I am headed home to Alabama for the weekend to spend some going away time with my family.
I have lived in the South thirty two of my thirty seven years, and I think the biggest concern my Mother has about my move to NYC is not the crowds, cost, or crime, it is the northerners.
"New York? Oh, John," she said with that tone of concern after hearing I might move, "I worry.....You know Yankees are just different than you and me."
"I know, Mom. They make millions playing baseball" I retorted.
The first time I lived out of the South was when I worked in Cincinnati after undergrad. During my house-hunting trip, my Mom suggested that I live on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River so that I could say I always lived south of the Mason-Dixon line.
In all seriousness, my whole family has been very supportive in the move, even though I am going further away. My sister-in-law is the most supportive. Mostly, I think, because she is looking forward to years of shopping trips and to getting really good Fifth Avenue Christmas presents.
Besides, the good things about the South --its friendliness, its kindness, and manners --are inside you anyway. Those I learned from my family, and those things I will take with me.
