I started thinking about this post at work the other day when a friend said that he had never been to a tailgate. I was shocked! Then, last night after driving a 4-wheel drive through a field to a burn pile to get wood for a bonfire, I knew I had to write this :) I have seen this list passed around as an email and it always made me chuckle.
You don't put too much effort into hairstyles due to wind and weather.
Thank goodness for my naturally curly hair - it masks the mess from the humidity!
You are related to more than half the town.
I am not, since I didn't grow up here but it is true for the rest of the town. You should never say anything negative about anyone because you may be talking to their cousin or brother-in-law.
You can tell the difference between a deer and a cow from a distance.
At home, yes. But here, I have been told, that it's silly to have cows and waste all that good farmground.
Using the elevator involves a corn truck.
And it's a half-mile from my house.
Your mayor is also your garbage hauler, barber, and insurance salesman.
In our town, the mayor is a professor at a local university. In a neighboring town, the neighbor is the town barber.
Your car breaks down outside of town and news of it reaches back to town before you do.
I made the mistake of getting pulled over in town once. Everyone knew about it by nightfall!
You know you should listen to the weather forecast before picking out an outfit.
Exactly! It was 48 this morning when I got up and was 83 by afternoon.
You are walking knee-deep in snow.
Not yet, but the Farmer's Almanac said it's coming.
There's a tornado warning and the whole town is outside watching for it.
It's a big neighborhood event!
You go to the State Fair for your family vacation.
We would all pile in and stay together - parents, aunts, uncles, cousins. We saved the change found in the laundry for treats at the Fair.
You get up at 5:30 a.m. and go down to the coffee shop.
I don't but many people do. If you need anything in the morning, that is where you can find many people.
You are on a first name basis with the county sheriff.
We have to know the county sheriff since there aren't town cops.
You call the wrong number and talk to the person for an hour anyway.
You can probably give them the correct number, too.
You can tell it's a farmer working late in his field and not a UFO.
There was a harvest party in the field across the street last night. Perfect night!
Your nearest neighbor is in the next area code.
It is long distance to call the town next to us!
Your excuse for getting out of school is that the cows got out.
I was late to a National Honor Society dinner my senior year because the pig feeder broke.
It takes 30 seconds to reach your destination and it's clear across town.
That is one nice thing - driving 10 miles takes 10 minutes.
The meaning of true love is that you'll ride in the tractor with him.
I prefered combining - there was more going on. I also used to sit in the middle seat in the pick-up to be even closer.
When someone says they are going out for dinner or supper, you know which meal they are talking about.
"Lunch only comes in a brown bag."
The only traffic jam's are caused when a farmer drives down Main Street on his combine.
Or there is a train stopped at the elevator.
You don't signal turns because everyone knows where you're going, anyway. And they talk in your car is in a different driveway than it should be.
Everyone knows all the news before it's published. But, people read the paper to see whether the publisher got the facts right.
And to see who has a birthday or anniversary that week.
You miss a Sunday at church and receive a get-well card.
It's easier to call in your attendance than to face the questions later.
You know what 4-H is.
Proud member! And so are my kids :)
You ever went to parties at a pasture, barn, or in the middle of a dirt road.
And maybe I still do!
You used to drag "main."
In Marengo, I think it was a sanctioned Saturday night event.
You schedule parties around the schedule of different police officers, since you know which ones would bust you and which ones wouldn't (same goes with the game warden)
Knowledge is power!
You could never buy cigarettes because all the store clerks knew how old you were (and if you were old enough they'd tell your parents anyhow).
Thank goodness for the cig machine at the bowling alley in Crystal Lake.
When you did find someone old enough and brave enough to buy cigarettes, you still had to go out to the country and drive on back roads to smoke them.
The field by the Junior High was perfect.
It was cool to date someone from the neighboring town.
It was even cooler to wear their football jersey.
You had senior skip day.
And everyone skipped.
You don't give directions by street names or directions by references (turn by Nelson's house, go two blocks past Anderson's, and it's four houses left of the track field).
In our town, you turn at the Casey's.
You can't help but date a friend's ex-girlfriend (or boyfriend).
I have a great (but not printable) story about this from high school.
Your car stays filthy because of the dirt roads, and you will never own a dark vehicle for this reason.
My car is always dirty.
Anyone you want can be found at either the Dairy Queen or the feed store.
Well, in the morning, they are at coffee. Back in my hometown, it was the Dairy Mart - there were no chain restaurants.
You see at least one friend a week driving a tractor through town.
And maybe caught a ride to school!
Football coaches suggest that you haul hay for the summer to get stronger.
I had the best looking arms the summer I baled hay.
You can charge at all the local stores.
And now you can charge at the restaurant uptown.
It is normal to see an old man riding through town on a riding lawnmower. Kids too. Golf carts are fairly common too.
What is unique to where you live?
