At last night's training the instructor asked me where I was from, and I mentioned Dahlonega as a reference point close enough by that he'd know it. He did know it, and asked if I'd heard the story of the two Yankees who visited Dahlonega. He said they were traveling through and stopped at the Dairy Queen to get a milkshake. While they were waiting in line they were arguing about how to pronounce the Cherokee name of the town. They couldn't agree, and so when they got to the head of the line they asked the girl working the counter how to pronounce the name of the place.
She looked at them solemnly and said, "DAY-ree KWEEN."
That's funny right thar.
ReplyDeleteI've got Yankee farmer talking to tourists from the city jokes in that form, always make me chuckle.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite: As the city couple is checking into Eb Jenkins inn, with their sports car and brand-new LL Bean clothes they ask "Do you have any entertainment in this town Mr. Jenkins?" He nods and says "We do now."
I know we have discussed it, but there is a big difference between the content of the category “Yankee” as the word is used in your community versus mine. I think there is substantial crossover between our category “Yankee” and your category “city folk.” The Venn Diagrams for our two “Yankee” categories almost don’t include any of the same people, but those other two categories overlap a great deal.
ReplyDeleteOur Oklahoma-bred neighbor told us this one last night: Yankees heard that plowing mules were available in the ignorant South at low prices. When they arrived in town, they were disappointed to find prices rather high. One farmer allowed as how he could give them a deal on some mule eggs, so they agreed to come by the next day. That night he painted a pile of watermelons white. The next day, while loading the "eggs," the buyers dropped one and saw a rabbit run off into the grass at about the same time the watermelon split open. They gave chase, hoping to get their merchandise back, but soon were winded by the pursuit. "Never mind," said one. "That mule is too fast to plow behind anyway."
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