Author Topic: Southern Fried Mustaches  (Read 4287 times)

SporeSpawn

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Southern Fried Mustaches
« on: December 05, 2014, 01:05:26 PM »
The South. The Bible Belt. Below the Mason Dixon Line. Dixieland. Where cotton is king, Florida doesn't count, and everyone complains about the Red Neck stereotype in as thick a drawl as corn syrup. It's the American South. God bless it.

Do we have any home grown, Southern 'Staches among us? Surely we do. After all, Protestant work ethic is still a thing here and the South tends to believe in banks the way an atheist believes in karma. We may not raise fiscally successful people who aren't football coaches, but we certainly raise fiscally aware people. Just go to the VFW, and you'll get three theses on economics. And a black eye.

Seriously though, for all I hate about the South, it's where I came from and that obligates me to appreciate it for what it is: backwoods, not entirely self-aware, so cultured it's a century behind the rest, and more alive than every other part of the country put together.

Who else is from the South? How has your life amid the trees, bees, Haws!, and Yees! influenced the growth of your 'Stache? Do you try to forget that the South is a place or do you wallow in it like green-eyed children in autumn leaves?

Rezdent

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Re: Southern Fried Mustaches
« Reply #1 on: December 05, 2014, 01:44:47 PM »
Born south.  Still live within 20 miles of my birth.
Not just Southern- rural Southern.
There's so much good with Southerners.  And there's stuff that just needs to go.
Same with anywhere else I guess.

I come from a long line of frugal farming people.  Not just frugal but was taught DIY skills which have served me well.  I can paint a house.  Drive manual transmissions.  Care for my bees.  Milk a cow (or sheep, goat.  Concept is the same, hell I could probably milk a yak if it came down to it).

Beautiful description btw.

I love the weather. The country.  The unpretentious and practical mindset.  The capable, uncomplaining can-do attitude.  The friendliness of everyone.

But dammit! The mosquitos suck.  Literally.

Spork

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Re: Southern Fried Mustaches
« Reply #2 on: December 05, 2014, 01:57:47 PM »
You get 10 internet points for your description, sir.  (Or madam... sorry if I got that wrong.)

I'm born and raised in the south...  (Church on every corner!)   I probably don't fit the southern mold at all.... but I still live here and probably will forever.
« Last Edit: December 05, 2014, 02:35:41 PM by Spork »

Gone Fishing

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Re: Southern Fried Mustaches
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2014, 02:23:42 PM »
We southerners are a lot smarter than what people give us credit for.  What kills me is the Yanks that come down here because they like it, then try to turn it into where they came from.  I'll travel up north for a few weeks every couple of years and always appreciate it when I get to the first gas station where I can hear that fine southern accent again, usually somewhere in Kentucky. 

andy85

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Re: Southern Fried Mustaches
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2014, 02:32:13 PM »
We southerners are a lot smarter than what people give us credit for.  What kills me is the Yanks that come down here because they like it, then try to turn it into where they came from.  I'll travel up north for a few weeks every couple of years and always appreciate it when I get to the first gas station where I can hear that fine southern accent again, usually somewhere in Kentucky.
You're welcome! Kentucky fella checking in (louisville). Born and raised here. I love how green the south is. I love the abundance of lakes in the south and the fires, bourbon, beers, and good conversation that comes with it. I think we tend to be a bit more 'redneck engineers' than most places...other than the back country way up north...and i think it helps us solve our own problems in our sometimes crazy ass ways. I love it here and dont plan on ever moving.

amyable

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Re: Southern Fried Mustaches
« Reply #5 on: December 05, 2014, 06:16:00 PM »
Born south.  Still live within 20 miles of my birth.
Not just Southern- rural Southern.
[...]
I love the weather. The country.  The unpretentious and practical mindset.  The capable, uncomplaining can-do attitude.  The friendliness of everyone.

Me too!  I'm from rural Texas, and I live here and like it for many of the same reasons!

tracylayton

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Re: Southern Fried Mustaches
« Reply #6 on: December 05, 2014, 08:07:35 PM »
I'm from Texas. For 12 years, I lived in a small, rural town that had 2 traffic lights and more cows than people. When I went for jury duty, I knew 30 of the other people that showed up. When I showed up at the grocery store, not realizing that they had closed 10 min. before, they unlocked the door so I could buy milk. People are just friendlier in the South.

Rural

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Re: Southern Fried Mustaches
« Reply #7 on: December 06, 2014, 04:05:49 AM »
Southern highlands checking in. I've made my peace with the bad, mostly. Definitely accept it's the price to be paid for the good, of which there's a whole heck of a lot. If only it weren't for the meth...


I'm greeted by name at the bank, post office, grocery store, library, Dollar General, hardware, parts store. Look at nothing but woods and ridges out my windows. Don't know where the rifle hole in my barn came from, but they didn't hurt anything, and now folks have figured out somebody built a house here and no more mystery holes in a couple of years.


I know my neighbors, most of the valley. Kin to a fair percentage of them if you trace the lines carefully.


Cost of living is low, low, low. Food costs less. Services cost less (not that we need them anymore, but you wouldn't believe what we paid the septic installer). Used cars are much less than the city (trucks are more; buy those in the city and drive them home). Property taxes do technically exist, but aren't something that really needs to be planned for. Land and home prices are low enough I'm not sure many people believe me.


Weather's good. You have to like heat. We do get snow and ice here in the mountains, but it's still little enough that we mostly stay the fuck home when it's on the roads. My husband sometimes gets called out in our Jeep to rescue kinfolks (in the valley). I have a long enough commute that it's good I have a professional job where I can call in. I've not actually had to yet (five years) on a day the college didn't close anyway, but it's good I can. I don't worry about what I'll do in snow or ice; I'll stay home until I'm confident it's safe over the mountain passes.


Mosquitoes, god yes. (Are there places without mosquitoes?) Most winters are cold enough to kill them off so they have to start over in spring - I only remember one year the mosquitoes didn't die, and it was Bad.


Generally, it's good. I've never lived outside the Deep South, but I haven't always lived rural - as a young adult, I wanted the city. Southern cities are more like other parts of the country, but there are still differences. I think the differences in culture are harder to see in the city, more subtle, but they may be as profound, and it may be easier for outsiders to misstep because they aren't as obvious. Fortunately, I think most minor missteps are forgiven; "he's a Yankee, so he can't help that he doesn't know how to behave." This often gives people who aren't actually assholes time to adjust.

SporeSpawn

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Re: Southern Fried Mustaches
« Reply #8 on: December 06, 2014, 07:55:10 AM »
Southern highlands checking in. I've made my peace with the bad, mostly. Definitely accept it's the price to be paid for the good, of which there's a whole heck of a lot. If only it weren't for the meth...

Sounds like you're in my neck of the woods. I'm always surprised we don't get weekly fireworks around here.

But seriously, if you really want to go "Walden" you can hardly beat the South. The cities are insane (Birmingham is something of a slag heap with pockets of the most intense, vivid culture and life growing out of it like wild flowers in junk yards: Montgomery is high on the interstate fumes and swings from decent metropolis to insane pleeblands constantly: and Mobile is better New Orleans, no offence). But the country goes for miles and, if you've got the resources and hands, you can find and do it. Agriculture, construction, cattle, timber. Whether building a shack or building a plantation, it can work. The only hard part is making the capital.

The South's like a foreign country in that way. If you come in with a large sum and a good plan, you can stretch that money a lot further than you could in the other states. But it can be really hard to make the money from the ground up here.

RootofGood

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Re: Southern Fried Mustaches
« Reply #9 on: December 06, 2014, 08:48:54 AM »
Checking in from North Carolina here.  I'm in deep blue territory (politically, and because I'm near Duke and University of NC).  I think our state, and probably the entire South, is a tale of two cultures.  Some (most?) cities are well-educated with plenty of pockets of prosperity.  The other 90% of the areas seem to be the "real" South that fit the stereotypes. 

How does being southern impact me?  My kin folks are from the foothills of the Appalachians, so being frugal and poor runs in the blood.  Growing up, I worked in the fields and chicken houses, helped nail down tin roofs on the barns, and drove tractors for fun.  We camped a lot, went hiking, and DIY was just how things got done. 

At some point I realized city life was for me.  More opportunities to make more money.  And I could still choose to live frugally and simply. 

My wife is a refugee immigrant from SE Asia, and we have talked about the humbleness of our beginnings.  It shapes you and gives you a frame of reference to know what it's like being "poor" and what being really poor is like.  I would hate to have only lived a life of luxury as a kid, then suddenly find myself coming of age in today's world where you might not necessarily be guaranteed the same standard of living that your parents enjoyed. 

Paul der Krake

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Re: Southern Fried Mustaches
« Reply #10 on: December 06, 2014, 09:59:55 AM »
Came to the South by accident for school from England (this is what happens when you don't research where you're going before boarding a plane), stayed for the beautiful ladies, low cost of living, and laid back lifestyle.

Gerard

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Re: Southern Fried Mustaches
« Reply #11 on: December 06, 2014, 01:22:34 PM »
I think the differences in culture are harder to see in the city, more subtle, but they may be as profound, and it may be easier for outsiders to misstep because they aren't as obvious. Fortunately, I think most minor missteps are forgiven; "he's a Yankee, so he can't help that he doesn't know how to behave." This often gives people who aren't actually assholes time to adjust.

Even harder for Canadians! When I visited my brother in North Carolina, he had to explain to me how rude I'd been, not asking the cafeteria lady how she was before placing my order (Canadians think the opposite of rude is "polite", while I think Americans and especially Southerners think the opposite of rude is "friendly").