I'm from the Country and Proud of It

Driving to work this morning, I was listening to our local country music radio station. Normally, in the past, I had only rotated through my various CD's of oddly mixed songs, but for the past week or so I have been addicted to the radio again. Thanks to the radio for reminding me of the joys of random songs. Anyway, this morning on my way in I heard Tracy Byrd sing, "I'm from the Country." How many of you remember that song? I knew it as soon as it started and thought to myself, "Darned right!" (It's funny, though, cuz I thought the same thing as I was getting into the shower last night and heard "Red Neck Woman.")

I was born in the country. I was raised in the country. Most days I feel like John Mellencamp - "I was born in a small town..." My house was located in the middle of nowhere just outside the nowhere town of Pleasantville, Indiana. (No, it wasn't black and white...full color, thank you very much.) I grew up on a catfish farm, and I am not ashamed to tell people that. As a matter of fact, it is one of the first things I tell people after meeting them. I enjoy the looks on their faces. I enjoy explaining exactly what a catfish farm is. Mostly I enjoy the expressions of horror and disgust on their prim and proper faces when I describe how one of my proudest moments came the summer I graduated from simply skinning the catfish to actually cutting off the heads. It's an art, you know. If you don't clean a catfish just right, it's a waste.

My brother and I rarely actually went to the local swimming pool. Of course, it wasn't that local for us. Took about twenty minutes to drive there. Why should we waste gas and money like that, though? We had ponds out front. Way better than any chlorinated cesspool we figured. No screaming kids...no lifeguards to yell at us...room to move. The people I know now cringe at the thought of swimming in a mud hole with fish and the occasional snake. Try explaining the "they're more scared of you than you are of them" theory to someone who grew up in the city. "I live in a small town..." My friends and I joined the track team in junior high. At that time, I think the only "girl" sport our school had was volleyball, although we did finally get basketball in eighth grade (although we lost all our games - still a blast!) But I digress...track. We had no girls' track team. There is something very rewarding and satisfying about having to join the boys' track team...and still win.

"That's where I'm from and I'm proud to say I'm from the country and I like it that way."

I was born in the country and raised in the country. I may dress like a prim and proper Monday through Friday 8 - 5, but when I get home, I'm in jeans and a t-shirt. I still own flannel and wear my hair in a ponytail. I can still bait my own hook and take off my own fish. More importantly, I can still catch the fish in the first place. I remember the feeling of mud in my ears from four-wheeling after a good rain, and I can't wait to feel it again. I still say "y'all" and I don't care who hears it or thinks it's "hick." I am who I am, and I like who I am. I am not the "perfect" girl who grew up in the subdivision with all the right clothes and "perfect" hair.

I'm rough. I'm ragged. I'm country. And I'm real.