Dit Dots and Ding Bats

So I am feeling pretty ignorant and dumb for assuming that North Carolina was in the north. Silly me. I was a little surprised when two girls asked me,
"What's the difference between a dit dot and a ding bat?"
"A what a whata?" I asked in reply.
"A dit dot is a Yankee who vacations often in the south. A ding bat is a Yankee who stays." The other girl let out a big laugh and added, "Oh yeah, that's the same joke as the difference between a Yankee and a damn Yankee." Oh. That's when I figured out that the Mason-Dixon line was not, in fact, between the Carolinas yet rather above Virgina (although there is some controversy over whether or not northern Virginia is a part of the Southern club). Another couple I met along the way sighed and lamented their friend needed a little "Reconstruction" to clean up her attitude.

The houses lined in "Remember 9-11" and Confederate flags are never in nice neighborhoods here. The stars and bars decorate rotting trailer eaves and hang proudly on the bag of rusted out Ford F150s. They sway in the wind on flagpoles in front of overgrown, weedy lawns. Poverty causes so many problems and frustration and hatred. It is passing through these southern villages that I think of Edward Norton starring in American History X. In many ways this is a gruesome, yet important film giving accurate viewpoints of frustration over poverty on both poor white and African American backgrounds. I am incredibly grateful for this experience to not only travel around the country, but to meet and talk to the people who live in each area. I had the idea that small towns would basically be the same. However, each city and village I have been to has been completely unique from the other.

A part of my surveying led me right next door to my aunt and her family. I spent every day going out to interview people but also got to spend some good time with a family I had not much interaction with before Facebook. We had an excellent time together and--I even killed my first animal with my own hands. Then we ate the poor bunny for dinner. It is not a pretty sight watching an animal die. The rabbit, after I broke her neck, twitched unnaturally on the ground while I silently prayed she would die quickly and that she felt no pain. (warning: picture of meat at bottom of entry)

The next day, I headed on my way to Rock Hill, South Carolina for yet another day of interviews...while fighting a migraine. A few hours into my search, I drove by an old Presbyterian church with an elderly couple hanging a sign out front. I felt I should stop and so I did. We clicked instantly and they tracked me down interviewing others to invite me to spend the night. Even though I was hoping to be on the road that night, I decided this was a cool opportunity so I did. We spent hours chatting, laughing, sharing stories, and discussing problems in society. They even packed me a lunch with delicious southern food for my long day of driving.

My next stop was Tennessee--the most redneck state I have been to yet. I'll explain in the next entry. It's been pretty impossible to update with no outlets or internet access. I will update more regularly as I think I will have more internet access soon.