I consider it "sharing enlightenment." ;)

MysticCat, LOL ok cutiepie said it best. I have no idea how that much sugar in water could taste good but I will give it a try if I'm ever in the South. The sweetest ice(d?) tea I've ever had has been Thai ice tea which is good but very sweet.

Kristin you must live somewhere strange :) Ice tea has always been here. Liptons, snapple, et. al are widely available in grocery stores and restaurants I would think. And are you telling me that all girls dress up this much? Even the hick rednecks which sooo populate your states? :)

And MysticCat you're right about the barbecue.

-Rudey
--But to cook meat for a whole frigging day must mean Southerners have a lot of time on their hands.

I have had barbeque Southern style, and it is really good. I had chicken and ribs. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Someone from Texas showed me how to marinate the meat in vinegar and some other ingredients. We had cold slaw, baked beans, salad, and corn bread. We also had hamburgers and hot dogs. I am getting really hungry thinking about it.

Some might find Dallas strange. But yes, a majority of women take extreme pride in their daily rituals. My sister is a great example. She is infuriating. I can't even get to starbucks in the morning without her primping first.

And as far as snapple goes, they weren't around when I was a teenager. (dating myself, yuk) And it was in Newport. I could get it someplaces. But not most. And the places I could get iced tea only served it in the summer in regular glasses. We have special glasses for our tea. BIG! And MysticCat is right about the sweetening process. Try it sometime. You will be hooked.

I might be a little sensitive about the iced tea because I am on the low carb plan and can't have sweetened iced tea. :( I am going through withdrawal. LOL.

By God, this is the funniest thing I have read all week!!!!! TERNADER!!! OMG!!! :D

I was raised in a trailor park deep down in the south, complete with trash of all shades. Loved it! Wouldn't trade my SINGLE-wide (double wides are for the posh trailor parks) upbringing for anything!

Enough with all this debate about where the south is. It's extremely simple to define 'southern' borders:

Anywhere that serves "Sweet tea" and "Unsweet tea" is the south.

Anywhere with a Chic-Fil-A is the south (Atleast inside the resteraunt :) )

Yep, We drink while we cook here. Time goes faster. [img]www.kurts-smilies.de/trink4.gif[/img]

Kristin,
Can you use Nutrasweet / Equal or would that be Southern "blasphemy"? Just checking.....

I sweeten my tea with Splenda or Equal (preferabley Splenda) and I am from the South

One thing I miss...
Collards! Out here a little bunch of greens cost you 99 cents. Hell it cost about $7 to make a decent size pot of collard greens :mad:

I do use Equal. And I like it. But it is just an entirely different beverage.

My southern family members all use Sweet & Low if sweet tea is unavailable. In fact they will always use Sweet & Low rather than just putting regular sugar in their tea. I used to do that too, but I like Equal better now.

Yes, it is, but being from North Florida (where we don't have voting problems), I can say beyond the shadow of a doubt that it is the South. I am closer to New Orleans and Atlanta than I am to Orlando and Tampa, sweet tea is in abundant supply, and it is very Southern culturally. That is because North FL is full of old farming communities and aristocratic families that have been here for generations--and does not have the transience that South FL has.

I experience a huge culture shock every time I go home--just in between airports. I'm used to carrying my bags myself when I get here, and fending for myself. Most people are dressed down, and in a hurry. By the time I get to the Memphis airport, every man has asked me if I needed help carrying my bags, and the women are dressed so well! :D

ETA: For me, the South was a nice place to grow up, and it's a great place to visit, but for the life I want to live, the coasts were a better choice for me.

It's interesting to read this and see the debate over whether or not Virginia is considered "Southern." Well, i was born in bred here in Richmond, VA and so were my parents. I consider myself to be Southern, not only because Richmond is, in my opinion, a truly Southern city, but also because my extended family is as Southern as they come (they all live in NC). Yes, many Richmonders are from the NOrth but there are still families here that have basically "ruled" the city since before the War. And Monument Avenue here in Richmond - can't get much more southern than that. Statues of Jefferson Davis, R.E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, etc. line this street. Also in favor of VA's Southern-ness: Kappa Alpha was formed HERE, in Lexington VA. And correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't that pretty southern, as far as frats go? As well, i say y'all, and while i don't consider myself as having a thick accent, my Yankee friends at college all make fun of me saying "y'all", "reckon," etc.

So i LOVE being SOuthern, and calling myself Southern...even if some of y'all don't think VA is in the south!

I definitely consider myself a Southern Girl even though I've spent 8 years in DC. My dad's side of the family are all native Gerorgians and my mom's side are all native Kentuckians. I loved living in Georiga and miss it so much. I guess both my parents' upbringing has made me a Southern GIrl and I hope that when I have kids, I can instill in them all the good ol' Southern values that I live by. And no, there are no outhouses that I've seen in the South. ANd at the least the South has courtesy when driving!!

Oh, and what about Krystle's!! Anywhere that has these babies is most DEFINITELY the South!

Munchkin03 I must agree. After living in the midwest and now LA,
I have to say there is an "earnestness" about the midwest and a
"solidness" of character that is DIFFICULT at best to match ANYWHERE across the nation. If I had the choice, I would move back to a land where who you are doesn't matter as much as WHAT you have made of your life. This comes from a displaced Kansan into Louisiana (wich I refer to as LOUSYanna).