Yes, I'm from the South

Yesterday I had 2 experiences which pointed out very clearly to me how Southern I can be. As I was racing upstairs to meet with Lora (fabulous Lora who keeps the Art part of our publications on track) with the latest yarn crisis, I got a little out of breath. I rushed into her cubby with a layout and lost my balance just a little. I leaned a little then corrected it and said, "Oh, I'm about to tump over." I believe that Lora has asked us, the ones from around here, about "tump" before. She did give me a long look and said, "Did you just say 'tump'?" She's from Iowa. Apparently they don't tump there.

tump1 (tŭmp)
v. Chiefly Southern U.S., tumped, tump·ing, tumps.
v.tr.
To overturn. Often used with over: You're about to tump that thing over.
v.intr.
To fall over. Often used with over: Is that wheelbarrow going to tump over?

Then last night I was sitting in an endless drive-thru line because I can only do so many leftovers, and the lady in the speaker box was a total professional. She repeated your order back to you so loudly that your ears were ringing afterwards. I'd already had my turn and was inching forward to pick it up. Since she was so loud, I could hear the orders behind me to...not the orders themselves, but her repitition. She must have misunderstood and been corrected because she shouted, "Oh, I have one too many gray hairs and I can't hear as good as I useta could." Now, I've been known to drop in a little "fixin' to" but "useta could" takes a little effort. Still, I do admire her use.

Then I moved on to pondering the need for a 24-hour firework stand right next door. And then that reminded me of the sign I see daily driving in to work. It's a cardboard sign, hand-written, taped over another sign. It says "Fill Dirt", followed by a phone number. Then under that and carefully underlined to draw maximum attention, "We shell peas." The first day I saw it, I laughed to myself because I just knew I had misread that sign. But, no, it really does say that. Do you think there are a lot of people, even where I live, with unshelled peas looking for a place to take them?