a Southerner ….
… knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens, peas, beans, etc., make up “a mess”.
… can show or point out to you the general direction of “yonder”.
… knows exactly how long “directly” is ... as in: going to town, be back ‘directly.'
… grows up knowing that “gimme some sugar” is not a request for the white, granular sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl in the middle of the table.
… knows exactly the concept & when “by and by” is.
… knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a big bowl of cold potato salad. If the neighbor's trouble is a real crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin’!
… grows up knowing the difference between “right near” and “a right far piece”, and that “just down the road” can be 1 mile or 20.
… knows the difference between a “hissie fit”, a “wall-eyed fit” and a “conniption fit”, and that you don't just 'HAVE' them, you 'PITCH' or ‘THROW’ them!
… would never assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn.
… knows that “fixin” can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.
… makes friends while standing in lines, ... we talk to everybody!
… knows “you” is singular, “y'all” is plural, as is “all yall”.
… says “sweet tea”, “sweet milk”, and “light bread”; - ‘sweet tea’ indicates the need for sugar and lots of it, 'sweet milk' means you don't want buttermilk, and 'light bread' is white bread.
… knows you don't scream obscenities at little old ladies who drive 30mph on the freeway. You just say,”Bless her heart”... and go your own way.
Now go “add-a-cache” to your growing list of finds!
and PLEASE, PLEASE replace container in the correct place.
Co-FTF honors go to MCGUYVER2 and fred16 - CONGRATULATIONS!!