strange american regionalism
let it be heard throughout the everglades, the keys, panhandle and just about everywhere short of jaxonville (used to be the smell, now it’s the staggering murder-death-kill initiative (n. demo man, re: three seashells/wesley snipes blonde)) that i am a florida boy, born and raised. driving around, i’m always distracted by people’s license plates just to see where they’re coming from or going back to.
it made me think about how a person is judged depending on where they may be from in a specific state, though it’s a trio of states that i can think of at large:
california
*the stereotypes are that southern californians are the la, malibu, san diego set where everyone is a beach goer, potentially plasticky, has a script ready or a development deal in the works and may or may not be classified as having some kind of developmental or learning impediment (n. theo huxtable). these aren’t 100% true.
*for the no-cal residents, they’re all of the san francisco/humboldt variety freaks, hippies, counter-culture, gay, set trying to force granola down you’re throat. not true and i can’t believe that people don’t even think about oakland being right next door and gully enough to be shouted out by mr. dre, mr. nwa, better make way.
new york
*nyc – too many to list, but everyone has a laundry list of them at hand. many culled from real life experience, some from episodes of seinfeld or welcome back kotter, and the rest secondhand accounts from relatives who couldn’t believe how rude/nice the locals were, how big/scary it was and how much colonic excitement from street foods.
*everywhere else in new york state is either sleepy hollow territory or some kind of strange accented people that seem like an outpost of maine.
florida
*orlando to the coasts and south are the beaches, disney, miami vice. this is tourist land (please take heart to refrain from clouding my commute) and these are the things that instantly come to mind when thinking about florida. blue haired old ladies (i spotted one in cheesecake that just came out the salon that was orange and shaped like the water buffalo lodge helmet.
(hatsinthebelfrey.com)
*anywhere else is “it’s close to georgia” and that makes you part of the south-south. kinda odd that we have our own mason-dixon line running just about at gainesville and even stranger how many places right near major cities are counnnnnnnnnnnntry.