"Boondocks"

I've heard this song many times, but earlier this week I really listened to the words, and WOW. It's totally "my" song when it comes to my hometown. I guess I blocked it out before because I hate it when people talk about "small town life" or make up a country accent, trying to make it uber-cool to be from a small town. I've seriously seen people act half drunk in an attempt to show how country they are. It's annoying.

That being said, I never really considered my hometown as "the boonies." I guess it's because I'm a very literal person. When I say, "it'll just take 5 minutes," it will really just take 5 minutes, maybe 4. So to be in a town where "everyone knows everyone else" there's got to be less than 500 people, right? Well, I guess most people just use that as an expression.

My hometown, Waynesville, NC has a little over 10,000 people. A few months ago I visited the little town of Dothan, AL. All week, I thought it was so small. Turns out, they have over 65,000 people. Hmmm.... that's quite a difference. Heck, even Macon, GA has more people that Asheville, which is much bigger than Waynesville.

I'd like to take a minute to share the lyrics that mean the most to me.


"One thing I know
No matter where I go
I keep my heart and soul in the boondocks"

• So true. Every single person that I've met in Atlanta can attest to this. I truly LOVE Western North Carolina (WNC).
  

"And I can taste
That honeysuckle and it's still so sweet
When it grows wild
On the banks down at old camp creek"

• I've eaten wild honeysuckle. That's a good memory. :)
  

"It's where I learned about living
It's where I learned about love
It's where I learned about working hard
And having a little was just enough
It's where I learned about Jesus
And knowing where I stand
You can take it or leave it, this is me
This is who I am"

• The mountain culture is so much a part of me that there are things I don't understand sometimes. Like, why it might be weird for a baby to crawl around in just a diaper outside. I mean sure, not a newborn, but "God made dirt, dirt don't hurt."
• "Having a little was just enough" 5 kids, 2 parents, 1 income, 3 bedroom single-wide. We had a garden and my dad went deer hunting just to eat! But when it comes to finances, I look at it so differently than a lot of my friends.
  

"Give me a tin roof
A front porch and a gravel road
And that's home to me
It feels like home to me"

• This was the phrase that really got my attention. My mom always loved hearing the rain fall on the tin roof of the trailer. It may be redneck, but it's home to me, and now I love to hear that sound. I also grew up on a gravel road, which my family refuses to pave. That makes me laugh. Didn't know it wasn't a normal thing until Josh mentioned paving it!
  

"I keep my heart and soul in the boondocks"