Laurie: I’m sorry but you have to love the South.  Nowhere in the world would folks come up with such hilarious and sometimes even  wise sayings.  I was speaking with my cousin the other day about how lucky we were that that Times Square would-be bomber was a moron.  And a natural segue was of course to the underwear wanna-be bomber.  We both agreed that he was pretty stupid and had he succeeded he would have had no equipment to enjoy the 72 virgins awaiting him for his martyred deeds.  And my cousin said, “They should have just turned him upside down, stood him on his head, and packed his ass with dynamite.”  Now really, elizabeth, do you have any Yankee statements that can beat that?

elizabeth: I am happy to say that we don’t have any cheeky statements like that and that is why I will always live in the north. We are just different. It’s not to say that there aren’t some amusing people from the south. It’s just that the words of wisdom I grew up with and came to expect do not sound like that. You have to remember this is coming from someone whose family does not have bodily functions. So we would be lost when it comes to placing dynamite into a person’s body.  But my family did warn us about getting involved with anyone with green teeth. Probably meant that his parents were siblings. So we did make a little fun of your people. Not that we feel proud of it. But maybe a little superior.

Laurie: There’s a certain kind of humor that is enhanced by a Southern drawl.  Ask a preacher if the weather for the church picnic will be good, and he’s likely to say “I’m not really into the prediction phase, I’m in promotion.”  With a Brooklyn accent, it just isn’t going to be funny.  And fergetaboutit if you don’t have a nickname and you live down South.  No, I’m not talking about a shortened name because Northerners are too busy to say more than one syllable.  I’m talking bona fide nicknames that have a story and a history behind them – Snookie, Little John, DoDo, Sniggles, Bratso – all of these names not only identify the person but tell you who their daddy is.  And never feel guilty about laughing at Southerners.  Chances are they have spent many hours on their front porch shaking their heads in wonder about them crazy foreigners up North.

elizabeth: Foreigners, eh? Will the south ever get over losing the war between the states? And I am not sure holding onto the south was the smartest move on the part of us northerners. We have had to deal with your Klan, church bombings, lynchings and love songs about trucks or mobile homes. So not a northerner past time. And I do prefer women’s names that don’t end with Joe, Bubba or Gomer. You can hold unto Hee Haw and we’ll keep our Woody Allen and Jerry Seinfeld.

And to paraphrase Mr. Seinfeld and Billy Joel (his full name), “I am not a southerner. Not there is anything wrong with it. But I am always in a New York State of mind.”

© 2010, Coaches on the Edge ™

If you would like to learn more about Laurie, please go to her site: Empowered Life Journeys.

Stop by at elizabeth’s site at: Branching Out Life Coaching