And that's what I like about the South

[Iris]

Ok, Southerners. Please enlighten the rest of the country. What are some things you LIKE about living in the South?

1. I like that it rarely ever snows and when it does it's an automatic snow day for everyone.

2. I like that strangers, black and white, will smile at you on the street and say "hello" or "good morning".

3. I like that one of seemingly biggest racists I ever met paid for the last 2 quarters of a former (black) students' nursing school tuition.

4. I like that when a friend was driving home from Atlanta with her baby sick from chemo, she called the pharmacist in her home town because she realized she had forgotten to fill his anti-nasuea prescription and he DELIVERED the medicine to her home.

5. I like that an old man in my hometown who doesn't drive because he is narcoleptic puts his bike upside down on the front lawn when he needs his neighbors to take him somewhere.

[rainy]

1. I like aurthor Pat Conroy

Tom Wingo

[Skittles]

2. but

acts of kindness like you describe happen EVERYWHERE; yes, even in the CITY.

[Iris]

5. acts of kindness, yes

but treating strangers nicely consistently and as a matter of course - no.

[DemBones DemBones]

30. People hold doors open for others, regardless of sex, race, age.

[NightTrain]

3. The southland gave birth to...

...gospel music, the blues, jazz, country music, and rockabilly. That's reason enough for me to give Dixieland the benefit of the doubt!

[Rex]

4. I like the fact that we have our own

power grid...oops, that's just us Texans. :evilgrin:

[ewagner]

6. Southern manners n/t

[Aristus]

7. I don't miss much about the South.

That's why I live in Washington, and not Texas.

However, I miss the Mexican food. The stuff up here is good. Very good, actually. It's just not the same, though.

I miss the way that EVERYONE said 'Sir' and 'Ma'am' and please and thank you.

That's about it. I live in a town where Bush is heavily supported. I'd hate to live in a whole state that did.

[mitchum]

11. Ah..but if you live in a southern town where * is hated, it is fantastic

There are such places (I live in one)

[RummyTheDummy]

41. Texas technically isn't in the south...

It's in the Southwest. Different vibe.

[drdigi420]

8. I like Atlanta

I don't go very far outside I-285 though. It does get pretty scary out there.

[Kamika]

9. Best seafood

We have the best seafood, best mexican food

[Lars39]

10. In memory of an uncle recently passed away.....

Carl grew up on his parent's farm. Went to Vanderbilt for some of his college education. Life happened--he married, had 3 boys very close in age. When it came time for his boys to go to college, Carl enrolled and went with them. He bought a trailer so they could all live together to keep costs down. He cooked, cleaned, and made sure everybody knew their calculus. All 4 of them graduated with a degree in engineering.

Rest in peace,Carl; you were a fine example for your sons.

[efhmc]

33. What a great man. I love that you shared that with us.

Thanks

[Bandit]

12. I like the fact that the South is in the South

:shrug: Wish I could do better but I been there done that and am quite happy away from there.

[lanlady]

13. I'm a frequent visitor to Alabama

in connection with my work. Folks sure are friendly there. This 100% Yankee effete Northeast intellectual never dreamed she'd develop a soft spot for Alabama, but I have!

[SoCalDem]

14. grits & runny eggs...biscuits..

magnolias, gardenias, hibiscus..

friendly people (even if I cannot understand most of what they say :eyes:.)

[Lurking Dem]

15. Too many to mention?

1. The Blues

2. Biscuits and cream gravy.

3. Thunderstorms so strong you can smell the ozone from miles away.

4. Magnolias, gardenias, azaleas.

5. Fireflies that look like faeries dancing every evening in your garden.

6. Women I don't know calling me "hon".

7. Driving down the Natchez Trace in October.

8. The way it SMELLS at 6 o'clock in the morning - nowhere I have ever lived smells like this.

9. Falling asleep to the sound of treefrogs every night.

10. Not freezing my ass off most of the time.

How's that for a start?

[random]

16. So many to choose from...

1. Pretty, sincere women with southern drawls
2. Fried food, everything
3. "Fish Camps" food again
4. Warm Oceans
5. Lightning Bugs
6. Summer thunderstorms
7. Lewis Grizzard
8. Generally, genuinely nice people
9. Mullet spotting

[Heddi]

17. Sweet Tea is my #1---

damn washingtonians don't know what Sweet Tea is---go into a restaurant and order tea, and you get a kettle of water, a bag, and a cup!! I DON'T THINK SO!!!

I make Sweet Tea at home and everyone up here who's tried it LOVES it---don't know why they don't sell it.

I love the weather. Not too cold. Wonderfully long summers. Beaches that have sand and not pebbles.

Nice people. Southern Ladies and Gentlemen.

People that will strike up conversation with you anywhere---in line at the grocery store, walking down the street, checking your mail...people always so friendly and so eager to talk to you.

The manners---Yes Ma'am, Yes Sir. No thank you, May I, Please, You're welcome

Southern Funerals and Wakes---while death is no fun thing, in the South, after a funeral everyone gets together with pot-luck food and has a good ol' fashioned wake afterwards---lots of eating, and remembering, and laughing through sadness.

People hold doors open for other people.

People will see your car in trouble and ask if they can assist you, and even if you say no, they insist on helping you.

They return lost purses and wallets with the $$ still inside.

They stop on the side of the road if there's a car broken down---especially if it's a woman and her child.

Very quick to render assistance. Welcoming to new neighbors. Always quick to say hi.

Men in the south (especially older black men) still wear hats when they go out, even to the store, and tip their hats when they see a lady.

If they're not wearing hats, they move their hand to their head as if to tip their hat.

People like to hug down there too. Can't go anywhere without being hugged by someone.

The pre-civil war houses, and lovely tree-lined cobblestone streets of Charleston, SC. Beautiful houses that smell old and look old and are just beautiful inside and out.

Jasemine growing on anything that stands still

Kudzu taking over anything that stands still

The slow-paced lifestyle. No one's in a hurry. No one rushes you from a restaurant table.

Free refills of sweet tea

Grits in the morning and hush-puppies for supper

The fact that in the south, there are 3 very distinct meals of the day: Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper.

The Geechee and Gullah accents of Coastal south carolina and her barrier islands. "Cooper" is "cupah". River is "rivuh".

The stories that people still tell their children that were passed on from slaves hundreds of years ago. Everyone I grew up with knew what a Hag was, and knew that sprinkling one with salt would render her unable to slip back into her skin after nighttime was over.

The fact that underwear are called Underpants.

The fact that "Coke" refers to all drinks---wether coke, pepsi, 7-up or sprite, you call it Coke, and everyone knows what you mean.

The horn at the navy yard that blew once at 12 to signal beginning of lunch hour, once at 1 to signal end of lunch hour, and once at 5 to signal the end of the day.

[TNDemo]

20. Thank you very much.

That was lovely. Reminds of why I am here.

[Iris]

35. oh - you reminded me

When you drive down a 2 lane highway, every single person who passes you waves!

[Heddi]

43. yep, even if they don't know you

you get the obligatory hand-wave.

Don't forget Mint Juleps, and morning glories singing their praises to the sky. Wonderful honeysuckle with it's oh-so-sweet aroma lacing its way through fence posts and over trees.

Wonderful spanish moss (Even with it's creepy redbugs (chiggers)) that hangs like a dress on hundreds-of-years-old oak trees. Trees that are bigger around than a house and have graciously grown their limbs close to the ground so that generation after generation of children can swing and play on their arms.

Sitting in the park chatting with strangers while you feed bread to ducks and pigeons.

Almost breaking your ankle from tripping over sidewalks and streets that were installed in 1845 and never repaired or improved upon :)

shrimp and grits for breakfast, and shrimp and grits for dinner. Hushpuppies go with ANYTHING that swims in the sea.

Setting up a string with a chicken gizzard catching blue crabs....

I love the south---glad to live somewhere like SEattle, but nothing could be finer than to be in carolina in mooo-oor-ning! Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina
In the morning
No one could be sweeter than my sweetie when I meet her
In the morning
Where the morning glories twine around the door
Whispering pretty stories I long to hear once more
Strolling with my girlie where the dew is pearly early
In the morning
Butterflies all flutter up and kiss each little buttercup
at dawning
If I had Aladdin's lamp for only a day
I'd make a wish and here's what I'd say
Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina
In the morning!

[GumboYaYa]

18. I love the smell of Magnolia blossoms in the wind.

It fills the air on warm Spring days and is simply beautiful.

I love Camelia Bushes. They are the prettiest flowers in the world IMO.

I love sitting on the front porch and waving to the passersby. I love knowing all those passers by and their parents and kids and saying hello to them by name when I see them on the street.

I love the music. New Orleans is the only place in America where jazz is still considered popular music. The rest of you guys would be listening to nothing but country and western and classical music if you did not have your talented neighbors to the South.

I love Faulkner, he is simple one of the best authors ever.

I love the food, chitlins, collard greens and cornbread, fried catfish, shrimp etoufee, red beans ad rice, bread pudding, homemade hand cranked ice cream and so much more.

There is a lot to love about the South that has noything to do with racism and bigotry.

[mkregel]

19. No one is mentioning the Blue Ridge Mountains???

I drove through those a few months ago and can only imagine what they are like in the fall...

Southerners...y'all have impressed a Californian with those hills....

[preocupied]

26. I just moved here at the Blueridge foothills in Atlanta from California

and feel the same way. I drove through North Georgia into North Carolina, and the beauty of the hills, mountains were really impressive, I even saw some guys ice climbing a cliff. This coming from a man who fell in love with the Lake Tahoe area.

[fishnfla]

21. I love the "Asian massage parlors" every 10 miles

you can never have too many of those

On Edit:I'm sorry but this thread will never make up for the bashing of Southern DU members that happened in that other vile posting. Right now I am ashamed to be a member of this forum, because of where I live..The clearly stated message was that liberal Southeners are enablers of racism when they defend the South. It is a no-win proposition, why even bother? I'm taking a break for awhile> Keep the faith.

[Iris]

36. quite frankly,

I felt the same way when I started this thread. I had to really think about what I would put and then I thought again about actually posting my message.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

22. What Do I Like About The South

It gave us Martin Luther King

Jimmy Carter

Max Cleland

Lyndon Johnson

Bill Clinton

Al Gore

Maynard Jackson

[mkregel]

24. LBJ? He Came from TX

...and many Southerners have pointed out to me that Texas, although it fought on the side of the Confederacy, is not a Southern State, but it's own sorta country of sorts.

[Northwind]

31. And don't

You ever fergit it!

[cmf]

23. The food is tasty.

Land is cheap. People are friendly (to your face, at least). They have great thunderstorms in the summer. Winters are nice.

That's about it. I don't really miss it and have no plans to move back.

[preocupied]

28. Can't beat the barbecue and fried chicken! nt

[leftofthedial]

25. I like sweet iced tea

I like everything rolled in corn meal and deep fried

I like squash and okra and blackeyed peas and greens and cornbread

and some of the stuff y'all already mentioned.

[preocupied]

27. The GREEN!!!!!!!!! nt

[inthecorneroverhere]

40. Thank you!

It is truly beautiful here in a heavy-rain year.

Last year we had a drought and everything looked so puny in August. But this year, with the plentiful rainfall, all the kudzu but also the pines and the azaleas, the magnolias, the rhodies....are all so green and so beautiful!

[preocupied]

29. Cost of living, beautiful homes cheap compared to California.... nt

[Heddi]

32. Oh yes!! That I definitely miss!!!

In Charleston, there was a house we saw in the paper--great neighborhood, close to everything---2 story with over an acre for a yard, fenced in yard, at least 2000+sqft....$90k.

My mom's house is valued at $69k, and she doesn't live in a shoddy neighborhood.

There are expensive houses there---if you wanna live in a country-club, golf-course setting, or the beach or someplace like that.

Moving out to seattle, we realized we could never ever buy a house here. A friend of mine's house is valued at $280k and it's SMALLLLLL--MAYBE 900sf, no yard, their bedroom is in the attic and is VERY cramped.

And that's the going price for houses here. There are no 'first time home-buyer' houses---You're going to pay $250k+ for anything---low-end condos are in the upper $200's as well.

Far, far out of our reach. I refuse to pay an $1800/mo mortgage on a house that's smaller than my apartment

[Nay]

34. Smoked mullet. Catching blue crabs with a trap baited with a chicken neck.

Sawgrass

Coquina soup

Kumquats and calamandins

The smell of an orange grove in bloom -- will knock you out

Spanish moss draped in the trees

[LEFTofLEFT]

37. Don't live there but, ROLLTIDE.

I was raised in the south - Alabama.

I saw racism - but it was displayed by a small percentage of the people i came into contact with.

I have good memories of "southern living."

The first violent racist i came into contact with were in the NW. I was shocked by the in your face racism i encountered.

The big problem in the south now is the wide spread respect for the far right.

We must fight the rightwing monsters like the future is at stake. IT IS !!!

[carolinayellowdog]

38. Nostalgia and kinfolks

Y'all,

Everyone has them, but other Americans don't feel the presence of the past in the same way or to the same extent as rural Southerners. A South Carolina friend taught me a new word, "peavining," which refers to conversations between new acquaintances in which they try to figure out who they know in common, or how they're kin, or kin of kinfolk. There's a kind of bedrock feeling of rootedness in a common past that can transcend race and class. There's a loving feeling that makes the rest of the country seem cold.

The nostalgia and feeling of kinship makes for the best fiction in the nation IMO. E.g. Reynolds Price, Eudora Welty, Lee Smith, William Faulkner, Alice Walker, Zora Neale Hurston-- they're all chroniclers of deeply rooted family life and I feel at home with their fiction in a way other American writers can't touch.

FWIW,

CYD

[inthecorneroverhere]

39. I like it that THE LIGHTS ARE ON!!!

I am writing from this computer here, south of the Mason-Dixon line, because our LIGHTS ARE ON!!!

OK, you Yankees who make assumptions about Southern incompetence, taste that one!!!!

[Lars39]

42. People still pull over to the side of the road when a funeral passes by.

Respectful.

[WilliamPitt]

44. Clinton, Gore, Edwards, Graham, Twain, Fitzgerald, R.P. Warren

Grits, ham with breakfast, biscuits and gravy, chicken and dumplings, the Civil Rights memorial, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Atticus Finch and 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' the Tennessee River, the Alabama River, my grandmother in Decatur who taught me to read when I was 2, my grandfather in Decatur who was the first man in Alabama to be a licensed pediatrician, my father, twelve cousins, the 'Redneck Riviera,' Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, the Allman Brothers, Jimmy Carter, Elvis, blues music, jazz music, bluegrass music, New Orleans, and yes, okra.

[PopSixSquish]

45. Here's My List

Magnolia blossoms

Green Trees

The Blue Ridge Mountains in the fall

Sweet Tea

William Faulker

Figuring out that you are actually distantly related to someone you just met

Atlanta, Charleston, New Orleans, Tampa, Savannah

Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Maynard Jackson, Jimmy Carter, Andrew Young

History, storytelling, traditions

[Shanty Oilish]

46. You can still squeeze a Phil Harris tune out of a Southerner n/t

:)

[retread]

47. Stetson Kennedy lived here!!!

*