Why I Love Being a Redneck

My Dad and Half-Sister - clearly Rednecks

After living and growing up in Los Angeles County most of my life, I always yearned for a more simple, rural life. And why not? There is a Redneck genetic component to my parents and grandparents - more than a lifestyle - a sense of being. After living and growing up in Los Angeles County most of my life, I always yearned for a more simple, rural life. And why not? There is a Redneck genetic component to my parents and grandparents - more than a lifestyle - a sense of being. 

We almost always had chickens and a garden when I was younger - unlike all of our neighbors. My Dad wore cowboy boots frequently - and Western-style clothing - though it was not popular. In fact, we lived in a Southern California beach community with surfers - not exactly farm living...no other family repaired everything with duct tape and WD40 like we did.

So when it came time for my husband (who grew up in Massachusetts) to retired, I suggested the mid-south - Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee - where there were seasons, but nothing so severe as to be a complete shock. He said, "Let's go to East Tennessee. I drove through the Smokies as a young man, and fell in love with the beauty of the area." 

Told you Greasie's Trailer Court was real!

We spent some time looking before we moved. There were so many places to choose from. But we soon found our little slice of God's Country spitting distance from Greasie's Trailer Court.

No lie!!  You can't make up a name like that and have people believe you - so my friend and I posed under the sign to prove it existed. We also wondered who Greasie was and who named him that.

And unlike Los Angeles, you can live in a nice house - but there's no telling what will be in your neighborhood... The South is very protective of folks' property rights, so you don't have all those crazy zoning regulations. But that kind of stuff doesn't bother us.

House two doors down. Note Christmas lights; this is July.

We have seen every manner of skirted school bus being used as housing. And don't even get me started on year-round Christmas lights!

But no matter. We all have our quirks, right? We were only interested in our business and leave everybody else be.

The people in East Tennessee are very friendly - even if they are taken aback by the strange way we talk ("like the people on TV"). One good ol' boy told the husband, "Ya don't toke rat." Hubby whispered to me, "Is he asking if I smoke rodents?" "No, dear. He said you don't talk right." Thank goodness my upbringing was going to pay off - as a translator!!

Redneck Tree Swing

And resourceful doesn't even begin to cover the Redneck lifestyle! ANYTHING can be repurposed here. 

Sofas become tree swings. 

Jiffy Pop is your Redneck fire alarm. I think this should be the new Jiffy Pop slogan: If it starts a poppin', you best be hoppin'!

Redneck Fire Detector

And of course washer and dryer drums make spiffy barbeques.

Jeff Foxworthy is held in high esteem as a historian.

The Andy Griffith show causes entire bars to quiet down as everyone hangs on every word.

The Dukes of Hazzard are still worshiped in these parts.

NASCAR, college and high school football are the only sports of importance.

Guns are just about mandatory, and everyone assumes you have a bunch!

Heck, even the barnyard animals around here are packing! But then again, if you saw how some fellas check out the goats, sheep, and cattle - you would want to be armed if you were one of them, too!!

We brought our cat from Los Angeles with us. She was happy to have so much outdoors with so much in it to KILL!! I honestly didn't know there were that many different kinds of a mice all in one small area - we learned quickly about rodents, bugs, snakes, and anything else she could nab.

After a while, we thought it might be best to adopt another cat from the local shelter so she would have a companion. Funny, though, even the pets were Rednecks! But we found one we liked and named him Booger Ray. He was a pretty good cat - but a little low on manners and etiquette - devouring his food like a dog with all of the slurping, gulping sound effects!

It wasn't too long before my daughter and her family followed us to East Tennessee. In no time at all, she and the grandson were in the swing of things! In fact, I believe they are finally at HOME!

And like us, her family felt the need to add some local pets to the household. Come to think of it, her dog bears a strong resemblance to someone I met in the local VFW - one of those fellas that makes the sheep so nervous...but I digress

But the most important thing is that us kin are close together again! Recreating family traditions like biscuits and gravy for breakfast! Celebrating all of the major holidays together! Saving money on dental hygiene. Going to the shooting range as a family. Trading catfish recipes and arguing about who has best pork sandwiches. Shooting off fireworks - because we CAN!

Heck, I was having some problems with my brother (he lives out here, too). We ended up in couple's counseling for a session - and nobody gave it a second thought around here! After all, everyone goes to their family reunions to look for their future sweetheart around here!

And it's legal to eat roadkill, too. That sure cuts down on the price of groceries!

I hope someday to start up a family business like so many others have around here. You know, making moonshine!!

It just doesn't get better than that!!