well, i've been here since thursday night, and i love it, really, but it's just a different world. how do i describe life in lumberton, nc for you? my mom, my sister, and i are here primarily for the wedding of my cousin, my mom's sister's daughter, exactly a week from today. all my mom's family is here, and we've been making the 6-hour trip at least, or usually, once a year since before i was born. as soon as my mom is well enough, and the restoration work is finished, she plans on moving to the house she and her 4 siblings grew up in here...that will be a change.
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it's flat here, just flat. there's many, many fields- soybeans, corn, tobacco, watermelon, other things...except for the larger cities (fayetville, chapel hill, charlotte), all the "towns", including where i am here, are just off-the-highway shopping areas, with small lots for houses tacked on the outer rim. most houses are small...you're doing well if you're not in a trailer. a mid-range luxury car, with exceptional rims, and a top=of-the-line cell phone are coveted possessions for the young working population (people my age, and a bit older). at the old-time restaurants, like where we ate tonight, service, fare, and decor are simple, food is fried, and the people-watching is prime. restaurants like the village in are the hang out- everybody knows everybody. it's all "isn't that so-and-so's baby boy? and didn't he marry that such-and-such girl?"..."oh no, there's that youngest cousin of so-and-so. you know that young-un doesn't give his mama nothin' but trouble..." and y'all i'm not jokin'
try watching friday night lights for a better idea. (great show!!!! although it's set in texas, it's very similar)
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i'm not makin' fun, neither. not really. i can satirize, but internally i just feel a whimsical grin coming on. i just take this culture like it is. let's just say that me opening up about being vegan (for a time), or even vegetarian (now), or not eating carbs (no corn bread? hush puppies?) brings me stares like my head has turned purple, or i've grown a tail or something. or indie music, for example ("indie? what's that? is that like linkin park? cuz i only really listen to country..." might be a realistic response). i have yet to meet soemone here who gets that stuff. but it is what it is. let's just say i'm not moving here. not if i can help it.
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on looking for tofu in the super-walmart, my cousin said "i'm not sure i even know what that is"
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on going out to dinner, my aunt said "i don't want no seafood unless it's fried"
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on eating tofu, my aunt said "i'd rather have the soybeans. i dont; wanna eat nothing curd-like"
a real southern meal: peppered, fried flounder, cole slaw, french fries, and hush puppies. and sweet tea on constant guzzle. hold the bread, extra cole slaw for me. and water, not tea.
just to give you sort-of an idea where i am...
nothing like fresh watermelon sold from the farmer with a field just a mile away. gotta put salt on it, though.
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