singley.org > blog archives > Chivalry, Grits, Jesus and Country Music 03.31.2003

Aside from my weekend in Atlanta a few weeks ago, this past weekend in North Carolina was my first trip to the American South. Some things that you wouldn't see/experience among us Yankees in the North:

1. Southern men don't mess around with chivalry. They hold open doors for women, make sure to let women on and off elevators first, etc.

2. The Quaker grits variety pack! Flavors include: butter, cheddar cheese, country bacon and red eye gravy with country ham. I was only brave enough to try the butter, which weren't bad, but not good enough for me to want to try anything with "meat" in it.

3. Jesus is in the air: I drove from the Charlotte airport to the downtown area on Billy Graham Parkway, Baptist Churches can be found on even the most remote, windy roads, and I think I saw a dog wearing a WWJD collar.

4. Everything from people's driving to the way they walk and talk is very laid back. There is a kind of swagger in the locals' everyday actions.

5. I counted 11 country music stations after a brief survey of local FM radio.

6. The accents never stopped amusing me. And talking to someone with a southern accent makes one want to speak back to them with the same accent. You just can't help it. But, if anyone hears me unintentionally make "how are you?" into a single-word question ("hower-OO?"), give me a smack.

Despite some rainy weather on Saturday morning and a surprise snowstorm on Sunday morning, spending time relaxing and hiking around the Blue Ridge Parkway was fantastic. The mountainous area in western NC is beautiful - it made me realize how much I still have to see in the States.

So is the dog supposed to pause and think "Would Jesus hump this nice lady's leg? Would Jesus eat those shoes? Would Jesus chase that cat?"

Re: Southern Accent -- I had a friend from Evanston who, when trying to make plans over the phone for work, would put ona Souther accent because he said it made people more relaxed and willing to get along with him. Who knows....

Another bizarre thing that Southerners are crazy about is the Atkins diet. I remember that sweeping the North Shore a couple years ago, but it has since lost popularity in the "wacky diets" poll to Whole Foods and free-range chickens. At least that's my perception of things.
But not in the South! I've seen more than one restaurant advertise the Atkins special menu item of the day.
Wacky!

God bless the south for discovering that mud eating fish with whiskers are incredibly scrumptious and deserve to be eaten with zest and fury.

I was "investigating" the Quaker grits site and came upon the World Grits Festival. Now that I'd like to see.

Aah! I guess you can't put HTML in this thing. Good ol' Singley. Here's the link to the world grits festival I meant to have in the last post:

http://www.quakergrits.com/QG_Festival/festival2.htm