Proof Of Life

[revbob]

“You know where else has volcanos? Hawaii. Just like Elvis Presley’s 1961 film ‘Blue Hawaii.’ I remember the first time hearing Elvis in my grandmother’s kitchen.. It was 1965 and I had just gotten home from running barefoot through the tobacco fields of northern Mississippi, breathless, as if the hellhounds from a Robert Johnson tune were after me..”

God, after all these years, the prickly heat irritation of his stories comes thru.

Having grown up and spent the majority of my life in the South, I feel like I can conjure this type of dude through sheer will.

There’s something about southern college town full-time residents. From Oxford all the way to Gainesville. If the shining light of the SEC touches it, you’ll find at least 5 Chico Harris’ wandering the streets and filling the “colorful character” section of weekly rag best-of lists, day-drinking in a vaguely beachy, vaguely BBQ themed dive.

That's a different kind of twisted Southern tragedy that Faulkner wrote about, but no less gut-wrenching.

The South is a weird place to be.

Its a weird place to think about too.

[Sparky]

Having grown up and spent the majority of my life in the South, I feel like I can conjure this type of dude through sheer will.

There’s something about southern college town full-time residents. From Oxford all the way to Gainesville. If the shining light of the SEC touches it, you’ll find at least 5 Chico Harris’ wandering the streets and filling the “colorful character” section of weekly rag best-of lists, day-drinking in a vaguely beachy, vaguely BBQ themed dive.

That's a different kind of twisted Southern tragedy that Faulkner wrote about, but no less gut-wrenching.

The South is a weird place to be.

And you have to be from there to understand it. I mean, I've read a lot of Southern history, plus lived in NC for a couple years, so I can appreciate a lot of the weirdness on an intellectual level, but I fully concede that I don't understand it.

Hello,

You have to experience the South for quite a while before you understand it. If you catch yourself saying "Pre-she-ate it" more than 4 times per day, you're getting there. If you know what you want from Chick-Fil-A or Cook Out before you get to the drive through ordering window, you're getting there.

Our daughter has lived in the South for about 4 years now, she's out visiting us now, says she misses it here.
She said if someone in the South responds to you with "bless your heart" they've basically told you to go f yourself.

[modskint]

That's a different kind of twisted Southern tragedy that Faulkner wrote about, but no less gut-wrenching.

The South is a weird place to be.

And you have to be from there to understand it. I mean, I've read a lot of Southern history, plus lived in NC for a couple years, so I can appreciate a lot of the weirdness on an intellectual level, but I fully concede that I don't understand it.

Hello,

You have to experience the South for quite a while before you understand it. If you catch yourself saying "Pre-she-ate it" more than 4 times per day, you're getting there. If you know what you want from Chick-Fil-A or Cook Out before you get to the drive through ordering window, you're getting there.

Our daughter has lived in the South for about 4 years now, she's out visiting us now, says she misses it here.
She said if someone in the South responds to you with "bless your heart" they've basically told you to go f yourself.

I’m tired of the caricature of the south, I think. I mean, that kinda thing is true, but there’s a shit-ton of southern gentrified revisionism.

I am fortunate in a lot of ways that I was afforded the opportunity to get out of my small town and see how everyone else lives. Many forget that a lot of southerners are only 2 generations removed from subsistence farming/abject poverty. My grandparents on my mom’s side were all farmers. My dad’s dad was a country doctor. Both my parents “got out.” My dad’s hometown is dying, the mill closed years ago and Walmart is the biggest employer. It’s two claims to fame are that it’s the hometown of Bear Bryant and the place where the Stones got arrested on drug charges in 1975 (oddly enough on today’s date.) My mom’s hometown is a blip on the map in MS if you’re driving from Mobile to Jackson.

If I’m being honest, I hate it here. I love the south, but I hate the political climate and the willful ignorance. We are here because our family is here. I’m just trying to do my best to do what my folks did and make sure our boy gets to see every side of the American experience.

[Sparky]

The South is a weird place to be.

And you have to be from there to understand it. I mean, I've read a lot of Southern history, plus lived in NC for a couple years, so I can appreciate a lot of the weirdness on an intellectual level, but I fully concede that I don't understand it.

Hello,

You have to experience the South for quite a while before you understand it. If you catch yourself saying "Pre-she-ate it" more than 4 times per day, you're getting there. If you know what you want from Chick-Fil-A or Cook Out before you get to the drive through ordering window, you're getting there.

Our daughter has lived in the South for about 4 years now, she's out visiting us now, says she misses it here.
She said if someone in the South responds to you with "bless your heart" they've basically told you to go f yourself.

I’m tired of the caricature of the south, I think. I mean, that kinda thing is true, but there’s a shit-ton of southern gentrified revisionism.

I am fortunate in a lot of ways that I was afforded the opportunity to get out of my small town and see how everyone else lives. Many forget that a lot of southerners are only 2 generations removed from subsistence farming/abject poverty. My grandparents on my mom’s side were all farmers. My dad’s dad was a country doctor. Both my parents “got out.” My dad’s hometown is dying, the mill closed years ago and Walmart is the biggest employer. It’s two claims to fame are that it’s the hometown of Bear Bryant and the place where the Stones got arrested on drug charges in 1975 (oddly enough on today’s date.) My mom’s hometown is a blip on the map in MS if you’re driving from Mobile to Jackson.

If I’m being honest, I hate it here. I love the south, but I hate the political climate and the willful ignorance. We are here because our family is here. I’m just trying to do my best to do what my folks did and make sure our boy gets to see every side of the American experience.

My dads side of the family is from the South as well. We visited our daughter at her new place last year and were pleasantly surprised how nice the community she lives in was. No stereotypical trucks with confederate flags or bumper stickers, beautiful wooded areas to go hiking, our only complaint was the weather - hot & humid. Although we miss her greatly, in terms of affordability, it was the best move they could have made. Living here they were spending most all their combined income on housing by renting, there they own a newly built place and are still able to save for retirement.

[modskint]

My dads side of the family is from the South as well. We visited our daughter at her new place last year and were pleasantly surprised how nice the community she lives in was. No stereotypical trucks with confederate flags or bumper stickers, beautiful wooded areas to go hiking, our only complaint was the weather - hot & humid. Although we miss her greatly, in terms of affordability, it was the best move they could have made. Living here they were spending most all their combined income on housing by renting, there they own a newly built place and are still able to save for retirement.

I am in the FL Panhandle where people vote based off of what letter is next to your name on the ballot (Matt Gaetz is my district’s congressional representative if that tells you anything,) anti-abortion protesters are STILL out on the weekends despite policy change, and Ron DeSantis is viewed as a reasonable person by a large swath of the population.

Housing costs are skyrocketing here and if we didn’t have the living situation we do, I don’t know where we would be. Even rentals here are insane. When we moved back in 2014, we rented a 2 bedroom house for $750/mo. Now the same little house in a lousy neighborhood rents at $1900. My employer is probably to blame, as they’ve brought in 10,000+ jobs in the past 15 years. My folks’ house is out by their big office campus and their home value has nearly tripled.

Anyway. Enough old man shaking his fist at the sun.

[JennyB]

My mom grew up in the south - Ft. Smith, Arkansas. I still can't quite wrap my head around that.

[modskint]

My mom grew up in the south - Ft. Smith, Arkansas. I still can't quite wrap my head around that.

What’s even wilder than that is that a lot of folks in THE SAME STATE would consider Ft. Smith the midwest and not the south.

AR is a weird state. My dad is from Fordyce (about 45 min south of Little Rock )and that is straight deep south cotton country. His brother lives in Mountain Home at the very north of the state, and that is more like Appalachia (Ozarks.) Ft. Smith borders Oklahoma and is flat Arkansas River valley all the way to Oklahoma City on I-40.

[JennyB]

My mom grew up in the south - Ft. Smith, Arkansas. I still can't quite wrap my head around that.

What’s even wilder than that is that a lot of folks in THE SAME STATE would consider Ft. Smith the midwest and not the south.

AR is a weird state. My dad is from Fordyce (about 45 min south of Little Rock )and that is straight deep south cotton country. His brother lives in Mountain Home at the very north of the state, and that is more like Appalachia (Ozarks.) Ft. Smith borders Oklahoma and is flat Arkansas River valley all the way to Oklahoma City on I-40.

I figured as such. I remember going there as a kid and we would fly into Tulsa. But as a kid from Denver, everything down there seemed "the south" to me. Same with Dallas, where my dad is from.

[modskint]

My mom grew up in the south - Ft. Smith, Arkansas. I still can't quite wrap my head around that.

What’s even wilder than that is that a lot of folks in THE SAME STATE would consider Ft. Smith the midwest and not the south.

AR is a weird state. My dad is from Fordyce (about 45 min south of Little Rock )and that is straight deep south cotton country. His brother lives in Mountain Home at the very north of the state, and that is more like Appalachia (Ozarks.) Ft. Smith borders Oklahoma and is flat Arkansas River valley all the way to Oklahoma City on I-40.

I figured as such. I remember going there as a kid and we would fly into Tulsa. But as a kid from Denver, everything down there seemed "the south" to me. Same with Dallas, where my dad is from.

Texas is Texas. They do their thing and we try and ignore it for the most part. Except for Austin and San Antonio. They can hang.

[JennyB]

My mom grew up in the south - Ft. Smith, Arkansas. I still can't quite wrap my head around that.

What’s even wilder than that is that a lot of folks in THE SAME STATE would consider Ft. Smith the midwest and not the south.

AR is a weird state. My dad is from Fordyce (about 45 min south of Little Rock )and that is straight deep south cotton country. His brother lives in Mountain Home at the very north of the state, and that is more like Appalachia (Ozarks.) Ft. Smith borders Oklahoma and is flat Arkansas River valley all the way to Oklahoma City on I-40.

I figured as such. I remember going there as a kid and we would fly into Tulsa. But as a kid from Denver, everything down there seemed "the south" to me. Same with Dallas, where my dad is from.

Texas is Texas. They do their thing and we try and ignore it for the most part. Except for Austin and San Antonio. They can hang.

Exactly

[modskint]

My mom grew up in the south - Ft. Smith, Arkansas. I still can't quite wrap my head around that.

What’s even wilder than that is that a lot of folks in THE SAME STATE would consider Ft. Smith the midwest and not the south.

AR is a weird state. My dad is from Fordyce (about 45 min south of Little Rock )and that is straight deep south cotton country. His brother lives in Mountain Home at the very north of the state, and that is more like Appalachia (Ozarks.) Ft. Smith borders Oklahoma and is flat Arkansas River valley all the way to Oklahoma City on I-40.

I figured as such. I remember going there as a kid and we would fly into Tulsa. But as a kid from Denver, everything down there seemed "the south" to me. Same with Dallas, where my dad is from.

Texas is Texas. They do their thing and we try and ignore it for the most part. Except for Austin and San Antonio. They can hang.

Exactly

Houston is west Louisiana with money and Dallas wants to be a real city so bad, but they just fucked it all up with sprawl.

[revbob]

What’s even wilder than that is that a lot of folks in THE SAME STATE would consider Ft. Smith the midwest and not the south.

AR is a weird state. My dad is from Fordyce (about 45 min south of Little Rock )and that is straight deep south cotton country. His brother lives in Mountain Home at the very north of the state, and that is more like Appalachia (Ozarks.) Ft. Smith borders Oklahoma and is flat Arkansas River valley all the way to Oklahoma City on I-40.

I figured as such. I remember going there as a kid and we would fly into Tulsa. But as a kid from Denver, everything down there seemed "the south" to me. Same with Dallas, where my dad is from.

Texas is Texas. They do their thing and we try and ignore it for the most part. Except for Austin and San Antonio. They can hang.

Exactly

Houston is west Louisiana with money and Dallas wants to be a real city so bad, but they just fucked it all up with sprawl.

The Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas was ok. If Houston has redeeming qualities Ive never seen them and rural Texas is a hellscape like no other. Ive had to spend time in some places for work and I would drive a few hours a day just to be in San Antonio.

[weller259]

Anyone from New Jersey on down is a "southerner" to me. I drove to Baltimore once as an adult to help someone move, and as a kid I went to DC once, otherwise i've never been "down south" so I don't really know much about it. Other than when I hear that "accent" it makes me very uneasy.
I have been to San Diego and it was an awesome place, loved the weather. I've also been to Vegas, but it didn't feel anything like I imagine being "down south" would feel like.
I must say that seeing what their political representatives do, i'm not likely to ever go "down south" now. Florida, Texas, hell no. I cannot deal with ignorance.

[Dr. Medulla]

Anyone from New Jersey on down is a "southerner" to me. I drove to Baltimore once as an adult to help someone move, and as a kid I went to DC once, otherwise i've never been "down south" so I don't really know much about it. Other than when I hear that "accent" it makes me very uneasy.
I have been to San Diego and it was an awesome place, loved the weather. I've also been to Vegas, but it didn't feel anything like I imagine being "down south" would feel like.
I must say that seeing what their political representatives do, i'm not likely to ever go "down south" now. Florida, Texas, hell no. I cannot deal with ignorance.

As a Mainer (is that what they're called?), you're obliged to insert "ayuh" at the end of your sentences.

[JennyB]

I figured as such. I remember going there as a kid and we would fly into Tulsa. But as a kid from Denver, everything down there seemed "the south" to me. Same with Dallas, where my dad is from.

Texas is Texas. They do their thing and we try and ignore it for the most part. Except for Austin and San Antonio. They can hang.

Exactly

Houston is west Louisiana with money and Dallas wants to be a real city so bad, but they just fucked it all up with sprawl.

The Deep Ellum neighborhood of Dallas was ok. If Houston has redeeming qualities Ive never seen them and rural Texas is a hellscape like no other. Ive had to spend time in some places for work and I would drive a few hours a day just to be in San Antonio.

Houston is my least favorite city in the world. Just a shithole with no zoning and terrible traffic.