Southern Talk

Have you ever noticed that we southerners have a very distinct way of talking? I can be in a room with fifty other people from various parts of the world, and the minute I open my mouth, people stop mid-sentence and give me a peculiar look. This is followed by "So, what part of the south are you from?" I always stand up a little taller and proudly tell them about my Alabama heritage. Then, I tell them about Tennessee--my home away from home. Sometimes, I can tell that people are not paying near as much attention to what I'm saying because they're so mesmerized at how I'm saying it. This can be a little irritating at times, but it does point to the uniqueness of the south. We have our own sing-song cadence that's soft and twangy at the same time. My brother and I call it banjo talk. We southerners don't get in a hurry. In fact we like to roll our words around and season them up just right before spitting them out.
Once when I was in Vegas, I went to one of those buffets where the people are standing behind the counter. "Which type of meat would like?" the man asked.
I answered him with one word, "turkey."
He came right back with, "What part of the south are you from?"
How he deduced that from the word turkey is still a mystery to me.
Maybe it's really true what they say--you can take the girl out of the south but you can't take the south out of the girl. Thanks goodness for that! It only took two syllables to prove me a southerner that day. Of course, when I want to do it in one, I just put on a big smile and go up and say, "Hey ya'll." Works every time!