I'm a playwright but I haven't written in at least a year. Many time constraints as well as personal issues have kept me from writing. Ms. Osbey inspired to me to write again. She inspired me to write with abandon, to throw the truth on the paper, to be who I really am, to be unafraid, to....write.
I'm going back to the several plays I've begun but not finished. This time I will finish them. I will post them here as well for you all to read. Thanks to Ms. Osbey I'm feeling authentic today and I'm okay with that. After listening to her lecture I was reminded of a silly journal entry that I wrote a couple of years ago. This entry is a glimpse into the whimsy of my personality as well as a little of my back-story. I call the entry "To Be a Redneck!"
Hell yeah! I own a cowboy hat. The fact is that I own a large number of cowboy hats. I wear cowboy boots on a regular basis and I drive a truck. However, no one has ever accused me to my face of being a redneck.
To be quite honest, I’m a little disappointed. I’ve even accused myself of being one! I used to joke with my brother about being a redneck while standing next to my truck (okay, really an SUV) in his driveway and drinking a Miller light wearing my cowboy boots. But if you know Sam, you know that he shrugged it off and said, “Hell, I’m the king of the rednecks!” Whatever!
What message is being sent to kids who grew up in “traditional” redneck families and connect themselves with the concept of “redneckedness” but are not considered rednecks by their peers? Are there other social groups who disown their young in the same way just because they’ve become educated, attained goals, got good jobs, make a decent living and don’t have a hound dog sleeping under the couch on their porch?
When I was in college my cousins used to laugh at me because they said I talked funny. I guess because I had learned to write sentences where the verb and subject were parallel this made me different from them, however, all the while I wanted the “sameness” of our relationship. I wanted to retain my “authentic redneckedness.”
Yesterday I had the chance to regain my title of a redneck woman; a colleague told me that his 1992 Ford Ranger was stuck in the mud in his side yard and he was on his way home to push it out. I offered, immediately I might add, to hitch his truck to mine and pull him out. This created extensive laughter from his wife who said, “I’ve got to get home to charge the batteries in the video camera!” And that was when I realized; I own cowboy boots, hats, a truck but I have never owned a pair of Daisy Duke’s. Which I add, I probably should being wearing Daisy Duke’s with my cowboy hat, cowboy boots while pulling Marcus’s truck out of the mud and drinking a Miller Light in his driveway, Y’all! This attempt at regaining the “redneckedness” of my youth failed. Marcus was able to get the truck out on his own without the aid of my truck, boots, hat, Miller Light, etc. Sad.
So perhaps because of my lack of opportunity and lack of appropriate redneck attire I can no longer fit into the regional stereotype. This saddens me. But alas, back to the important question posed above, what message are we sending to young rednecks? I guess the message is: get out, you no longer belong. Or perhaps, rather than get out, we should shout—RUN! FORREST, RUN!
After doing about 30 seconds of research on the subject of “disowned children” I found that society disowns children because of disability, sexual orientation, poverty, religious differences and for disobeying societal rules. All very sad stories, and true, but what about redneck children who are being ostracized for growing, learning, thriving? I found no stories of such children. Perhaps we are an under recognized group? Is there Federal Funding for such? I want my check!
After years of schooling, being disowned and other such events I believe that I am wise enough to give advice on this subject and my advice is this: drive a truck, wear boots, get a hat, buy Daisy Duke’s (even wear them if you are brave enough) and speak your speech with a strong “y’all” here and there!
We may not have hound dogs under the couches on our porches, we may not even have couches on our porches, we may take down our Christmas lights because the “association” tells us we must, we may hold advanced degrees from prestigious universities but no one can take from me or you the earthiness that lies at our core, no one can take my authentic self (and they will have to pry that Miller Light out of my cold dead hand!).
To be quite honest, I’m a little disappointed. I’ve even accused myself of being one! I used to joke with my brother about being a redneck while standing next to my truck (okay, really an SUV) in his driveway and drinking a Miller light wearing my cowboy boots. But if you know Sam, you know that he shrugged it off and said, “Hell, I’m the king of the rednecks!” Whatever!
What message is being sent to kids who grew up in “traditional” redneck families and connect themselves with the concept of “redneckedness” but are not considered rednecks by their peers? Are there other social groups who disown their young in the same way just because they’ve become educated, attained goals, got good jobs, make a decent living and don’t have a hound dog sleeping under the couch on their porch?
When I was in college my cousins used to laugh at me because they said I talked funny. I guess because I had learned to write sentences where the verb and subject were parallel this made me different from them, however, all the while I wanted the “sameness” of our relationship. I wanted to retain my “authentic redneckedness.”
Yesterday I had the chance to regain my title of a redneck woman; a colleague told me that his 1992 Ford Ranger was stuck in the mud in his side yard and he was on his way home to push it out. I offered, immediately I might add, to hitch his truck to mine and pull him out. This created extensive laughter from his wife who said, “I’ve got to get home to charge the batteries in the video camera!” And that was when I realized; I own cowboy boots, hats, a truck but I have never owned a pair of Daisy Duke’s. Which I add, I probably should being wearing Daisy Duke’s with my cowboy hat, cowboy boots while pulling Marcus’s truck out of the mud and drinking a Miller Light in his driveway, Y’all! This attempt at regaining the “redneckedness” of my youth failed. Marcus was able to get the truck out on his own without the aid of my truck, boots, hat, Miller Light, etc. Sad.
So perhaps because of my lack of opportunity and lack of appropriate redneck attire I can no longer fit into the regional stereotype. This saddens me. But alas, back to the important question posed above, what message are we sending to young rednecks? I guess the message is: get out, you no longer belong. Or perhaps, rather than get out, we should shout—RUN! FORREST, RUN!
After doing about 30 seconds of research on the subject of “disowned children” I found that society disowns children because of disability, sexual orientation, poverty, religious differences and for disobeying societal rules. All very sad stories, and true, but what about redneck children who are being ostracized for growing, learning, thriving? I found no stories of such children. Perhaps we are an under recognized group? Is there Federal Funding for such? I want my check!
After years of schooling, being disowned and other such events I believe that I am wise enough to give advice on this subject and my advice is this: drive a truck, wear boots, get a hat, buy Daisy Duke’s (even wear them if you are brave enough) and speak your speech with a strong “y’all” here and there!
We may not have hound dogs under the couches on our porches, we may not even have couches on our porches, we may take down our Christmas lights because the “association” tells us we must, we may hold advanced degrees from prestigious universities but no one can take from me or you the earthiness that lies at our core, no one can take my authentic self (and they will have to pry that Miller Light out of my cold dead hand!).
