I took Emma down to Atlanta so we could see Aaron, take care of some house paperwork, and have a family weekend together. Aaron has been staying with the sweetest couple who are friends with his grandparents. (He actually lived in their home while he did his internship a couple of summers ago.) Well, while we were visiting, their son came in and started talking to us. The son asked where I was from, and I replied that I am from Middle Tennessee. And then it happened. His response: "Oh, you're a Yankee!" Totally taken back, I said "But I am from Tennessee. That is south of the Mason-Dixon line, which means that I am not a Yankee!" He went on to explain that he was from a small town in southern Georgia, and that there, anything north was considered "Yankee."
In my lifetime I have been called a hick. I have been called a redneck. I have even been called a haole. But I can honestly say until that moment, I have never been called a Yankee.
Now, I have to explain something. I like where I am from. I don't really call people "Yankees" or "Southerners" or any other geographical slur for that matter. I have also lived in Utah for the last five years, and out there, I could turn heads or generate conversation with my slightly Southern/Utah accent. A lot of my friends in Utah would even try to imitate my Southern accent. So in my entire life (or at least when I learned that there were "Southerners" and "Yankees") I have never considered myself to be anything other than "Southern." It was just very funny to me...and a little strange.
4 comments:
Wow, what a nice compliment he gave you!
Haha.
with love, from Yankee Cynthia!
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Hahaha! Hayley! I will try to refrain from calling you Yankee from here on out! Hope you are feeling well, you lucky twin-bearer you! I still can't believe your luck with the house purchase! Except that you guys totally deserve it! You really did move two thousand miles away, didn't you? 'tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all....I'm just glad to have gotten to know you when I did.
my my my haley, It seems that instead of being your 'southern friend' I should be saying things like 'when do you want to head back north eh?'
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