Country Folk and City Folk

5 Things You Should Know

As y’all know so well, soil that plants are rooted in has much to do with the fruits and flavors they bear. So, it’s not a huge leap to apply that analogy to people. Those of us growing up in good ol’ country soils sometimes scratch our heads at the attitudes and logic of the city folk who visit our small towns. For instance, a journalist, who thought it funny to take a picture of a local many years closed restaurant and insinuate in an uncomplimentary way on twitter that was where she had lunch while visiting our fine county. I assure you this, if I flew to her city, I would find multiple buildings in disrepair. Which brings me to five things us country folk want you to know.

Every city has closed businesses no matter its size. You see our small town and its run-down buildings. We see your city and its run-down buildings. There is both beauty and desolation in every community. Choose to see the beauty.
Our internet might be slow, but our cooking is good. We may not have all the big city amenities, but our traffic is never jammed. The low country landscape is some of the prettiest you will ever see.
Bad news, gossip, and rumors spread like wildfire. Do not assume that nothing good ever happens here. The good news just does not get the same mileage as the bad.
In the words of Mrs. Julia Sugarbaker from the classic tv show Designing Women, “I’m saying this is the South, and we’re proud of our crazy people. We don’t hide them up in the attic. We bring ’em right down to the living room and show ’em off. See, Phyllis, no one in the South ever asks if you have crazy people in your family. They just ask what side they’re on.” Basically, we will tell you the truth about what we know and what we think about it. Don’t be disappointed if it is not as salacious as you hoped.
We will not hold your lack of manners against you. We will serve you up our best southern dishes and show you our southern small-town hospitality. We will even bless your heart. It will be up to you to decipher the exact meaning behind that phrase. If you know, you know.

In all seriousness, it is hard to see our Hampton the setting for unsavory worldwide attention. This is a place of tremendous community. Sure, we know city dwellers perceive it to be a painfully boring existence “in the sticks.” Conversely, we want you to know that we would not trade the good neighbors, adorable main streets with sweet local shopping, our watermelon festival with every activity you probably never imagined, and our glorious open landscapes with an abundance of outdoor adventures for your cityscape and we definitely would not insult your cooking. That is very bad manners.