<p>I think they are too busy chasing down the turkeys.</p>
<p>Or maybe they don't have the internet yet?</p>
<p>(Yes, flame me and prove you are there!)</p>
<p>Or they're too busy going "over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house"... Come on guys, where ARE you?</p>
<p>sgiovinc1-my kids went to the same party only it was in Montecito, ca but you forgot to include the pony ride.
Just when I was beginning to think the whole country was the same I read this thread. I have been missing so much having been born and raised in Ca.
So much different food to try.
Central Coastal Ca.-
Salsa goes on pretty much anything.
You know what a torta is.
You think subway is a sandwich shop
A summer party isn't complete without Santa Maria style BBQ.
You knew what a Ugg was 10 years ago.
Gas at 2.30 seems cheap.
You have only 1 highway.
It takes 15 minutes to get anywhere.
The kids wake up to a stormy rainy morning and ask if school is cancelled.
You know where the egg McMuffin was invented.
You have to spell out your street name to any catalog order person.
After 20 years of residency you are still not considered a local.
You still are going to the beach in November complete with blue sky and dolphins.
Dressed up for a man is putting on his dressy khaki shorts and a polo and "shoes".
Your 2 favorite stores are Saks and Target.
You sign a petition for the city government to bring a Target to town.
Most 16 year olds have a car and have never been on a bus.
You won't hit any deer but you've probably hit a skunk.</p>
<p>another -
You only buy organic but you drive your SUV.</p>
<p>You have fond family memories involving Grunion!</p>
<p>Wasn't gunna post but something in How's Kid doing, as Freshman..got me upset. Cut my comments from there to post on this more appropriate thread.</p>
<p>Live in Cascadia. End of the Oregon Trail. Nice place to visit, but don't stay. Now, everyone Go AWAY. Not joking, either.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong in being the ricksaw driver/streetcleaner/garbage collecter-they got the steady job and the pay is fantastic, with benefits and 15% 401k.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong in being a peachpicker. We as kids and neighbors (whose parents were also middleclass) all picked beans, berries, peaches, cherries. We earned enough $$ to buy what we wanted in middle school, no questions asked. School's principal's wife was the strawboss. It was the damn newcomer-Easterners who thought it was child labor exploitation and changed the system. </p>
<p>Never bought cherries until we were in New Jersey. During cherry season, I still sit on the ladder and search for the most perfect and sweetess cherry. I like the Anns better than Dark cherries. But I first have to find the perfect tree. Do you know that every tree has different flavored fruit. And the fruit on one branch can be very different from the next branch. Never bought beans either. And a little dirt on the strawberry never hurt anyone.</p>
<p>Pick 100# of prunes for drying just so that they don't damage the mover, draw yellow jackets. </p>
<p>Give away 100# of plums so that we can get to the garden without slipping. </p>
<p>You know that you are Cascadia when you just make it to the honey bucket after eating all that fruit.</p>
<p>You go star gazing with 4-700 others in high summer, drive 5 hours one way, and it rains...in the desert, all day & nite.</p>
<p>Where your biggest problem is not feeding the slugs- Best slug killer is a local, stout microbrew called The Terminator. </p>
<p>You can't decide on which coffee in the morning and which microbrew in the evening.</p>
<p>You got problem when the skunks are tilling for worms and grubs. </p>
<p>You also know that you are in Cascadia when the helicopters wake you up a week before Thanksgiving to pick someone elses Xmas trees. </p>
<p>You know that you are Cascadia when Boeing, Intel, Microsoft, coughs-Cascadia goes into a deep economic recession. </p>
<p>You know that ... when the natives (Tribal Indians) enjoy the newer natives for their gambling dollars, and the Newer natives tells everyone how bad it is out here. </p>
<p>Drive 5 hours at 80 mph and still in State. But get off work and it takes 1 hour to go 10 miles. </p>
<p>There are hot springs where clothing is very optional. </p>
<p>Where the vitamin of choice is meth. </p>
<p>You can buy condoms off the shelf but have to ask the pharamacy to get a package of Contact.</p>
<p>You can die quickly with a doctors persciption. Or die slowly without a persciption. </p>
<p>Things don't rust as much because it doesn't rain as much because Red states are burning too much coal. However, things are lusher because of the extra CO2. Which means we have to mow the lawn more often and trim the trees 2x/yr.</p>
<p>Kid can go 2500 miles and get home faster than Easterners can in 300 miles.</p>
<p>Chain saw most widely used tool. </p>
<p>Go Away. I'm really serious.</p>
<p>I'll take responsibility for two lists.....Illinois and Indiana since I grew up on the line between the two. </p>
<p>You know your from Illinois:
You know if someone is from southern, middle or northern Illinois as soon as they open their mouth.
When you say "the city" - you mean Chicago.
You think ethanol makes your truck "run a lot better."
You know what's knee-high by the Fourth of July. Stores don't have bags; they have sacks.
All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, or animal.
You think of the major four food groups as beef, pork, soddie, and Jell-O salad with marshmallows.
You know what "cow tipping" and "snipe hunting" is.
You spent a good deal of your high school nights hanging out at DQ.
"Vacation" means going to Six Flags.
You don't pronounce the "S" in Illinois like the rest of the world.
Whenever anyone mentions going out for steak, the first place you think of is Ponderosa.
You know more than one person with a septic tank.
You pronounce the invisible "R" in the word wash.
Down south to you means Kentucky
You have no problem spelling or pronouncing "Des Plaines"
You think Chicago is a completely different state from Illinois.
You know the answer to the question, "Is this Heaven?"
You know where all the Yoders live
Detassling was your first job
You've ever been on a "Geode Hunt"
Your idea of a really great tenderloin is when the meat is twice as big as the bun and accompanied only by ketchup and a dill pickle slice
You learn your pickup will run without a muffler
When asked how your trip was to any foreign, exotic place, you say, "It was different."
You consider being called a "Pork Queen" an honor
People from other states love to hear you say "Illinois" and other words with "Os" in them.
Your dream vacation is a trip to Rock Home Gardens
You drink "pop." </p>
<p>You know your from Indiana:
You drive for three hours and the scenery outside doesn't change.
There's three feet of snow on the ground and school is still in session.
You only go to the mall once a year 'cause it takes too long to get there.
While driving all you see is corn.
People still have Christmas decorations up at Easter.
You start saying to yourself "More than corn in Indiana my butt."
Walking through Wal-Mart with two carts full of kids is normal.
Anyone with a tan is rich.
The hip hang-out place is McDonald's.
There really is more than corn in Indiana. Theres soybeans, too.
When you plan anything and a Euchre game breaks out.
A restaurant has an invisible wall in the non-smoking section and you believe it works.
Speeding consists of 2 miles over the speed limit.
You think you don't have to use a turn signal on your car because you don't use it on your tractor.
You build your dream house on a cornfield, and you considered it posh.
You warsh your clothes and you think George Warshington was the first president.
You're proud to be called a Hoosier, even if you don't know what one is.
You have no problem spelling or pronouncing "Terre Haute"
Detassling was your first job. Bailing hay, your second.
You can stack hay, swim in the pond to clean off, and then have the strength to play a couple of games of hoops all in the same day.
You say things like "catty-wumpus" and "kitty-corner".
You own a dirtbike or a ATV.
You live in a city ... and there's a cornfield in your backyard.
High school basketball game draws a bigger crowd on the weekend nights than movie theaters.
You can see at least 2 basketball hoops from your yard.
You can name every one of Bob Knight's "exploits" over the last few years.
You shop at Marsh.
Damon Bailey was your childhood hero.
The biggest question of your youth was "IU or Purdue?"
Indianapolis is the "big city".
"Getting caught by a train" is a legitimate excuse for being late to school.
People at your high school chewed tobacco.
Everyone knows who the town cop is, where he lives, and whether he is at home or on duty.
You actually know what the CART vs IRL debate is about and have taken a side.
To you, a raccoon is simply a "coon".
The vehicle of choice in your area is not a car, but a pickup.
Someone you know is BIG John Mellencamp fan.
You've been to the Covered Bridge Festival.
To you, a tenderloin is not an expensive cut of beef, but a big, salty, breaded piece of pork served on a bun with pickles.
You call a green bell pepper a "mango".
Sometimes, you call the toilet the "commode" or the "stool".
In the fall, one of your favorite pranks was corning cars.
You know what FFA and 4H stand for.
You know what chip-and-seal is, and your high school was located on just such a road.
You go the county fair every night of it's week-long duration.
You can say "French Lick" without laughing out loud.
There's actually a college near you named "Ball State."
The last "g" is silent in any word ending in "ing."
You think the state Bird is Larry.</p>
<p>A variation of Robyrm's - You know you are an expat living in rural England when:</p>
<p>Your kids think Thanksgiving is a week-end at the end of November.
You know the only store for miles around that sometimes stocks tinned pumpkin.
You have made cornbread from fine and/or coarse maize meal.
You don't care whether the cornbread is sweet or not.
You really look forward to lima beans or hominy and succotash is a treat.
You are stopped in the sports center parking lot by an apologetic expat who heard your American accent and wanted to know if she could celebrate Thanksgiving with you.
You buy your fourth of July party supplies before Nov 5th and wait.
You get a phone call from a stranger saying "you don't know me, but I'm an American and I heard from ____ you were having a Fourth of July party - could I come?"
You had to train your family to eat sweet potatoes.
Happy Thanksgiving, all</p>
<p>Having lived in Indiana as a youth and now for many years in Chicago, I can't stop laughing over 1tcm's list.</p>
<p>You know that you live on the West Coast when a local College is anything west of the Rockies. </p>
<p>Reed never posts its statistics because its in Oregon.</p>
<p>I'm more of a lurker here than poster, but had to add to the Indiana thread. I'll try to pull out the ones already posted.</p>
<ol>
<li>You know several people who have hit a deer.
2 You've never met any celebrities.</li>
<li>You saw all the biggest bands ten years after they were popular.</li>
<li>Your school classes were canceled because of cold.</li>
<li>Your school classes were canceled because of heat.</li>
<li>You know what the phrase "Knee-high by the Fourth of July" means.</li>
<li>You've heard of Euchre, you know how to play Euchre, and you are the
master of Euchre.</li>
<li>You've seen a running car, with nobody in it, in the parking lot of
the grocery store no matter what time of year it is.</li>
<li>You end your sentences with an unnecessary preposition. Example:
"Where's my coat at? or "If you go to the mall I wanna go with"</li>
<li>You've ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day OR
"Stoke the fire" and "fling open the windows" for the older version.</li>
<li>You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both
unlocked.</li>
<li>You carry jumper cables in your car regularly.</li>
<li>You drink "pop".</li>
<li>You know that Bailin' wire was the predecessor to Duct tape.</li>
<li>You know that strangers are the only ones that come to your "front"
door.</li>
<li>Kids and dogs ride in the passenger seats of cars and the backs of
pickups.</li>
<li>You think nothing of it in spring and fall to be stuck behind a
farm implement driving on the roads.</li>
<li>High school basketball game draws a bigger crowd on the weekend
nights than movie theaters.</li>
<li>Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled
with snow.</li>
<li>The local paper covers national and international headlines on 1
page, but requires 6 for local sports.</li>
<li>You shop at Marsh.</li>
<li>The biggest question of your youth was "IU or Purdue".</li>
<li>The Wabash River is the "biggest body of water" near your house.</li>
<li>You know several different definitions as to what a Hoosier really
is.</li>
<li>To get to school you had to drive on a gravel road, a road with
several right-angle turns in it, or if you were really lucky, over a covered
bridge.</li>
<li>People in your neighborhood, really, REALLY like Nascar.</li>
<li>You took backroads to get there- why sit in traffic?</li>
<li>Wal-mart is the most exciting place in your hometown.</li>
<li>Technically, you don't even live in a town.</li>
<li>A typical party at your high school consisted of a bunch of people
driving trucks into the woods or an empty field, lighting a bonfire,
and staring at it while drinking a few beers.</li>
<li>It is a 30 minute drive from your house to the grocery store.</li>
<li>You have all the same teachers in high school that your parents
had.</li>
<li>You think that Notre Dame is a college in South Bend, and not a
cathedral in France.</li>
<li>You know people who own belt buckles with their initials on them.
These buckles are the size of a dinner plate.</li>
<li>You always had fun playing and fishing in the 'crik' when the
weather got warmer. (Translation 'creek').</li>
<li>It was always a real treat to go to the mall and window-shop once a
month.</li>
<li>You survived blizzards and wind chills of -75 below and, you could
drive on ice and snow without any big deal.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you mid westerners for your hilarious posts! Keep them coming!</p>
<p>here is some from my state, IDAHO!</p>
<p>During a storm you check the cattle before you check the kids. </p>
<p>You are related to more than half your hometown.</p>
<p>From a distance, you can tell the difference between a horse and a cow.</p>
<p>Your car breaks down outside of town and news of it gets back to town before you do.</p>
<p>You wave without thinking to all oncoming traffic.</p>
<p>You don't buy all your vegetables at the grocery store.</p>
<p>You don't put much effort into hairstyles due to wind and weather.</p>
<p>There's a tornado warning and the whole town stands outside watching for it.</p>
<p>Your local gas station sells live bait.</p>
<p>For your family vacation, you go to the State Fair.</p>
<p>You wake up at 5:30 am and go down to the coffee shop.</p>
<p>You're on a first-name basis with the county sheriff.</p>
<p>When little smokies are something you serve on special occasions.</p>
<p>You have the Co-Op's phone number on speed dial.</p>
<p>All your radio's preset buttons are set to country.</p>
<p>You search for the cheapest room rates when going out of town.</p>
<p>You think "using the elevator" involves grain.</p>
<p>Your mayor is also your garbage hauler, barber, and insurance salesman.</p>
<p>You listen to the weather forecast before picking out an outfit.</p>
<p>You call the wrong number and end up talking for an hour anyway.</p>
<p>An acceptable school excuse is that the cows got out.</p>
<p>You know cow pies aren't made of beef.</p>
<p>You wake up when it's still dark and go to bed when it's still light.</p>
<p>You listen to "Paul Harvey" every day at noon.</p>
<p>You can tell that's not a UFO in that field, it's a farmer working late.</p>
<p>Your nearest neighbor has a different area code.</p>
<p>You know the difference between field corn and sweet corn when they are still on the stalk.</p>
<p>You know the code names for everyone on the CB.</p>
<p>You can eat an ear of corn in under 20 seconds with no utensils.</p>
<p>You wear your boots to church.</p>
<p>It takes 30 seconds to reach your destination and it's clear across town.</p>
<p>You can tell the difference between the smell of a skunk and the smell of a feedlot.</p>
<p>You believe "true love" means that she'll ride in your tractor with you.</p>
<p>Your Saturday shopping involves Wal-Mart.</p>
<p>Your main drag in town is two blocks long.</p>
<p>You defend the beauty of being able to see the next town, which is 20 miles away.</p>
<p>You actually get these jokes!</p>
<p>aaand, here is some more for IDAHO</p>
<p>YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE IDAHOAN WHEN:</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <ol> <li><p>"Vacation" means going east or west on I-84 for the weekend.</p></li> <li><p>You measure distance in hours.</p></li> <li><p>You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.</p></li> <li><p>You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again.</p></li> <li><p>You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.</p></li> <li><p>You see people wearing camouflage at social events (including weddings).</p></li> <li><p>You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.</p></li> <li><p>You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them.</p></li> <li><p>You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.</p></li> <li><p>Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.</p></li> <li><p>You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.</p></li> <li><p>Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.</p></li> <li><p>You were unaware that there is a legal drinking age.</p></li> <li><p>Down South to you means Utah or Nevada.</p></li> <li><p>A brat is something you eat.</p></li> <li><p>Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new pole shed.</p></li> <li><p>You go out to a tail gate party every Friday.</p></li> <li><p>Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.</p></li> <li><p>You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.</p></li> <li><p>You find zero degrees "a little chilly."</p></li> </ol> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Neelash - Those are terrific, I'm sending them to my friends - former Californians - who now call Idaho home and wouldn't have it any other way.</p>
<p>I love the Indiana ones too!!! How about some Minnesota ones?</p>
<p>Add to robryms expat list:</p>
<p>You know you're an American abroad when you realize the locals are trying to be polite when they hear your accent and ask, "Are you Canadian?"</p>
<p>ie Heaven forbid they offend a Canadian! :)</p>
<p>Add to the Midwest:</p>
<p>You know you're from the Midwest when you think khaki is a fashion statement.</p>
<p>choff.....thanks for the chuckle! Until I got older whenever someone mentioned the "river", I always assumed it was the Wabash! I grew up a Wabash River Rat. :)</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>How about some Minnesota ones?<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>I'm from CA, but I've spent enough time in the North Star State that I can probably do a few:</p>
<ol>
<li> You think that "known" and "shown" are two-syllable words: "knowen" and showen".</li>
<li> Your idea of a treat is a "pan of bars".</li>
<li> You've lost at least one car to the bottom of a lake by trying to stretch the ice fishing season too far into the spring.</li>
<li> You were thrilled that summer fell on a Sunday last year so that more people were able to enjoy it.</li>
</ol>
<p>Coureur, I have always wondered about your number 3 and loved your number four. That's a chuckle. Reminds me of the West Texas joke where the rancher was asking his "hand" to verify to a potential buyer that the ranch had indeed received 15 inches of rain that year. The dutiful hand said "Yessir, and I know that's the gospel cuz I was here the night it fell."</p>