Ooops....

I went to sleep yesterday instead of doing a list. Oops. :)

SO today: Two! ....kinda.

List 1: Why I love the South.

1. College Football
        I hated football in high school.
        Then I came to college, and I went to a game. Watching football on television doesn't do it justice the way sitting in the student section does. College football has become my favorite sport. I love baseball, and I watch it every chance I get, but if the Auburn Tigers (War Eagle, y'all!) are playing, don't EVEN try to talk to me.

2. Summer storms
        I love storms. They make me smile, and if there's a storm, I sleep better. And for my part of the South, we get thunderstorms in the summer like other places get snow in the winter. This is why I love Southern summers.

3. The turns of phrase
        We have crazy awesome turns of phrase. Examples: Queer as a football bat (something really strange); Sit a spell (relax for a little while); Good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise (um... my comparison may be another turn of phrase: Come Hell or high water)... I mean, these are all so Southern to me that they can only make me think of "home".

4. Guys
        Southern guys. They still have some level of chivalry (they hold doors) and a large number of them are really good-looking. :)

5. Cities
        Big cities are few and far between. There are huge expanses that have no lights at all. That way, you get to see ALL the stars.


List 2: Why I Hate the South

1. College Football Rivalries.
        Ok. We know I'm an Auburn Tiger. A few months back, we Tigers found out that one of our most treasured traditions - the two live oaks at Toomer's Corner, the trees we roll after every win - had been poisoned with a ridiculous amount of herbicide. The person who (allegedly) did it is a fan of our in-state rival, the Alabama Crimson Tide. When you get to the point where you're killing trees because your athletic rival beat you in a sport, you've gone just a wee bit too far.

2. Stereotypes
        Come on. You know the stereotype: dumb, Nascar-loving bumpkins with nothing better to do than go shoot helpless animals. However, we are not ALL like that. In fact, I'd like to say that the vast majority of us are actually NOT like that. Sure I know a bunch of people that hunt. But I know a bunch more that DON'T. But the stereotypes are there, and - until the trees were poisoned - I would have said this was the #1 reason I hate the South.

3. EVERYONE drives a gas-guzzler
        Yep. You'll see plenty of cars, believe me, but - especially in my hometown area, which is RURAL - you see more trucks and SUVs than you do cars. It's kind of depressing, actually, the amount of gas we seem to waste.

4. The humidity
        Um... all those storms? Yeah, they make it awfully humid both before and after they happen. So if it's hot, the humidity means that you can't sweat, which makes it harder to cool off, and also it means that the air outside FEELS hotter than it is. Which is NOT good, even though I love the storms.

5. Cities
        There's nothing to do! If you're in a small town like Auburn is, or - even worse - a rural area, there is NOTHING available to do outside of things at your house. Which isn't exactly what most teenagers (or young adults my age) really want, although I'm content as long as I've got a book.