Being from Saint Louis, there are around 330,000 people in the area. There is hardly anything relaxing about it. I love being from a place that is always bustling with people and full of things to do, but sometimes it's great to get away from the stress of living in such a big city. My mom is from Alabama, and the majority of her family still resides in Troy and Goshen, Ala. Troy has around 16,000 people in their town, and Goshen has around 250. Basically, everyone knows everyone, especially in certain parts of town. Here are some things I've come to love through my summers spent growing up in these small towns.
1. You have to drive 15 minutes, or more, to get to a grocery store or clothing store.
You would think this would be an awful thing, but as a kid, getting to go to Walmart to pick out a toy or coloring book was a privilege. I would look forward to making the trip into the more populated area of town, and all the scenery you got to see to get there. It made being well behaved that much more worth it to get to go to town.
2. The majority of people live on a red dirt road.
Most people who live in big cities would probably hate this. Yes, the cars get dirty easier and there aren't any lanes to follow, but there is never any traffic, and people are so polite that they wave as you drive by, even if they really don't know who you are. My great grandma's neighbor's dogs just roam around all over and love chasing the cars as they drive by. It's just a whole different feel from a subdivision.
3. It's not weird to have a farming area take up half your land or horses grazing right outside your kitchen window.
There is nothing like waking up to some spicy sausages and biscuits buttered and smothered in Golden Eagle syrup while watching the horses play around in the field through the screen door. You would never see this where I live, and it is definitely a nice change in scenery. Also, whenever it comes time for the peas to be picked and shelled, I would be the first one as a kid to have my bucket filled to the brim trying to beat the rest of my family at shelling them.
4. Friday night lights are a real thing.
Everyone at my high school loved football and cheering on our team, but those Friday nights down south spent at the football field are as important as attending church on Sundays. Everyone in town makes their way down to the local high school to watch the young boys take the field against their rival. When I was younger, my grandpa and Uncle Johnny took me and my cousins to a game with them, and you couldn't even sit down because it was so crowded. It was just a normal Friday night, too -- nothing special. We stood the whole time, and even talked our granpdas into getting us some hot chocolate!
5. As a kid, you got used to the saying, "Bless your heart."
I was a pretty clumsy kid, and my cousins and I loved to play around outside. Like many southern houses, they are built on top of brick poles and they don't have basements. Us crazy kids would find so much joy (for some weird reason I don't understand now) in jumping off of the raised porch. Many cuts and bruises were cleaned and bandaged, but that was our version of cliff diving. Or, at least, we'll put it that way.
6. All the older men in town know where the best breakfast is served.
In Goshen, it was the Eagles Nest convenience store by the Farmer's Co-Op. I would beg my grandpa to take me in there to hang out with him and all his friends because they were the funniest people, ever. And since they served breakfast in a convenience store, I got to get candy whenever I went; I learned this quickly.
7. “Ya'll" and “fixin' to" are real -- very real.
Who wants to take the time to say “you all" or “getting ready to." These phrases let you do that in just a few seconds. If I said these phrases in St. Louis, people would probably look at me weird.
8. College football is a way of life.
Everyone loves a good NFL football game, but down South, college football takes the cake.
9. The houses are beautiful.
10. People park on the side of the highway when it snows.
My cousin, who is a sophomore in high school, has only seen snow once in her life. She was lucky enough to be able to stay in her yard to play in it.
11. Grits are dang good.
Most people would probably hate grits if they've ever tried them, but if you grew up eatin' them, you're almost guaranteed to like them.
12. When you get older and don't get to visit as much, your cousins who live 11 hours away from you are kinda like your pen pals.
Only our messages are usually over text, not paper and pen. It's a bit more convenient that way!
13. To get to a decent mall, it's about an hour's drive away.
And if you're a girl, that's a trip you must be willing to take, but I can assure you it will be worth it.
14. You have to watch where you sit in the grass because you could get eaten up by ants if you sit on their ant hill.
It's not fun, but thank goodness there are beautiful porches and rocking chairs for us to sit and relax on, instead.
15. If you have a name that is similar to another, like Taylor... you might have to start getting used to being called "Tyler" because of the southern accent.
But let's be honest, we all wish we had the accent.
16. You're about two to three hours, at the most, from some of the prettiest beaches.
What's not to love about that?
17. All of the fruits and veggies you eat are right out of the garden.
When my mom was growing up, some of her favorite memories were of her and her brother picking the corn and tomatoes out of the garden while her mom was fixin' dinner. You could also walk down the road picking and eating blackberries right off the bush.
18. Nothing was more fun than getting to ride around in the bed of the truck.
And what's even better about it is that it's legal there.
19. Roads will be named after your family and other families who live by you.
Back in the day, roads were named after the people who lived on them.
20. The food is better than anything you've ever tasted before.
The old family recipes and secrets to spices and seasonings have been passed down through many generations.
21. If you're saying "yes" or "no" to someone, the words "ma'm" or "sir," better be following it.
22. Looking for a Christmas tree involved going through your land, looking for the prettiest and tallest tree, no matter how many hours it took.
23. Your near death experience involved running through the pasture and jumping the fence to avoid getting trampled by a massive bull with horns.
Needless to say, that adventure didn't happen twice.
24. Whenever the weather gets down to 60 degrees in March, and your cousin thinks he needs to put his snow suit on, you just want to laugh because sometimes it snows on spring break in St. Louis.
25. They've got the good stuff...
26. The old barns and run down trucks parked in them somehow give you a weird sense of nostalgia for days of your childhood gone by.
Some of the best times were spent riding shotgun, or sometimes even attempting to drive that old truck through miles and miles of grassy land.
