So I'm having trouble getting LiveJournal doing what I want it to do so I'm trying blogger instead....
My time of temporary residency in the state of the Bluegrass(which I never saw), missing teeth and starving horses has come to an end, for now.
I leave this state with some observations; many places have some preconceived ideas and trends associated with them. For example: you expect people from New York to drive like maniacs, you expect people from the deep south to be a bit stuck up, you expect people from Wisconsin to drink a lot of alcohol. These preconceivements tend to actually be close to the truth, it's not always the case but it does tend to be. Sometimes those trends aren't true at all though, they prove to be far from the truth indeed. When you think of Kentucky you think of people with a poor education, missing teeth, long scraggly beards. People that can't pronounce big words, can't spell, they think a long trip is driving a whole hour across the Ohio river and going to Indiana. You think of people that have never been on a plane, that have never seen a beach, people that are obsessed with hunting and fishing and can talk for hours about their guns and the trucks they've owned. These are some of the ideas that may pop into your mind when you think of Kentuckians; I wish I could say these are illusions and fabricated lies started by anti Kentuckian defamation groups. The sad fact is that Kentuckians are normally the ones that the defamation groups compare the other state they are trying to defame too. I lived in Kentucky about five months and I saw a lot of Kentuckians, I saw many long ugly beards and far to few teeth. Yes, Kentuckians are Kentuckians, that's just the way it is. Someone has to be the butt of the jokes you know.....
One guy I worked with, he's lived in Kentucky for all of his 19yrs, claimed that Louisville didn't have any letter "i"s in it.....he couldn't remember how to spell it though but insisted that you couldn't pronounce it with an "i" because it didn't have any "i"s in it!
Another Kentuckian I talked to liked the "Horses are good for Kentucky" that the "elite" people have as bumper stickers on their trucks "Yep, you always need glue and dog food" was his comment.
I heard a LOT of racist jokes and the "n" word flows freely in the Kentuckian vocabulary as a derogatory insult , it will be interesting to see who they nominate for the democratic party?
My boss graduated a Kentucky high school with 50 other students, he was one of the 4 people who graduated that attempted to attend college and was one of the 2 people that lasted over a week in college. The only one of them that graduated college was his class's valedictorian, she became a nurse.
Okay, so Kentucky is a bit sad, I could go on and on making fun of it but it would be a waste of time and wouldn't do any good because not too many Kentuckians are going to take it too heart.....not that they could read it anyway.
Altogether I really enjoyed my stay in Kentucky, it was wonderful! The family I stayed with was great, only Kenuckyish in good ways . It was a great pleasure being there and I enjoyed it immensely. I can't wait to go back to visit and wouldn't be at all upset if at some point I become more of a permanent resident in that beautiful state. Indiana looks especially flat and boring after being there, I'd much rather live in Kentucky, even if people around here do have more teeth. :)
Now I am refocusing my life and getting busy with school, hopefully I'll be able to get into Berea College this fall and continue my education as a History Teacher?
Living at home again is hard for me but I'm staying busy and keeping a smile on my face.....it will all work out......I hope....
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6 comments:
You are SO mean to poor Kentucky! :) I'm not going to defend it though, because some of those things may be true, but that doesn't mean everyone is like that. :) So...I'm not gonna!
I didn't say everyone was like that because they aren't...some of them just get braces so they can keep their teeth you know =D
mmm...interesting observations, and perhaps about education levels achieved, in part true. Would you, however, like me to (or is it too?) correct your spelling and grammar? jk
You see, when one doesn't have an advanced degree, one is likely to be employed with those that do not - and that is what one sees and hears. Granted, the more educated in KY are often transplants, but they do exist.
I am hoping that you continue your education and can someday rub elbows with people that have more to offer your erudite sensibilities.
Whoah. Back up there. Apparantly you didn't get out much while you were in Kentucky? Agreeing with Junosmom, you get toothless bearded weirdos in every countryside and elsewhere, but those are the guys you see working in Mickey D's, and-- forgive me-- feed stores. Had you tried to meet other, more educated people similiar to the people you stayed with, your view of Kentucky wouldn't be based on the image you probably had before you even went.
Thank you very much.
16 years ago before I had the honor of meeting my future in-laws, I had the same opinion of "country folk." My father-in-law milked his cow to buy his first car in the back woods of West Virginia. My mother-in-law graduated in a little West Va town with 30 other students -- none of which went to college.
YET, my husband (born and bred in West VA) did go to college--Duke University. He also went to grad school (a full ride I might add) and received his PhD at age 28. He is the smartest most well-rounded person I know, and he is from the country.
So, I took a harder look at the genetic pool in which he was born. My mother-in-law, though not a college grad, is a whiz at cross-word puzzles and word games. She is a very bright woman. My father-in-law, a perfectionist by nature, was well-admired and respected by all in his trade as being very bright. My father-in-law served time in the military and both my in-laws worked and achieved the American dream.
So, I sit her today with my Masters in Education, and begin to wonder what knowledge really means.
I met a equine chiropractor yesterday that understood more about horse ailments than some vets. He diagnosed a kidney infection on the spot for one of the mares. I didn't get a good count but if one of his teeth were missing -- it would not have surprised me. His vocabulary was rough as was his appearance, yet he KNOWS his stuff!
As I have matured and bumped down the road of life sticking my foot in my mouth, I have come to realize these "country folk" know many things I don't. I have continued to gain more and more respect for them over the years. Their knowledge is not found in books; it is found in a hard-working lifestyle through experience.
Now which is the harder road with more enduring lessons?
Food for thought from another Kentucky resident
I agree with all of you, of course, my thoughts from Kentucky were purposely slanted, I would defend Kentucky and Kentuckians to anyone, as long as they aren't from Kentucky themselves. I also agree; true knowledge is not only found in books, it rarely is. I made a comment to a young man I worked with in the feed store, I told him that "I may know more than you about a lot of stuff but what you do know from being a country farmer your whole life you know much better than I could ever know". Those who don't know much really do know what they know.
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