We Drop Our G's and Sweeten Our T's

I recently found the cutest sign on the mega-popular shopping/crafting site, Etsy, that pretty much sums up the South, and when I went to purchase it, it was already sold. (Insert sad face here.) It did, however, make me stop and think about the fact that the cute saying does describe us Southerners quite well. I have a college education, I know the proper way to speak and just because I have a Southern drawl or speak slowly doesn't mean I'm slow or stupid. I know, have met, and am related to lots of people who don't enunciate their words perfectly and, as far as I know, it never killed anyone. The grammar "crime" to which I'm referring is dropping your g's. (No, I'm not referring to spending a grand - that's another type of "dropping your g." I'm talkin' about leavin' off the "g" of words endin' in "ing.") I know it drives some people batty and makes them think we Southerners are not very smart and others, well, they think it is downright charmin'.


The second part of the sign reminded me that, when on vacation in the North and various other places NOT in the South, I could only find unsweetened ice tea. If I did order it and got packets of sugar to go in it, I could just forget about that sugar dissolving enough to sweeten the tea, even by the end of the meal, no matter how much I stirred. This Southern Belle boils her sugar in her water so it creates a syrup that evenly distributes through the brewed tea, making it taste positively divine. Yes, I use real sugar. One reason is that sugar is what makes sweet tea, well, sweet. Another important reason is that I have a sensitivity to artificial sweeteners...so much so that, when I ingest them, they cause me so many side effects (horrific migraines, upset stomach, "bee sting" sensations all over my body, well, I won't go on with the list of ailments) that I cannot abide consuming them. In essence, they are chemicals and, more specifically, they are poison. It's true, but I digress. So, for those two important reasons, I make Southern sweet tea the real way.


Oh yes...the sign. I was just getting to that. Here is the sign that sparked this post. It's so cute I might have to contact the shop owner and see if she would make another one. It's just precious and SO Southern!

Yes, we DO!

Cute sign made (but sold) by: http://www.etsy.com/people/myflipflopz