Beware of the hi noon friend!!!!

I have made great friends here in North Carolina. Friends that I know I can count on to always tell me the truth, and to be here, there, anywhere whenever I need them, and I LOVE them with all my heart and soul.

Sid, Me, Fee, Lexi and Trice

However, this entry is about those friends I have dubbed "hi noon friends".

A "hi noon friend" meets you in the a.m., and expects you to be their best friend by noon. They want you to tell them your life story, so they can then judge you and talk behind your back with other "hi noon friends". They hide behind "southern charm" phrases like: "We are just friendly in the south.", or my favorite "We like to get to know people, and welcome them with open arms down here." Now don't get me wrong, southerners are very nice, welcoming and friendly, and MANY are tried and true, but quite a few are sneaky and mean spirited snakes with sweet smiles and southern drawls. Beware, because they are slethering everywhere down here.

I am not saying that the north doesn't have these same types of people, but they aren't out in the open as often as here in the south. My classmate, and fellow yankee, Lenaa Battle recently gave me her opinion on the matter,"I don't know if it's just a southern thing, but where we are from, we practice the 'bitches/snitches get stitches' policy. So, people that are known to run their mouths have gotten the hint before leaving grade school. They know that if they are found to be a fake broad, they learn to stay to themselves. Northerners don't tend to jump into these fly by night  friendships. We like to take our time getting to know people because they can be crazy."

That brings me back to the BFF's by noon. I for one can not bring myself to spill my life story to someone that I just meet. It may be a cultural thing, or it could just be my upbringing, but something just seems so wrong with people that ask too many questions at first meeting. I don't trust them [period]. I need time to get to know you through multiple interactions and casual conversations. Yeah, it may just take a few months before I consider you to be a friend, but I believe that "anything done too fast, doesn't last too long".

So, my advise is to beware of the "hi noon friend". Take your time to truly get to know people, and you will eventually find out who your friends are.

Tracey Lawrence - Find Out Who Your Friends Are

Hey!!! I don't know if this thing is on.

America's has been dubbed the Great Melting Pot, but I don't know if this thing is on sometimes. For example, when I decided to move south, I had family and friends all tell me that, "The south is racist. It's too many Kux Klux Klan members living there. They use to own your great grandparents."

The list goes on and on, so I'm going to spare you the BS.

First of all there are racist people everywhere. Just like in a pot of stew, time and heat are the key factors to meld all the flavors together. Even with those two strong influences, you are still going to end up with very distinct flavors, and whole pieces that don't want to give up all of their properties.

The only difference between the north and the south, when it comes to race relations, is one is more straightforward than the other, but they are both BS.

For example, where I'm from, people segregate themselves. They live in neighborhoods that are designated as "white only", "black only", or "Latin only" with these invisible borders. People talk about their dislike for the different races of people openly, "I don't want to live around, work, or go to school with those people because..."

Down south, it's more behind the scenes, until someone wants to date or marry outside of their race.

I have a friend, who does not want to be named, that is marrying a "white man", and she is a "black woman". They have known each other since high school, hang out with mutual friends, and even go to church together. However, they have experienced some tension from friends, family and the public. One incident happened, while on her job, at a well known radio station here in Raleigh. She told me that when she showed her manager a picture of her and her boyfriend, he said, "Oh, so you're a cracker snatcher, huh?"

WTF!!!!?

Then another thing that happened to seal the deal was when she was introduced to another co-worker. The co-worker was a "white woman" that just so happen to have graduated from the same college as my friend, so she was asked if she had ever seen her around. The co-worker replied, "No, I don't believe I have." So, the manager asked, "Well, how can you be so sure?". The woman's response was, "Because, we didn't have many of them running around our school, so I think I would have remembered if I'd met her."

WOW!!!

It really is sad that things in America are so hot and heated, but the good thing is that the fire we endure in this "Great Melting Pot" will burn off all the bad as it keeps the good. And, what a beautiful stew we will be :-)



Uh...NO sir...I don't know YOU!!!

Ok, there are some things that bother me about living in the south, and one in particular is their habit of talking to strangers. If you don't know me, plus you have NEVER seen me before, I equal a stranger, and so do YOU!

It literally makes my stomach churn when I'm on the bus, and some strange guy or girl just decides to start asking me personal questions. I'm not talking about just saying hello or nodding their head out of courtesy. I'm talking about, "Hello, miss where are you going? Where do you live? Do you ride the bus everyday? Is that a Nook you're reading? Can I see it?"

Uh...NO sir...I don't know YOU!!!

You can be some serial killer, that likes to size females up for your "Elite Elegant Epidermis" fashion line. 

My friend Alexius tried to explain to me, "People down here aren't like people where you're from. They don't mean any harm, and honestly we see people that don't converse with their "friendly stranger" as being rude. It's just 'Southern Hospitality'."

I don't mean any harm, but my roots are what keep me safe and grounded, even as my branches reach far and wide. Talking to strangers, just because they're uncomfortable with silence, is NEVER going to be on my "to do" list.

Hell, they need someone to talk to so bad, they should call Cee-Lo Green. He's down with talking to strangers:

Ooo..you gettin a little country

When I go home, my family, friends, people in the bodega (corner store), have a brief look of befuddlement when they see me. Most of the time "the look" is so slight that I think I may have imagined it. Is it because they haven't seen me in a while? Am I feeling a little out of place? Can they hear the little country twang I've picked up in the last 10 years? Maybe its the "yes ma'am and no sir"?

It wasn't long before my straight-forward-no nonsense auntie, Clare Ruth Robertson said, "Ooo...you gettin a little country aren't you?! I mean you've picked up a twang, and that was expected, but you eating and dressing a little country, too. And what's up with all this ma'am business?"

What!? What was she talking about? All I had on was a pair of blue jeans, a sweatshirt, and a pair of low heel-almost-no-heel boots. Then I took a look around. Everyone was "dressed down" for northern standards, with their feet wrapped in Manolo Blahniks and Jimmy Choos, and their backs draped in designer threads. And while they were drinking their Pepsi, I was sipping on a sweet tea from McDonald's (the only place you'll find it).

Wow, I guess I have changed the way I dress, it's comfortable and it won't break the bank. My tea is sweet because there is no other way to enjoy it...is there? I think it's polite to say "yes ma'am and no sir", and I believe I'm going to keeping saying it, too.

All I have to say to all that shoot me "the look" when I go home, "I'm enjoying who I am, and my southern state of mind."

Darius Rucker (From Hootie & the Blowfish)

For the love of Christ, the Bible, and Football...in that order.

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?!!!

Today is National Signing Day (when high school athletes sign their National Letters of Intent (NLI)):

What is the National Letter of Intent (NLI)?
The NLI is a binding agreement between a prospective student-athlete and an NLI member institution

• A prospective student-athlete agrees to attend the institution full-time for one academic year (two semesters or three quarters).
• The institution agrees to provide athletics financial aid for one academic year (two semesters or three quarters).

Basic penalty for not fulfilling the NLI agreement:  A student-athlete has to serve one year in residence (full-time, two semesters or three quarters) at the next NLI member institution and lose one season of competition in all sports.

I have watched my brother, cousins, and other boys of fall leave their blood, sweat and tears on those fields. I give my heart to them, because their love of the game is infectious to us all, and we dream right along with them.

Source: Elijah X. Norwood

Kenny Chesney makes my heart feel all fuzzy about the love of football :-)

Continue to DREAM big.