a tale of tails, tenacity, and tedium, as told by me, usually barefoot and bellowing

Thursday, February 13, 2014

You Don't Know Dixie...

is a series on the History channel.  I lucked out and watched a two hour special.  I loved it...because it was the truth.  This special had Trace Adkins, Jeff Foxworthy, Al Bell, Bobby Bowden and Lynyrd Skynyrd along with some of today's best known Southerns offering their insight on our culture.

I laughed.  I agreed.  I am proud of my heritage.

Jeff said You can't put the South in one bucket.  We don't all play banjo and date our sister.

We don't talk the same. Different areas of Dixie have different accents.  People hear the accent and think our IQ is low.  Not so, we're pretty smart.  We like words and phrases like ain't, golldurnit, and fixinta.  We are polite, loyal and are concerned about our neighbor.  We can even be mean while seeming to be nice. Example:  Look at her pulling those boards out with spiders on them.  Bless her heart.  This phrase takes away the bite of saying someone was acting stupidly. So basically you can insult someone politely by simply adding Bless their heart!

We were the first true pioneers before the colonies.  We make do with what we have.  If you don't have it, you create it.  That junk piled up in the barn or behind the house is not junk.  It's parts!

Southern ladies are not helpless.  We can hunt and fish with the best of them.  We also know you party with a Redneck but you marry a "good ole boy".

Per state the South has three time the hunters and two times the fishers as any of the other states.  The rule is Don't kill anything you can't eat.  It's tradition.  Living off the land ties us to it.

National disasters...we dig in and survive.  Dixie experienced devastation during the Civil War.  Much was destroyed and took a generation to recover.  We learned to rebuild then and are passing that down.  Through each disaster we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and take a go at living again.

Southerner Bear Bryant was the first college coach to integrate players. Coach Bryant held a record for games won.  College and local football are things we love because we can win!

The South is called the Bible Belt and have more churches per capita in nine out of  ten states compared to the rest of the United States. The religions and denominations vary but it's okay.  Just go to a church.

Food and music are much loved through out the South...and every where else.  No one's barbecue tastes the same so we have competitions with no one revealing their secret recipe.  Trace Atkins said he liked any thing that was fried in deep fat.  He said he didn't care what it was.  "Put a lot of batter around the dead thing and drop it in the fat.."  The saying is you can cook anything if you have these ingredients...sugar, salt, lard or alcohol. With these you can make cat food taste good.

The South brought you Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, BB King, Elvis, Trace Adkins and oh, so many more!
The South gave you air conditioning, Jack Daniels Whiskey and Tabasco Sauce and then some.

 Here I am in the South and I ain't moving!

19 comments:

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh you had me laughing out loud this morning Thank you Gail. Hug B

jp@A Green Ridge said...

When we lived in VA, although not far South, I met a wide array of people...some were down right scary but most were/are goods friends!!! I will say that a few made comments about me being a "damn Yankee"...a Yankee who stays!!!!...:)JP

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

I'll just amen what you said. We southerners do stick together!

Lynne said...

Brought me a smile my southern friend Gail . . . THANKS!

MadSnapper said...

I am fixinta say you hit the nail on the head. and they are right the South is different depending on which part of the South we are from.. I did not know AR was considered south, to me it is Midwest, so i guess that means you are in the Southern part of the MidWest...
now i have to go research just where is that mason dixon line....I am back, i just googled and you are South of the Mason Dixon line.... sending you the map in email... now i know you are a true Southerner.

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

My Momma was from Tenn. so I do get all that you said. There is something very special and cordial about southerners (with a few exceptions but hell x in laws always are trouble no matter where they hail from). I still say ya'll and bless your heart and consider myself half southerner and half green chile. Oma Linda

DFW said...

Amen Sister!

TexWisGirl said...

loved it.

The Homestead Lady said...

My Farm man and I are southerners through and through! I was raised in Arkansas now live just across the line in Oklahoma(20 minutes from Arkansas)...we are's some guud folks down around in here..*smile*..Don't believe me? Just ask me...lol

Sandy Livesay said...

Gail,

There's so many good things about the south. My favorite, great people and down right southern cooking.

Country Gal said...

LOL ! Amen to all that . The south , warm and friendly people . Thanks for sharing . Have a good day !

Sketching with Dogs said...

I enjoyed learning more about people who come from the South. It is true that some people have preconceived ideas about where you live. Over here, if you don't have an upper class English accent they automatically assume you have a low IQ. There is a woman on tv from our region and she was told she was a 'chav' and should get back to her council estate and yet she has a degree in Economics.
I like the rule about never killing what you can't eat. That goes back to the Native American philosophy, doesn't it.
Lynne x

Dreaming said...

We moved to the south when I was 23, and stayed there for 34 years. When we first moved, I was very aware of the different pace of life - and when we visited parents in the 'nawth' - the hustle and bustle, fast talking, loud voices and all around rush was jarring. There is much to be said about the genteel south!
Nice post!

Anonymous said...

My roots are all southern. I am first generation northerner, but spent half of my childhood down south. I was raised with all that goes with your post...and I am proud of my heritage, too.

Farm Girl said...

A very well thought out post and I love how you voiced your love for the South.
Out here our part of California is called West Texas part 2.
All of my family is from the south. My husbands as well. My Dad said when he moved back that he was called and Northerner and he said, he felt he had never been cussed so bad in his life.
There is something wonderful about the south. I love how when you get out there, people just become nice gain.
It is a blessing I think to have that in our blood.

gld said...

I am southern Missouri and I have always identified with the south; much more s o than the Midwest!

My favorite authors are southern. My favorite food is fried chicken.

My people are from Maury Co.,Tennessee and North Carolina.

Long live the south!

My elderly aunt still refers to her father as 'daddy'.

StitchinByTheLake said...

Love, love, love this! Wish I'd seen it. :) blessings, marlene

LindaG said...

Amen, Gail! I am so glad to have been *transplanted*.

I had to chuckle at Sandra's comment.

People in NC think they are Southerners... ;-)

Have a wonderful Sunday, Gail! ♥

Unknown said...

You made this southern girl from Alabama smile....:) Thanks!

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