“Hey y’all!” This expression means much more than its two word phrase taken at face value. It means, “Sit a spell.” It means, “Good t’ see ya.” It means, “How ‘bout some sweet tea.”

When in the south, you’re sure to run into this greeting. When you do, you should realize that the ones who say it, mean it.

Over time, southern people have been displayed in our society in many ways. TV has always made an effort to portray them as slow-living, hard-working and somewhat naive to the ways of “real” living. Whether you embrace the good nature of the imaginary town of Mayberry, NC on episodes of “The Andy Griffith Show,” or laugh hysterically at the antics of Granny on “The Beverly Hillbillies,” what most outside the borders of Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia and the Carolinas think they know about them has been forged through these laughable characters of Hollywood.

It shouldn’t be surprising then that at least some of what is portrayed is true. Southerners can be quite a ways from mainstream. The broken down cars in their yards to some may look trashy, while subliminally, it shows their desire to hang on to the past. There was a lot of history in those cars after all. Little Billy Bob was born when they owned the Vega, and Mary Gail drove that Escort right up until she married Roger Dale and moved off to the “Weeziana”.

Many southern folks have two names. To some this may seem irregular. Who would go around calling JFK “John Fitzgerald”? However, they may be inclined to tell you “We all got two names, and one’s no more important than the other.” After all, most of the time, these are names handed down through the family like old tractors. Little Jimmy Joe should be proud to be named after his father and his grandfather. They were both good men.

When it comes to southern people things like love and honor still mean something. A marriage is a life-long agreement to serve chicken pastry to the man you fell in love with in high school. Tell that to a California girl and they’d be treating a marriage license like an “moccasin.” Down here, men who come home reeking of sweat and covered in red clay mud are the true princes.

It’s easy to forget the days when folks envied southern life. The perception of their boys growing into southern gentlemen and their daughters becoming southern belles have long past. Misconceptions seem to be as prevalent as cousins at a family reunion.

People have forgotten the great hospitable nature they once learned from southern people and have turned to rock-n-roll and fast-living. Poking fun at southern tradition seems to be society’s way of leaving what doesn’t fit their world behind.

So, the next time you’re in an Alabama roadside diner and Etta Jean offers you a plate of pecan pie, just sit there and enjoy yourself. Think about how nice it is to be in the company of someone who doesn’t care how many sales you’ve made this year, how many figures are in your bank account or how much your watch set you back. Etta Jean’s pa taught her right, and she’d be as happy with a hardy, “Mmmm, this is some good pie!” as she would a five-dollar tip.