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puzzle pieces

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Bumpkin vs. Slicker























When I was 8 years old, my family moved from the city of Calgary...
{~~home to my favorite hockey team, (Yay Flames!), the Calgary Tower, and the infamous Peter's Drive-In~~~}

to a not so bustling town in Central Alberta...
{~~Where EVERYONE knew your name AND what you were up to.}


Driving into town one day, I remember sitting in the front passenger seat .... watching in fascination as my sweet mother impatiently rode a (very slow) truck's bumper. 


"Country Bumpkin!" she muttered.
Being 8 (and from the City), I inquired to what that was.


"This farmer in front of me! They drive so slow out here. 
Now we're from the city, so we're called City Slickers!"


From that moment on I was determined to keep my status as a City Slicker. 
Never a Country Bumpkin would I be. 
This going so slow wasn't quite as much fun as the pace we had come from.
~~~~~
Fast forward about 30 years, and yours truly is trying to maneuver her way through a bustling city at rush Hour last week.
Shaking.
In near tears.
And horrified at the rudeness of fellow human beings as they drove their vehicles past and nearly into my own.
I was stunned. And appalled at the impatience.


When I finally did reach my destination in one piece (and the weakness in my knees passed), I couldn't help but chuckle and wonder:
 just what all those City Slickers thought of my driving that day.

46 comments:

Leah J. Utas said...

Country girl born and raised here. I don't care what the city folk say of me.

TexWisGirl said...

this is great! you're on the other side of the coin now! :)

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

What a realization!

I hate driving in large cities that I don't know well.

TexWisGirl said...

i've come from country to big city and back to country again, but i drove thru downtown Dallas yesterday just to see if it bothered me at all and it didn't. so i guess i've got a bit of citified left in me too.

Lynette Jacobs said...

If I could...I would live in the country anyday. I had a lovely giggle while reading this delightful post Dawn.

Bev said...

And I was almost mortified at that Country Bumpkin...hehehe

Meg said...

Funny how we turn into things without even meaning to. I'll take country bumpkin over city anything any day! :)

Corinna said...

haha! full circle :)

Elizabeth Grimes said...

I moved from Nebraska to NYC...know JUST what you mean. Took me over a year to drive without completely melting down. Lol! The worst in people come out when they're driving.

darlin said...

Dawn if you're ever in Edmonton call me, I'll drive! :-) As when I come to visit you you can show me how to get on a horse! lol I refuse to go in the horse trailer though as I'd most likely be the one locked in! lol

So if I'm from the country, live in the city and get along quite well here plus I yearn to get out of here and back into the country what would that make me? I guess a Country Slicker? LOL

You can take the girl out of the country but you can never take the country out of the girl!

Have a great day and yes the drivers in cities need to be taught some manners, I agree whole heartedly!

darlin said...

Dawn, I meant to compliment you on your photos... oops. The first one gave me a reversed fear of heights, if that makes any sense! lol Great shot!

Debbie said...

"i've looked at life from both sides now"....i prefer somewhere in the middle, country roads are great, with a little sprinkle of spunk.

Debbie said...

i forgot to say nice photo!!!!

Unknown said...

A good lesson and beautiful memories for you Dawn.
Costas

Farm Girl said...

Well, I feel that every time I get in the car. I am starting to drive like a old lady. That is worse that a country bumkin. :)

Inger said...

Just the way I felt when I went to Los Angeles in mid-March. And I wasn't even driving! Except for the backseat kind....

bon bon said...

those are great shots, dawn! such lovely clouds...
i tend to go from country to city pretty easily and am guilty of having a lead foot no matter where i am. ;o)

Anonymous said...

ahhh how times can change and we find ourselves in a place we never imagined
glad you remained safe freind
and great images...

love and light

Rosaria Williams said...

Oh yes, how we adapt and change and view others differently! I prefer small towns and country roads anytime.

spindrift,maine said...

I was driving yesterday with my not-so-reverent daughter in a city not far from the city she lives in in CO. She is a Maine girl at heart, however. Yesterday she commented, as I was trying to ease into traffic with no good results, "there are a whole lot of a different kind of self-important #@%%#$ in this city from the city I live in. What's up with that?? I'm like you--I'll take rural drivers any day....

Deb said...

that is funny....I've always lived in the city but I'm a country bumbkin...great post...

Samantha said...

I've never been city and even riding in moderate traffic spikes my blood pressure!

Buttons Thoughts said...

I am a country bumpkin too. I will never drive in Toronto it scares me just being a passenger. I think some city slickers don't know how to see.I think I will stick to my bumpy, muddy back road. B

Horst in Edmonton said...

I was raised in the country as well, prefer it over city life. To bad I can't afford to live in the country. Need the medical services of the city.

Michelle said...

I hate driving in a busy city and had to myself just last week! In rush hour no less. People can be so mean.

sage said...

I went to school in cities... and while I enjoyed both Pittsburgh and the San Francisco Bay, I was also glad to see them both in my rear view mirror.

Janie said...

I've gone from big city living to the peaceful country life, and I love that slower pace.
When I drive in the city now, I get a little weak-kneed, too.

Unknown said...

I don't know about you but I'd never go back!

Hilary said...

Ah yes.. perspective truly is everything. ;)

Nancy said...

I don't really breath again until I hit the gravel road. :)

sassyshoediary said...

How cute!

Lowell said...

Written like a true country bumpkin!

In our area of Ocala, it's rather country with a lot of city mixed in...the problem isn't country bumpkins vs. city slickers, it's stupid old people that should be home in their easy chair instead of out on the road in their new Mercedes going 40 mph in a 60 mph zone!

A friend of mine, who is 84, told me it's a good thing he doesn't own a gun 'cause he probably shoot a half a dozen old people while trying to drive into town! :-)

He was kidding. Sort of.

Jack said...

Next time you visit my friend Jacob's blog, tell him he is an ornery ol' coot.

Dawn, it is all context. I'll bet you move from slicker to bumpkin and back again. Slicker in your favorite little black dress and heels. Bumpkin in an old shirt and boots working out back.

laughwithusblog said...

Love it! You described me driving in the city exactly! :)

Jo said...

Haha. This is so funny! I live out in the country. The mountains of NC, actually. With very curvy roads. We get fed up with the "city slickers" not driving fast enough out here. I guess it just depends on where we are all driving, right?

Randy said...

Love this post.

Ransick said...

Who cares what they thought. Just stay in the right lane if you come to St. Louis :-).

Slamdunk said...

Thanks for the reflective moment.

I don't miss my urban driving days. With my previous job in the country, I certainly passed more cows than cars each day.

Rambling said...

Funny how we adapt to a more civilized pace! Your post reminded me of how my cousin (grew up in the country) used to laugh at me for being a city slicker. Eventually we traded places ... for a while! Like the country mouse and the city mouse.

I use InDesign to line up photos for the header, then convert it to jpg using Photoshop. If you don't have these tools I'd be glad to do one for you ... just send me 4 to 6 photos that you'd like to use. My email is gmwilkie10@gmail.com.

wayne15575 said...

No matter what you are....you are a wonderful person to know.

Clint said...

We should all strive to be a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.

Out on the prairie said...

I often wonder what the people behind me think when I get lost looking over the scenery.I laugh going into a larger town and get a few honks if I don't put that pedal down fast enough. In my town a traffic jam is 5-8 cars.

Val said...

I'm a city girl. I feel I thrive with all the madness...with that being said....I day dream of a quiet peaceful life. I hope one day to be in the country!!!

MDScaper said...

Dawn, I live just outside of the city. I've lived here for most of my life. The impatience and rudeness of some drivers is indeed stunning. Anyway, your mention of being a country bumpkin reminded me of the great song sung by Cal Smith titled Country Bumpkin. Here's a YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMRnKYNlHVA

LBB said...

I so relate! I love the city but HATE to drive in it!!! I take the train or cab it :D I just don't have the guts to be so aggressive!

Rick said...

I can adapt to whatever the driving situation dictates, although sometimes it takes a bit of time to adjust e.g. my driving experience in Greece - I adopted the 'when in Greece, drive like the Greeks do' motto. In no time I too could turn a two-lane uphill, blind corner stretch into a Nascar track ! ;-)