Hot Arrives

Hot arrived sometime Friday night. Saturday morning it was warming up it's act pretty good. By noon hot pretty well had its act together and managed to polish off the after noon around 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot promises an incremental repeat today. That pattern will continue until sometime in, oh say, late September or mid October. Hot comes to visit the South each year and once it arrives, it takes no breaks, no holidays, no weekenders off.

My son called from Statesboro Georgia yesterday. It was 101 degrees there with a heat index, whatever that is, of 128 or so. That most assuredly means the humidity percentage was close to equaling the temperature. If you're not acclimated to it, South Georgia is a most miserable place in the summer months. Those who were born and raised there, just kind of roll with the punch of the temperature and humidity, but not without discomfort. Right now though, we are only getting a reminder of things to come. Hot will really come into full bloom from around the second week of July through about the second week of August. That period isn't called "Dog Days" for its compatibility to dogs. You can look up the Dog Star and all the Dog Days lore on some scientific web site. As for here, the explanation you will get is its the time of year that the weather makes people in the South crazier than usual. Okay, technically it's one of several times of the year that Southerners are crazier than usual.

Anyway, with all the life changes I have coming my way, and the season we are entering where hot has free reign, I imagine the next four months are going to be interesting. Most likely wildly interesting. Even the staid and traditional aspects of Southern culture, have their underlying currents of passion. And, passion has a way of making ripples on the surface of even the deepest waters.

Passion of course is what defines and colors the South as much as anything. Many think of the South as a place steeped in tradition, and it is. But think about it. Passionately upheld tradition starts somewhere and is upheld for a reason. You must understand a Southern passion, before you will understand a tradition. When traditions are broken, passions are toyed with. Toying with passions in the South is a dangerous thing; a very dangerous thing indeed. That's one reason Southerners respect each other's traditions, no matter the degree of eccentricity.

Disrespecting a tradition is an affront to the underlying passion, that can evoke an emotional response which may not be expected. We're talking righteous indignation, anger, deep sorrow, or any combination of emotions, which when acted on, may be somewhat less than sociable. Nuff said? For Southerners who are taught to be respectful and mannerly from childhood, respecting tradition is a no brainer. For you who were raised west of the Mississippi and north of the Mason Dixon, you need to get one major point embedded in your brain before coming South. Respect tradition no matter whether it makes sense or not.

If you will learn and respect, pay homage to even, local traditions, you will get along just fine in the South. That and learning to say please and thank you, and staying out of peoples faces will get you miles of good will. Getting in peoples faces, being demanding, never saying thank you and disrespecting tradition will get you the cold shoulder at the least, and killed at the worst.

To you damnyankees: If you must come South this summer behave yourself. To my fellow Southerners: Please, set a good example for our ignorant visitors from the north. After all, it's a tradition.

I'm off to visit my brother over in York County. Have a good Sunday.

Dread

*(The words South, Southern, and Southerner are traditionally capitalized by the author, while the words north, northern, and northerner are not. You may infer what you will from that.)