I
have a neighbor that commutes from here to California every Monday
morning. We were talking the other day about something or another
and he told me that his boss calls him into his office every once
in awhile just to hear him talk. Now, we got to laughing about
this since we don’t think we talk funny, its folks from other
parts of the country that sound weird to us. I mean, some of the
things we just take for granted are terms and phrases we’ve used
all of our lives.
People
in other parts of the world will look at you strangely if you say
something along the lines of…” he’s doesn’t know come here
from sic’em”…..or he was looking at me “like a calf
looking at a new gate.” Now we all know that the first phrase
means someone is not too bright and the second one means he’s
confused. We live in a unique part of the world that has some
mighty colorful expressions unlike any other place on this
planet.
All
of us know the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption
fit. If your significant other tells you…”gimme sugar”…you
know not to pass the sugar bowl. If somebody tells you …”I’m
fixin to do it.” You can bet it’s going to happen in a short
time period. We don’t think a thing about someone wearing a belt
and suspenders. We do question folks that stuff their pants into
their boots without actually owning any cows. One question that we
all ‘rassle (another good word) is just how much land do you
have to own to actually call it a ranch?
No one in our part of the country goes snipe hunting two
times.
Along
those same lines is the fact that we never swallow chewing tobacco
more than once. If your mother told you she was going to get
around to doing something …’by and by’ you knew exactly what
she meant and didn’t ask anymore.
We all know that real gravy doesn’t come in an envelope
from the store. One thing we all have learned is that just because
a car or truck has their signal light on doesn’t mean they are
actually going to turn somewhere. We have several terms to
describe various social levels in our part of the country…..we
all know the difference between a redneck, a good ole boy, trailer
trash and just plain old white trash.
Travel
distances are measured in terms we all understand……if someone
tells you…”you can’t miss it…” you’d better ask again
and listen closer the second time. In other parts of the country
some areas are called ‘hollows’ or ‘hollers’…..around
here we just say …’they live up (or down) the road a piece.’
Someone who lives a good distance off is said to live ‘a right
far piece’ whereas someone who is close is described as living
‘pert near’. In Europe people get hanky about traveling by car
over 100 miles or so….here we think nothing of driving 200-300
miles to go to the store for something. We don’t drink ‘pop’
or ‘sodas’…we drink cokes…no matter what you buy….you
always ask…”you wanna coke?”
Along
those same lines, we still think that cokes in the small bottles
taste better than anything on the market today. We’re still mad
‘cause we can’t buy them anymore.
All of us cherish the time we get to spend in a rocking
chair or on a swing. In some parts of this great country they
probably don’t even have swings. But, we know that more stress
can be relieved by just rocking or swinging than a hand full of
pills. We also realize that anytime you can put an old person in a
rocker or a swing then you not only get some great stress relief,
you also get a history lesson as well. The final piece of wisdom
that all of us agree upon is the fact that nobody can make
biscuits like your grandma. Call me when you get work…..Comments
go to www.pearyperry.com
