Saturday, November 22, 2008

What I like about where I live

Pam got me thinking about writing this post. I do a gratitude list about my life fairly regularly but haven't written about my gratitude for the place that I call home. I'll provide a few pictures like Trailboss did to give you a feel for the place.

So here's what I like about this place that I call home:
  • It has water as an integral element. I look out my office window to this view every day.
  • Living history without all the contrived stuff that goes along with it.
  • Winter is cold enough without having a lot of snow and ice.
  • The pace of life is slower.
  • A much more mannerly place than others that I have visited. People smile and say "hello".
  • Fresh seafood and a chance to catch your own
  • Great restaurants with great food for us foodie heads
  • Lots of interesting things to do and very little chance to get bored.
  • Has a lot of cultural arts for those who enjoy music, art, dance, and other high brow things.
  • Great shopping for those who enjoy more high brow things.
  • Old trees and Spanish moss


And then here are some of the things that I don't like:
  1. Really hot and really humid weather
  2. No-see-ums
  3. Traffic and more traffic
  4. Sprawl and strip malls
  5. Still living the Civil Wawah
  6. And the one above means that there is a face of civility but underneath some prejudice lingers.
  7. Pretentions abound
  8. Too many tourists (didn't they see Nos. 1-4 above).
And now for a few fun things about this place:

How do you know when you're staying in a South Carolina hotel?
"When you call the front desk and say "I've gotta leak in my sink."
and the person at the front desk says "go ahead".

Two boll weevils grew up in South Carolina. One went to Hollywood and became a famous actor. The other stayed behind in the cotton fields and never amounted to much. The second one, naturally, became known as the lesser of two weevils.

Things I've Learned Living in South Carolina:

A Possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.

"Onced" and "Twiced" are words.

It is not a shopping cart, it is a buggy.

"Jaw-P" means "Did ya'll go to the bathroom?"

People actually grow AND eat okra.

"Fixinto" is one word.

There is no such thing as "lunch". There is only dinner and then there is supper.

Iced tea is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when you're two.

We do like a little tea with our sugar! And now we have a drink with vodka and sweet tea!

Backards and forards means "I know everything about you."

The word "Jeet" is actually a phrase meaning "Did you eat?"

You don't have to wear a watch because it doesn't matter what time it is. You work until you're done or it's too dark to see.

You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH them.

You Know You're from South Carolina if:

1. You measure distance in minutes.

2. You've ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.

3. You use "fix" as a verb. For example: "I'm fixing to go git somethin ta eat."

4. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect or animal.

5. You know what a "DAWG" is.

6. You carry jumper cables in your car. For your OWN car.

7. You only own five spices: salt, pepper, Texas Pete, Tabasco and Ketchup.

8. The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local gossip and motorsports.

9. You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.

10. You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit "a bit warm".

11. You know all four seasons: Almost Summer, Summer, still Summer and Christmas.

12. Going to Wal-mart is a favorite past time known as "goin' Wal-martin" or off to "Wally World."

13. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good soup weather.

Have a great Saturday!

17 comments:

  1. Wow, I miss Charleston; haven't visited in a 5 years or so. Since I lived in South Carolina I can relate with all of your points. To be honest, some of them are the reason I moved. Although, some of them aren't much better in North Carolina. But as a whole it is a great place to live. Ironically, I was thinking about the small town aspect of where we live last night when we had a conversation at dinner with the couple sitting next to us and then wished each other a great weekend when they left; and all of us really meant it. Have a great weekend, it's cold up here :)

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  2. Hi Syd: It's great to get back and you were right...it was to Italy that I went.
    I had no idea you lived in South Carolina...for some reason I always thought you came from Seattle. ?? We are practically neighbors.

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  3. LOVED the pictures...loved the descriptions. It's so funny-your list is the same one for Texas as well!
    Beautiful scenery for you to look at everyday. Great post darlin.

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  4. Some of these sound like livin in Texas! I enjoyed this post very much

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  5. by the looks of it, i'd like to visit. by the sounds of it, i HAVE TO. it's truly delightful reading about your home.

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  6. Hey neighbor..I'm in NC and I'm thankful for boiled peanuts, Carolina bbq, NC State Fair, fried chicken livers at a place that barely passed the health inspection, thrift shops, neighbors who aren't nosy but will be the first to help, friends who own backhoes, and having the beach AND mountains within a 3 hour drive! Thanks for sharing--I do love y'all and don't fergit to have a happy.

    Namaste y'all

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  7. You are sure doing great with your new camera. Thanks for sharing where you live, this was fun.

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  8. A trip to Charleston and Savannah is one my list of dream trips. Lucky you to live in an area that has so much natural beauty and history. Thanks for sharing, Syd.

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  9. Ha Ha. Love the lists. And loved the photos.. It sounds really relaxed down there. If thats where it is down there?? And I think the gratitude list is reallya good idea. I haven't done one for a long time. Its time I did. Old Norman used to get up each day and write out on paper why he had to apply Step 3 in his life that day. Thanks for the post

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  10. I lived in Clover,SC for 6 years. That was rough on a girl from upstate NY, I can tell you. Annie grew up there. She went to visit shortly before she died. She had plans to move back. Thanks for the pics. Love spanish moss!jeNN

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  11. I love this post so much I can't stand it...so many smiles and laugh out louds!

    I think that we live quite close to each other in the universe...

    Have a great weekend.
    G

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  12. I didn't realize how similar SC and Texas are.

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  13. Syd, I lived in Augusta, GA for 3 years and mostly LOVED it for all the things you've written. And yes, their is definitely some underlying north/south struggles to this day.

    I really enjoyed it when a friend said to his dog, "Now qwiiiii..iiiit" which was pronounced as if it were a 4 syllable word.

    The pictures make me long for a visit down there...

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  14. Some of this applies to CT too, Syd. Love your pics, btw.

    Once while in Canada I asked for a soda and they thought I meant club soda. They call it pop. Out west as well.

    Once while living in Salt Lake I went to the bank and asked for all singles for a $10. They did not know what I meant. They call them ones.

    In Utah you put your groceries in a sack, not a bag.

    If you get in a car accident, they call it a wreck. (I say if I am in a car accident, I am a wreck).

    I used to man (woman) the phones at work and I would ocassionally get a call from a doctor's office in the south telling me that someone was "fixin" to have surgery. So cute.

    Thanks for all your sweet comments.

    ;o)

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  15. Loved the list of southern jewels.The Spanish Moss reminded me of when we movee to Houston in 1947 and my Uncle Jack showed us some trees with moss. My Mother acutally asked him if the water really got that high. Sounded like a good question to me,I was 6. Uncle Jack damned near laughed his ass off. Thanks for the smiles and laughter.

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  16. I am so a Charlstonian now! Sweet tea, shrimp and grits and the smell of decaying sea life in the mornings!

    The bubbling pluff mud as I walk along the creek paths and getting to see dolphins and pelicans on a daily (or almost daily) basis.

    I'm so blessed to have shared in the culture and majesty of the ole' south.

    I have even come to love those old southern gentlemen (tongue in cheek on the gentlemen part) and the beauty of the diverse communities here. It's hard to explain this southern way to others who have never experienced it... but it is... home.

    Thanks for helping me to remember all the joy that comes from my sojourn in the south!

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Let me know what you think. I like reading what you have to say.