Fitting in a Late Road Trip This Summer?

Friday, July 10, 2009

Many years ago I was the only southerner in a training class for my first job out of college. A fellow trainee from New Jersey admitted, “When I think of Alabama, I have one of two images: Tara-like plantations, or chickens pecking out in front of a shotgun cabin.”

Likewise, I shared what came to my mind for New Jersey at that time, which was no more flattering (Bon Jovi and the gum-smacking people who styled their hair like Jon Bon Jovi). Of course, both of us were much too narrow-minded. By the end of training, I had convinced him that Alabama had regular homes with modern plumbing and he’d convinced me that Jersey was less responsible for the use of chemical propellants in hairspray than Texas beauty queens (obviously there were no trainees to speak for Texas).

If you’ve got any road trips left in you this summer, have some fun with these squeaky-clean state jokes from Reader’s Digest. (In fact, these could come in handy for comic relief and further discussion in helping your kids learn their state geography). Before you gas up the car, check out the the best local gas prices. You’ll return appreciating the distinctions that make all our states unique.