| | Mick, I am a redneck, or at least I consider that my heritage. I grew up on a farm raising Angus beef cattle and growing a wide variety of crops ranging from corn to soybeans. I spent my Saturdays tilling the soil and getting, literally, a red neck from the sun. I spent my fair share of time trudging through pastures, helping my father deliver new calves and castrate young bulls, and harvesting crops with tractors and combines. Our pickup truck would have made the one on Sanford and Son look in good shape by comparison.
Incidentally, we also attended a Lutheran church every Sunday where my mother played the organ for over 20 years. I received my communion training and Eagle Scout award there and also served a term as president of our youth group. It has taken me literally decades of self-education to deprogram myself and catch up with my betters. I still feel "behind" in many ways.
Go visit Claremont, North Carolina some time -- about an hour north of Charlotte -- and notice its striking resemblance to Mayberry from The Andy Griffith Show. Check some of the local tractor pulls in Catawba County and surrounding areas. Check the North Carolina Cattlemen's Association and get a temporary job with one of the farms in the foothills near the mountains. You will meet plenty of rednecks.
Had I not gotten a job with NASA in Florida or elsewhere, I certainly would have considered a job in the Research Triangle Park area consisting of Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh. I attended high school at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) in Durham and college at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. You accurately note the conspicuous absence of rednecks from those and other areas you visited. Trust me when I say that the state does have them.
Speaking of NCSSM, anyone who wants to see my senior year "Special Projects Week" video project, produced in 1984 and built around the classic television series Doctor Who, can now download it at http://littlebbc.com/ncssm/ if desired.
(Edited by Luke Setzer on 8/04, 3:14pm)
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