Southern Culture

[Sir_Winston54]

Damn, that was Lewis Grizzard good.

Thank you, you are too kind - and I mean that. I'm not fit to clean LG's typewriter keys.

...

manners

being respectful and knowing the difference between that and actually respecting someone

reenactments LMAO... For five years, I was a member of SASS (Single Action Shooting Society), and a member of a group that performed cowboy reenactments in a number of venues from just north of Atlanta almost to the Kentucky line, from east of Nashville to almost the Carolinas. I'm sorry that my body just won't take the running, climbing, shooting - and dying - any more. I miss it.

warmth, both of the weather and of people's hearts. it's amazing how quickly a stranger can be a friend here.

catching fireflies in jars. i had some neighbors move from PA and they'd never seen fireflies before. didn't know what to do with them.

courtesy

football, tailgating, and dressing to the nines just to go

there's really no way to describe the south. you just have to come here. come here and know that not all south is the same south. the coast is far different from the delta which is far different from the mountains and so on.

I love the quoted points you made, especially your last paragraph.

 

[ms_sub_liminal]

thank you. that really means a lot coming from you. i've always respected the way you write.

member of the SASS huh? you would have gotten a hoot out of my old neighbor. built a house to match monticello, changed his phone numbers to include important battle dates, fired a cannon down the cul-de-sac every 4th until the neighborhood got too big and they started fining him, finally went deaf in one ear from firing it every weekend in a different battle so he just started firing it from the other side. i was so sorry when they moved away. had a full period wedding ceremony and reception for one of their members before they left. the most fun event i've ever attended. straight out of a movie.

i bet cowboy reenactments were fun. if i lived in an area that did them i'd be first on the sign-up sheet.

anyway, i think that movie sweet home alabama sums up the south best. "people need a passport to come down here"

 

[intothewoods]

I was told by a Southerner that if you move to the South you will never truly become friends with the people around you. They'll be friendly to you, but they won't let you in.

WD's Damn Yankee comment in the Richmond thread reminded me of this conversation.

So is that true?

 

[Recidiva]

I was told by a Southerner that if you move to the South you will never truly become friends with the people around you. They'll be friendly to you, but they won't let you in.

WD's Damn Yankee comment in the Richmond thread reminded me of this conversation.

So is that true?

I don't think that's true.

Being welcoming or unwelcoming, making friends, trusting and considering someone adopted family is a personality trait that varies in humans in general.

It's actually a kinda hateful thing to say.

 

[ms_sub_liminal]

well you'll never be truly southern in their eyes. in the south, you're from where you were born whether you lived there 20 years or 20 minutes.

old southern ladies won't ever truly let you into the inner circle. as in, good luck joining the junior league. however, i believe like Recidiva that it's an individual trait and that there are always circles who will include and exclude people no matter where you go. south included.

 

[ms_sub_liminal]

oh! i forgot debutante balls, which is funny since i had one myself. that should definitely be on the list.

 

[Recidiva]

well you'll never be truly southern in their eyes. in the south, you're from where you were born whether you lived there 20 years or 20 minutes.

old southern ladies won't ever truly let you into the inner circle. as in, good luck joining the junior league. however, i believe like Recidiva that it's an individual trait and that there are always circles who will include and exclude people no matter where you go. south included.

Well, no. You're not getting into "Daughters of the Revolution" either.

But that is specific to groups intended to honor family lines and legacies and has not so much to do with who is your friends or family.

 

[CurlyKat]

Military schools are very southern. Maybe we are just hedging our bets for the next war between the states.

North Georgia College and State University; Dahlonega, Georgia
Norwich University; Northfield, Vermont
Texas A&M University; College Station, Texas
The Citadel; Charleston, South Carolina
Virginia Military Institute; Lexington, Virginia
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Blacksburg, Virginia

Whoop!!!

 

[WriterDom]

As kids I remember being very accepting of other kids who moved in from New York or Oklahoma or anywhere. If anything, we thought it was cool.

I loved H as much as I loved M. I'll consider H a southerner no matter where he goes and don't consider M, who moved here when he was 15, one if he stayed in Georgia his whole life. He has no roots here.

 

[00Syd]

Ain't that the truth? One of my absolute favorite female voices came from around here, Keely Smith.

Oh yeah? I didn't know that. I always assumed that she was from somewhere in Brooklyn. What do I know?

 

[00Syd]

oh! i forgot debutante balls, which is funny since i had one myself. that should definitely be on the list.

I wish I was a Debutante

 

[ms_sub_liminal]

I wish I was a Debutante

not really, just a night of standing around being bored, eating bad dinner, and being forced to hang out with your "escort" aka some guy whose mom roped him into doing this cause he happened to be the right age. or, in my case, some guy who thought it both funny and appropriate to don a cowboy hat (not the cool ones but a weird flatish one) and dance like steve martin from The Jerk as he attemped to swing, yes i said swing, the other debutantes in their poofy wedding dresses around. most embarrassing night ever.

 

[00Syd]

not really, just a night of standing around being bored, eating bad dinner, and being forced to hang out with your "escort" aka some guy whose mom roped him into doing this cause he happened to be the right age. or, in my case, some guy who thought it both funny and appropriate to don a cowboy hat (not the cool ones but a weird flatish one) and dance like steve martin from The Jerk as he attemped to swing, yes i said swing, the other debutantes in their poofy wedding dresses around. most embarrassing night ever.

I don't think you know me very well, lol.

 

[WriterDom]

Putting peanuts in your coke.

Night crawlers sold at gas stations

snuff

Fire ants

RC cola and a moon pie

The Varsity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Varsity

Spanish moss

Magnolia

Brunswick stew

Carolina Shag

 

[rosco rathbone]

well you'll never be truly southern in their eyes. in the south, you're from where you were born whether you lived there 20 years or 20 minutes.

old southern ladies won't ever truly let you into the inner circle. as in, good luck joining the junior league. however, i believe like Recidiva that it's an individual trait and that there are always circles who will include and exclude people no matter where you go. south included.

Huh. I was born in Durham, North Carolina. So I'm not a Yankee after all.

 

[Homburg]

The south does have Cormac McCarthy.

And soul food.

"Soul food", aka "country food", aka "food" where my dad is from, is just plain old down home cooking using ingredients that are available to the poor, or easy enough to grow on your own.

I don't care how bad it might be for me, it is a slice of heaven that I'll never give up.

--

I was told by a Southerner that if you move to the South you will never truly become friends with the people around you. They'll be friendly to you, but they won't let you in.

WD's Damn Yankee comment in the Richmond thread reminded me of this conversation.

So is that true?

Pfft. As people said, you might not get into the exclusive stuff, but you aren't likely to do that anywhere you move. The South just happens to be more honest about it. Once a "Come Here", always a "Come Here."

That said, while you may not have roots, they will be just as likely to be friends with you, be hospitable, take you in if your house burns down, and bring you casseroles when somebody dies. Come Here or not, you're still people.

--

Oh yeah? I didn't know that. I always assumed that she was from somewhere in Brooklyn. What do I know?

Born in Norfolk, VA, of Cherokee and Irish ancestry, among other things. Nothing finer than Keely and crazy ole Luigi duetting on the mic.

 

[Homburg]

Putting peanuts in your coke.

Never did get this one.

Night crawlers sold at gas stations

Even 7-11's sell em around here.

RC cola and a moon pie

Awwww yeah.

Brunswick stew

I've met the people that produce this stuff at a state fair. Really really nice people. We buy cans of it for fast winter meals.

Oh, another southern thing - hot dogs (or hamburgers) topped with chili and cole slaw. I remember the first time I had this. I was in a rush, and ordered a chili dog. Without asking,t he lady assumed I wanted cole slaw too. I was going to complain, but was in a rush. It was so damned good, wow. Since then, it is the only way I will eat a chili dog.

 

[rosco rathbone]

"Soul food", aka "country food", aka "food" where my dad is from, is just plain old down home cooking using ingredients that are available to the poor, or easy enough to grow on your own.

I don't care how bad it might be for me, it is a slice of heaven that I'll never give up.

.

Soul food surely has its roots in the African diaspora, no? ALthough a lot of the ingredients would overlap with those of poor whites and I'm sure a lot of recipes ended up being swapped between races.

My father's mother's family were planters in Virgina going back to the 17th c., but I have little contact with that side of the family. Father's father's side were Quaker farmers in NoVa and were strongly pro-abolition.

Mother's side, Yankees and Jews.

 

[WriterDom]

We got rice, sorghum, and okra from the slave trade. But a lot of things were here that weren't in Africa. Yeah, if you see a place owned by a black woman, don't drive by if you are hungry.

 

[rosco rathbone]

We got rice, sorghum, and okra from the slave trade. But a lot of things were here that weren't in Africa. Yeah, if you see a place owned by a black woman, don't drive by if you are hungry.

I'm not saying that soul food is 100% a black phenomenon, any more than rock and roll or the blues. Credit where it is due, is all I'm saying.

 

[Homburg]

Soul food surely has its roots in the African diaspora, no? ALthough a lot of the ingredients would overlap with those of poor whites and I'm sure a lot of recipes ended up being swapped between races.

Well, if you notice, I made no racial distinction. It really is just food where my dad grew up. "Soul food" is a slippery term though, and covers all sorts of stuff. For me, it's fried chicken, chicken fried steak, black eyed peas, collard greens, okra, etc. I can walk into most "soul food" places and find myself a great meal somewhere on that menu.

I would hazard a guess that it is impossible for African diaspora to have not cross-pollinated into southern cooking. Well-to-do families had cooks to handle the making of food, and those cooks, antebellum or not, were often black.

 

[rosco rathbone]

Well, if you notice, I made no racial distinction. It really is just food where my dad grew up. "Soul food" is a slippery term though, and covers all sorts of stuff. For me, it's fried chicken, chicken fried steak, black eyed peas, collard greens, okra, etc. I can walk into most "soul food" places and find myself a great meal somewhere on that menu.

I would hazard a guess that it is impossible for African diaspora to have not cross-pollinated into southern cooking. Well-to-do families had cooks to handle the making of food, and those cooks, antebellum or not, were often black.

I'm just looking for a fight because I'm currently obsessed with african diaspora cooking. I have so many ham hocks in my fridge, there's no room for food.

 

[Homburg]

I'm just looking for a fight because I'm currently obsessed with african diaspora cooking. I have so many ham hocks in my fridge, there's no room for food.

*scratches head*

Yeah, uh, you do that.

 

[jockdom]

Speaking about the blues, is Seasick Steve big on your side of the pond? He's from the South.

 

[WriterDom]

Speaking about the blues, is Seasick Steve big on your side of the pond? He's from the South.

He's from California. No haven't heard of him.