There IS a difference!

I had an "oh my (clutch my pearls)" moment in the grocery store this afternoon.

Now, I do not presume to be Southern royalty or anything of the sort. I am a small-town girl, raised by hard-working people from hard-working families. I do not think for one second that I will be thought of any differently. For years, I was not comfortable enough in my own skin to really appreciate where I came from, but now I appreciate it. And while we were not materially rich or had much influence, we did have manners and we were raised right....

Truvy: "Well, I haven't left the house without Lycra on these thighs since I was 14!"
Clairee: "*You* were brought up right!"

So, I was in our local grocery store today and turned onto the breakfast foods aisle when I heard a conversation between a girl, maybe 25 at the oldest, and her "mommer" ..... "Yeah, hang on... (loud yell: "BRIAN, get back here, I ain't done with that!") ... well, he's taken the frickin' buggy an' I got all this (effin') shopping to do and... (loud yell: "I said, bring that g---d----- buggy back, y'all!) and I ain't got time to put up with this shit."

I clutched the pearls. And immediately made my way to the organic cereal (which is where I was heading anyway)..... I felt the need to distance myself from such shenanigans as much as possible, and since Miss Whiskey Tango 2011 isn't the granola kind......

Now, to be perfectly forthright, yes, I fuss with my family at times. But I do it between clenched teeth, in a very low tone, and certainly not in a display so public! And I also guarantee you that had I said such phraseology on the phone in a public place to my mother, she would have materialized through the phone, and given me the beating I deserved.

Several years ago, there was a great little book written by Dr. David Cannon named Hey Bubba: A Metaphysical Guide to the Good Ol' Boy. And in it, he notes that there is a vast difference between Good Ol' Boys and Rednecks, basically lumping Rednecks as WT.

Yes, folks, there really is a difference.

Good Ol' Boys (and Girls) have good hearts, mean no harm, would give you the shirt off their backs if you needed it, love their moms, their dads, their dogs, and most people. They are truly salt of the earth, no matter if their pockets are empty or they're sitting on a gold mine. Whenever you hear the phrase "good people" .... well, a Gobbie might just come to mind. Gobbies aren't the type to always put everyone ahead of themselves, but they are aware that others' rights begin where theirs end, and are respectful of that.

Rednecks/WT's..... no. There's a difference. I'd even say that Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman" may not be a redneck as much as a Good Ol' Girl. Rednecks, to use Dr. Cannon's phrase, are "reptilian." No one matters but them and theirs... but if you get in their way, then you're dead meat too.

And then there are idiots. But that's another post for another time.