Southern Quotables - Flannery O'Connor

"When in Rome, do as you done in Milledgeville (, GA)."
-Flannery O'Connor

The R Word

Redneck.  We've all heard the term and we all know what it means or at least says about the person it's directed at: Un-wealthy person of European blood.  Now it is true that it is a truly hateful word, two people of equal socioeconomic status can be in an argument and redneck will slip out of one or the others mouths and then a full on fight can take place.

Some of us call ourselves or others (that are present) rednecks in jest, but we all know its just being funny. But if others aren't present it is usually meant to portray a poor person or family.  It's not nice, but it does happen.

The term came from poor farmers and field workers that spent long hours outside for a low wage and had their necks burnt by the sun.  It's a shame that folks trying to earn an honest living got branded, but good or bad I guess thats how the human animal works.

Jeff Foxworthy is amazing on how he took a joke, the redneck or at least a characture of the redneck, and has made his whole career out of it.  It's a pretty funny bit, but it has run its course.  Same with the emails with the redneck weddings, etc.  They may be funny, but really wasn't Jersey Shore just the same type people yankees make fun of but instead of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia, etc. it was in New Jersey?!

Ideas, statements, reactions about this term?  Tell us about them in the comments.

P.S. - I used one instance of the Confederate Flag because that's what a lot of people think rednecks wear. Most are used to the Naval Jack which is a rectangle, but this is one of the battle flags and was square.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Eat some corned beef and cabbage sip on a Irish Stout or some Irish Whiskey.  Sláinte!

Southern Word of the Week - Wrench

(v.) Take this rag and wrench it out so I can clean up this mess
(v.) Go wrench your feet off; how'd they get so muddy?
(v.) Wrench off this wrench; I dropped it in the oil catch.

Wrench is Southern for rinse.  Often you'll hear someone talk about warshing and wrenching something: cars, clothes, pets, etc.

Do you know someone that wrenches  stuff?  Let us know in the comments!

Thanks to @LuvHouses for the inspiration!

Beware Y'all!

Just a friendly reminder that it's the ides so beware and watch yer back.

Southern Quotables - Grits

"An inexpensive, simple, and thoroughly digestible food, grits should be made popular throughout the world. Given enough of it, the inhabitants of planet Earth would have nothing to fight about. A man full of grits is a man of peace."

-The Post and Courier 1952

Southern Style Sweet Stuff

Looking at a bottle of Arizona Southern Style Sweet Tea it made me remember that we do like things sweeter in the South.  I even remember a rumor that Coke and Pepsi were made sweeter down here because that's how we like things. 

I add about cup and a half of sugar to one gallon of tea, my wife's family cooks green beans with sugar and sweet potato casserole might as well be a dessert.  Think about this though, if you even mention or kid about putting sugar in your grits you almost automatically get labeled a yankee.  I admit I don't like sweet grits, but do like a sweet cornbread and the same alligations follow.  Why do we like everything else sweet, yet look down on folks that like sweet grits or cornbread?

Talk amongst yourselves in the comments, and please be sweet to each other.

New Music Thursday - Carolina Chocolate Drops

A friend of mine heard me sing a song I made up about collard greens then heard these cats on NPR's Fresh Air and told me I had to listen to them.  The Carolina Chocolate Drops play music in the olde time string band style that was popular in the 1920's and 1930's.  This song from YouTube is called "Cornbread and Butterbeans."



Somebody said that the line, "eatin' beans and makin' love as long as I am able" was not quite a romantic line, but I said that sometimes when you're broke all you got is some dry beans and each other and I think that is pretty romantic.

They play many instruments including some killer kazoo solos, but also do some modern stuff with beatboxing.  I dig 'em and think y'all may too.