Our Neighbors Speak
The Morrisville and Preston Progress, Wednesday, August 30,1995 >
Do you think President Clinton’s attack on the tobacco industry will help or
hurt his chances for reelection?
CHARLES NICOL
MORRISVILLE
It's not ^ing to hurt him at all
because it dilutes the attention
from errors he’s made in the
past. He’s distracting everyone
from Whitewater.
ALAN JOHNSON
MORRISVILLE
I don’t think it’s going to make
any difference. It’s an issue in
this area, but nationwide, it’s not
that big of an issue.
GREG SCHELL
MORRISVILLE
It could help him or hinder him.
In North Carolina, most people
are going to be for the tobacco
industry. The rest of the country
doesn’t care. They just don’t
want to see people snrroking.
DAVID GREEN
PRESTON
I think it’s not going to have any
effect. The election is going to
d^end on whether there is a
third party candidate or not.
HOLLY PEGRAM
PRESTON
In the long run, it’s going to
help him with the rest of the
country, but it will hurt him In the
South. Because there’s such a
negative emphasis placed on
tobaccco, I think a lot of the
country is against smoking.
LINDA BINKLEY
PRESTON
I don’t think it’ll matter. It’s not a
major concern. As many people
as it will take away, it will attract.
Even in North Carolina, the
number of people who are to
bacco workers are smaller than
the number of other workers.
While Southerner drips sugar, Northerner learns to relax
South
By Roxanne Powers
I’m not a native North Carolinian.
I was bom and raised in East
Texas. But because you’d have to
travel a thousand miles to get to my
hometown of Longview, I feel
qualified to explain the South to
our friends from up yonder.
The first thing newly transplanted
Northerners should know is that we
Southerners don’t take ourselves
nearly as seriously as Northerners
think we do. For instance, when we
use slang it’s not because we’re
lazy or ignorant of proper grammar
or enunciation. If that were the
case, we’d all write with a southern
drawl, which of course we do only
when we want to convey warmth or
a "take it easy" kind of attitude.
You see, transplanted North
erners, it all comes back to
southern hospitality and gracious
ness—-as was so graciously pointed
out to me by one of my
transplanted Northern friends. We
Southerners know that "you" works
for me or a aowd, but we also
know that someone else in a group
we’re addressing may not know
that, and feel left out. So our solu
tion of "y’aU" is a sweet blend of
common sense and an "all" em
bracing hospitality. We also know
that we live in a ’’law-suit-hrq)py
society," and since we already got
whipped in the Civil War, we don’t
want to chance getting whiiqjed
again by using a sexist phrase like
"you guys."
In the South, we like to "reckon"
and "figure." No, this doesn’t mean
that we’re eager to face judgment,
or that we enjoy math. It’s just that
prefixing a sentence with "I
think..." sounds as if we’re trying to
convince the listener that we are in
tellectually superior—and, of
course, we prefCT to take a more
humble approach.
As for the cocky (not to mention
corny) transplanted Northerner who
responds to our "Hey!" with, "Is
there a horse around?" for the thou
sandth time, No! "Hi!" is just too
formal—especially since we can’t
remember your name.
In the South, we "cut out the
lights," because to "flip a switch"
sounds too much like we’re at
tempting to perturb someone, and
again, that just wouldn’t be very
gracious.
We also frequently offer to
"carry" people to their destination.
Now of course we hope people
won't take us literally, but if they
do, we are just so darned gracious
that we would if we needed to.
H you’re a Northerner residing in Morrisviiie or
Preston, do you reatiy understand Southerners?
And if you’re a Southerner, how’s your insight on
your friends and neighbors with Northern roots?
Two Progress correspondents offer expianations
of what residents of their region are ali about. Ron
Page recently moved to Deerwood at Preston and
writes about Northerners from the viewpoint of a
New Jersey native and long-time resident of
Woodcliff Lake, N.J. Roxanne Powers writes about
Southerners from the perspective of an East
Texas native who has settled in Carpenter after
stops In Louisiana and Cary.
North
We have other phrases that are in
digenous to the South, some of
which are indigenous only to this
section of North Carolina. For in
stance, if you are lookin’ us be
cause "yanto" tell us something we
just might be marred-up with some
pond-scum who’s been skunked.
For the transplanted Northerner
who can accurately "figure" out the
previous sentence without the help
of a Morrisville native, there is an
award waiting to be delivered.
Now, the final thing we
Southerners, want you transplanted
Northerners to know is that we con
sider our "marriage" to you a good
one. But like any marriage, it has
its moments, and one of them is
Family values most important, resident says
To the editor:
As a nmive of Morrisville who
has lived in Raleigh for eight years
and recently moved back, I am
deeply concerned at the things I
read in The Progress. It seems to
me my new neighbors are more
concerned with property values in
stead of family values.
When I reflect upon Morrisville, I
think about "baming tobacco" with
the Watkins where Perimeter Park
now sits. Now we all know that to
bacco is bad for you so we prog
ressed with the m^I and more local
The locals were h^y because
we finally bad a place to go for ice
cream and a chance for a public job
close to home. New families meant
new people to get to know and care
about and pe(q)le to share produce
from your garden with.
I am 35 years old now with a bus-
band and a two-year-old son. I was
raised in Morrisville and learned
that you could leave your door un
lock^ or talk to anytxie at the store
or on the side of the road without
being frightened. If your car broke
down, you could stop at any house
in town and either get a tow with
the family’s tractor or access to a
phone with a safe, friendly place to
wait for help.
It’s not the size, quality, or value
of your home; it’s the people inside
the homes that make or break a
conununity. It’s what you teach
your children that makes Morris-
Letters To The Editor
vUle a better place to live. Neigh
bors, learn to ask yourself the fol
lowing;
l.Is my family fed?
2. Are we comfortable with a roof
over our head?
3. Did we work hard today to
earn our mcmey?
4. Are we happy?
5. If I die unexpectedly have I
been a decent person that people
will miss?
Don’t dwell oa money. People
don’t care how much you have.
Tliey care if you are generous with
it A well-manicured yard means
you don’t have much to do at
home. I would much rather look at
the unkept hayfields and tobacco
bams that aren’t being used
anymore. They remind me of a
much simpler time when you could
trick or treat door to door and come
hwne with two sacks of candy that
you didn't have to check for razor
blades. You knew the people the
candy came from.
If the new residents of Morris
ville would like to know what the
locals of Morrisville are really
they should try talking to the
people, going to the local churches
or experiencing a funeral of a life
long resident.
Recently, a dear friend of my
family died at the age of 57. Her
name was Lois Maynard Davis.
People from all walks of life
mourned at her funeral. She was a
housewife, a local farm girl, Huey
Maynard’s daughter, a person you
could trust. Good Hope Baptist
Church was packed. People
brought food for tee family from all
around Morrisville. She is deeply
missed and remembered.
To get to tee point, I want to say
progress is nice, but if done tee
wrong way it can lead to extinction.
Morrisville is definitely not
Mayberry, but it does have a long
history with some genuine real
people living in it. Don’t take that
charm away from any community;
add to it Be proud of how far Mor
risville has moved into tee future,
but don’t forget what values are
most important to make your prop
erty a home.
Kimberly Marshburn Winters
Koppers Road, Morrisville
(We welcome letters to the editor
on topics of community interest.
Letters should be typed or legibly
handwritten and should include a
name, address and phone number.
Send to: The Morrisville &
Preston Progress, do Kirkland
Newspapers, 1533 Hermitage Ct.,
Durham, N.C. 27707.)
this: We do consider smirks and ex
aggerated mimics of our drawls to
be an insult! To tee offenders, an
other Southern belief will "kick in,"
and th^ is "kill’em with kindness!"
The idea here is two-fold. First, in
our graciousness we want everyone
to feel comfortable while with us.
Our hq)e is teat if we’re kind in
spite of offensive behavior, the of
fenders will feel so guilty teat they
will be unable to sleep teat night.
Second, this means teat if we like
yCHJ, you’re a transplanted North
erner, but if you exhibit a disdain
ful attitude toward us, we’ll smile
sweetly and call you "Yankee" be
hind your back.
Well, my transplanted Northerner
friends, I hope this information
proves to be right helpful. It’s time
for me to mn on now. (That means
go bye-bye.)
By Ron Page
When you’ve had two feet
planted in tee Garden State of New
Jersey all your life, getting a little
Tar on your Heels by moving to
Norte Carolina takes a bit of adjust
ing.
It tends to calm, to slow you
down. That’s not bad, mind you. In
fact, it’s a positive. You really have
to have lived in tee Norte to under
stand a Northerner. Lifestyles are
deadlines. We never seem to have
enough time for anything. We race
to work only to spend tee day
trying to get a jump on what has to
be done tomorrow. Lunches are
short (they call teem gulp time).
Some malls have stand-up tables
and counters where you can save
time by not waiting to sit down. (I
guess they feel food slides down
quicker when standing as opposed
to sitting.)
Courtesy isn’t necessarily a
priority. Shoppers hustle to beat
you to the checkout at super-
maricets. "Thanl^" is a woid often
missing. In the South, on the other
hand, young people seem to be
brought up to be polite. Kids I’ve
never seen before down here say
"Yes, sir" to me and "Yes, m’am"
to my wife. And they look you in
the eye when saying it.
Criticism flows like tapwater.
Listen to northern radio call-in
shows like Bob Grant or Jay
Diamcmd, and if you disagree with
tee host, prepare to be verbally
humiliated. Everycme also has an
opinicm on everything.
Northerners speak it5>idly. They
tend to run sentences in-
tooneanother. People don’t seem to
understand why Northerners talk so
loud and excitedly. It doesn’t
necessarily mean anger. It’s just a
way of getting a point across.
Grammar is undergoing change.
"Like" is a word teat has entered
every sentence. "He wanted to be
President" today is expressed as
"He wanted to be Iike...PresidenL"
Words also have different mean
ings in tee Norte and South. "Bar
becue" in tee Norte is an action, a
way varied foods are prepared. You
"barbecue" (cook) chicken, pork,
spareribs on a grill which is also
called a "barbecue." Down here,
I’m told, "barbecue" refers to tee
food itself and not tee action or the
heating unit.
And we don’t have gravy and bis
cuits or grits for breakfasL In tee
Norte, it would hurt business.
There’s a b^ery on ‘practically
every comer.
But let me make
teis...like...perfectly clear. I’d rath
er be walking along Tobacco Road
any day of tee summer or winter
than cruising tee New Jersey Turn
pike. For one thing, it’s safer.
The Norte may have won tee
war, but the South found the peace.
Real Estate ^ ^
Bulletiii
Board
Selling your home soon? Will you be able to find a
buyer? More importantly, will buyers be able to find you?
If you plan to sell your home alone, without the profes
sional assistance of an agent, staying at home should be
included in your plans.
At first, when you begin running advertisements and place
a “For Sale” sign in your yard, you may receive many
phone calls from prospective purchasers. They may also
come to your front door to ask questions •• unannounced.
That Is good, however, it places responsibility squarely on
your shoulders to be there at all reasonable hours to gra
ciously show the home at their convenience.
You may say to yourself, “If I’m home most of the time,
and if I do happen to be gone, my telephone answering
machine will take their call.” Yes, some will leave a mes
sage or call back - tee ones with plenty of time on their
hands.
You will probably encounter two types of buyers, tee not-
so-serious “fime-wasters” and the sincere buyers, motivat
ed to make a purchase. In the first case, if you are not
home when they call or come by, don’t worry. They will
call back. They like to look at homes and are in no hurry
to buy. They like to call people selling “by owner” because
teey will not have to deal with an agent who may ask
teem qualifying questions before showing the home.
The second group of buyers, those motivated and pre
pared to make a purchase right away, will rarely call a
second time or return if you are not home. They intend to
buy - plain and simple. If you have your home “For Sale"
and are not home, they will probably go to homes which
can be seen wite iittle nofice, usually those listed with a
real estate agent.
To purchase a home, buyers must first see the home. To
be sure your home is exposed to tee widest variety of
potential buyers, at their convenience, seek tee r'
tation of an agent. You benefit from '
your best Interests are protected.
Whether you plan to buy, sell, or stay put, call
me anytime at CENTURY 21 Park West 481-3681
or 319-3745.
tThe Mower basket r, ±
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