Why I love the South:
*Sweet Tea (did you know you can buy the stuff at the store? DON'T DO THAT! It doesn't taste right! Make your own--it's 1 or 2 cups sugar per gallon of tea depending on your taste buds)
*Hospitality (Can they teach classes out west? Maybe I'm a sucker for being called "sweetheart")
*GREEN grass (Heck, grass period! Although I was in Georgia during the biggest drought they have seen in a million years or something like that)
*Etiquette and manners exist (small children telling me "yes ma'am" and men that hold open doors and walk behind the women...not to mention that in a restaurant you get service instead of the feeling that you're inconveniencing someone by expecting drinks or food or whatever)
*BIG DIAMONDS on every married woman's hand. It's amazing...I don't think I've seen so much bling bling in one room. And they are amazingly beautiful rings. I found myself studying hands in airports, restaurants, hotels, malls, everywhere. If we move south, I'm expecting another carat or two :)
Things I don't get about the South
*Small roads with mailboxes sticking out almost over the road (I have no idea how I didn't hit either a mailbox or another car in the oncoming traffic). And almost all the roads in Douglasville, GA seem to loop around. Hard to get too lost there :)
*Slang ("I made a picture" means they took a picture with a camera, "I'll carry you" means they'll drive--not physically carry--you somewhere....I had been exposed to most of these by my dear friends from Alabama, so I didn't look too much like an ass)
*Macho men appear to be very comfortable with their feminine side. Also known as I now longer think Clay Aiken is gay but just a Southern gentleman.
Class was good! I have another national certification under my belt, and I still need at least two more before I can settle and know that I won't have to ever dispatch anywhere but Los Alamos and can still stay in the communications game for emergency services/public safety.
I did fall in love with the part of Georgia I was in, and I did ponder ways to move us there. Other amusing things I saw include that in Douglasville, you can be either Baptist or Baptist. I passed over 10 Baptist churches, and the only other church I found was 1 lonely Church of Christ. I got to eat Hush Puppies--and I haven't had those since I was like eight. YUM! I did not go for the grits--I thought that butter and salt and pepper on the grits was not yummy, but then a classmate said I should have tried butter and sugar, and I suspect I may have liked that. I don't know how anybody stays awake for the nightly news--I was asleep by 10 PM Eastern time, and the news didn't come on until 11 PM.
I have a tendency to pick up accents from wherever I go, and the longer I'm at a place, the longer my accent hangs on. Call me this weekend, and you may get what my family calls the "southern belle" routine. It's not as bad as when I visit Texas, so that may be a blessing, because Texas can be pretty twangy.
My husband must have sensed my admiration for rings while I was away (or he knows I'm so doggone impatient and wanted it right away), because he dutifully picked up the new engagement ring from the jewelers before picking me up. It's a beautiful setting, and when we celebrate our anniversary, he's got some romantic gesture set up for my new wedding band :) I did get the engagement ring to wear NOW, and although the other ring will be completed in August, he is making me wait until September to wear it. Where are we going to celebrate this year? Savannah, Georgia.
I keep hearing male voices outside, and just looked--it's our contractor and a bunch of County guys. We're having a lot of trouble getting our permit approved, so I guess I should go see if I'm supposed to be doing something now that they're outside :) More later, as I thought of a million things to blog while I was away from the computer!
P.s. My clothes were MORE than fine. Whew!
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