Today I referred to myself as a country bumpkin. After doing so, I wondered what a bumpkin really is? The dictionary describes a bumpkin as (noun) an awkward, simple rustic; yokel, the synonyms are clod, boor, hillbilly, hayseed, rube, hick, yahoo. I shouold be more careful of how I describe myself. Although, some things I can be awkward at.. like line dancing or step aerobics, but I am usually pretty graceful as long as I can wear sneakers.
I guess with my age, I can now be considered rustic, but a yokel? Never! I don't even know how to yokel... or is that Yodel? The only time I come close to being a clod is when I'm walking in the mud in my boots, there sometimes are clods of dirt stuck on them. A boor? I try very hard not to be rude, or unmannerly, but sometimes when I speak my mind, some people could misconstrue that as being rude instead of honest. (that's when the truth hurts). I do live in the hills and have lived in the hills for most of my life (minus a few years as a City Slicker in California and Florida), but a billy? Nope, doesn't work for me. A hayseed? Is there really such a thing as a hay seed? (make a note to ask my farmer friend), Isn't hay just long dry grass? wouldn't that be a grass seed then? A rube? I can be sophisticated when I want to be. And a hick? I may live in the country, but we do have schools, churches, roads and indoor plumbing! A yahoo? I have been known to feel like screaming "Yahoo!" when things go my way, but I've never really shouted that. And I don't think I've ever been a brute, or have I???
So I guess I will refrain from referring to myself as a Country Bumpkin from now on. How about "Educated, suburban Nana"? ....works for me!!!!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Brother!(s)
I grew up the youngest child of the family, the only girl with three older brothers.. Yes, I think I grew up pretty tough. I was, and still am, a tomboy. My brothers were very protective of me in High School (too much, most of the time), but teased me incessantly most of my childhood. I remember them telling me Mom got tired of having boys, so she adopted me. They also told me that Mom was out hanging up laundry and saw a fairly nice looking bird turd, brought it in the house and it grew into me. Of course, they also told me that Mom was on the toilet, went poop, thought it looked like a girl poop, scooped it out and that was me! It's no wonder that I grew up with no self confidence!
One Christmas, (it must have been a good year for my Dad), the boys all got this great army gear! They got camouflage, boots, helmets, toy machine guns, the whole 9 yards! I got Barbies.. lots of Barbies, the cases, and Midge and Skipper and Ken! Ton's of clothes... It was a girls dream come true! I was very excited for this was a great haul! However, I was so jealous of my brothers and I really wanted army gear! I knew that I would be left out when spring came and we all got to spend hours outside playing in our woods. I knew that I would be tagging along, with a stick for a gun and no camouflage at all! And.. true to my thoughts.. that's exactly what happened. On the other hand, occasionally, my youngest brother would play Barbies with me but he was always pretty rough with them, making Barbie and Midge fight over Ken, slapping each other, wrestling and one becoming the victor! He loved making Skipper sit in the corner. Ken was always the cool guy.. (Hmmm could it be that he was always cool because his name was the same as my brother?). To my brother, Ken was the hero, he was the good guy, he was the cop, the rescuer, the strong man. He was always saving the other dolls when they crashed their cars, or when they got stuck in the furnace register or got buried in the laundry basket. When he got tired of playing Barbies me, my brother would always make me leave the room and he would play a little while longer with them. When he was done, and I returned to put my dolls away, the dolls were always naked and in odd positions.
My cousin Cinthia just published a book called "Dolls Behaving Badly". It reminded me of this story. I'm wondering if my brothers spirit gave her any ideas, or if it's just something that runs in the family???? I'm sure there will be more chapters on my brothers in the future!
One Christmas, (it must have been a good year for my Dad), the boys all got this great army gear! They got camouflage, boots, helmets, toy machine guns, the whole 9 yards! I got Barbies.. lots of Barbies, the cases, and Midge and Skipper and Ken! Ton's of clothes... It was a girls dream come true! I was very excited for this was a great haul! However, I was so jealous of my brothers and I really wanted army gear! I knew that I would be left out when spring came and we all got to spend hours outside playing in our woods. I knew that I would be tagging along, with a stick for a gun and no camouflage at all! And.. true to my thoughts.. that's exactly what happened. On the other hand, occasionally, my youngest brother would play Barbies with me but he was always pretty rough with them, making Barbie and Midge fight over Ken, slapping each other, wrestling and one becoming the victor! He loved making Skipper sit in the corner. Ken was always the cool guy.. (Hmmm could it be that he was always cool because his name was the same as my brother?). To my brother, Ken was the hero, he was the good guy, he was the cop, the rescuer, the strong man. He was always saving the other dolls when they crashed their cars, or when they got stuck in the furnace register or got buried in the laundry basket. When he got tired of playing Barbies me, my brother would always make me leave the room and he would play a little while longer with them. When he was done, and I returned to put my dolls away, the dolls were always naked and in odd positions.
My cousin Cinthia just published a book called "Dolls Behaving Badly". It reminded me of this story. I'm wondering if my brothers spirit gave her any ideas, or if it's just something that runs in the family???? I'm sure there will be more chapters on my brothers in the future!
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