9 Reasons I Know I'm in a True Southern Town

I've lived in Atlanta since January of 2006. I have loved the city-life. I loved being at the Church that helped develop Aaron Shust. And is currently led in worship by Laura Story. I also oftentimes loved that I knew hardly anyone at the church. I could slip in anonymously and worship and be fed by Randy Pope without socializing. I loved having every store known to man at my fingertips. I loved having Super Target within a mile of my house. I loved hanging out with people who weren't religious and weren't afraid to tell me so. I loved the diversity of culture and differences in traditions...but I must say, Atlanta is "the south" only in physical location. Very little about Atlanta is Southern. And I was so enveloped in the culture there, I didn't realize how drastically different it is from a True Southern Town. Here are 9 Reasons that now I'm in Oxford, I know that I'm in a True Southern Town:
1. Everybody goes to church.
They may not really know Jesus, but they are in church because they've been taught that on Sundays, you go to church.
2. People drive slow
Forget about hustle and bustle. This place is slower than the Tortoise ever thought about being...and I love it!
3. When you move in, people greet you with food
Within 7 days of living here, we received home made bread, brownies and a watermelon. All from new neighbors! True Southern Towns always welcome with food.
4. You run into people you know everytime you leave the house
Seriously, I've been here 2 weeks, and I keep running into people I've met. It is so fun.
5. Everybody loves football
People everywhere are talking about football season. Maybe that's because it's a college town, but hey...there are several colleges in Atlanta and there are people everywhere who could care less about football
6. People say "yes ma'am, no ma'am, yes sir, no sir"
I had older people tell me to stop calling them "ma'am" in Atlanta - it is most definitely the polite, southern thing to do, but there are so many people in Atlanta not from "the south" it's not always expected.
7. Pot Luck SUPPER at church
In Atlanta it's called "Dinner" - in the True South, it's called Supper...And last night at our new church, we had a Pot Luck Supper!!!! It was so much fun and something I have truly missed.
8. People say "Hey" instead of "Hi"
I have been around so many people who say "Hi" in Atlanta that it rubbed off on me - now saying Hey sounds almost weird to me, but I like it and think I will get back to saying it without any problem!
9. Super Wal-Mart lurks around every corner
Seriously, people fight to keep Wal-Mart out of Atlanta. The closest one to us was a good 15-20 minutes away. Now, I have one within a minute of my house. Woo Hoo! And then there is another one about 5 miles down the road in another town called Batesville. True Southern Towns LOVE their Wal-Mart!