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Double Bass Pride, Prejudice, and zombies

Holy War

Holy War

Sep 18, 2008
1,904
18
VA Beach
#1
EDIT (john turner) : Today we've had an influx of threads celebrating various pride in the OT subforum of the Basses forum. I thought it would particularly enlightening (and not to mention entertaining) to share this little slice of slab culture with our double-bass playing brethren. Enjoy.


No, Im not talking Civil War, Rebel Flag, racist kind. Im talking about loving the culture, soul and atmosphere of the South.

I am a Virginia boy (South Eastern VA, about 2 minutes from NC), born and bred. It took me a long time to realize that I love the South having lived in it my whole life, but recently, Ive been coming around to absolutly loving it and appreciating it for what it is. Yes, there are the stereotypes, but they are mostly just that, stereotypes, and Ive come to realize that there is just much more to our culture and way of life than what outsiders just tend to generally think.

I love the weather, the women, the laid back lifestyle, the food, the iced tea, open fields, farms, beaches, golf cources, the heritage, berry picking in the Spring, the accents, bonfires, pickup trucks, camping in the Dismal Swamp, gun ranges, the Appalachians, the lingo/slang/metaphors, water skiing on Lake Gaston, NC, the nightlife in the bigger cities, fishing, the music, and all the other little nuances that go along with living in the South.

No, youll never see me waving a Rebel Flag or with a, "American by Birth, Southern by the grace of God," bumper sticker, but I am indeed proud of where I come from and wouldnt have it any other way.

So, Southern TBers, if you feel the same, tell us where youre from and join on in!
 
#2
Texan here! I agree with you 100%. I can't imagine a world without iced tea, chicken fried steak and cobbler. Back roads and fishing holes. And downtown main streets on the weekends.

It saddens, frustrates, and angers me when the stereotypes come out. They really are less common than people think. Of course, I think all Bostonians are Irish :D
 
#3
Stu L. said:
Texan here! I agree with you 100%. I can't imagine a world without iced tea, chicken fried steak and cobbler. Back roads and fishing holes. And downtown main streets on the weekends.

It saddens, frustrates, and angers me when the stereotypes come out. They really are less common than people think. Of course, I think all Bostonians are Irish :D
Click to expand...

My ex lives in Dallas (she went to you UNT), and I used to got to Texas all the time to visit with her. My sister also lives in Houston, so Ive spent my fair share of time down there as well. I love Texas and its unique swagger.
 
#4
Does Virginia actually count as "The South" over there? My knowledge of US geography isn't stellar, but I would have thought you're nearer to DC in VA that you are to what would be considered the real South - like Georgia, Alabama, et cetera?

Just surprised to hear Viriginia referred to as "The South" is all. :)
 
#5
Here you go, Bill:
south.gif


Also, being from Arkansas originally, I'm pretty into being south of the mason dixon. Life is just so different down there. I love being able to eat the food and be around the people who are super nice. I do, however, do not get a long with the overly religious portion of the south, but overall, I like it.
 
#6
Some of the most redneck you can find is in VA. One of the finest men I've ever known was from VA. Another is from Beaumont, which might as wll be in Louisiana. Razor here is from Louisiana too, and hopefully will chime in here.

We were in Houston a few weeks ago for my kids' cheerleading competetion. Next door was a gun show. After commenting as I passed a man with a handgun and another with a shotgun, I was reminded we are in God's country. Yessir we are.
 
#7
bassybill said:
Does Virginia actually count as "The South" over there? My knowledge of US geography isn't stellar, but I would have thought you're nearer to DC in VA that you are to what would be considered the real South - like Georgia, Alabama, et cetera?

Just surprised to hear Viriginia referred to as "The South" is all. :)
Click to expand...
yes virginia counts......and i'd bet most people from west va would consider themselves southern too....
 
#8
bassybill said:
Does Virginia actually count as "The South" over there? My knowledge of US geography isn't stellar, but I would have thought you're nearer to DC in VA that you are to what would be considered the real South - like Georgia, Alabama, et cetera?

Just surprised to hear Viriginia referred to as "The South" is all. :)
Click to expand...

Virginia is really the Northern most tier of "The South," and Virginia is an extremely diverse state. Yes, when youre in or near DC on the Virginia side, youre in a very multicultural northern way of life. However, once you leave that area and drive 30 minutes in any direction south of there, youre pretty much in it. The captiol of the Confederacy during the Civil War was Richmond (the capitol of Virginia today) and the largest most famous Army of the South was Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Places like Roanoke, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Williamsburg, Lynchburg, all of the Southside, Bristol, Charlottsville, etc are very southern places. Then you have where Im from, Hampton Roads (the southern most eastern part of the state), which again, is a very diverse area because of the high military presence there (Norfolk is the largest Naval Base in the world). People from all over the country live in Hampton Roads, but because of its geographical location, you have very strong Southern influences. Places like Chesapeake, Suffolk, VA Beach and others are very much Southern and when youre in places like Isle of White, Franklin County, Danville etc, there is no questioning what part of the US youre in.
 
#9
Va Beach is about 3 hours south of DC. Virginia was part of the confederacy. Geographically I always thought of it as mid Atlantic but that doesn't stop there from being hog farms,...Pulled Pork BBQ,...awesome Fried Chicken and Sweat Tea. Peanut and Soybean farms, Pickup trucks and bonfires.

To be quite honest with you (I grew up in Va Beach) save the soybean and peanut farms; we've got all that here in the PacNW (although the BBQ isn't quite as good).

I've always thought of the Hampton Roads area as more of a melting pot of sorts due to the influx of military and tourists from all over.
 
#10
Well Bill, we have what is called the Mason-Dixon line, which separates the North from the South. Pennsylvania is bordered by Maryland to the South. Pennsylvania is a Northern State and Maryland is a Southern State. So yes, Virginia is definitely considered to be part of the South.

When you talk about Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, etc., you'll hear people talking about the "Deep" South. I can see how it would get very confusing to people in other countries.
 
#11
There's a quality of life in the non-urban south that is simply indescribable to anyone who hasn't experienced it.

I'm mostly a NY/CA big-city guy, but if I had my druthers, I'd be in Tennessee right now.

I'm not crazy about the summers, though. :hmm:
 
#12
^^^ Ah, I see - thanks. Almost the opposite of what we get over here; just the very bottom strip of England is considered "the South". Looks like only the very top bit of the US would be called "North", based on that map blendermassacre posted.

Why is Florida not brightly coloured on that map, btw? Or Texas?
 
#14
bassybill said:
^^^ Ah, I see - thanks. Almost the opposite of what we get over here; just the very bottom strip of England is considered "the South". Looks like only the very top bit of the US would be called "North", based on that map blendermassacre posted.

Why is Florida not brightly coloured on that map, btw? Or Texas?
Click to expand...
Some consider Texas to be the South West, and Florida, culturally, represents nothing compaired to the other states in the South. Probably because of the retired New Yorkers that live there. :D

Geographically, Florida is about the same as Louisiana, but culturally, its more akin to California and New York
 
#20
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, to Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, two farmers, in a one-room log cabin on the 348-acre (1.4 km2) Sinking Spring Farm, in southeast Hardin County, Kentucky[3] (now part of LaRue County), making him the first president born in the west. Lincoln was not given a middle name.[4] His ancestor Samuel Lincoln had arrived in Hingham, Massachusetts from England in the 17th century.[5] His grandfather, also named Abraham Lincoln, had moved to Kentucky, where he owned over 5,000 acres (20 km2), and was ambushed and killed by an Indian raid in 1786.

Lincoln began his political career in March 1832 at age 23 when he announced his candidacy for the Illinois General Assembly. He was esteemed by the residents of New Salem, but he didn't have an education, powerful friends, or money. The centerpiece of his platform was the undertaking of navigational improvements on the Sangamon River. Before the election he served as a captain in a company of the Illinois militia during the Black Hawk War, although he never saw combat. Lincoln returned from the militia after a few months and was able to campaign throughout the county before the August 6 election. At 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m), he was tall and "strong enough to intimidate any rival." At his first political speech, he grabbed a man accosting a supporter by his "neck and the seat of his trousers", and threw him. When the votes were counted, Lincoln finished eighth out of thirteen candidates (only the top four were elected), but he did manage to secure 277 out of the 300 votes cast in the New Salem precinct.
 

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