3B
LIFE/ ([)( Ctarlottt
Tuesday November 22, 2005
So, what does it mean to be southern?
Continued from page 1B
Things are indeed changing
in the South. And so is the
notion of what it means to be
“Southern.”
In this most maligned and
mused-upon of American
regions, the term coryures a
variety of images. Magnolias,
front porch swings and sweet
tea for some; football, stock
cars and fried chicken for oth
ers; lynchings, burning cross
es and civil rights marches for
still others.
WeVe had the Solid South,
the Old South and the New
South.
But are we heading toward
a “No South”?
As the South’s population
booms—projected to comprise
40 percent of the nation’s pop
ulation by 2030—a new
Associated Press-Ipsos poll
finds that the percentage of
people in the r^on identify
ing themselves • as
“Southerners” is slowly
shrinking.
The AP-Ipsos poll conduct
ed this past month found 63
percent of people living in the
region identified themselves
as Southerners. That mirrors
a trend fixjm a University of
North Carolina analysis of
polling data that found a 7
percent decline on the same
Southern identity question
between 1991 to 2001, to 70
percent.
“Does it mean that being a
Southerner no longei* has any
meaning? I don’t think it
does,” says Lany Griffin, a
sociologist at North Carolina
who analyzed the AP polling
data. “It just has a very differ
ent kind of meaning.”
Are the qualities that have
long been ascribed to the
South really true anymore?
Are Southerners leaUy more
hospitable than other
Americans? Does family real
ly count for more down
South? Are depth of faith, loy
alty to home, reverence for
history and sense of place
identifiably “Southern” traits?
The South has become “soil
of like a lifestjie, ratlier than
an identity anymore,” Janies
Cobb, author of the newly
published “Away Down
South; A History of Southern
Identity” would ai'gue. “The
things now we would base
Southern distinctiveness on
are so etlieieal.”
And sometimes conti'adicto-
ry: In a region tliat once tiled
to break away from tlie
Union, people are genei'ally
consideied more patiiotic
tlian till' rest of Americans; in
a place where blacks were
oppressed for lumdreds of
years, poll aftei’ poll shows
them identifying themselves
as “Southern” even more
often than wliites do.
Government recommends turkey
with trimmings, minus bacteria
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON-When
Thanksgiving arrives next
week, people should be groan
ing finm full stomachs, not
food poisoning.
More than 200,000
Americans get sick each day
from what they eat, and
turkey dinner with all the
trimmings complicates it all.
The government is offering
some tips to keep holiday
cooking fixim becoming an
intestinal curse.
At the top of the list is
washing your hands often,
followed by keeping raw food
separate finm cooked food,
using a food thermometer
and storing leftovers in small
portions in the fiidge.
‘It’s a little bit more danger
ous, obviously, when you have
large gatherings and food laid
out like this,” said Richard
Raymond, the nation’s top
food safety official. ‘We tend
to feast and nibble and snack
all afternoon,”
During a food-safety
demonstration at a food
bank, the Agriculture
Department’s undersecretary
for food safety wedked along a
table laden with raw and
cooked turkey, stuffing, green
bean casserole and pumpkin
pie.
Raymond and TerreU
Danley Jr., the chef at
Washington’s Creme Cafe,
showed how to plunge a ther
mometer into the thickest
part of the turkey leg. The
government says the temper
ature should read 180
degrees before the bird comes
out of the oven.
That is easier said than
done for people who look for
ward to a juicy bird. Chefs
say the turkey can dry out at
180 degrees.
“I believe that’s excessive,”
Please see TURKEY /4B
All the hits
All your favorite Doo Wop stars
Doo Wop Cavalcade:
The Definitive Anthology
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Linking North Carolinians to tools for
healthier weight and lifestyles.
North Carolina,
it’s time to get
Fit Together
Log on to FitTogetherNC.org today.
Fit Together brings together people and proven ideas
to help individuals and communities across North Carolina
achieve healthy weight and healthier lifestyles.
At FitTogetherNC.org, you’ll find tools to help you, your family
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New Hanover County
Robeson County
The Triangle
Asheville
Salisbury
Physical education
is a priority again in
public schools.
Church groups are
helping people shop
smart and eat right.
Workplace wellness
programs benefit both
employers and employees.
The Farmers Market
offers fresh and healthy
eating choices.
■ "
New sidewalks promote
more physical activity in
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