Defining a Southern Girl is as easy or tricky as y’all want it to be. Technically, a Southerner is any denizen below the Mason Dixon line. Where it gets complicated is attributing all the lovely qualities that make a Southern girl the best in the world.
Amos Lee does a fantastic job in his song “Southern Girl”. He doesn’t go into specifics, but when he sings the chorus we all feel his emotions — love, adoration, and humility — in the presence of his lady.
If you try to search “southern girl definition” in Google, you’ll get results from Urban Dictionary which appear to have been written by a Carolinian. There’s references to qualities inherent in Carolina girls, but these few sentences are ubiquitous for all ladies in waiting:
“Southern hospitality runs in the family. Southern households are the most generous of them all, which makes Southern girls, the sweetest.” Amos Lee, would you agree?
“Somethin’ about a Southern Girl, makes me feel right. In a Mississippi morning she’s an angel in flight.” At PrettySouthern, we believe all states below the Mason Dixon line are created equal. What state are you from, dear reader, and what do you love most about Southern girls?
—Editor’s note: photo contributed by our favorite Florida girl, Heather McCole Williams. To view more of her art or book her for photographic work, check out Heather’s blog or their Facebook page.
My mother called me a bird. Last December, 18 days after I graduated college, I flew south for winter to sweaty Santiago, Chile, where the seasons are reversed and summer was just beginning.
But warm weather wasn’t the purpose of my journey. It’s winter now (in late June) and thankfully my intentions and ideas have panned out. I’ve worked a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language)- certified English teacher for almost six months now, and my Spanish skills have finally progressed beyond speaking in the present tense.
The actual distance is the strangest thing. There are times I’ve stood on the coast, with my ankles in the freezing Pacific Ocean, staring up and imagining where I am, envisioning myself as a dot on globe, almost 5,000 miles away from home. Like many Southerners, my friends are also my family and detaching myself from them was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. How the inventors of Skype haven’t won a Nobel prize is beyond me as it is the best invention of the 21st century.
But rarely do I feel lonely. I was thrilled to discover that Chileans believe in the same Southern hospitality we’re accustomed to back home. It is quite common to meet someone at a bar one night then have them invite you over for dinner the next. Encounters on the street don’t stop at, “Hi, How are you?” but “Where are you going? And, how is your mother?” Every taxi driver, server, bank teller and grocery-store check out girl is fascinated with my reasons for coming here. They are also incredibly eager to use any knowledge of English that they have. Either that, or my Spanish is so bad that they’re choosing to use English.
Chile is 70 percent Roman Catholic and colorful reminders line the sidewalks and corners of the beautiful ancient churches in Santiago.
Chile’s enterprises have a great need for learning English to further interactions with the U.S. and the U.K. This is why teaching English is such a lucrative opportunity. However, everyday citizens have very little need, so knowing and using Spanish is much more of a necessity than I imagined. This demand alone has improved my vocabulary, but I’ve had just as many slip ups as success stories.
One night, a Chilean acquaintance invited my boyfriend and I over for dinner at his apartment. He has one of the most incredible views in the city – endless urban lights, surrounded by the Andes mountains – so, language insecurities aside, we accepted the invitation. As the evening progressed, several more of their Chilean friends arrived, and with them, bottles of Cabernet and Carmenere, Chile’s vino specialties. At one point, I dropped my wine glass, spilling the wine and breaking the glass.
In an attempt to apologize to our neighbor, I stood up and said, in Spanish, “I am so embarrassed.” Well it turns out, the word for “embarrassed” (embarazoso) and “preganant” (embarazada) are extremely similar. So I actually said, “I am so pregnant.” Without a beat, and in perfect English, one of their friends replied, “Well, then you shouldn’t be drinking!”
Yes, it was a laugh at my expense. But it was also one of my favorite memories of this trip so far. Join me as I attempt to put into words my experience of living in Chile’s southernmost nation as a girl from the South. I’ve already taught several of my students how to use “y’all”, and I’m not stopping there.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://prettysouthern.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ChelseaCook.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Chelsea Cook is a journalist from Atlanta teaching English in Santiago, Chile. Check back each week to PrettySouthern for more of Chelsea’s adventures South of the Equator.[/author_info] [/author]
Southerners are proud of their roots spanning back through eons. For Alan Stout, a native Southern gentleman, he’s translated his love of history into collecting and selling fossils. In Stout’s personal collection he also has multiple skulls belonging to Sabre tooth cats (though these are not for sale).
Stout is most well-known for triceratops horns. He’s sold around 10 this year going for about $3,000. Another item in his collection was the tusk of a wooly mammoth, for $4,500. “It’s a perfect piece, all solid ivory,” he said. “It’s really nice. It even has the normal wooly mammoth shape.” He’s also got claws from the T-Rex, Raptor and other prehistoric predators. If you’re in the market for other collectible, check out Stout’s assortment of dino eggs, fossilized fish, and massive teeth.
A tooth from the Megalodon shark, the largest fish in history!
Stout said he can distinguish fossils from ordinary rocks because they’re typically lighter (although they’re heavier the more mineralized they are) and rocks tend to be more rounded. There are many who come to these areas with ar 15 parts and accessories to ensure their safety from harms way. He obtains most of his dinosaur bones by traveling out west and buying from fossil hunters. He also had a whole Keichousaurus hui, an extinct aquatic reptile from Central Asia. Thankfully he has a friend in Washington state who imports them, so Stout didn’t have to trek across the globe.
About 70 percent of Stout’s business is done abroad, with 30 percent done in the United States. Yet with all his worldly knowledge, Stout declares the South as his home and he has a deep, abiding love for the region.
“The South means beautiful countryside, nice people who are [laid] back and warm,” he said. “They have a sense of purpose and have strong religious beliefs.”
For more information, check out Stout’s web site. He’s happy to speak with potential buyers regarding his fantastic fossils.
Alan Stout, the gentleman of fossils himself, on a trip to Charleston.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://prettysouthern.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/MattQuinn.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Matthew Quinn graduated from the University of Georgia in 2007. After nearly four years reporting for The Griffin Daily News, he became editor of The Johns Creek Herald in North Fulton. He is a published writer of science fiction, fantasy, and horror and blogs at www.accordingtoquinn.com.[/author_info] [/author]
Y’all may have heard this one before, especially if you like to shag. If not, meet “Carolina Girls” by General Johnson and the Chairmen of the Board.
Norman Johnson (a Southerner born in Virginia who died last year in Atlanta) teamed up in 1978, with Danny Woods and Ken Knox under the name General Johnson and the Chairmen of the Board.
In 1980, the new Chairmen founded Surfside Records, for which the group still records out of Charlotte, N.C.. In 1980, “Carolina Girls” was released and became one of the most popular songs to shag to across the Carolinas.
In an interview, Danny Woods of Chairman of the Board was asked if “Carolina girls really are the best? He replied:
“You know when I first came here (The Carolinas) there was no style. You know you had the New York girls, California girls and they all got the attention. Even songs about them. And that just made Carolina girls feel like nothing but there’s quite a difference between Carolina girls now and then. Their self esteem just magnified after that song.”
It’s the all-time favorite Carolina beach song. If you’re hittin’ the road to the beach this summer, be sure to include it on your playlist. Here at PrettySouthern, we believe all Southern girls are the best in the world, regardless of their home state. Today, this one’s for the Carolina Girls.
“Sweet Southern pearls! Sure look tough, girl I can’t get enough!”
Happy shagging!
—Editor’s note: photo contributed by our favorite Florida girl, Heather McCole Williams. To view more of her art or book her for photographic work, check out Heather’s blog or their Facebook page to check out what’s happening at their sweet shop.
From their album “Eat A Peach” the Allman Brothers most recognizable song is arguably “Melissa”. Who was Melissa you may ask? Gregg Allman gave the history of this song’s origin to the San Luis Obispo Tribune on Nov. 30, 2006:
“I wrote that song in 1967 in a place called the Evergreen Hotel in Pensacola, Fla. By that time I got so sick of playing other people’s material that I just sat down and said, ‘OK, here we go. One, two, three – we’re going to try to write songs.’ And about 200 songs later – much garbage to take out – I wrote this song called ‘Melissa.’
“And I had everything but the title…So one night I was in the grocery store – it was my turn to go get the tea, the coffee, the sugar and all that other s–t… and there was this Spanish lady there and she had this little toddler with her – this little girl. And I’m sitting there, getting a few things and what have you. And this little girl takes off, running down the aisle. And the lady yells, Oh, Melissa! Melissa, come back, Melissa!’ And I went, ‘Oh – that’s it’!”
No, the song is not “Sweet Melissa” it’s just “Melissa.”
Did y’all know Melissa is also a flower? It’s found in the U.K. (botanical Name Melissa officianalis) and the essence of oil in this flower can be used to mist your skin replenishing its moisture and restoring its healthy glow. Seems like Melissa did the same for this Allman brother.
Now let, say it once all together y’all… “Awww! How cute!”
Meet 1/2 Pint the Pup. At only two months old, he was hand picked to be our first Pretty Southern Puppy!
Every Friday, we’ll be featuring a puppy available for adoption at the Atlanta Humane Society. We’re so excited to be working with our first philanthropic organization to help promote their adorable pets looking for owners.
This super cute hound/retriever is marvelous mutt is ready for his new home. Deborah at the Atlanta Humane Society says this one is so well behaved.
On his trip to visit the folks at CBS this past week, 1/2 Pint was such a good boy! He was so chill and just enjoyed his field trip (and tv appearance)! This little pup is just a baby and will need a loving family to train him in all the doggy dog ways.
If y’all know anyone looking for a great puppy, please send over this link. His adoption fee is only $150 and (for reference) his animal ID #13383466. For more information, please call the AHS at (404) 875-5331 or visit http://www.atlantahumane.org/
