Western boy adjusts to the South

I must apologize for the lengthy time between posts. You see, I have pulled up stakes in Colorado and settled into the beautiful Upstate region of South Carolina. It's more than merely a new location. This is a different culture, weather routine, foods, way of life. I am not going to be so presumptuous to believe I understand it all, but I have had time to form opinions about my new home. Here are a few:

1) The South doesn't believe in pretenses. Maybe it's different in Atlanta or Charlotte, but my new hometown of Anderson, South Carolina, is as comfortable as an old shirt. No one is expected to act one way, dress accordingly, show off the signs of status, or spend time telling people how good you are. One of our friends in our new home is Mykel, an African-American man who just moved with his wife into a new home from the apartment complex where we currently live. His reaction to his new home and car on the same day? "That's a blessing," he says. Walk down the street and you'll see people in sandals, a scattering in ties and business attire, maybe a man with hair down to the middle of his back, a woman with multiple rings hanging from her earlobes, a man with dreadlocks, a guy with sweat stains on an old white shirt. Guess what? They're all accepted, and there isn't a cross word aimed at any of them. The same goes for this West Coast guy who talks funny. I'm just part of the fabric of the community.

2) Confederate flags are not the rage. I saw my sixth Confederate flag today. It was on one of those front license plates that people in South Carolina enjoy because only legal rear license plates are required. I saw one to the east of Knoxville, Tennessee, one in eastern Alabama, and one last week in a rural area in far northeastern Georgia. The only obvious display of what I'd regard as a racist nature was the person who flew two Confederate flags on the sides of his car (the kind you see fans of athletic teams have) on the day after the white supremacist debacle in Charlottesville.

3) Race relations are improving, at least on the surface. Television stations have African-American reporters and anchors, advertising figures are often African-American, and the sight of African-Americans and whites in friendly conversation is a daily occurrence. South Carolina's senators are the opinionated and TV-friendly Lindsay Graham, who is white, and the well-respected Tim Scott, an African-American. I have seen African-American women dating white men, and white women dating African-American men. That doesn't draw a second glance. The most promising sign is seeing white and African-American children walking out of school while trading friendly talk and acting like they regard each other as just other human beings. There is a long way to go in many ways, but that is true in Seattle, Oregon, L.A., Denver, Indiana, and other areas that regard themselves as being more racially enlightened.

4) The weather can be dreadful. Heat and humidity isn't as bad as I feared, but the phenomenon of "air you can wear" is a reality. But it's like dealing with blizzards in Colorado, eight-plus months of rain in the western parts of Pacific Northwest states, and torrential rain in the otherwise calm Sonoma County region of northern California. You just have to bow your neck and get through it.

That's only scratching the surface. There is much more, and there will be more blog posts. But right now I have to say, in my best Southern manner, that I'm fixin' to settle in for the night and enjoy a little libation. Night, y'all.


Comments

  1. As we used to hear the locals say in southern Alabama when I was posted at Ft.Rucker, near Dothan:"ya'll come come back for a rutabegga sandwhich, ya hear."

    ReplyDelete
  2. As we used to hear the locals say in southern Alabama when I was posted at Ft.Rucker, near Dothan:"ya'll come come back for a rutabegga sandwhich, ya hear."

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy to be in Anderson as well. You are right on when it comes to the cultural diversity amongst the kids and how they don’t judge, love seeing that and endorse it every chance I get. Welcome home ��

    ReplyDelete

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