[HPFGU-OTChatter] Rambling over Kentucky (was Re: Buttermilk and absurd questions)

[Meredith Wilson]

This whole conversation just keeps making me smile. :)  It's fun to find
people with a similar background, or at least those who know about
Ale-8-one!

>I lived *in* Lancaster, in fact - and yes, it was rural, more so even 
>than Lofoten, Norway (whence I hail).  My hostmother's parents lived 
>in danville, so I was there quite often.  Many Sundays I listened to 
>the Rev. Otis Clark in the local congregation of Disciples of 
>Christ.  ::sigh::  I prefer Church of Norway, truth be told.The 
>ceremonial of the Church of Norway seemed less theatrical to me thaan 
>the lack of same in Disciples of Christ.  I'll add that i am not a 
>particularly religious person.

I keep trying to explain the church phenomenon in Kentucky.  A street next
to my mom's house has 15 churches in a less than 3-mile stretch.  I feel
that's excessive.  Not that I think church is a bad thing, I'm episcopalian
and I go to church fairly often (every Sunday right now because my husband
is being paid to be their resident tenor, but I probably wouldn't if that
wasn't the case), but it's crazy in Kentucky.  And I don't think I went to
church once in Danville.  I would occasionally drive to my church from when
I lived in Lexington (It was right near Halls on the River and we would go
through Lancaster to get there from Danville) but my heart goes out to you
for sitting through a rural Kentucky Disciples of Christ service - no
offense meant to those of you who might attend a rural Kentucky Disciples of
Christ service, just not my cup of tea.

[snip]
>> Ah, Kentucky high school girls... well, it was an experience I 
>> guess.

>Both he and her were in the band, her being 14 and pregnant, me being 
>18 and him being 20.  I think they had a row beforehand, and he did 
>not seem to care at all (which, truth be told, was lucky for me and 
>my good health)

>I noticed that most teachers did not react to girls putting on make-
>up in class...  Not all girls did it of course, but those who did 
>made up for those who didn't.

*is forced to shudder thinking of such girls in her high school*

>Comparing US highschool and Norwegian upper secondary school, the 
>teacher-student realtionship is very different - in Norway we are on 
>first-name basis with all teachers - it even extends to university in 
>some cases.  It is not unheard of that if an upper-sec teacher and a 
>student are both out on the town a Friday or Saturday night, they 
>might have a drink together (you can buy alcohol from age 18 in 
>Norway).  In general, the teacher's authority is relying less on 
>rules and more on what respect s/he actually has earned in the class-
>room.

I definitely had teachers who were more like that than your typical US
teacher.  I had a few that I hung out with on occasion, but it certainly
isn't the norm.  

[snip] 
>> Although Kentucky Kingdom was pretty lame, then especially, they've 
>> been purchased by Six Flags, so I have hope for it.  King's Island 
>> on the other hand, I adore.  I tried to plan my last trip home so I 
>> could go, but it ended up being 29 degrees the day I wanted to go, 
>> which isn't great roller coaster weather.  Sad.  That's one thing 
>> Seattle is missing!  We have earthquakes instead!

>Well, Kentucky Kingdom nearly destroyed my back - I had to crawl out 
>of bed of my stomach for several months afterwards.  Come to think 
>about it, I should have sued them - could have landed myself some 
>millions there.  

Too bad you missed out on a settlement!  Actually, the one time I went
there, I had a similar complaint from a different coaster.  The starchaser
either wasn't there or was closed when I was there, though I remember
hearing about it.

>There was this lawyer with real tacky commercials on 
>the Kentucky networks...  

Melbourne Mills Jr? *laughs*

[snip]

>I agree on King's Island - it was great.  I chose to stay away from 
>the rollercoasters, though...

That's too bad because the coasters are what makes King's Island great.  Boy
I miss the Beast and the Vortex!  I adore roller coasters, but I can
understand why you might not!

[snip]

>Have you, btw, any recollection of Ale-8-One?  Just had to ask!

What good Kentucky girl wouldn't know about Ale-8-One?!  Personally I'm not
wild about it... we used to call it Winchester Swamp Water, but now that I
don't live there I get it sometimes when I'm home.  My friend's dad writes
the advertising jingles for them.

>One thing I noted in USA was the size of supermarkets - they were 
>large.  Wal-Mart and K-Mart particularly are a phenomenon not seen in 
>Norway.  The biggest store I saw, however, was a Meyer-store.  It 
>dwarfed even the largest K-/Walmart-stores - 36 cashregisters, I 
>believe, all of them busy.  The food-section dwarfed the large 
>grocery-stores in Danville, for certain.

Yeah, and this isn't nearly as much the case here.  There are a few places
like that, but I miss the Wal-Mart or Meyer stores that are open all night.
You could get anything you wanted anytime you wanted.  And get your exercise
too!  Of course that was about all there was to do, besides going to Mr.
Gatti's for pizza and video games.  And the video store.  Actually, the
Lexington area is a mecca for shopping, and I've heard a major US test
market for stores and products. Here in Seattle you just order your
groceries online and have them delivered to you!

Meredith