I'm from Macon County TN. (Lafayette/Red Boiling Springs). Its one of the largest counties, and has one of the fewest populations in TN. I love it there. Growing up, I couldn't wait to leave. I worked as a service contractor the first few years after graduating, and was always traveling. I hated how "old-fashioned" it was in TN. I joined the military, and swore I would never be back.
Then, I grew up. I've now been to much of the world (Iraq, Africa, Ireland, Germany, Dubai, etc) and most of the continental US. I've seen the human race at its best, and at its worst. We are, at our core, animals. And given the chance to prove it, (Katrina, LA, anywhere in Africa or the Middle East), we will. I saw people in Africa literally tear each other apart, people in Iraq kill/torture/maim each other because they didn't believe in the same invisible man in the sky. Granted, here in America, problems like that are rare, but do happen.
City folk like to criticize us, call us "hicks" and "hillbillies" because of our "backward" way of living. Well, I am proud to be a "backward hillbilly". I have 4 years left in the military before I retire, and hightail it back to TN where I belong. I have no desire to live in the city.....ANY city. I like living in a place where people know my name, my family's name, and look out for one another. People I can trust. A place where self sustaining people can and have lived for years without the government's help. Growing up, we never locked our doors on our houses or cars. We never needed to. Break-ins, home invasions, and robberies were non existent. People fought in if they had a disagreement, (with fists, not guns) and weren't afraid of toting an ass-whipping. While I may not align perfectly with ALL of the beliefs of the people I grew up with, I now know its where me and my family belong.
........key Alabama's "Born Country"
