48 Comments

Brilliant - educate me - what is that accent? Coincidentally, my wife and I spent our honeymoon in the states in 2018, and we travelled across 18 states in a 'little' Toyota - 'little' because that what the locals called it, but to us, it was just a normal sized saloon (different way of looking at things!) - coincidence because every time we entered a new state I sang On the Road Again as loud as I could. Good times.

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Possibly Oklahoma. During the “Dustbowl” of the 1930s many “Okies” moved to California’s Central Valley, as fictionalized in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath.

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Very interesting - pretty sure we drove through Bakersfield too on our way to San Francisco from Las Vegas - might have even stopped off for lunch, I remember it was a long stretch!

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Yes indeed. Hwy 99 is long and tedious and rife with very large trucks that own the road. It is not famous for fine dining, ha ha ha.

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I was writing Texas, but sure could be Oklahoma, based on both accent AND history.

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That road trip sounds like a total adventure! We are such a huge country for exploring. You could spend a year. Cherrie is from Texas or possibly west Oklahoma.

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Flew into New York, flew out of Seattle and 5 weeks of pure adventure in between, trip of a lifetime Sharron, will definitely return some day soon!

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Be sure to put Santa Cruz on your itinerary driving up HWY 1 - LA to San Francisco. I have an en suite waiting for you.

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Steinbeck country - most definitely Sharron!

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Love this slice of life … fabulously written, Sharron.

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Thank you,Barrie! Lots of interesting new plans over at Feast and Fables, I see. Oh boy.

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Love it when they just appear!

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Yes, that accent I can't place! I have to admit, I didn't know what aahsenit was either! I talk rather fast though so that part I get.

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Yeah, that's Texas and Oklahoma. I love our regional dialects!

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I'm from Texas but I don't talk like that.

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Hah! I am not surprised, Kim! It's a big state. Thanks for reading it!

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Cute dialogue, for sure! Reminds me of my years in the South.

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Thanks Linda!

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You absolutely nailed Bakersfield, and the feel of the Central Valley. I imagined that little waitress with the tattoo was raised by a rancher, born in Texas, and he probably hated that his little girl had that damned tattoo. This little story really sparked my imagination, Sharron! Nice work!

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Yes, you nailed it. Texas! Daddy probably hated it that she left her home state and family as well , to be in California.

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It's a hoot trying to figure out accents, slang, and sayings sometimes. I once asked a waitress to "cut the tomato" on my hamburger. She looked at me as if I thought she might put the whole tomato on the burger. She said, as if I was goofing with her, "We cut our tomatoes, sir." Liked this, Sharron!

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I once stood next to a woman in Houston waiting for the crosswalk light to change.. She asked me where I was from. I told her California. She said," Ah lock your slaves." (Excuse me? ) "Ah lock your slaves." I had no idea what she was saying until she pointed to the ruffles on the sleeves of my shirt.

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LOL! That's great. I'm from that area and I have a hard time understanding them sometimes. Dialects sound foreigner than foreign.

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So true! It is fun to guess the home state by listening to the dialect. I am happy it amused you, Ron.

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I enjoy the accent which accentuates the interactions!

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Thanks, Jill. Different accents and dialects fascinate me, too!

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I always thought Bakersfield was a pit too. Then I heard that Dwight Yokum (Dwahght) made his career there with the Bakersfiled sound.

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Don’t forget Buck Owens!

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At my peril! I remember "Together Again" and "Getting Used to Losing You". Haven't listened to him in a long long while.

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Yes! I watched a video with those two and Dwight was dancing around as he sang and almost beaned Buck in the head.

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We got to remember to look for the good in everything! Even Bakersfield.

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They are an oasis in a very dry desert.

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Sounds like central California to me.

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Good! That's what I was aiming for. Thanks Janice.

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Neil Diamond must have been in that bar, when he wrote: “She got the way to move me Cherry…The girl’s outta sight!”

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Aw, your giving away your age Mr Wolf - Cherry Cherry 1967. GREAT SONG!

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"...speaks to me very slowly, as one might speak to a spaniel." Hahaha!

I knew right away what aahsinet was but I've been hanging around the south for a while now. Bless your hourt, Sharron.

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Ha ha ha. My hourt is all yours, Jim.

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Sweeter than sweet tea.

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👍🏻🌿

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Weed a big mound of volcanic rocks still wonder about the name. Humboldt is not far away. I-5 and 99 along with 395 all your stations turn out country‘cause (caws)but no Crows. Food at truck diners way to go. Try it in a VW bug. More insects on windshield than you ever will see except In Mississippi mud .

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Thanks, Richard. Sounds like you've made the trip a few times.

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Yep California is a big state. Can’t see it all one round. Mountains are for me, and Trinidad by the sea.

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It was all good, Sharon. I spent a few days in Bakersfield in April of 1981 while working my way back to Kansas. All I remember is sleeping in the motor home in the afternoon because it was too hot to make sales calls. The next stop was Flagstaff where it snowed. Big liter-little liter and ice in the wine were cute.

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Thank, KC. The two sizes of liters and the ahss were both true. The pas-dah as well. Delightful memory!

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I didn't realize this story was based on real events. Cool!

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I didn't realize this story was based on real events. Cool!

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Well… all except the purple hair…

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