LJ Idol: Break Week "Possum Ran Over My Grave"

[adoptedwriter]

I gotta laugh: When I Googled this expression I saw a Youtube video hit and a link to a definition. I clicked on the link to the meaning, and pop up ads for hunting pants came appeared! LOL

This topic reminds me of redneck humor, and I LOVE redneck humor! I classify myself as an Appalachian American. I come by it honestly via both biological and adoptive family. The stereotypes never offend me. On the contrary, I will admit, there is truth to a lot of it!
That being said, you will never catch me:

1- wearing cammo
2- hunting
3- chewing tobacco
4- wearing Daisy Duke shorts
5- displaying a Rebel flag
6- driving a beat-up truck
7- using expressions like, “as the crow flies”, “good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise” or “possum ran over my grave”

I’m a non-traditional hillbilly. I here’s what I do:

1- drive an older car, but it’s not a truck
2- eat meatless a lot of the time, but I do love a good steak once in a while
3- make do and try to fix or at least repurpose things before I pitch
4- have a lot of yard / garden ornaments all year round
5- love Mountain Dew / Diet Dew, (but did not let my kids have it till they were much older)
6- don’t mind / judge people who use poor grammar, (but I avoid using it myself, especially at work and in writing, except for artistic license)
7- avoid wearing shoes, (except for work and the gym)
8- rarely get dressed up, (but when I do I like to go all out!)
9- appreciate and respect old pictures, styles, décor, hand-made items
10- revere my ancestors and their traditions and try to pass it on to my kids

Comments

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

The prompt cracked me up-- and rayaso, who is already madly typing away at it. It's just so weird.

I have to say, though, that I grew up with "as the crow flies"-- it was still very much in use in Oregon, even in the larger cities, so I don't think it's considered hillbilly-speak out West.

[penpusher.livejournal.com]

It took all I could to not turn this prompt into a Jed Clampett and Granny cooking vittles story from "The Beverly Hillbillies." I don't think the humble possum or Opossum has had as much attention on a prime time network television program before or certainly since!

Maybe one of the other writers brave enough to attempt this bonus assignment will go that route! Meanwhile, I'd like to personally thank you for not chewing tobacco and for leaving the Rebel flag alone!

[adoptedwriter.livejournal.com]

Love the CBS icon!

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

SOUL SISTER!!

I too am an Appalachian American, ex-pat West Virginian variety. :D

DO NOT:
1- wearing cammo 2- hunting -- I do have blaze orange hats though, for purposes of being in the woods during hunting season.
3- chewing tobacco. Agreed!! No one should have to grow up understanding the phrase "spit can".
4- wearing Daisy Duke shorts -- I do wear them but I don't call them that. Apparently Katy Perry likes them too!
5- displaying a Rebel flag -- no.
6- driving a beat-up truck -- well. My Firebird does have visible bondo.
7- using expressions like, “as the crow flies”, “good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise” or “possum ran over my grave”... I would probably use such expressions should the occasion arise. :P

DO:
1- my Daddy's truck was a 1971 Chevy that we still have. I also have a 1981 Firebird that I almost never drive. My daily car is a 2001 Echo. We drive our cars "into the ground." At one point I think the most Ford Escort Station wagons my family owned was five, because of the "parts cars." :D

2- We call this being an Opportunist Feeder (like the majestic Black Bear). I have never eaten Possum or Groundhog, but I have eaten Deer, Squirrel (my favorite!) wild Turkey (tough), and alligator (weirdly oily).

3- make do and try to fix or at least repurpose things before I pitch -- absolutely!! I repaired a small end table the other day with two chopsticks, a popsicle stick, and some duct tape and nails. :D

4- my yard and garden ornaments are a bit restrained, but I currently have a glass tree in my front yard, tuned chimes, and an old (broken) guitar as my house number. :)


5- Had to swear off Mountain Dew because of full-on caffeine overdoses.

6- use "I reckon" in speech. The word "yet" meaning "Still".

7-8, I'm more of a work boot person.

9- appreciate and respect old pictures, styles, décor, hand-made items -- yes!

10- revere my ancestors and their traditions and try to pass it on to my kids -- yes! Mine are primarily old German, like the Pennsylvania Dutch. Apparently when George Washington surveyed up the Potomac River as a young man, he spied Germans peering at him from behind the trees. Those were my ancestors. :D

[rayaso.livejournal.com]

I loved your description of traditional/non-traditional hillbilly! It clearly strikes a chord.

[adoptedwriter.livejournal.com]

Haha! Thanks!

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

I had no idea about the "modern hillbilly" characteristics you describe. I did go to grad school with a self-proclaimed hillbilly who grew up in a West Virginia holler. She was a bit atypical, as a lesbian poet!

[adoptedwriter.livejournal.com]

Thanks!