I can remember. I usually have to work on New Year's Day.

Have fun today!

Zimmy

So, I called up my mom the other day to make sure she was picking up some food for tomorrow. For us, it's always been a tradition of black-eyed peas (for good luck) and collard greens (for money) that we eat on New Year's Day to set the year up right. I talked with another friend of mine in a border state and she said for them, it's cabbage for luck and money. Any of you got any other food traditions?

[Darth Denkay]

I've always just done the black eye peas for luck thing - and will be doing it this evening of course. We're also having spinach, a tradition from my partner's family, which I'm thinking is probably - like the collards - for money.

Really looking forward to my wonderfully Southern New Year's Day dinner!!!!!

So, I called up my mom the other day to make sure she was picking up some food for tomorrow. For us, it's always been a tradition of black-eyed peas (for good luck) and collard greens (for money) that we eat on New Year's Day to set the year up right. I talked with another friend of mine in a border state and she said for them, it's cabbage for luck and money. Any of you got any other food traditions?

[Arwen]

Although I did work today, I got up and made a can of black-eyed peas and fried a piece of ham for my brunch. :) I have cabbage in the fridge but did not make any slaw. Boo. lol!

One of the managers today brought in broccoli and cheese casserole along with a pot of some of the BEST hoppin' john I've ever had. Asked for the recipe even. MMMMMM.

So I got my greens, beans and ham.

I used to have a New Year's Day open house where I made a huge pot of red beans along with black-eyed peas, cornbread, coleslaw and ham for folks. It was always a bunch of fun. I loved starting my New Year off with good times in the house. Maybe I'll do that next year if I'm not working. :)

[Gemme]

No greens, beans or ham for me today. Crap! I totally spaced on it before work.

In my house, it was explained that the peas were for change, like pennies, the greens for green money and meat (usually ham) for good fortune/lack of want/need.

Maybe the deli in the grocery store next door has some things in their cooler...

[Toughy]

You just think that stuff you drink out there is sweet tea, Toughy. hah!
You can't even find real sweet tea west of the Mississippi. And I include Texas in that. Putting sugar into the tea after you get the cup doesn't make it real sweet tea. LOL


I was talking real sweet tea.........my Mother made sweet tea in a special pot.........it was only for tea and never ever did soap and water touch that pot. She put at least 6 tea bags in that pot (about a half gallon of water), brought it to a good boil, turned the heat off and dumped in at least a cup of sugar and stirred. Then you get a glass, fill with ice and pour that hot sweet tea in the glass and enjoy!

Everybody I know in NM makes sweet tea that way. You can actually buy a gallon jug of sweet tea in the grocery store in my hometown. It don't taste bad.........and will do in a pinch.

I just got back from a road trip (in my new to me car) to NM. I stopped at some truck stop in AZ and ordered iced tea and the waitress asked if I wanted sweet or regular. I said sweet of course and it was pretty good..........lots better than trying to put sugar in tea at the table.......

:riding2:

as to special food on new year's day........not in my family.....new year's day is when you take down the xmas tree and all the lights & decorations outside and stored them for next year........Mother usually made soup that day (beef soup.....chunks of stew meat, taters and spaghetti noodles....brown the meat in the soup pot, fill with beef stock, add taters, noodles and simmer for about an hour).......oh yeah and football on the tv........

[daisygrrl]

Any of you got any other food traditions?

Yup, my traditions for New Years are similar to everyone's thus far.

Black eyed peas, collards or turnips with ham... Oh, and I made homemade cornbread & bruschetta to swap with leftovers. Dessert was brownies--so, needless to say, afterward I wanted to take a nap [I call it "food drunk"] :linus:

Hope ya'lls New Year is off to a blissful start!

[weatherboi]

I had greens and delicious peas at a local Men's bar yesterday. Every year I am invited to go with my bestie/my gay.

[sharkchomp]

It cold in the Land of Dixie right now!!! So cold the pond at the bottom of the hill is half froze!!!!!!! And it's going to really cold the next several days - highs in the 20's lows near 10 brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I live in Nashville btw.

My Mom and step dad retired to Florida 1.5 years ago and Mom told me yesterday it was cold down there - high in the 60's. HAHAHA!!!! My Mom is so cute!!!! I'd take 60 anytime!!!!

Stay warm folks!
~~~shark~~~~~~~

[Zimmeh]

Hey Shark,

I live in Orlando and it is going to be in the low 30's tonight...It is colder than hell right now.

Keep warm!

Zimmy

It cold in the Land of Dixie right now!!! So cold the pond at the bottom of the hill is half froze!!!!!!! And it's going to really cold the next several days - highs in the 20's lows near 10 brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I live in Nashville btw.

My Mom and step dad retired to Florida 1.5 years ago and Mom told me yesterday it was cold down there - high in the 60's. HAHAHA!!!! My Mom is so cute!!!! I'd take 60 anytime!!!!

Stay warm folks!
~~~shark~~~~~~~

[Zimmeh]

Who sent this Artic weather to us in the South? It is cold in my apartment right now...

[apretty]

It upsets me that people say how Florida is no longer a part of the South because of the Hispanic population.

i've been thinking about this since you posted, could you say more?

[Jess]

Who sent this Artic weather to us in the South? It is cold in my apartment right now...

I love how we southerners have short term memory... it's gets pretty danged cold here in VA.. but we forget that every year! Maybe the humidity in the summer knocks out a few cells!

[Write14u]

I love how we southerners have short term memory... it's gets pretty danged cold here in VA.. but we forget that every year! Maybe the humidity in the summer knocks out a few cells!

I'm one of the rare Southerners who don't bitch about the heat in the summer. I love it. Of course, this is my first day experiencing the cold that's blanketing the South. I just spent 8 glorious days in SoCal where it was 70 degrees every day.

[Write14u]

The smell of honeysuckle in the Spring. That and the magnolias blooming.

That's what I love about the South.

[Arwen]

I just met a lovely older lady who is my neighbor. We discussed our cats. It's 64 degrees and just one gorgeous day. I was perusing seed packets at the grocery store (I'll buy seedlings from a local nursery though and this year, I'll heed the wild Dylan call and not use Miracle Grow).

I am happy to be home in the South again. I like the pace. I like the sound of people who talk like me. I like it here. It's home.

[Jess]

This weekend christie and I went looking for a new LR suite. We have a great small but upper end furniture store in town. They do not have on hand the suite we want to purchase, but as it turns out the owner has it in her house.
At her insistence, she puts a "gone to lunch" sign in the door, we pile into her car and off we go to her house.
We purchased the set and an awesome distressed leather recliner at cost ( this is even sans shipping.. I have no idea how she makes a profit) and she came by our house later to see it. The house, that is. We had previously purchased a great loveseat for our upstairs den.
During our adventure with her we learned that her daughters Girl Scout troop does monthly backpacks of single serving foods for local kids. We stopped by the grocers and picked up 48 ct of about eight different items to donate. I will be trying to see about volunteering to help them out.

This is a small part of what I love about this backwards, hillbilly, lovely little town.

[Darth Denkay]

Here's another reason I love living in the South. When we get a few flurries or *gasp* a bit of sleet the whole city shuts down. All schools and government offices closed, the grocery store gets wiped out of all basic stuff...and I get to go home from work early!!!!!!

Now, in our defense, we don't have any equipment to deal with snow and ice - snowplows, salt trucks. And we don't get too much practice dealing with it. Even so, it cracks me up how the city responds to just a bit of winter weather.

[Blade]

Yeah I hear ya! My company closed at 6pm today for the weather and it isn't even raining here yet! They NEVER close completely for anything. But they had a learning experience with Hugo, so if it looks for real now they shut us down.

Here's another reason I love living in the South. When we get a few flurries or *gasp* a bit of sleet the whole city shuts down. All schools and government offices closed, the grocery store gets wiped out of all basic stuff...and I get to go home from work early!!!!!!

Now, in our defense, we don't have any equipment to deal with snow and ice - snowplows, salt trucks. And we don't get too much practice dealing with it. Even so, it cracks me up how the city responds to just a bit of winter weather.

[Blade]

They said on the news they had checked a few hardware stores and they were fresh out of snow shovels LOL!

Got my Dixie butt up this morning, heated my clothes in the dryer and went outside and left water for the birds and fed them and the squirrels and rabbits, now I'm feeding ME 2 egg omelet with peppers and tomato and fried taters with ham in 'em. Now that is southern yall

[christie]

They said on the news they had checked a few hardware stores and they were fresh out of snow shovels LOL!

Got my Dixie butt up this morning, heated my clothes in the dryer and went outside and left water for the birds and fed them and the squirrels and rabbits, now I'm feeding ME 2 egg omelet with peppers and tomato and fried taters with ham in 'em. Now that is southern yall

I am sure that Wally World sold out of shovels and ice melt yesterday. The dogs sure loved it this morning!

What part of the South do you live in?

[Write14u]

All we got was the messy rain. Guess my streak of not seeing snow will be intact. Other than trips elsewhere, I haven't seen more than flurries in close to a decade now.

[Darth Denkay]

One word - Bluegrass :fishing:

[christie]

One word - Bluegrass :fishing:

This is our former neighbor and beloved "Johnboy" and his bluegrass band playing at the National Theater in Richmond back in March. The quality isn't that great, but it is Johnboy's original song.

YouTube- "Sally Roy"

I used to love to fire one up and watch out the window as he sat in his backyard on a haybale, drinking beer and playing mandolin to his chickens!

On the plantation, it doesnt take much to entertain one.

[Jess]

BLUEGRASS!

http://www.floydfest.com/

We have locals playing Bluegrass at the Rotary club every second Saturday.

Today is a cornhole toss at out local vol FD. I think it's akin to bean bag toss/ lawn darts.. Not really sure, but our butts will be finding our and picking up some BBQ in a couple hours!

[AtLast]

I want BBQ and Bluegrass! Just had to order a case of Ollie's. Thank the Goddesses, it has continued to be manufactured and sold! A world without Ollie's BBQ sauce is no world at all!!!

[Julien]

hey everyone,
I was born in Louisiana and then lived in the north, Wisconsin to be exact. I couldn't get over the cold weather. Standing at the bus stop freezing my butt off because of the 40 below zero wind chill factor, oh and the snow too. :scared: I was glad to have the opportunity to move back south. Ahh sun and beaches. Gotta love it.
G

[Zimmeh]

I felt like this when I moved to Seattle back in February and became homesick for my family and friends in Florida. I came home to Florida two weeks after I moved.

Bless the gorgeous Florida East Coast beaches and the bright sunlight..

Zimmy

hey everyone,
I was born in Louisiana and then lived in the north, Wisconsin to be exact. I couldn't get over the cold weather. Standing at the bus stop freezing my butt off because of the 40 below zero wind chill factor, oh and the snow too. :scared: I was glad to have the opportunity to move back south. Ahh sun and beaches. Gotta love it.
G

[Jess]

YouTube - Bill Cosby, understanding Southern.

[Blade]

Priceless............

YouTube - Bill Cosby, understanding Southern. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1NsC98xVN0)

[Apocalipstic]

I never really think of Nashville as Dixie, I thought Dixie was Louisiana, but I looked it up and apparently all the South can be called Dixie.

Then I looked at Mid-South, (which is what we call Nashville) and Deep South. I looked at 10 different maps and each of them had a different idea of what the Deep South is. :confused:

I like the idea of a progressive South, far removed from the backward-ness of Civil War area, but the truth is, until the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)was formed to provide affordable electricity, most of Tennessee was in darkness, well into the 50's and even later.

There are so many great examples here of government programs which worked really well. Most of them part of the New Deal (Depression and Dust bowl recovery). When people say the Federal Government should keep out of our lives, I want to point out what Tennessee would be now if not for the programs of the New Deal, instituted by a Democratic President FDR.

It's sad that corruption at the State Democratic level has led a state which until the 80's always voted Democrat, into a mostly (except for Nashville and Memphis) Republican state.

[chefhottie25]

i loved living in the south...except for when i was called a yankee.

[Gemme]

Priceless............


She reminded me so much of my grandmother!

[Nat]

I associate the word Dixie with the glorification of the pre-Civil War South.

But then maybe that association comes from the song, "Dixie," which premiered at minstrel shows in the North being sung by people in blackface, and that the song was then taken up by the confederacy.

I know other people use the term "Dixie" to mean "the South," it's a term that sets me on edge.

Texas may or may not be considered part of "Dixie" but I do love my state. I cannot tell you the pleasure I derive from my wanderings out in the country or from the familiar friendliness I experience here or from hearing different versions of the Texan drawl. This is the land I was born into and it feels as much a part of me as my veins do. I have always been a Texan, and if I moved away from here and never came back, I would always consider myself a Texan. The way I feel about my state helps me understand why people do fight and are willing to lay down their lives for the land they were born on. Texas is my home and I love it.

Am I proud to be a Southerner? Am I proud to be a Texan? I know I'm not proud of the term Dixie or the glorification of the olden days of the South - but I know my own interpretation of the word "Dixie" must not be everybody's.

I take pride in many of the customs and colloquialisms I've inherited from my family. I might be a bit proud of our magnificent thunderstorms. I think of the Texan character as being independent and eccentric and tough - and whether or not that's true - I do tend to enjoy the idea of it. Those are parts of myself I am proud of.

To be from the South, of the South, is a complex thing. We have a violent history. We have a lot of love too. We have sweltering summers, but there is so much lush beauty here too. The South is full of tragedy and dysfunction and unfairness and mystery and magic and determination and romance.

When I lived in California, I got all I wanted of anti-Southern bigotry. Because my accent isn't especially obvious, people would forget I was from Texas. I got to listen to lots of conversation about how dumb we are, how inbred, how ignorant, fundamentalist, how ludicrous we are. I got to listen to California critiques of what we eat, what we wear, how we act, how we talk. I got to hear lots of imitations of Southern speech and lots of laughter over the sound of Southern accents I couldn't even discern. It hurts and it's angering to hear stuff like that.

When I was exposed to that, it really made me understand a certain pride I do have for the South and for Texas. I cannot tell you the comfort it brings me to hear a Southern accent. I want to be able to say, "Hey, the South rocks or Texas rocks because of X,Y,Z and you really don't know what you're talking about. You are talking about me when you say things like that and it hurts."

It's also painful and a bit infuriating at times when I see Southerners playing into those stereotypes. I guess at those times I feel shame and frustration with the South. I want the South to represent itself better and stop flying confederate flags and being intolerant - because that hurts and because I am part of that Southern fabric.

James Baldwin wrote, "American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it."

When I think about the South, this line comes through my head. To me, the South is "more various, more beautiful and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it."

Some of the most beautiful acts of courage have happened in the South - but then they were born out of the need to overcome Southern oppression. Some beautiful music comes from down here too, and I think some of that also was born out of a need to overcome Southern oppression.

I have feelings of both shame and pride when it comes to the South, but I really try not to fan the flames of either. I would rather put my energy into hope - hope that the South can rise to play a greater role, that the best parts of the South will not be outstripped by the very worst parts, that bigotry will not continue to outstrip Southern hospitality, that education can outstrip fundamentalism. I have a lot of hope for Southern healing. And I have a lot of love.

I thought this was going to be a quick, neat and tidy entry, but I guess it couldn't be that. I feel like a tree whose roots are deep, deep in Southern soil. To separate myself from the South is to deny half of myself - and I have a full range of feelings on the subject. When I insult the South, I insult myself too. My grievances hurt me to speak.

[Apocalipstic]

I associate the word Dixie with the glorification of the pre-Civil War South.

But then maybe that association comes from the song, "Dixie," which premiered at minstrel shows in the North being sung by people in blackface, and that the song was then taken up by the confederacy.

I know other people use the term "Dixie" to mean "the South," it's a term that sets me on edge.

Texas may or may not be considered part of "Dixie" but I do love my state. I cannot tell you the pleasure I derive from my wanderings out in the country or from the familiar friendliness I experience here or from hearing different versions of the Texan drawl. This is the land I was born into and it feels as much a part of me as my veins do. I have always been a Texan, and if I moved away from here and never came back, I would always consider myself a Texan. The way I feel about my state helps me understand why people do fight and are willing to lay down their lives for the land they were born on. Texas is my home and I love it.

Am I proud to be a Southerner? Am I proud to be a Texan? I know I'm not proud of the term Dixie or the glorification of the olden days of the South - but I know my own interpretation of the word "Dixie" must not be everybody's.

I take pride in many of the customs and colloquialisms I've inherited from my family. I might be a bit proud of our magnificent thunderstorms. I think of the Texan character as being independent and eccentric and tough - and whether or not that's true - I do tend to enjoy the idea of it. Those are parts of myself I am proud of.

To be from the South, of the South, is a complex thing. We have a violent history. We have a lot of love too. We have sweltering summers, but there is so much lush beauty here too. The South is full of tragedy and dysfunction and unfairness and mystery and magic and determination and romance.

When I lived in California, I got all I wanted of anti-Southern bigotry. Because my accent isn't especially obvious, people would forget I was from Texas. I got to listen to lots of conversation about how dumb we are, how inbred, how ignorant, fundamentalist, how ludicrous we are. I got to listen to California critiques of what we eat, what we wear, how we act, how we talk. I got to hear lots of imitations of Southern speech and lots of laughter over the sound of Southern accents I couldn't even discern. It hurts and it's angering to hear stuff like that.

When I was exposed to that, it really made me understand a certain pride I do have for the South and for Texas. I cannot tell you the comfort it brings me to hear a Southern accent. I want to be able to say, "Hey, the South rocks or Texas rocks because of X,Y,Z and you really don't know what you're talking about. You are talking about me when you say things like that and it hurts."

It's also painful and a bit infuriating at times when I see Southerners playing into those stereotypes. I guess at those times I feel shame and frustration with the South. I want the South to represent itself better and stop flying confederate flags and being intolerant - because that hurts and because I am part of that Southern fabric.

James Baldwin wrote, "American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it."

When I think about the South, this line comes through my head. To me, the South is "more various, more beautiful and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it."

Some of the most beautiful acts of courage have happened in the South - but then they were born out of the need to overcome Southern oppression. Some beautiful music comes from down here too, and I think some of that also was born out of a need to overcome Southern oppression.

I have feelings of both shame and pride when it comes to the South, but I really try not to fan the flames of either. I would rather put my energy into hope - hope that the South can rise to play a greater role, that the best parts of the South will not be outstripped by the very worst parts, that bigotry will not continue to outstrip Southern hospitality, that education can outstrip fundamentalism. I have a lot of hope for Southern healing. And I have a lot of love.

I thought this was going to be a quick, neat and tidy entry, but I guess it couldn't be that. I feel like a tree whose roots are deep, deep in Southern soil. To separate myself from the South is to deny half of myself - and I have a full range of feelings on the subject. When I insult the South, I insult myself too. My grievances hurt me to speak.


You are such a wonderful writer! :)

I agree, I have always associated "Dixie" with the song, which became the unofficial fighting song of the Confederacy. I tense up when I rear it. Even the Elvis version.

Nashville has never been "the land of cotton", so I never really related to that part and as y'all know, I am so not a "Southern Belle" and hate the term soundly! I was never a Débutante.

This part of the US was a wild frontier populated with tough mountain people, mostly Scots Irish. The Native people would not come to the Nashville area in the Summer because of Malaria and bad air (allergies), yet it was settled on the Cumberland River and has turned into a beautiful city I can be proud of.

I have heard people make fun of the South too. In upstate New York, the first thing a girlfriend of Cynthia's Uncle said to me was "when I hear a Southern Accent I stop listening, because I know the person will be uneducated and ignorant". I did not waste any time trying to correct her. Yet people keep moving here because there are jobs and the cost of living is good. I can't tell you how many people move here from California.

The South is not all the same. Just like everywhere else, each area is distinctly different. Cities tend to be progressive and rural areas change much more slowly.

I love Tennessee and am proud to be a Nashvillian, though I admit there are towns and rural areas I avoid at all cost.

[princessbelle]

I never really thought a lot about being born and raised in the South and being part of "Dixieland". It's just my world and the only thing i really knew.

In the last few years I have ventured out to other places and have learned some very important lessons in life....some good, some not so good. But, the main thing i've learned is that people are just people. There are good and bad everywhere. It is nice, however, to see other parts of the country and learn about cultures and especially how being gay is actually accepted and better yet...not even an issue to be thought about, elsewhere.

But, when i come home, I embrace the structure and vitality of the landscape of East Tennessee and when you get out of the city and into the Appalachia, for the most part, it's not near as scary as one might think. I travel, with my job, to some very backwoods homes. Some don't even have driveways and you have to walk up hills and down valleys to reach these very remote houses. Plenty still don't have electricity even. It would be easy to look on these people and feel sad when I see how they live. But, it is their homes, their realities and I try and embrace that with the same respect I would going to the home of someone who has been blessed with luxury.

When I think of "land of Dixie" I try hard to not see war and hatred and bigotry. I try to resolve to the people that live here and have lived here their whole lives and embrace the beauty of what makes their world.

It's wonderful to know that "the rest of the world" is open and wonderous and thought provoking. It's also wonderful to come home.

[Apocalipstic]

I never really thought a lot about being born and raised in the South and being part of "Dixieland". It's just my world and the only thing i really knew.

In the last few years I have ventured out to other places and have learned some very important lessons in life....some good, some not so good. But, the main thing i've learned is that people are just people. There are good and bad everywhere. It is nice, however, to see other parts of the country and learn about cultures and especially how being gay is actually accepted and better yet...not even an issue to be thought about, elsewhere.

But, when i come home, I embrace the structure and vitality of the landscape of East Tennessee and when you get out of the city and into the Appalachia, for the most part, it's not near as scary as one might think. I travel, with my job, to some very backwoods homes. Some don't even have driveways and you have to walk up hills and down valleys to reach these very remote houses. Plenty still don't have electricity even. It would be easy to look on these people and feel sad when I see how they live. But, it is their homes, their realities and I try and embrace that with the same respect I would going to the home of someone who has been blessed with luxury.

When I think of "land of Dixie" I try hard to not see war and hatred and bigotry. I try to resolve to the people that live here and have lived here their whole lives and embrace the beauty of what makes their world.

It's wonderful to know that "the rest of the world" is open and wonderous and thought provoking. It's also wonderful to come home.


I love the Appalachians too. Especially the Smokey Mountains! We usually visit a couple of times a year at least, just to breathe the cool mountain air and relax. The views are breathtaking.

I hope I did not sound like all small towns and rural areas in the South are scary, just some...and somehow, when I drive into town, I can just tell. There is a feeling...(and way too many rooster and pit bull cages in the yards for comfort) These are fewer and far between any more...thank goodness.

Interestingly, Smokey Mountains National Park was "built" with Federal funds by the CCC as a part of the New Deal, as was every lake in TN but one.

The Interstate System which brought and continues to bring industry to the South, built by President Eisenhower with Federal funds as a part of the National Defense.

There is so much resistance in the South to the Federal Government, but if we really look at what we have and where we are, we have more than just ourselves to thank.

[princessbelle]

I love the Appalachians too. Especially the Smokey Mountains! We usually visit a couple of times a year at least, just to breathe the cool mountain air and relax. The views are breathtaking.

I hope I did not sound like all small towns and rural areas in the South are scary, just some...and somehow, when I drive into town, I can just tell. There is a feeling...(and way too many rooster and pit bull cages in the yards for comfort) These are fewer and far between any more...thank goodness.

Interestingly, Smokey Mountains National Park was "built" with Federal funds by the CCC as a part of the New Deal, as was every lake in TN but one.

The Interstate System which brought and continues to bring industry to the South, built by President Eisenhower with Federal funds as a part of the National Defense.

There is so much resistance in the South to the Federal Government, but if we really look at what we have and where we are, we have more than just ourselves to thank.

((((apocalipstic))))) You certainly did not sound in any way that you were afraid of small towns. To the contrary, I completely agree with you. There are some places in the mountains here that you would not venture into if they didn't know you were visiting for reasons of help or just being neighborly. The culture and ideals of some people here are shoot first and ask questions later. I know that....because it is the truth. I have been fortunate to be known in a few of these areas as "Doc" which is sorta funny to me just being a nurse, however, it is amazing and a blessing that sometime I or another nurse are the only medical professionals these people ever see. Again, it is NOT to say I would be a martyr or want to take any chances and it would be foolish to not recognize that some properties are protected at all costs....shotguns are abound in some places, I've seen it first hand and I completely understand it.

Of interesting fact.....In East Tennessee, Fort Sanders Hospital (which is where I was born, my kids were born and where I worked previously) is built on the land where a Fort was constructed by the Union Army, not Confederate. There are a some Union areas in West Tennesee also and throughout the South that supported the Union and where confederate flags did not fly. Just goes to show you, people in Dixie can be as diverse and nonconforming as parts of the rest of the world.

[Jet]

Damn Yankee here in Atlanta 3 years. South does have its sensibilties

[Apocalipstic]

((((apocalipstic))))) You certainly did not sound in any way that you were afraid of small towns. To the contrary, I completely agree with you. There are some places in the mountains here that you would not venture into if they didn't know you were visiting for reasons of help or just being neighborly. The culture and ideals of some people here are shoot first and ask questions later. I know that....because it is the truth. I have been fortunate to be known in a few of these areas as "Doc" which is sorta funny to me just being a nurse, however, it is amazing and a blessing that sometime I or another nurse are the only medical professionals these people ever see. Again, it is NOT to say I would be a martyr or want to take any chances and it would be foolish to not recognize that some properties are protected at all costs....shotguns are abound in some places, I've seen it first hand and I completely understand it.

Of interesting fact.....In East Tennessee, Fort Sanders Hospital (which is where I was born, my kids were born and where I worked previously) is built on the land where a Fort was constructed by the Union Army, not Confederate. There are a some Union areas in West Tennesee also and throughout the South that supported the Union and where confederate flags did not fly. Just goes to show you, people in Dixie can be as diverse and nonconforming as parts of the rest of the world.

How cool! I knew a good part of East TN did support the Union, but not about Fort Sanders! :)

It is amazing how much Sevier and surrounding counties have changed since Dolly put in that park. I remember when Pigeon Forge was 10 buildings! laugh.

Also the availability of cable, satellite tv, and the desire to cater to tourists seems to have leveled the accents/language a good bit. 30 years ago it was much more difficult to communicate with people in the area.

I think it is wonderful you work up there, how beautiful. Anddd how sweet they call you "Doc".

[princessbelle]

How cool! I knew a good part of East TN did support the Union, but not about Fort Sanders! :)

It is amazing how much Sevier and surrounding counties have changed since Dolly put in that park. I remember when Pigeon Forge was 10 buildings! laugh.

Also the availability of cable, satellite tv, and the desire to cater to tourists seems to have leveled the accents/language a good bit. 30 years ago it was much more difficult to communicate with people in the area.

I think it is wonderful you work up there, how beautiful. Anddd how sweet they call you "Doc".

OMG you remember that too? Pigeon forge had like one gas station and I think a little shop that sold those little black bears that we alllll had to have with the chain around it's neck..oh and water based taffy.

It is so amazing to me now, when i drive through, it is wall to wall shops and tourist stuff. But, I agree with you, it has helped that area so much, financially and bringing a diverse group of visitors. It is for sure a good thing. My grandpa helped build the clock tower on the court house in Sevierville and it's still standing!!! I love that area and travel there as much as i can.

Maybe sometime the Tennessee peeps could meet up there and do some dollywood stuff or have an old timey photo done.....just a thought (didn't mean to derail).

hugs to all the Dixie folks.

[DomnNC]

Apolcalipstic, whether you know it or not you just hit upon the main reason the civil war was fought to begin with with this statement:

"There is so much resistance in the South to the Federal Government,"

Many people believe it was the issue of slavery that was the dominating factor, it was a factor indeed but not the main one. The main issue was the soverignity of states, the ability of states to govern their own and adopt what federal guidelines the young and loosely formed federal government came up with at the time. The states wanted the right to say no to some of those laws and guidelines, they were denied, seven states had already seceded from the Union before Lincoln was ever elected.

As for the flag, I don't own one, I don't fly one, however I believe all individuals should have the right to express themselves as they please, after all that is what we are asking for, the right to live our life in freedom, to be recognized as a group, to have the same rights and equality as "straight" people. I do not view the flag as racist, it was created as a battle flag and a way for southern troops to distinguish themselves from the northern troops. The original flag of the confederacy was the Stars and Bars and was to close to the federal flag, Bars and Stripes, in design that it was hard for the troops to distinguish themselves apart. To many people of the south it merely represents the ancestry of their forefathers in fighting for the rights of state soverignity against the federal government. It is people whom make it racist as people can make "anything" racist. That being said racism exists across all states/countries in one form or another and it always will. There will always be a class of people who will be frowned upon, looked down upon. Is it right, heck no, and I'll always stand up for those that I see being oppressed, bullied, beat, and spat upon. All of us know firsthand that oppression as it's the life that we lead. There will always be a bigot out there shouting to be heard. It is we (people) who empower the bigots of the world by giving them a platform to spew their hatred and rhetoric upon. If no one listened, if no one acknowledged them, if no one gave them a platform then it would merely fizzle out and die it's own slow death.

All that being said, am I proud to be a suthurner, damn right. Am I proud of my southern heritage, damn right. You will not find a more welcoming hospitable group of people anywhere in the US. There is a reason that people from the north and west move down here. It's the hospitality, the slower pace of life, the lower cost of living, the ease with which we go through our day, it's the food, it's the beauty of the land, the strong familial ties and our bond with the land.

Here in NC, in a couple hours I can be in our majestic mountains (the Smokies, there is a reason it's the most visited state park in the nation), in a couple hours I can be standing on the sand in front of the great Atlantic ocean. I love my home state and wouldn't think of moving out of it for anything or anyone.

It is my hope that one day that all of us can embrace one another, look past our differences and sit for a spell, have a glass of iced tea (suthurn style of course) and just chit chat about anything and everything without discord.

Have a great day and weekend everyone.

ps. If I've offended anyone with my post that was certainly not my intention at all. I can only be the one person I know I can be and that is me.

[ravfem]

hey y'all :)

Hope it's ok for me, a SC native, to post here!

i was raised in SC and except for a few years in Va & Fl, i've always lived here. When i was younger, i was *dying* to get out, to escape this place. i hated everything about the south, both real & imagined, and wanted to move to NYC. i wanted a BIG city and people all around and a place that was alive 24/7, instead of a place that rolled up the sidewalks at 6 pm, for the most part.

It took moving to FL to make me realize that maybe i didn't hate SC as much as i thought. i experienced Orlando, and hated the big city feel of it immediately. Everyone was behind tinted car windows and no one smiled or waved at each other, much less actually greeted others!

So, i moved back home, and began appreciating what was good about here. i have to admit i am not proud to be southern, though i no longer hate that fact. i know the actual history of "the flag", but still....most people, around here at least, fly it as a statement of their racism - which they call their "white pride" (trying to compare it to black pride or gay pride).

Anyway, though i would have no issue moving away from here, i no longer crave that. i love the weather here (except for the dead of summer), the city of Greenville has revitalized the downtown area and it is just awesome now.

Asheville is a city i would love living in, except for the dead of winter lol. i do not know how to live/drive in snow & ice. But i love the charm and progressive nature of Asheville!

:hangloose:

[Apocalipstic]

Many people do say the the Civil War was fought over Federal intervention in State issues, but I still think it did have more to do with how the states out West were going to get split up on the subject of Slavery.

The "keep the Federal Government out" rhetoric continues in the South, which is why I keep mentioning all the great things the Federal Government has done for us. I am kind of a Socialist at heart and believe in a strong central government.

The Confederate Flag? Say what you want, but it makes so many different groups of people feel unsafe. People of Color, Jews, Catholics, Romas and Queers....to mention a few. To me it is very unwelcoming at the very best and far beyond racist at it's worst.

East TN is lovely, but when I first went up there to college, I saw a cross burning and it made me quiver in my young lesbian loafers. I just knew someone would show up at my apartment with pitchforks to get me. It is not the usual occurrence it was 30 years ago, but it continues to affect my life choices...and that of so many Southerners.

I do agree that we have free speech and people have the right to the flag...but I wish it would just go away.

Like my signature line states, things don't change much, we just call them different things. :)

Can we sit and chat? Would love to! Will be disagree on the Civil War? Very likely!

Iced tea? Hell yeah!

[Jet]

((((apocalipstic))))) You certainly did not sound in any way that you were afraid of small towns. To the contrary, I completely agree with you. There are some places in the mountains here that you would not venture into if they didn't know you were visiting for reasons of help or just being neighborly. The culture and ideals of some people here are shoot first and ask questions later. I know that....because it is the truth. I have been fortunate to be known in a few of these areas as "Doc" which is sorta funny to me just being a nurse, however, it is amazing and a blessing that sometime I or another nurse are the only medical professionals these people ever see. Again, it is NOT to say I would be a martyr or want to take any chances and it would be foolish to not recognize that some properties are protected at all costs....shotguns are abound in some places, I've seen it first hand and I completely understand it.

Of interesting fact.....In East Tennessee, Fort Sanders Hospital (which is where I was born, my kids were born and where I worked previously) is built on the land where a Fort was constructed by the Union Army, not Confederate. There are a some Union areas in West Tennesee also and throughout the South that supported the Union and where confederate flags did not fly. Just goes to show you, people in Dixie can be as diverse and nonconforming as parts of the rest of the world.

Interesting post.

[Blade]

Perfectly beautiful post.

Many people do say the the Civil War was fought over Federal intervention in State issues, but I still think it did have more to do with how the states out West were going to get split up on the subject of Slavery.

The "keep the Federal Government out" rhetoric continues in the South, which is why I keep mentioning all the great things the Federal Government has done for us. I am kind of a Socialist at heart and believe in a strong central government.

The Confederate Flag? Say what you want, but it makes so many different groups of people feel unsafe. People of Color, Jews, Catholics, Romas and Queers....to mention a few. To me it is very unwelcoming at the very best and far beyond racist at it's worst.

East TN is lovely, but when I first went up there to college, I saw a cross burning and it made me quiver in my young lesbian loafers. I just knew someone would show up at my apartment with pitchforks to get me. It is not the usual occurrence it was 30 years ago, but it continues to affect my life choices...and that of so many Southerners.

I do agree that we have free speech and people have the right to the flag...but I wish it would just go away.

Like my signature line states, things don't change much, we just call them different things. :)

Can we sit and chat? Would love to! Will be disagree on the Civil War? Very likely!

Iced tea? Hell yeah!

[Blade]

Revision.....this is the quote that is perfectly and beautifully said......Yes DomnNC you are right there is a reason people call this "God's country" it is the best of almost everything.

Apolcalipstic, whether you know it or not you just hit upon the main reason the civil war was fought to begin with with this statement:

"There is so much resistance in the South to the Federal Government,"

Many people believe it was the issue of slavery that was the dominating factor, it was a factor indeed but not the main one. The main issue was the soverignity of states, the ability of states to govern their own and adopt what federal guidelines the young and loosely formed federal government came up with at the time. The states wanted the right to say no to some of those laws and guidelines, they were denied, seven states had already seceded from the Union before Lincoln was ever elected.

As for the flag, I don't own one, I don't fly one, however I believe all individuals should have the right to express themselves as they please, after all that is what we are asking for, the right to live our life in freedom, to be recognized as a group, to have the same rights and equality as "straight" people. I do not view the flag as racist, it was created as a battle flag and a way for southern troops to distinguish themselves from the northern troops. The original flag of the confederacy was the Stars and Bars and was to close to the federal flag, Bars and Stripes, in design that it was hard for the troops to distinguish themselves apart. To many people of the south it merely represents the ancestry of their forefathers in fighting for the rights of state soverignity against the federal government. It is people whom make it racist as people can make "anything" racist. That being said racism exists across all states/countries in one form or another and it always will. There will always be a class of people who will be frowned upon, looked down upon. Is it right, heck no, and I'll always stand up for those that I see being oppressed, bullied, beat, and spat upon. All of us know firsthand that oppression as it's the life that we lead. There will always be a bigot out there shouting to be heard. It is we (people) who empower the bigots of the world by giving them a platform to spew their hatred and rhetoric upon. If no one listened, if no one acknowledged them, if no one gave them a platform then it would merely fizzle out and die it's own slow death.

All that being said, am I proud to be a suthurner, damn right. Am I proud of my southern heritage, damn right. You will not find a more welcoming hospitable group of people anywhere in the US. There is a reason that people from the north and west move down here. It's the hospitality, the slower pace of life, the lower cost of living, the ease with which we go through our day, it's the food, it's the beauty of the land, the strong familial ties and our bond with the land.

Here in NC, in a couple hours I can be in our majestic mountains (the Smokies, there is a reason it's the most visited state park in the nation), in a couple hours I can be standing on the sand in front of the great Atlantic ocean. I love my home state and wouldn't think of moving out of it for anything or anyone.

It is my hope that one day that all of us can embrace one another, look past our differences and sit for a spell, have a glass of iced tea (suthurn style of course) and just chit chat about anything and everything without discord.

Have a great day and weekend everyone.

ps. If I've offended anyone with my post that was certainly not my intention at all. I can only be the one person I know I can be and that is me.

[Sam]

i love the south and honestly i wouldnt live anywhere but...

[katsarecool]

I love the south too; having spent most of my childhood and adult life here. Am I proud right now to be a Southernor? No. Georgia for the most part is a hard-liner Red State where Republicans, Tea Partiers, homophobics and racists abound. Though it is better than say twenty years ago. I have a hard time finding like-minded individuals. I might be happier living in a Blue State or a city like Asheville. I could put up with the snow and ice.