Yeah, the table-turning was a real, uhm, highlight of my time in Boston. Whew! What was strange, though, was that most of the restaurant didn't even bother turning to look. Maybe at most, they registered the movement and made sure they weren't in the way, but that was about it. Another couple over on the other side, I recall, had the same cringing worried reaction as us, and we gave each other pained smiles -- "I'm not seeing this, you aren't either, right?" -- and I bet they were of similar background as us... because no one else even really blinked.
More common was just two people getting into a heated argument just about anywhere: the parking lot, in the grocery store, on the sidewalk in front of us, on the T, at the bus stop. Honestly, arguing anywhere, and in front of kids. I know full well that couples argue -- it's part of being a couple, and being an adult -- but do I really have to stand here and listen to it? Cripes.
A lot of places have the born-and-bred attitude; I was told the same thing about Rhode Island, except there most people didn't consider you a true Rhode Islander unless you'd been there at least four generations. I'm not sure the South is quite that adamant (except for maybe the Old Money parts, like the Delta or Savannah or Old Charleston, but I done my best to avoid hobnobing with that type, anyway), but still, there's usually a requirement that your parents have been raised in a place for the child to be "from" there.
Curiously, that "from" remains (ie, being from Georgia or from Vermont) even if you then spend your whole life elsewhere. At least, in the Southern perspective, that has potential to be true. One can be, say, a Oregonian, but "from" Alabama if your parents both grew up in Alabama and that's where most of your family is. If you'd spent any part of your childhood there, then you're an Alabaman, because of those family ties.
Everybody may know everybody's business in a small town, but all the same you keep your private business to yourself.
The strange thing is that Southerners seem to make great storytellers, so private business is an almost unbearable temptation. Just think of all the stories behind those doors, waiting to be told! Ehehehe.
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Date: 14 Jan 2011 04:13 pm (UTC)More common was just two people getting into a heated argument just about anywhere: the parking lot, in the grocery store, on the sidewalk in front of us, on the T, at the bus stop. Honestly, arguing anywhere, and in front of kids. I know full well that couples argue -- it's part of being a couple, and being an adult -- but do I really have to stand here and listen to it? Cripes.
A lot of places have the born-and-bred attitude; I was told the same thing about Rhode Island, except there most people didn't consider you a true Rhode Islander unless you'd been there at least four generations. I'm not sure the South is quite that adamant (except for maybe the Old Money parts, like the Delta or Savannah or Old Charleston, but I done my best to avoid hobnobing with that type, anyway), but still, there's usually a requirement that your parents have been raised in a place for the child to be "from" there.
Curiously, that "from" remains (ie, being from Georgia or from Vermont) even if you then spend your whole life elsewhere. At least, in the Southern perspective, that has potential to be true. One can be, say, a Oregonian, but "from" Alabama if your parents both grew up in Alabama and that's where most of your family is. If you'd spent any part of your childhood there, then you're an Alabaman, because of those family ties.
Everybody may know everybody's business in a small town, but all the same you keep your private business to yourself.
The strange thing is that Southerners seem to make great storytellers, so private business is an almost unbearable temptation. Just think of all the stories behind those doors, waiting to be told! Ehehehe.