To Be or Not to Be an Okie

When I was a kid half my family of eleven kids moved with our mom and dad from California to Oklahoma while the other half stayed behind with their spouses and kids. The Oklahoma caravan was warned not to come back someday saying “y’all”.

I’ve lived in Oklahoma since then and though I love so much about it, I try hard to avoid the dialect. If I heard someone say, “Dang! Ain’t that bird over thar a yellow-throated warbler?” I’d probably say, “I reckon,” but that’s just to be polite.

Recently after a medical procedure in Oklahoma while I was being brought out of anesthesia my first words were, “I have a hankerin’ for a hamburger”. Hankerin’. Who says that?

After the hankerin’ incident we decided it was time to leave Oklahoma where we spend our summers and head west to Arizona. I guess a little like Grapes of Wrath. Wait. No.

I inexplicably cut my own hair when I’m in Oklahoma every summer. I follow a style guide taught to me in the 9th grade. Snip snip. Razor razor. Part part. Cut some more. So as soon as we parked the car in our Arizona garage I was calling my gal Lauren for a hair appointment.

Lauren worked her magic but she seemed like she wanted to slap me. I guess she wants to be the professional or something. So afterwards I bopped down the stairs donning my rescue hairdo only to be confronted by a woman at checkout who said my hair looked like Sally Field in Mrs Doubtfire. Now don’t get me wrong, I like Sally Field. I really, really like her, but I do not strive to look like her. Or anyone else from Anytown, Oklahoma.

A couple of days later The Husband and I dressed as a member of the FFA (me, wearing Hub’s actual jacket from however long ago he was that tiny) and a cow (Hubs, wearing a painters frock with painted spots and for-the-love-of-God-please-stand-out-straight ears) for Halloween.

We drove our golf cart to the party. I was wishing someone would say, “Dang. Ain’t that cow riding a golf cart with a red-necked Okie?” Just so I could say, “I reckon so, y’all”. .

27 Comments

  1. Damn straight, you are a mess! But, hey my Alabama comes out on occasion but I’ve learned to embrace it. Why not? I am what I am. Often people say, “you don’t sound like you’re from Alabama” and I don’t until I get ta talkin’ with um or if I get ta hankerin” for some greens or biscuits n gravy or what not. Having fun with it is the best part. Do they say britches in Oklahoma too? As always your posts bring lots of light to my day!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Haha! I knew I could count on you to relate! It is always so fun to see your name pop up in the comments. We do say britches but I think mostly for the younguns. That hankerin thang just bowled me over. If my subconscious is Okie there ain’t no fightin it.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Another very entertaining blog post, Alison. You be hankerin’ for a hamburger, huh? You’re hilarious. I love y’all’s costumes! (I can’t help it. I’ve lived in North Carolina my entire life. Y’all just rolls off my tongue before I know it.)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. They say if you dream in a foreign language you are becoming fluent in that language. I guess when the chips are down I’m all Okie. Always good hearing from you!

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      1. LOL. Not quite. Only pushing 70. But I made my first trip at the age of 6 months on a DC 4 from Karachi to Paris. (My father was an Air France man, and I got the nomad bug… Plus I started early…) 😉🙏🏻

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Bonnie année à toi. Always nice to hear from you. The year end was good and so far, minus a few kitchen appliances that have gone “en panne” at the same time, our 2023 is looking positive as well. Hope you are staying healthy and getting to travel a bit.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Always nice to hear from you too.
        Sorry for la panne… Annoying always.
        No plans yet. Not sure I want to go to Paris. Can you imagine? I’m thinking US and Canada. We’ll see.
        Au revoir.

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