Too Good to Be True
As we began our move toward South Carolina, many well meaning people took it upon themselves to brief us on what to expect in “The South.”
The common theme in all of the encouragement and cautions was the ubiquitous “Southern Hospitality.” Everyone would be over the top nice, all the time, in all ways, and if we were utterly crass and callow, all that would happen is that someone would bless our hearts.
Coming from the hard-edged culture of California, we were silently skeptical while being outwardly enthusiastic about being welcomed into such a refined and embracing culture.
Turns out we were right.
It was DEFINITELY too good to be true.
Unfortunately, it was gentle Mercy Megan who got the raw edge of South Carolina in full. She was doing some yard work and ran into a nest of South Carolina ants and found out THEY.DID.NOT.GET.THE.MEMO!
At all.
Her plan was to mosey down to the hardware store and have a chummy little chat with Jerry-the-Sage about the unmannerly South Carolina ants.
If he tells her to just bless their hearts and get over it, I shall scream.
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South Carolina
By : Kelly On May 21st 2019Those special creatures as you no doubt know by now are not called South Carolina ants. They are fire ants and are called such for good reason. I was bitten by about 200 of those darlings at one time many years ago and indeed felt like I was on fire.
Regarding people, I came from the North and what I learned from most of my Southern peers is, compliments mask deep contempt. I do not trust a Charlestonian who compliments my hair within 30 seconds of meeting me. If she adds another compliment on top of that one, I run for the hills.
That said, I have loved living in the South (I'm going on 30 years) and unless God moves me on, I do not plan to leave. Nothing makes my heart pound like sitting under a huge live oak tree draped in Spanish moss. But emotional honesty is not a concept people are all too familiar with down here, so it's best to keep your heart guarded when you get covered with all the sugar of Southern charm.
And if they tell you they will call you to get together sometime, this means, "You are bothering me, and I hope to never see you again." Don't wait for the call. It never comes.
"Ouch!" as the subject line is apparently too short..
By : Samantha Roberts On October 17th 2018I hope Megan is ok!
My grandfather used to keep rabbits in hutches hanging in the trees to keep them out of the path of the ants in Zambia. Before my time though, but my mercy mom had some horrid run-ins with those ants.
Replied by : Arthur Burk
Pestilence
By : Merry Burkhalter On October 16th 2018Sorry you encountered one of the Southern evils. Prayers against any further pestilence toward you...ants or otherwise
Nathan test
By : Nathan Noble On October 15th 2018This comment is a test to try and sign up for the new blog...
Replied by : Arthur Burk
Sarcastic Ants and Noble Hearts
By : Diane On October 12th 2018I found out ,being in the south when some say"Bless You're Heart" does not always mean it in a nice way,rather it can be meant in sarcasm!
Oh really? No wonder there is a tone inflection in how some say this.
So,those ants were saying in sarcasm ,meaness and sassiness "Bless you're heart and get off the ant hill"
Thank God for home remedies and Jerry at the Hardware Store! I hope Megan is better!
Anti-ants!
By : Joan Westaway On October 11th 2018Eeeeeek!
Bless your little cotton socks, O Prophet.
Wondering if that helps?
May come in handy, if they are anything like fire ants Megan!
New tools for the SLG toolkit!
Ants! Oh no! (PS great graphic . . . )
By : Cynthia Harris On October 11th 2018Ohhhh noooo!!!!!!! poor Megan! ☹️ So they must have been fire ants?
The other thing about Southerners is we all have our favorite home remedies for such things. One of our most successful with fire ants & the yellow jackets that build in the ground has been Dawn dish soap, just the original blue stuff. It's evidently an "insecticide soap," and kills them instantly, without a lot of toxic chemical stuff.
So we put about half a cup of Dawn into a gallon jug of water & pour it right down the ant hill. You can find all kinds of YouTubes. We got rid of a HUGE hill of them that way.
Fire ants. Bless their hearts.
Ants! Oh no! (PS great graphic . . . )
By : Cynthia Harris On October 11th 2018Ohhhh noooo!!!!!!! poor Megan! ☹️ So they must have been fire ants?
The other thing about Southerners is we all have our favorite home remedies for such things. One of our most successful with fire ants & the yellow jackets that build in the ground has been Dawn dish soap, just the original blue stuff. It's evidently an "insecticide soap," and kills them instantly, without a lot of toxic chemical stuff.
So we put about half a cup of Dawn into a gallon jug of water & pour it right down the ant hill. You can find all kinds of YouTubes. We got rid of a HUGE hill of them that way.
Fire ants. Bless their hearts.