Is it Sumac or Shumake?

Those of you that know me personally know that I am pretty country.  If there were a scale from 1 (being least country) to 10 (being most country), I would probably be an 8 (that college education helped bring that number down somewhat).  I am unashamed to be southern country, or as I refer to it, hill folk.  I make no apologies and when I see people that I grew up with "get above their raisin'" it makes me kind of sad.  It's okay to be successful but I don't think you should forget where you came from and how you got the grit to be where you are.

Being an educator though, has forced me to try to be more conscious of my vernacular.  I have learned that there are just some things that will lower IQ points when your are dealing with people and country or hill speak is one of them; and I am a master at both.  I watched a documentary about the origins of hill speak and now I understand why my family and the folks in the area where I grew up use(d) hill speak.  When you have an area populated with a mix of cultures and origins a certain dialect just evolves.

When I was a kid, I was blissfully ignorant of my hill speak and country ways.  It wasn't until I was in junior high that I figured out that there are kids who LIVE IN the country and there are kids who ARE country. I am the latter.   A few years ago some of my Mom's family from out West came in for a visit.  We hadn't seen them in many years and one of my cousins, who I had only met once as a child, said to me "I remember you because when we came to visit, you said "howdy" and I had never heard anyone say that before."  That offended me at first, then later she told me that she lives in Missoula, Montana now and I think cowboys say "howdy."  I'm glad I introduced her to that word.

Another phrase that gets me in trouble, when I'm not focusing, is "I reckon."  I reckon when I get tired or stressed I forget to watch the vernacular.  Then there's the BIG one. I say y'all, have always said y'all, and will continue to say y'all.  It is a way of speaking that I refuse to change.  That's like telling a Southerner to stop drinking tea - won't be happenin'.  I was scolded once by a principal for saying y'all at school.  The principal said that it would just sound more professional if I didn't say it.  I smiled politely and said that I would try but in my head I was thinking "All y'all at this school can kiss my southern country behind (pronounced beehind). 

Another southern country give-a-way is my lack of g's.  My words tend to end with n's.  I'm workin' had on fixin' that though.  A few months ago I was at an educator conference and the facilitator read my bio stating where I teach.  A man, in the workshop, asked me if I was a hillbilly or a baldknobber.  I smiled and told him that I prefer hill folk. I don't think he knew how to respond.

There are times though when I try to sound a little less southern country (I know my place), and I hate those times when I hear someone (usually a student) say "get her to say (insert certain word here), usually ones that end in -ice or -oil.

 JC was born in Wichita, KS but grew up in West Plains, MO.  We grew up about 75 miles apart but our manner of speaking is different.  We've had rousing arguments over word pronunciations.  Yesterday an incident (that prompted this blog) occurred while we driving around looking at the fall colors.  I was relaxed and let my school teacher persona fall aside.  I asked JC if the really red leaves were "shumake" and he cracked up laughing and said "Do you mean sumac?"  I told him that my Granny called it shumake whick got even more laughs out of him.  When we got home we googled sumac (yep that was the bush with the red leaves), then we googled shumake and it said "pronounced soomack."  I won't live that one down for awhile.  Sometimes "Country Shelley" just takes over and gets me in trouble.

Even though my manner of speaking gets me in hot water sometimes, I'm proud of where I came from and what I learned being a country kid.

Signed,
A girl from Yellvull!!  (Gotta have grown up there to get that one)

Ferry Me Across the Water

Ferry Me Across the Water

Christina Rossetti

"Ferry me across the water.

Do, boatman, do."

"If you've a penny in your purse

I'll ferry you."

"I have a penny in my purse,

And my eyes are blue;

So ferry me across the water,

Do, boatman, do."

 "Step into my ferry boat,

Be they black or blue,

And for the penny in your purse,

I'll ferry you."

I have always loved the water. I grew up "just up the creek" from Rush and we lived at Blue John, named for Blue John Creek.  My childhood was filled with stories about my mom, grandparents and many relatives living along the Buffalo River.  Where we lived was also just a few miles from Crooked Creek and the White River.  Our weekends were filled with trips to the river to fish, play, and during the drought season, haul water back to our house.  In Psyche 101 I learned that your personality is 50 percent genetic, 50 percent experiences so I'm not sure of the cause but I need to live in close proximity to a large body of water.  The mere thought of being more than a few minutes away from water causes me to break out in a sweat.

We always had a jon boat so getting from one side of the Buffalo or White to the other was no big deal.  My world was very small back then and I didn't get to spend any time on the area lakes.  This was something that I discovered and fell in love with later in life (sorry - I am bird-walking here).  Occasionally, my Aunt Lessie Bryant, who lived in Black Oak, AR would come for a visit.  She didn't drive and the closest the Greyhound or Trail Ways  bus depot to our house was in Hardy, AR.  My mom would go get her and I would jump at the chance to go because you got to ride the Lake Norfork, Highway 62 Ferry.  Until 1984 the only way across the lake to Henderson was by ferry.  I just couldn't wait until we got to the ferry landing and I hoped we would be the first car to load.  These trips were my only experience with ferry riding until I was older.

When I became an adult and began to travel more I got the opportunity to ride the ferry across to Henderson, AR and Gamaliel, AR.  It was as an adult that I first crossed the Peel Ferry into Protem, MO.  Each crossing filled me with excitement.  I loved the gentle chug of the boat, the smells and the rocking motion.

Until a few years ago the car ferries were my only ferry experiences.  Then JC and I traveled to Mackinac Island, MI and I rode my first passenger ferry.  There are three or four ferry companies to choose from and they have both traditional, slower moving, ferries and jet boat ferries.  JC wanted the jet boat but I held my ground for a traditional ferry.  I was elated -- 40 minutes of ferry riding to reach the island!  It was a cold, rainy day but I insisted that we sit on top for the ride.  It was amazing.

My next ferry boat ride was crossing from Port Aransas, TX to Aransas Pass, TX.  We had come to Mustang Island, TX for vacation and had entered via the causeway bridge from Corpus Christi.  I didn't realize there was a ferry until we had been on the island for a couple of days.   I began to look for excuses to ride the ferry and finally the chance came.  It was the first ferry ride for my grandkids and I don't think they were nearly as excited as Nana.  This past summer we returned to Mustang Island and I made sure I got in plenty of ferry riding - just in case they build a bridge some day.

My most exciting ferry boat ride was from Long Beach, CA to Catalina Island, CA.  I had gone to LA to visit my son, Ryan, and we drove down to Long Beach and caught the Catalina Express to the island.  It was supposed to be a one hour ride to Avalon but we missed that ferry (my fault) so we caught the next ferry out.  It had to go to Two Harbors first so we were on the ferry for about an half.  It was so much fun.  At one point I looked around and for a full 360 degrees I could only see the Pacific - no land.  I don't think Ryan was as thrilled as I was.  On the return trip the sun was setting and then darkness fell over the Pacific.  It was breathtaking.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about what's in store for our retirement days and I keep adding to my Bucket List.  I have a plan.  I want to travel the US and ride every ferry.  Why not?  The San Juan Islands are on my list - great ferry there; Martha's Vineyard, the Outer Banks, Dauphin Island to Fort Morgan..... the list is endless.  I want to take pictures and write a book about the great ferry rides of the US.  A little odd...maybe, but I've never marched to the beat of anyone else's drum.

I'm not sure what it is about the ferry rides that I like so much.  Maybe because I love the water, but that could be satisfied with a simple boat ride.  I think maybe it's because a ferry ride forces me to slow down.  I can't go any faster that the ferry boat pilot travels. I might as well enjoy the gentle rocking motion, the smell of the water and the wind on my face.