Hey, y'all want some so-wus?

"Hey" is the most commonly used Southern greeting. So, "Hey, Y'all!" One of these days, I'll try to post something in Brooklynese. Actually, I might be speaking it in the near future. Maybe I already am! For instance, I now find it hard to just say "sauce" when referring to the red stuff that you put on spaghetti. I accidentally say, umm, I wonder how to spell this? So-wus?

My three years of Southern living still show up sometimes, too. Typically I have trouble pronouncing the word "I." It frequently comes out "Ah." There is something so comforting and welcoming in the soft South Carolina accent.

I really hope people don't think I am making fun of them: I'm not. I have decided that since I am from the West Coast and there really aren't any native accents out there, I tend to pick up bits of every accent I am around. You should have heard me talk in South Carolina. At the school there were people from New Zealand, Wales, Texas and Canada, to name a few. I don't think anyone there knows how I really talk. Don't ask me to put on different accents when you are with me, though. I only talk like the people I am with.

We are now living on Long Island. In our church, there are Irish, Italian, Indian (via Guyana), transplanted Southerners, etc. You should hear me now.