posted June 07, 2004 10:39 AM         

I`m a redneck woman I ain`t no high class broad

Like Gretchen, my cloths come from Wal Mart; a 200 hundred dollar dress don`t change me a whit. I prefer mudding to dancing, critters to boastful folks,and the unadulatrated joy of expressing mys-elf without the hindrence of what`s acceptable to fit in a specific nich

I desire to fit into the Divines role for me, not what`s cool, hip or socially acceptable. Hee he which I`m not

posted June 07, 2004 11:34 AM         

juni, you are the highest class of broad there is.

And do you really keep your Xmas lights up all year?

posted June 07, 2004 10:59 PM         

Anyways, yes I've been. Gorgeous. The waterfalls are lovely. Last one I went to I think was called Diana's Baths? Near Conway. God, I felt so awful when the Old Man in the Mountain fell. Surely that was a sign of the Apocalypse.

posted June 07, 2004 11:16 PM         

Ah, the joys of being a Redneck. To most people who are not Rednecks we must seem so backwards, kind of like the Amish to us "English." But for me there is nothing better than doing things myself and seeing the product of my labor. Growing my own food, cooking from scratch rather than pre-packaged, frozen or tin canned, sewing my own clothes by hand, remodeling my bathroom with my dad rather than hiring a contractor, so on. I am too proud to ask for help, but have enough humility to accept help when it is offered, and am more than willing to do the same for my neighbor. There is a part of me that cannot understand how people in this world live 10 feet from someone else and do not even know that person's name. Irish Eyes is on her way home from Pennsylvania right now partly because she needed to get back to this "backwards" way of life for awhile. We're going to spend a couple of evenings sitting on the front porch with my sister, wine coolers and beers in hand, talking and laughing the entire night. She can't do that in Eastern PA. People think she's insane.

I hope no one takes offense to what I have said here. I do not consider myself or my life better than other's because I live this way. I guess I have just finally learned to have a sense of humble pride for the way I was raised and where I'm from.

And to all you Rednecks out there - "YEEHAW!!!"

posted June 08, 2004 01:03 PM         

Do you define a red neck as a person who has not had the advantage or benefit of decent education, or coming from a certain area or class?

Are they all farmers?

Of course I've heard all the jokes before, but I'd really like to know the true definition of red neck.

posted June 08, 2004 09:32 PM         

The term Redneck originally comes from the "red" necks of farmers and outdoorsman. In the simplest terms a Redneck is someone who makes their living from the land. Originally it also referred to lower class, uneducated people, because rich, educated folks would not spend enough time working outside to become red necked. Of course, as with everything else, the definition has changed. Now a Redneck is someone who may or may not make their living from the land, but they do take pride in what they do and are not afraid of hard work. A Redneck takes pride in doing things for him/her self. A lot of people may say "Well, then, I must be a Redneck." But there's more to it than just this. It's an attitude.

Which turns out is a nice segue into the difference between Rednecks and white trash. Now, there may be regional differences in the definitions and distinctions, but where I'm from it comes down to a matter of respect. A Redneck respects him/her self, other people, and his/her surroundings. The best way to explain this is to tell you about my ex-in-laws. They were white trash. (Okay, it didn't help that they were alcoholic/addicts as well, but even without drugs and alcohol they were white trash.) Paul and Alice both made good wages, but you would never be able to tell just looking at them. Or their house. Dirty, unkempt, falling apart. Loud and crass, they treated people horribly, and their children even worse. The first time I took Butthead (the ex) home to meet my family he came away with the impression that we were loaded, when in truth, together my parents made less than his stepfather alone. Why did he think my family was rich? We took care of our belongings, surroundings, and each other. What we had was all we had and it had to last. Food on the table and a roof over our head was more important than anything we may have "wanted" but did not "need." If nothing else you could say that we respected our places in life whereas his family only looked for the bigger and better, but did not have the resources or drive to actually work for it.

Irish Eyes will be here tomorrow!!! My best friend for 15+ years. It's sad that she must live so far away. Bethleham, PA, is about 1500 miles from Central Missouri. I know for a fact she will be happy to be back home, even just for a few weeks. (And even though the weather is going to kill her. 95 degrees with 75% huimidity today.) There's too much joy inside me tonight.

Blessings to all.

posted June 09, 2004 10:35 AM         

in the town where i grew up "redneck" meant you wore workboots as regular footwear, listened to country music and had a gun rack on the back of your truck. ummm, and perhaps a questionable number of teeth in your mouth

tink - i had never heard "swamp yankee" until you said it - did your grandpa make that up or is it a rhode island thing? i dunno if we have swamp yankees up here - ain't much in the way of swamps...