Ignorance Skinned

One of the most amusing things about living in the hills of Western North Carolina was the peoples language. The mountain slang that one learns almost by osmosis is funny, ignores most rules of grammer, but communicates thoughts very well.

On certain occasions, some of my country folk would try to sound more sophisticated and educated than they were and it usually did not end well. Two stories are forever burned into my memory that Illustrate this point. A woman who lived near Marshall, N.C. was approached one day by the new preacher who said to her, “Miss Martha, I saw you in town yesterday. You were in the pickup and passed while I was parked by the court house. I blew my horn but I guess you didn’t hear me or didn’t know it was me”. Her response was, “Well, I’ll say! If Id’a knowd it wus you I’da retched out ‘n woven atchie”.

Then once I was listening to “Swap ‘n Shop” on WGGI a.m. radio from Gaffnie, South Carolina. Folks would call in to the show’s host Uncle Bud and tell him what they wanted to sell, how much, and give their phone number. One morning a lady called and Uncle Bud asked “What are folks doing this moring over in Spindale”. The lady replied “Oh, we’re just sitting here on the back porch having our morning coffee and eating some Fig “Newtings”. She obviously wanted to sound rather dignified on the radio.

A preacher freind of mine called these kinds of snafus as “skinning your ignorance”. I agree, it leaves you pretty naked for the world to see your lack of education.

Royce