living into my "productive years" in new jersey there are a few things that are prevalent in the south that i for some reason or another just don’t grasp very well. things like, the 4 wheeler, hunting, and competitive fishing stand at the front of the list.
being in at a church now that is part of a town based around a lake system, and apparently a good fishing lake at that, my worlds of understanding and confusion collide every now and then. at the moment we are in the now of collision.
for whatever reason the mens professional bass tour will begin a tournament next weekend at our lake. apparently it is being moved from another lake due to some of the flooding in the mid-west. with news of the tournament i started to see the boats the next day. you know the boats, the ones that have all kinds of stickers on them (plus the cars that tow them) and have some massive sized engines off the back ends.
so while i was finishing up hitting some golf range balls this morning a guy asked if the course had a range. i confirmed for him that it did, the noticed as he drove away to park his van sported a bass sticker and a missouri plate. so i asked him if he was here for the tournament next weekend. "no" i’m hear for the womens tournament this weekend. me, "really." him, "yeah, she didn’t have a good day ranking wise, but she caught like 35 bass." me, confused look. him, "it is really nice here, we’ve talked of moving here." me, "i certainly like it. so have a good day hitting them around."
i drive away and i find myself in another state of confusion.. women’s competitive fishing….
An explanation? Two words: Rural DNA.
Even for those Southerners who grew up in one of our cities (which have, themselves, only been around for a few decades), they have a certain level of Rural DNA in their bones that is likely to cause them to enjoy (or at least understand) such phenomena as NASCAR, pro fishing tournaments, and the fact that it is okay to turn most of the women in your town into deer widows every November. Even the deer widows understand it.
I was at a wedding rehearsal dinner last night where about 2/3 of the crowd was made up of native-born Southerners (and half of those from around Dumas, AR – no metropolis, I can assure you). The other 1/3 was made up of Yankees of various stripes (and quasi-Yankees from faux Southern cities like Atlanta). At one point the father of the groom made a statement during the toasts about having to hold a 12-gauge shotgun up to someone’s head to get him to do something. I chuckled and thought how much I missed hearing such non-PC colloquial language in the land of sophisticated Duke. Then I looked over at the elderly gentleman from New Jersey sitting next to me, and the expression on his face was a mixture of confusion and shock. It was pretty funny.
An explanation? Two words: Rural DNA.
Even for those Southerners who grew up in one of our cities (which have, themselves, only been around for a few decades), they have a certain level of Rural DNA in their bones that is likely to cause them to enjoy (or at least understand) such phenomena as NASCAR, pro fishing tournaments, and the fact that it is okay to turn most of the women in your town into deer widows every November. Even the deer widows understand it.
I was at a wedding rehearsal dinner last night where about 2/3 of the crowd was made up of native-born Southerners (and half of those from around Dumas, AR – no metropolis, I can assure you). The other 1/3 was made up of Yankees of various stripes (and quasi-Yankees from faux Southern cities like Atlanta). At one point the father of the groom made a statement during the toasts about having to hold a 12-gauge shotgun up to someone’s head to get him to do something. I chuckled and thought how much I missed hearing such non-PC colloquial language in the land of sophisticated Duke. Then I looked over at the elderly gentleman from New Jersey sitting next to me, and the expression on his face was a mixture of confusion and shock. It was pretty funny.
that’s a funny story andrew, i so see that happening around my life a few times in years to come.
that’s a funny story andrew, i so see that happening around my life a few times in years to come.