A brother-in-law from Buffalo drops his bag in the driveway, looks over the yard, and asks which tree is the orange tree. He’s just getting started. The postcard version of Florida is decades out of date, and the relatives who fly down every summer haven’t updated their questions. These are the questions Floridians brace for…
A pickup truck idles outside a gas station on the edge of Franklin, windows down, engine off. The driver doesn’t bother reaching for the radio. There’s already plenty to listen to. These are the sounds of a Tennessee summer locals can place before the first note even finishes. 1. Katydids After Dark Step onto a…
A recipe box sits on a kitchen counter in Winston-Salem, its cards frayed at the corners after fifty years of hands. One card reads, “Aunt Ruby’s chicken and pastry, don’t rush the dumplings.” Nobody in the family has managed to get the dumplings right since. These are the details North Carolina grandmothers left off their…
Hurricane season hands Floridians a legitimate reason to open their guest room. But that doesn’t mean the welcome mat stays out forever. Somewhere between a guest’s second rebooked flight and an eleventh night on a leaking air mattress, patience runs out. In our opinion, these are the situations when it’s perfectly acceptable to kick out…
A woolly worm crawled across a driveway in Anderson County, South Carolina, last October, and three generations stopped the car to check its stripes. Grandpa called for a hard winter right there on the spot. The National Weather Service tells a different story. These are the pieces of weather lore South Carolina grandparents swore by,…
Think Louisiana’s open container law keeps a drink out of your cup holder? Not exactly. Order a frozen daiquiri from a drive-thru window, and it’s perfectly legal as long as the straw stays taped shut. These are the unwritten rules of driving in Louisiana, the laws every local picks up growing up but nobody hands…
At a playground in Minneapolis in December, a mother reapplies sunscreen on her son’s face before letting him out the door, under a flat, overcast sky. Another parent asks, “Why bother?” Some habits don’t check the calendar or the forecast. California taught her that one, and it followed her north. 1. Every Freeway Gets a…
A shopper at a Trussville Publix says four words to the cashier that make the woman behind her in line ask, “Wait, you can do that?” She can. Years of habits built up behind the buggy taught her the move, the kind nobody posts about. These are the habits that separate a lifelong Alabama Publix…
A kid in Ocala looks up mid-cannonball the second the pool horn blows. Nobody has to explain what it means. They’re out of the water before the lifeguard finishes the whistle. These are the things a Florida upbringing teaches you. 1. Afternoon Storm Clock Growing up in Florida means summer afternoons run on a timer…
A New Yorker drives two states over for a weekend trip, and the cashier at the first gas station already knows they’re not from around there. These are the everyday habits that mark someone as a New Yorker before they ever open their mouth. 1. Saving Empties for a Nickel New Yorkers rinse out soda…
