I like to make lists, Snapshots, Travels with the flock, Wanderings, Whatever

Southern oddities

10 Comments
Just a couple things that tickled me from along the way…

And you all tease me about NJ and its toll roads?

The particular pleasure of watching your fat expertly glazed at Krispy Kreme… ack… too sweet! And what’s up with *waffle houses* and *biscuit houses*? And sweet tea? But absolutely no decent coffee anywhere within a 50 mile radius?

The mountain version of internet service, evocative of the days when two tin cans and a length of string constituted phone service… and the folly of hosting 17-some bloggers who were then forced to pirate a wi-fi signal wherever possible.

A *new* river that flows north. Backwards.

Right. We don’t really do mountains in NJ. WTF?

Rare red trilliums that are um… white? Or is it yellow? I have so many pictures of trilliums I’ve forgotten who’s who. W. Virginia is awash in trilliums. They should better protect their flowered hillsides, I think.

The whole Southern fascination with B-B-Q. I never got a look at the pit, but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t made out of half an old oil barrel.

I think this could probably be an on-going list, as we all remember things…

Anyone?

10 thoughts on “Southern oddities”

  1. As a transplanted southerner, I didn’t see anything wrong. The fascination with B-B-Q isn’t just in the south. It’s a big thing in Alaska and a way I cook all year round. By the looks on those fellows faces, I bet the cookin’ is good!

  2. All right, Laura…you’ve crossed the line with this one. You simply can’t talk about the hillbillies and Southerners like that!

    I know this post is tongue-in-cheek, but it almost borders on foot-in-mouth. But we still love you and welcome you to visit the southern hillbillies again and again to enjoy our beautiful mountains and hospitality. 🙂

    BTW: them Ohio folks ain’t exactly sophisticated.

  4. Dave: It was good, yeah. Those fellows were our hosts for the week and kept us well fed.

    NCMountainWoman: But… but… I didn’t call anyone hillbillies!

    😉

    And I never once mentioned the funny way they talk in W. Virginia!

    I was most puzzled by the lack of good coffee, I think. Here there’s a coffee shop every 50 ft. you know.

    I’m working on a theory with that, actually. I think sugar must be to southerners like caffeine is to people from up north.

    (Which accounts for the southern excessive politeness and the perception of us being too hurried and rude).

    FC: I know, I know. Plus they seceded from the Union and all that.

    😉

    I never got to try boiled peanuts, but I did have fried green tomatoes… yum!

  5. Hey! What’s Carolyn got against Ohioans???? We are too sophisticated! Well, some are…

    I don’t know if I can call West Virginia “South”…it’s sort of in the middle, isn’t it? There’s a slight difference between “Southern” and just plain ol’ “Country-fied”.
    And I love it all.
    And check out my Blogger Butt! Jeez.
    Oh, well. I turned it into a tailgating party.

    In the end, give me some good ol’ boys, BBQ and a Southern drawl to any pinchy, tight ass tea party, ANY DAY.

  6. They don’t need coffee…they have Mountain Dew. One of the highest caffeine soft drinks, it is loaded with sugar to combat the bitter taste of the caffeine. That combination makes it the drink of choice for most of Appalachia. It’s their coffee, tea and Prozac all rolled in to one.

    It is put in baby bottles and many of the children have “Mountain Dew Mouth” because of it. There is a dramatic increase in dental decay in Kentucky and West Virginia because of the high sales of Mountain Dew.

    So that’s why there is no good coffee to be found. Ain’t necessary when you’ve got Mountain Dew.

    Susan, I have nothing against Ohio. In fact we lived in Cincinnati for three years while my husband did his residency at University of Cincinnati Medical Center. We loved it and were a bit surprised that it was called a hick town by the elite northerners.

  7. I loved this post. Classic! Funny! and the picture of the guys doing the BBQ. Loved it. Wasn’t the food wonderful? Hey! I got coffee at the Cathedral Cafe and it was to die for. Better than at home. Didn’t you try it? I was surprised at how much of an accent these people had. I didn’t think WV was considered ‘south’ but maybe I was wrong.

  8. West Virginia was one of a couple of states actually formed during the Civil War. And Jalynn01 is right…they did join the Union.

    But since most of the state is below the Mason-Dixon Line, it is now considered a “Southern” state. And those mountain folk do have much more in common with the southerners than they do with the yankees.

  9. Laura,
    jes sos ya know. In the bbq pic one guy is from NJ, One from NY, One from Philly and the last is from Montana. No oil barrels here!

  10. Hey Keith! I was wondering if this might draw you out of the woodwork.

    😉

    My father-in-law was from Tennessee and made the most fabulous BBQ’s from oil barrels. Really.

    Susan: Country-fied is a better way of putting it, I guess. Thanks.

    NCNountainWoman: You crack me up!

    Did you happen to see that recent special – maybe PrimeTime – about Appalachia?

    Pretty eye-opening for me.

    Jalynn01: Hi!

    The closest I got to coffee most days was what passed for it at breakfast at 6 am.

    (imagine a cranky laura the rest of the day.)

    There’s parts of NJ south of me that I consider *southern*.

    😉

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