This kind of made me smile today so I thought I would share. In an attempt to better familiarize you with some of the
funny quirks of being from NC, which I have to admit has its share of quirks
that set it apart from other parts of the southern U.S., I thought I would
share
this post that I came across today with a few of my own comments and
experiences. Yes, this post may be
written for folks like you, Natasha, and you, Natalie, since NC is probably so
different from your parts of the country and world.
1. You have very strong feelings about
Duke, UNC, and NC State.
Um, yes, you could say that although I have definitely toned
those feelings down in recent years. One
of the biggest differences between NC and other southern states is that while
most southern states are huge college and professional football addicts, NC is
very serious about its college basketball.
I attribute this to our schools being in the ACC (Atlantic Coast
Conference Division) as opposed to other southern states who are in the SEC
(Southeastern Conference). The SEC is
primarily made up of schools that put more into their football programs while
the ACC schools love basketball. Growing
up, my family was very pro-UNC so I adopted that love from them. When I went to college at a small all women’s
college in Raleigh, NC, I developed a love for NC State as I was right across
the road from the campus and spent much of my time there. (And of course, this had nothing to do with
boys! I mean, come on, what kind of girl
do you think I am? Haha!) But yes, I did just happen to meet my future
husband there. Eddie is actually more of
a football fan than a basketball fan because NC State has been notably better at football. We are both
pretty ANTI-DUKE though! Haha!
2. You know Cheerwine is not actually
wine but one of the greatest carbonated beverages ever.
Well, I am familiar with Cheerwine, and although I do try to
stay clear of carbonated, caffeinated, sugary and unnatural beverages (sweet
tea does not count), I have enjoyed this beverage once or twice. Yes, it was “born” right here in my current
hometown of Charlotte, but you can thank our wonderful state for many of the
beverages you know and love (Coke and Pepsi drinkers, that means you!).
3. You have gotten into fights about
what style of barbecue is better.
Okay, not actually physical fights, but maybe a few
arguments. There are many different
meanings behind the term barbecue so perhaps I should explain further for
educational purposes. NC is divided into
three distinct regions (Eastern Coastal Plains near the coast, middle section
called the Piedmont, and the western Mountain area). Although I can say I was born in the western
part of the state, I was “raised” in the eastern part of the state for most of
my young life. I do have to agree with
the author of the post, eastern is the best.
In NC, when we talk about barbecue we mean pork. Yes, we love eating pigs around here. Haha!
We barbecue the whole pig (you’ll see more about this down the list) on
a big grill and then cut the meat off.
Now is where it gets tricky. If
you are in the east, you’ll want to finely chop the barbecue and for my taste
remove as much of the fatty parts as possible (doesn’t that sound yummy?). Then, we cover the chopped meat with a yummy
concoction of spices in a tangy vinegar base.
Trust me, it is the best! In the
western part of the state, you find what is called pulled pork barbecue. They don’t chop the barbecue but instead just
pull it apart by hand into large pieces and then cover it in a traditional
tomato based barbecue sauce. Of course,
if you are like my husband who could eat anything smothered in mustard, you may
prefer South Carolina’s “yucky” mustard based sauce. Haha!
Of course, if you go to Texas, you’ll find a totally different meaning
to the term barbecue and other places will use the term to loosely refer to
anything cooked on a grill, but we are pretty picky about our use of the term
here.
4. You know it’s no fluke Asheville
has been named Beer City for three consecutive years.
Well, actually, I didn’t know that, but I did know that our
state loves its beer. We actually do
have
many local breweries around here. I have been to the Weeping
Radish Bavarian Restaurant which was NC’s first brewpub and is located in
Manteo on Roanoke Island (home of The Lost Colony). We lived in that area during our first years
of marriage, and we celebrated Oktoberfest there one year.
5. You know ya’ll is a perfectly grammatically
correct way to refer to a group of people.
Yep, it is, ya’ll!
Haha! Okay so I don’t really use
this term professionally, but I get it and love it!
6. You know tea is always better
sweetened.
And with ice!
Haha! Hey, we live in a hot and
humid climate so there is nothing better than a cold glass of sweet iced tea on
a hot day. However, I have actually had
to start asking for half unsweet at many establishments in recent years as many
places do overdo it on the sugar. Seriously,
it should not taste like syrup, folks! Sigh,
it is seriously a work of art to master the delicate balance of making this
delicious beverage. I have actually
mastered it at home and taught my husband so we usually have a nice concoction
waiting at home in the fridge whenever you come for a visit.
7. You have a favorite NASCAR driver.
Sigh! Seriously, I
could do without this one. Well,
actually, my family did teach me an appreciation for the beloved Dale Earnhardt
(#3) until he died in 2001. But really,
I could never sit and watch one of these races all day. I guess the only way to do it is to get
really drunk. Ha! I mean you are just watching a bunch of cars
going around a track like 500 times, and the only excitement is when someone
wrecks. Moving on, folks.
8. You’d happily live off of Bojangles’
biscuits.
Seriously! I love
Bojangles! I know it sounds like a cajun
restaurant, but it was born right here in Charlotte as well and has spread
across the south. It is a chicken fast
food chain, but unlike the more widely known KFC, Bojangles does have a cajun
flair, and their chicken has a spicy mixture in the breading. The yummy biscuits are also a treat that kind
of make you think of our grandmothers’ homemade buttermilk biscuits although nothing
could compare to those.
9. You know the proper pronunciation
of Appalachian.
…as in the mountains.
Yep, it is App-a-LATCH-un!
10. Grits and/or biscuits are staples of
any good breakfast.
Yes, and I don’t get a “good” breakfast very often. Grits are good with a little salt, pepper,
and butter although some cheddar cheese melted in them is also a treat.
11. You still have beef with Ohio.
This one just made me laugh.
First in Flight. Thanks, Wilbur
and Orville, for choosing to fly that plane on the NC Outer Banks!
12. You know what it means to have a
burger “all the way.”
Yes, I guess I do, but no slaw for me, please! Ha!
13. You know no holiday or big family
dinner is complete without greens.
Collard greens that is.
Well, this was the case when my Granny was alive!
14. You’re a closet “leaf looker.”
Haha! I do enjoy a
drive in the mountains to see the beautiful fall colors on display although my
susceptibility to car sickness doesn't make this very practical.
15. Seeing a Florida license plate drives
you into fits of rage.
I don’t know about this one, but bad drivers in general will
do that. Ha! It sounds like this is a mountain area thing
because all those snowbird retirees like to head to the mountains to see those
leaves changing color.
16. You watched the ACC Basketball
Tournament in class.
Maybe once or twice depending on who my teachers were. March Madness, baby!
17. You had a snow day…without any snow.
In our defense, our weather has been notably
unpredictable. They predict snow, we
probably won’t get any. They don’t
predict snow, we’ll get dumped on. Ha!
18. You have an appreciation of bluegrass.
Um, not so much.
19. You’ve attended a pig pickin’ or
two.
See number 3 above.
This is a social event where we all get together and cook the pig and
make our wonderful barbecue. It is
awesome, ya’ll. I haven’t actually done
this since living in the eastern part of the state though. We can feed lots of folks with a whole
pig. Ha!
20. You like to brag about the NC music
scene.
Seriously, ya’ll, James Taylor will win anyone over to this
state. Just google Carolina in my Mind.
21. You have friends who have done some
cow tipping.
Um, I probably do, but I’d rather not know about it. Yes, I grew up in a very rural small
town.
22. The Lost Colony fascinates you.
Seriously, ya’ll, we do have the best history of any state!
23. So does Blackbeard.
Yep, we have a history of notorious pirates. What’s not to love? And our coastline is eerily called “the
graveyard of the Atlantic.” Spooky, huh?
24. You’ve jumped off Jockey’s Ridge.
Um, no, those people are crazy. That thing is huge. I love watching people windsurf off of it
though.
25. You have a favorite swimmin’
hole.
Oh, I’ll take a cool dip in a mountain stream or a
refreshing dip in the ocean on any hot summer day. We are lucky to have both here within a few
hours driving distance.
26. You know the best time to visit the
Grove Park Inn is during gingerbread house time.
This is referring to the
Biltmore House estate in Asheville, NC, the 8,000-acre estate created by George Vanderbilt and known
as America’s largest house. You can stay
at the Inn although we haven’t because it is pretty expensive, and we haven’t
been able to justify a visit yet. With
its elaborate gardens, I could see this as a great vacation destination for
you, Natasha!
27. You know the importance of preferring
light blue over dark blue.
I am intentionally leaving out the vice versa here because
who in their right mind would prefer dark blue? The light blue means the UNC Tarheels and
dark blue refers to the Duke Blue Devils.
We say there is a reason God made the skies Carolina blue, folks.
28. There was a plastic jug of moonshine
in your freezer.
Um, no. Must be a
mountain thing.
29. You know the Cook Out tray is the best
deal. Ever.
Um, maybe for broke college students. Cheap greasy burgers and fries…perfect
college food, right? A corn dog as a
side, really? Ugh! No wonder people are so unhealthy these
days.
30. Christmas Town , USA, is the bane of
your existence.
This is a little town just west of Charlotte and just off
one of the major interstates in our state, Interstate 85. I have never had the need to head this
direction during the Christmas season so I have missed the traffic problems
this causes every year on the interstate as traffic backs up for miles with
people wanting to drive through the town and look at Christmas lights. Hey, I love Christmas lights as much as anybody,
but I have my limits.
31. You were eating Krispy Kreme doughnuts
before they got all popular and trendy.
Seriously, I was. I
actually took them for granted as a kid.
We just happened to live in the town that has one of the oldest stores
so I’ve been around this treat since I was very young. Stores have really started popping up
everywhere lately and becoming more popular.
It is a treat to go into the store and look through the glass to see
those circles of dough going down a moving assembly line, turning golden brown
under the heat of the oven, and then being drizzled with yummy sugary glazed goodness. And if you are lucky enough to get them hot
off the line when the light is on, they will melt in your mouth.
Sigh! I am giving myself a
craving typing this. Ha!
32. “Wagon Wheel” will never, ever get
old.
Ooops, I don’t really know much about this one. I mean, I’ve heard of the song, but I don’t
get the craziness.
33. The sight of this brings you joy.
Yes, they just announced that the Charlotte Bobcats (our NBA
team) will go back to being the Charlotte Hornets. There is a whole crazy history about this
one, but the team was the Charlotte Hornets back when I was a kid, and the name
definitely has more sentimental meaning for our area than the Bobcats which
apparently was ingeniously derived by the former owner of the team who also
owned BET and wanted the team named after him or something. The team is now owned primarily by Michael
Jordan. I don’t know if changing the
name will help the team win more, but we welcome the change.
34. And the sight of this reduces you to
tears.
Sigh, again. Oh
Panthers. This was the year we almost
won the NFL Super Bowl championship (and in retrospect if they had been able to review
the play back then, we would have won). Oh the
taste of disappointment!
35. You had no idea hockey was an actual
sport until this happened.
Yes, we really weren’t big hockey fans until we got our own
team, the Carolina Hurricanes, and they won the Stanley Cup. I still
am not a big fan though. The sport seems
brutal!
36. Speaking of hurricanes, you’ve lived
through one.
Oh, several actually!
I have fond memories of hurricane survival through some of the roughest
storms to hit our area. One named Fran
hit on my 16th birthday…what a wonderful way to celebrate, huh? We usually know that if a storm bypasses
Florida and the gulf and continues north in the Atlantic, the warm waters of
the Gulf Stream are going to direct it right into our coastline which does kind
of stick out there into the ocean.
37. You’ve figured out some creative ways
to get around blue laws and the lack of happy hour in the state.
Um, no, I have not.
38. And when the state disappoints you,
you still ardently defend it.
It’s kind of like family.
You can criticize it, but you won’t stand for any outsiders doing
it. Haha!
