Oh, Sean! You do entertain your readers with these Q and A articles. This one was a continuing conversation, which made it a Sean special! When I heard "Bless your heart" back in the dark ages before the internet, mostly it was meant sincerely, I thought at the time. Maybe I was missing something! Another good Southernism is Y'all. I've had to explain to so many Yankees that Y'all is always plural, never singular. That's the grammar nerd in me. Y'all is You all, shortened. All is never singular. HAHAHAHA. Did you see what I just wrote? in that sentence all IS singular, because it's a single word, but just to confuse you: You all includes all of you all, making it plural. Sometimes grammar nerds explain themselves into corners, I do believe. Bless my heart!
I grew up with the word "majawell" which makes no sense unless you know it means "might as well." Don't know if it's regional; Mom was from Appalachia TN.
Now, I heard a story about south WV miners were getting beat up for trying to set up a union. It got so bad, that the Union miners from north WV decided to help the kin folk in the south. They marched to south WV wearing red kerchiefs to symbolize the blood that was shed fighting the mine owners. The southern miners saw them kin folk a commin, looked at one another and said," Here come the red necks" and probably "Bless their heart".
Ve-er-r-y interesting. I had never heard that story. We always thought "Redneck" referred to our southern exposure to the sun from workin' on the farm all day long and not having sense enough to protect our skin.
Bless your heart is a response meant to give comfort to someone who has just regaled you with their story of woe. Bless your heart is meant to be a verbal hug. Whoever says it is likely going to straight home and pray for you. They are going to add your name to the prayer list at church. Bless your heart is commiseration and encouragement.
Here’s another way it can be used positively. Let’s say someone derides or insults you. You take a deep breath and offer what may be at first a half hearted byh. This rather than returning ugly because the Lord says to pray for your enemies. A miraculous thing occurs, the bitterness leaves (sometimes slowly) and grace takes its place. All because you didn’t retaliate and instead wished them well. It pays to be obedient, a clear conscience is a beautiful thing.
We can probably credit the entertainment world for turning the phrase wayward, into an insult that conveys condescension. It can be translated sarcastically as ‘great job, stupid’ where utterer thinks, I am superior and you are pathetic and stupid.
We are called to be salt but not salt in a wound. Acts 18: Don't kick a man when he's down.
You triggered me again, Sean. I guess it wasn’t hard with such wide ranging topics featured in your column today. Your comments on traffic though brought my Good Sweet Mom to mind:
Christmas Day 1950, Mom and Dad tied the knot and headed out of town for a short honeymoon so as to maximize days off before school started again. Dad had been around the world in the US Marines, and was a professionally trained driver of various amphibious and land vehicles. Mom had never left middle Tennessee and didn’t have a driver’s license. Her grandmother drove like the hounds of hell were after her, so Mom was very skittish in moving vehicles. She preferred to walk.
Dad took his child bride to Atlanta for their honeymoon. Everything was dreamy and wonderful until they hit the outskirts of Atlanta. The lane changes, the people changing lanes for no apparent reason, the construction, the thing where you are driving along minding your own business and are suddenly in an exit only lane to a road you don’t want. Dad was at 10 and 2, focused on the task.
As they exited towards their hotel, Dad relaxed and glanced at his bride. She was pale and obviously shaken. He patted her and she felt like cold marble - scared silly. She whispered, “So. Much. Traffic!”
Years later, my sister and I were around 7 and 8. We were heading south from our home in Cincinnati to a Florida adventure where we had people we hadn’t seen in a long time. As we approached Atlanta, Mom got visibly agitated. Dad assured her that all those years later, they must’ve finished the improvements. She was dubious, but her nervousness made us shut up.
Dad was at 10 an 2, totally focused. Cars were speeding around us and I thought Dad was going plenty fast enough. People were changing lanes like crazy and even Dad would suddenly change lanes when the exit only signs indicated he must. Drivers were not friendly. They honked, flashed their lights while about 2” behind our car, waved unfriendly hand signals out their open windows as they passed us, sometimes yelling unwelcoming greetings. Dad was white-knuckled, Mom was catatonic, we sat quietly and held on for dear life.
As we got to the south side, traffic eased. Dad loosened his grip on the wheel and stretched his neck and shoulders a bit. He reached over and patted Mom and asked after her wellness. She said breathily, “It’s still the same. So. Much. Traffic.” We all stayed quiet until we passed the “Welcome to the Sunshine State” sign. Whew.
Living here for over 30 years, I’m here to testify, traffic in Atlanta hasn’t changed. So. Much. Traffic.
Exactly!! I haven't heard hounds from hell in years!! I LOL on that & your mother's state!! Very funny read. Truly enjoyed all the way to the end. BTW I hate driving Atlanta.
You are so right!! My son used to live in Miami and I was a nervous wreck by the time I got there. He’s in Jax now, closer to ‘home’, but the construction has been going on there since my first memories of trips to Disney decades ago!
When making our annual drive to Florida from Colorado, we will add 2 hours to our 2100 mile drive to make sure we do not go thru Atlanta getting there.
This was the first story I've read by you. I can relate to everything you mentioned. Grew up in the South, lived in FL 12 years but went West. Now I'm in Utah. California moved to Utah. It's being ruined by tourism and greed... But what's one to do? I think I like you.
Well, buckle your seatbelt, Robin! You’re in for an emotional ride of laughter and tears along the way. If you think you LIKE Sean now, you’ll soon see why more than 120,000 readers of his posts, not including his books (old estimate back in 2018) LOVE him❣️
SO LOVED THIS LETTER TO US!! AS AN ALABAMA LADY living in a foreign state (Louisiana) I thank you for all your words.. Please keep writing ... & Keep Rolling with the Tide!!
I need a “bless your pea pickin heart”. As a grandfather, I recently visited McDonald’s with my five year old granddaughter for ice cream. I was traumatized when she told me that she needed to pee. I had no backup.
What did you do, Ed?! They need a family bathroom! When my son was that age, I took him to the “ladies” room when we were out. A friend who had a daughter told me she disapproved. There was no way I was sending him into the men’s room alone! Years later, the friend had a boy and told me she understood…
Either room would have probably been okay. But I opted for us to go into the ladies room probably for the same reason that you took your son there. 🫣 It turned out to be an entertaining experience for the lady occupying the adjacent stall and my wife when I told her about it. 🙃 “The things we do for love!” ❤️
Pone, I was thinking bout yor piture of the mic at the Grand Ole Oprey. Congrats at another go at it! Thought up a few words of encouragement: "Spread your wings and pluck dem strings!" Ain't often when da whole crowd guts to see an angel, "Country Style!"
Ever since I first began reading your column, Sean, I have thought that you “borrowed” your title from Walt Disney. I grew up with stories of Uncle Remus and his friends Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and all the rest of them. And I saw the Disney movie “Song of the South” (1946) a few times, before it was appropriately declared controversially racist and stereotypical, and thus permanently buried in the Disney vault.
I share this to say that as a fan of the “Alabama” American country music band (1969), their country song with the same title, honors the resilience of the American farmer during the Great Depression.
Thank your readers for reminding me that the the “Alabama” Band got it right…”there ain’t nobody lookin’ back again.”
Dear Sean,I grew up in Springfield Ohio. You're a mess. That translates to I love your sense of humor and your vision, ,where I'm from.Cant thank you enough for an early morning laugh or ten!!!
Oh, Sean! You do entertain your readers with these Q and A articles. This one was a continuing conversation, which made it a Sean special! When I heard "Bless your heart" back in the dark ages before the internet, mostly it was meant sincerely, I thought at the time. Maybe I was missing something! Another good Southernism is Y'all. I've had to explain to so many Yankees that Y'all is always plural, never singular. That's the grammar nerd in me. Y'all is You all, shortened. All is never singular. HAHAHAHA. Did you see what I just wrote? in that sentence all IS singular, because it's a single word, but just to confuse you: You all includes all of you all, making it plural. Sometimes grammar nerds explain themselves into corners, I do believe. Bless my heart!
Or as Tennesse Ernie Ford used to say/sing, "Bless yore pea-pickin' heart!"
...and "Y'all's" is a very useful Possessive Plural form of the word. (I use it "A Right Smart," MAM.)
& hearts of Y'all!
I grew up with the word "majawell" which makes no sense unless you know it means "might as well." Don't know if it's regional; Mom was from Appalachia TN.
In redneck North Alabama where I grew up, we say "mightswell."
Now, I heard a story about south WV miners were getting beat up for trying to set up a union. It got so bad, that the Union miners from north WV decided to help the kin folk in the south. They marched to south WV wearing red kerchiefs to symbolize the blood that was shed fighting the mine owners. The southern miners saw them kin folk a commin, looked at one another and said," Here come the red necks" and probably "Bless their heart".
Ve-er-r-y interesting. I had never heard that story. We always thought "Redneck" referred to our southern exposure to the sun from workin' on the farm all day long and not having sense enough to protect our skin.
Bless your heart is a response meant to give comfort to someone who has just regaled you with their story of woe. Bless your heart is meant to be a verbal hug. Whoever says it is likely going to straight home and pray for you. They are going to add your name to the prayer list at church. Bless your heart is commiseration and encouragement.
Here’s another way it can be used positively. Let’s say someone derides or insults you. You take a deep breath and offer what may be at first a half hearted byh. This rather than returning ugly because the Lord says to pray for your enemies. A miraculous thing occurs, the bitterness leaves (sometimes slowly) and grace takes its place. All because you didn’t retaliate and instead wished them well. It pays to be obedient, a clear conscience is a beautiful thing.
We can probably credit the entertainment world for turning the phrase wayward, into an insult that conveys condescension. It can be translated sarcastically as ‘great job, stupid’ where utterer thinks, I am superior and you are pathetic and stupid.
We are called to be salt but not salt in a wound. Acts 18: Don't kick a man when he's down.
❤️ how thought filled and generous you think, Dolores
Amen
You triggered me again, Sean. I guess it wasn’t hard with such wide ranging topics featured in your column today. Your comments on traffic though brought my Good Sweet Mom to mind:
Christmas Day 1950, Mom and Dad tied the knot and headed out of town for a short honeymoon so as to maximize days off before school started again. Dad had been around the world in the US Marines, and was a professionally trained driver of various amphibious and land vehicles. Mom had never left middle Tennessee and didn’t have a driver’s license. Her grandmother drove like the hounds of hell were after her, so Mom was very skittish in moving vehicles. She preferred to walk.
Dad took his child bride to Atlanta for their honeymoon. Everything was dreamy and wonderful until they hit the outskirts of Atlanta. The lane changes, the people changing lanes for no apparent reason, the construction, the thing where you are driving along minding your own business and are suddenly in an exit only lane to a road you don’t want. Dad was at 10 and 2, focused on the task.
As they exited towards their hotel, Dad relaxed and glanced at his bride. She was pale and obviously shaken. He patted her and she felt like cold marble - scared silly. She whispered, “So. Much. Traffic!”
Years later, my sister and I were around 7 and 8. We were heading south from our home in Cincinnati to a Florida adventure where we had people we hadn’t seen in a long time. As we approached Atlanta, Mom got visibly agitated. Dad assured her that all those years later, they must’ve finished the improvements. She was dubious, but her nervousness made us shut up.
Dad was at 10 an 2, totally focused. Cars were speeding around us and I thought Dad was going plenty fast enough. People were changing lanes like crazy and even Dad would suddenly change lanes when the exit only signs indicated he must. Drivers were not friendly. They honked, flashed their lights while about 2” behind our car, waved unfriendly hand signals out their open windows as they passed us, sometimes yelling unwelcoming greetings. Dad was white-knuckled, Mom was catatonic, we sat quietly and held on for dear life.
As we got to the south side, traffic eased. Dad loosened his grip on the wheel and stretched his neck and shoulders a bit. He reached over and patted Mom and asked after her wellness. She said breathily, “It’s still the same. So. Much. Traffic.” We all stayed quiet until we passed the “Welcome to the Sunshine State” sign. Whew.
Living here for over 30 years, I’m here to testify, traffic in Atlanta hasn’t changed. So. Much. Traffic.
Becky…loved the story of your mom & dad! 🤣
Your poor mom …”catatonic “~ oh my!!
To add to it, there were no seatbelts back then so you were holding on
to anything in the car for dear life as the crazy driving continued!
Exactly!! I haven't heard hounds from hell in years!! I LOL on that & your mother's state!! Very funny read. Truly enjoyed all the way to the end. BTW I hate driving Atlanta.
Thanks Sean, I’m glad you still get Angel stories and I hope they never stop coming…..
His angel stories always warm me and give me assurances that life is greater than I see. We need signs of faith and The Creator's love right now.
If there is a coincidence in your life maybe you " sometimes I just look up, Smile and Say. I know that was you God !!! THANK YOU !!"
And just maybe it was an Angel !
Bless your heart, and I mean that sincerely!!
And, the highways in Florida will never not be under construction!🤪
Especially in Jax. We have the same situation in Macon.
You are so right!! My son used to live in Miami and I was a nervous wreck by the time I got there. He’s in Jax now, closer to ‘home’, but the construction has been going on there since my first memories of trips to Disney decades ago!
When making our annual drive to Florida from Colorado, we will add 2 hours to our 2100 mile drive to make sure we do not go thru Atlanta getting there.
Sean ~ you are pure genius & you make my day everyday!
Angels have saved me many times over …
Bless Your Heart from my heart ❤️❤️❤️
Doesn't matter where you're from or where you've been, Sean, I love your column.
This was the first story I've read by you. I can relate to everything you mentioned. Grew up in the South, lived in FL 12 years but went West. Now I'm in Utah. California moved to Utah. It's being ruined by tourism and greed... But what's one to do? I think I like you.
Well, buckle your seatbelt, Robin! You’re in for an emotional ride of laughter and tears along the way. If you think you LIKE Sean now, you’ll soon see why more than 120,000 readers of his posts, not including his books (old estimate back in 2018) LOVE him❣️
SO LOVED THIS LETTER TO US!! AS AN ALABAMA LADY living in a foreign state (Louisiana) I thank you for all your words.. Please keep writing ... & Keep Rolling with the Tide!!
Go Noles
❤️💕
I need a “bless your pea pickin heart”. As a grandfather, I recently visited McDonald’s with my five year old granddaughter for ice cream. I was traumatized when she told me that she needed to pee. I had no backup.
What did you do, Ed?! They need a family bathroom! When my son was that age, I took him to the “ladies” room when we were out. A friend who had a daughter told me she disapproved. There was no way I was sending him into the men’s room alone! Years later, the friend had a boy and told me she understood…
Either room would have probably been okay. But I opted for us to go into the ladies room probably for the same reason that you took your son there. 🫣 It turned out to be an entertaining experience for the lady occupying the adjacent stall and my wife when I told her about it. 🙃 “The things we do for love!” ❤️
😂😂😂😂😂💕
Pone, I was thinking bout yor piture of the mic at the Grand Ole Oprey. Congrats at another go at it! Thought up a few words of encouragement: "Spread your wings and pluck dem strings!" Ain't often when da whole crowd guts to see an angel, "Country Style!"
Yor friend,
Pubert Earle
Ever since I first began reading your column, Sean, I have thought that you “borrowed” your title from Walt Disney. I grew up with stories of Uncle Remus and his friends Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Brer Bear, and all the rest of them. And I saw the Disney movie “Song of the South” (1946) a few times, before it was appropriately declared controversially racist and stereotypical, and thus permanently buried in the Disney vault.
I share this to say that as a fan of the “Alabama” American country music band (1969), their country song with the same title, honors the resilience of the American farmer during the Great Depression.
Thank your readers for reminding me that the the “Alabama” Band got it right…”there ain’t nobody lookin’ back again.”
Dear Sean,I grew up in Springfield Ohio. You're a mess. That translates to I love your sense of humor and your vision, ,where I'm from.Cant thank you enough for an early morning laugh or ten!!!
God bless you and family. 🙏❣️😄