Mason-Dixon
Advice for Northerners moving South
In the South: --If you run your car into a ditch, don't
panic. Four men in a
four-wheel drive pickup truck with a tow chain will be along shortly. Don't
try to help them, just stay out of their way. This is what they live for.
~
Don't be surprised to find movie rentals and bait in the same store....do
not buy food at this store.
~
Remember, "y'all" is singular, "all y'all" is plural, and "all y'all's" is
plural possessive.
~
Get used to hearing "You ain't from round here, are ya?"
~
Save all manner of bacon grease. You will be instructed later on how to use it.
~
Don't be worried at not understanding what people are saying. They can't
understand you either. The first Southern statement to creep into a
transplanted Northerner's vocabulary is the adjective "big'ol," truck or
big'ol" boy. Most Northerners begin their Southern-influenced dialect this
way. All of them are in denial about it.
~
The proper pronunciation you learned in school is no longer proper.
~
Be advised that "He needed killin" is a valid defense here.
~
If you hear a Southerner exclaim, "Hey, y'all, check this out," you should stay
out of the way. These are likely to be the last words he'll ever say.
~
If there is the prediction of the slightest chance of even the smallest
accumulation of snow, your presence is required at the local grocery store.
It doesn't matter whether you need anything or not. You just have to go
there.
~
Do not be surprised to find that 10-year-olds own their own shotguns, they
are proficient marksmen, and their mammas taught them how to aim.
~
In the South, they have found that the best way to grow a lush green lawn is
to pour gravel on it and call it a driveway.
~
AND REMEMBER:
If you do settle in the South and bear children, don't think they will
accept
them as Southerners. After all, if the cat had kittens in the oven, we
wouldn't call 'em biscuits.