Regional Differences

[disneychrista]

That people can "opt out" of halloween in places by turning off a porch light.

I consider this more of an "OPTING IN" by turning ON your light.

 

[LilyWDW]

Who's brain child was that????

We have one goofy intersection in town where a roundabout would be a perfect solution but it's right by the fire station so that's not happening. Not sure what they will come up with instead. I LOVE roundabouts, I wish we had more of them. They are so much easier than 4 way stops.

They are only easier if you live in an area where people know what they are. Around here, they are dangerous because too many do not know what to do with them. They will just stop like they are at a stop sign OR try to go around it the wrong way. It really is bad...

 

[KristaTX]

Mum is short for chrysanthemum.
Here is a picture of some mums I came across in Kroger a couple of years ago. I wasn't looking for mums, but these just jumped right out at me for some reason . I took a picture with my phone at the time and had to come post a thread on the DIS about them because of the shape of the white flowers in the middle.

 

[KristaTX]

I consider this more of an "OPTING IN" by turning ON your light.

Me too. And I don't think that's just a Krista/Christa thing .

 

[SookieStackhouse]

How about traffic signals? In MN they are vertical, but in WI they are horizontal. I often wonder why.

In MN we have drinking fountains, I knnow that in parts of WI they are called bubblers.

Yes! I always totally wondered why (some of) the traffic signal lights are horizontal in Wisconsin!

 

[Strawberry's mom&dad]

I believe the original SOS was the creamed chipped beef on toast with the toast being the shingle and the creamed chipped beef being the other S.
Mums were always the traditional homecoming corsage both in Iowa and here in WA. Of course I went to high school a while ago.

 

[NotUrsula]

...
Mums were always the traditional homecoming corsage both in Iowa and here in WA. Of course I went to high school a while ago.

LOL, not THESE mums. The "mums" we are talking about here are about a foot wide and four feet long. Very often the only part of the girl you can see are her head and feet when she's wearing one of them.

These big fake concoctions with yards of ribbons and glitter and wired-on teddy bears are strictly a Texas and Oklahoma phenomenon, They bear no real resemblance to the traditional homecoming mum corsage as it is known elsewhere in the US.

 

[malibuconlee]

Here too, it's just part of your wedding planning, where to put the gift table (AWAY from the door) and who is responsible for getting all the gifts to where ever the gift opening is.

Yep, I've helped carry gifts to a parent's car more than once after a wedding. The morning after our reception we did a brunch at my IL's with the leftover food and opened gifts. My best friend was there along with parents and my DH's siblings.

Why would you not get a lunch- I work 8-4 and get paid for 8 hours....all jobs I have ever worked you get paid for your lunch break.

I've never heard of anyone working hourly getting a paid lunch break. Most salaried people I know work more hours than that too.

Hourly employees generally don't get paid for lunch, here anyway, but salaried workers are paid for 9-5 and get lunch, sure.

I've never heard 9-5 as banker's hours, they're 'business hours' here because a good majority of jobs are on those - any office jobs are.

What jobs are from 7-3?

9-5 has always been "bankers hours" to me. 7-3:30 is a typical day without overtime in the construction industry. However my DH is in construction management, he is usually at work at 6:30 AM and comes home for dinner at 6PM. I can't imagine him getting in to work at 9 AM!

Also 7-3 can be the day shift at a factory, where I grew up there were many factories and while it was a small town without "rush hour" you could tell when the factories let out for shift change.

You mean a garage sale?


The working more is true here too, certainly but yes, it's a '9 to 5,' I've never heard an '8 to 5' job nor have I held or known someone who's held that type of job whose hours were actually 8-5, not 9. Weirdness. How do you let companies get away with that? Heh.

8-5 with an hour lunch is what I've considered typical hours for an "office job".

The regional difference between the midwest and living back east (I've lived in NYC area, upstate NY, MA, RI and DE, as well as doing lots of travel involving vistis to client homes in the southeast) has to do with food and hospitality. Back east, it was the norm when you visited someone to be offered a drink (not a cocktail, just a beverage) and often, food. And certainly, if there was any visiting over a meal time, you would be fed. Never a question.

Out here, "food is for family." Period. There have been numerous occasions when we have been INVITED over during a meal time and they will not only not even offer a glass of tap water, but they will actually pull out food for themselves and eat in front of us.

I learned that I had to send snacks with my dd if she was going over to a friend's house after school because the mother would provide snacks for her own child, but not guests. Same with being invited over for dinner -- it did not actually include FOOD.

One time early on before we know the rules, my dd was invited to a sleep-over beginning after school on Friday and continuing until 4pm on Saturday. When I went to pick her up, the mother complained to me that dd had been grumpy for the last couple of hours. I asked dd what was wrong and she said she was starving and hadn't eaten since lunchtime at school the day before. I was perplexed and made a comment about her not being picky and refusing to eat what Mrs. X had offered. Mrs. X laughed and said, "Oh, we didn't feed her. Food is for family only."

Before people jump on me, I'm not saying my experience is universal. But has certainly been nearly 100% universal FOR US when we are dealing with people native to this state to the point where when someone offers me food/bev, I ask where they are from and they are NEVER from here.

Still dying to know what part of the midwest this person is in. I can't imagine that happening anywhere in the middle that I have lived! Heck, I've fed the neighbor kids several times just because they were here at lunch or supper time playing. Plus they never seem to sit down as a family to eat which I can understand with the older kids, but the youngest is 2.

 

[crz4mm2]

Yep, I've helped carry gifts to a parent's car more than once after a wedding. The morning after our reception we did a brunch at my IL's with the leftover food and opened gifts. My best friend was there along with parents and my DH's siblings.



I've never heard of anyone working hourly getting a paid lunch break. Most salaried people I know work more hours than that too.



9-5 has always been "bankers hours" to me. 7-3:30 is a typical day without overtime in the construction industry. However my DH is in construction management, he is usually at work at 6:30 AM and comes home for dinner at 6PM. I can't imagine him getting in to work at 9 AM!

Also 7-3 can be the day shift at a factory, where I grew up there were many factories and while it was a small town without "rush hour" you could tell when the factories let out for shift change.



8-5 with an hour lunch is what I've considered typical hours for an "office job".





Still dying to know what part of the midwest this person is in. I can't imagine that happening anywhere in the middle that I have lived! Heck, I've fed the neighbor kids several times just because they were here at lunch or supper time playing. Plus they never seem to sit down as a family to eat which I can understand with the older kids, but the youngest is 2.

Me too! I have lived in the midwest my whole 51 years. We NEVER ate in front of people. If you show up at my house around meal time, you are fed just like the rest of the Family!

 

[luvsJack]

I don't get that because on Long Island you can make a right on red at most lights unless it states otherwise so he should be used to making a right on red!




LOL--I know the high school has some homecoming thing but really the only people that go to that and the football game are the football players parents or the cheerleaders parents or the players girlfriends--most other people could give a crap if a high school level football game was going and or even be aware that one was going one.

Now see, homecoming at the high school I went to (and my kids went/will go to) is like a huge "event". If you don't get there at least 2 hours before the game you won't find a place to park. All home games are popular but homecoming is just HUGE.

The jr. high homecoming games are almost as popular.

 

[kkacar]

From the gulf coast of Florida here... Deep South is pretty comparable.

Friday night in the fall you ARE at the football game.
Saturday you are watching YOUR college team play ball.
Sunday you go to church and then come home and watch more football. Good thing I love football. Football is a way of life in our house. It's how you socialize and I know people who have planned their wedding time around the fact the Alabama and Auburn or FLorida State and Florida were playing at a certain time and they knew their families would be upset.

Tea is always sweet with ice. It is never at any point hot or placed in a "cup" or unsweet. I can't think how bad unsweet tea must taste. And that stuff at Disney is NOT tea, I am not sure what it really is but it is not tea. *shudder*

If you tell me you want a coke, I will ask you what kind?

Around here, yes you will be asked what church you go to or who your people are? It's not meant to be rude, its meant to try to find some common ground with you. And, yes there is a difference between Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian. LOL... hubbys parents were shocked I was a Baptist and here I was going to marry their sweet little Methodist boy. LOL

If you show up at my parents or my inlaws they will always feed you. Always!! It's not even a consideration of feeding you its making sure you like what they make. Growing up living at the coast we had plenty of fresh seafood at any given time we may have 15-20 pounds of shrimp, red snapper, grouper, crabs, oysters. Seafood is very plentiful. Until I was grown I had no idea that some places consider is expensive. Steak was always something that was plentiful as well. We always had a freezer and it usually had a "half a cow or hog" in it.

Weddings are nice, but are typically either on the beach or at your church. I was married at the same church where I was baptized. We had a buffet in the fellowship hall that consisted of shrimp salad, pork loin, pasta salad and other buffet types items. I was 22 and hubby was 33 when we got married.

Kelli

 

[disykat]

I'm confused by the homecoming mums - those don't look anything like mums! We had them in college and they were actually mums!

I'm also amazed by the "no food in the midwest" comment. My experience on the west coast has been more of a offer food if it's meal time, drink if it's particularly hot or cold, refreshments if the visit lasts more than an hour or so, etc. That's what I'm used to. However, when visiting in the Midwest it seems like I'm greeted at the door, dragged to the table, sat down, and force fed the contents of their refridgerator no matter what time of day it is or how brief my visit!

 

[spacemountainmom]

I'm confused by the homecoming mums - those don't look anything like mums! We had them in college and they were actually mums!

I'm also amazed by the "no food in the midwest" comment. My experience on the west coast has been more of a offer food if it's meal time, drink if it's particularly hot or cold, refreshments if the visit lasts more than an hour or so, etc. That's what I'm used to. However, when visiting in the Midwest it seems like I'm greeted at the door, dragged to the table, sat down, and force fed the contents of their refridgerator no matter what time of day it is or how brief my visit!

You must have been a guest of my grandma's. That woman just wasn't happy if you weren't eating!

 

[Michelle67]

I'm confused by the homecoming mums - those don't look anything like mums! We had them in college and they were actually mums!

I'm also amazed by the "no food in the midwest" comment. My experience on the west coast has been more of a offer food if it's meal time, drink if it's particularly hot or cold, refreshments if the visit lasts more than an hour or so, etc. That's what I'm used to. However, when visiting in the Midwest it seems like I'm greeted at the door, dragged to the table, sat down, and force fed the contents of their refridgerator no matter what time of day it is or how brief my visit!

Yep, that's the part of the midwest that I know and love.

You must have been a guest of my grandma's. That woman just wasn't happy if you weren't eating!

Hey, are we related? Maybe not, you didn't say "Mee Maw."

 

[spacemountainmom]

Yep, that's the part of the midwest that I know and love.



Hey, are we related? Maybe not, you didn't say "Mee Maw."

Nope, mine was Grandma. At her house we ate the following:

Breakfast
Dinner (at noon)
Lunch (mid-afternoon and more often than not, sweet stuff)
Supper (6 ish)
If we stayed over night we usually were served a snack sometime before bedtime as well.

My favorite lunch as a kid was Root Beer Floats. My grandma LOVED her root beer floats.

 

[luvtheworld16]

Has anyone else notice that the poster who mentioned "food is for family" has not been back to answer where they are from? No one else on this thread has ever heard of such a custom.

 

[SaraJayne]

I'm confused by the homecoming mums - those don't look anything like mums! We had them in college and they were actually mums!

I'm also amazed by the "no food in the midwest" comment. My experience on the west coast has been more of a offer food if it's meal time, drink if it's particularly hot or cold, refreshments if the visit lasts more than an hour or so, etc. That's what I'm used to. However, when visiting in the Midwest it seems like I'm greeted at the door, dragged to the table, sat down, and force fed the contents of their refridgerator no matter what time of day it is or how brief my visit!

Guests are always showered with food and drink...no exceptions! It's like that everywhere I've ever been in the upper Midwest. LOL

 

[vwlizard]

In Salem, MA - blinking green lights.. Only place I have ever seen them and it really took some getting used to..

We were just talking about this at dinner the other night. No one knew what they meant, so we looked it out. Blinking green light= changing in road condition (dropping a lane, change of speed limit, turns ahead, etc.) However, you have no idea what the condition will be. Apparently, in Canada, blinking green= delayed green (you have right of way to turn before opposite side turns green). That makes a lot more sense.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Seeing talk of right on red in Long Island, it reminded me of being there this year and not being sure about it, doing it, and having some type of camera or something up on the street light flash off while we were "in the act".

I myself didn't mind (if I was somehow going to get in trouble cause I really thought it was fine) but the next day friends were following us and I did the same thing and they were freaking out when the "camera" flashed thinking they were going to get a ticket in the mail, a citation, increased insurance rates, you name it.

So... do tell... What is up with these things that flash on top of your streetlights?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We were just talking about this at dinner the other night. No one knew what they meant, so we looked it out. Blinking green light= changing in road condition (dropping a lane, change of speed limit, turns ahead, etc.) However, you have no idea what the condition will be. Apparently, in Canada, blinking green= delayed green (you have right of way to turn before opposite side turns green). That makes a lot more sense.

I remember learning about flashing green in Driver's Ed (MA). Not that it's actually used much, but I could swear that "flashing green = could change to red". I could be wrong, but that's how I remember it.