Signs of why I'm no longer a California Transplant

I sat down just the other day and started to realize how much less I feel like a California transplant than even just a few years back. To be completely honest, however, I didn't start to think about it again until Lisa and I were traveling down to Six Flags over Georgia this past weekend.

She asked me how it is that I "survived southern California traffic" with my normal vehicle pace? I really didn't give her much of an answer. 95% of the time I travel the speed limit on the interstate, which is 70 MPH. I don't know about you, but I personally believe that 70 MPH is fast enough. Sometimes I want to drive faster, but my better judgment usually gets the best of me. (And this is the person who currently has one ticket on his record and an accident all within the last year or so.)

I know that at some point in time, in my youth, I had a bit of a lead foot. That was usually depended upon the car that I was driving (specifically the 1994 Camaro I owned for a very brief time).

Growing up in Ventura County didn't provide, what you would call, "heavy traffic" (at least when I was living there). There wasn't the need to keep up the speed in order to not get mowed down until you were on the 101 headed out past Agoura Hills.

But I digress...

There are at least five things that I've noticed about either myself or how I view my surroundings that tend to make me feel that I am no longer a California transplant. Here's my list in no particular order:

1. SWEET TEA - I've developed a fondness for sweet tea. You may not think that's a big deal, but growing up in California, sweet tea, at least in most establishments, is practically non-existent. Granted, you can add sugar to your iced tea, but it's not the same. Sweet tea was also against my mother's religion. (This coming from one who saw her drink several glasses of iced tea on a daily basis.) So, for me to adapt to something that is predominately Southern, makes me question my California roots.

2. INTERSTATE/HIGHWAYS - Interstate highways intersect throughout the entire Continental United States, but they're referred to as "freeways" in California. It took several years to break the habit of calling them "freeways" here in Tennessee. Every time I called I-24 a "freeway," I would get a quizzical look before the need to correct myself.

3. GENERAL DRIVING ETIQUETTE - Driving etiquette has its subtle (and not so subtle) differences from state to state (just ask my dad about tailgating in North Carolina).
(A) Running Red Lights: Everyone one runs red lights, no matter where you live. But running a red light at a busy intersection in southern California would probably evoke some kind of death wish with that volume of traffic. In Tennessee, however, it's a much more common occurrence. Heaven forbid you have to wait through one more cycle at the intersection. Instead, let's try to punch through that yellow as fast we possibly can. I'm not sure what's worse: when I catch myself doing it, knowing that I'm in the wrong, or when I see in my rear view mirror that there are two more cars doing the same damn thing right behind me.
(B) Pulling over for school buses, ambulances and hearses: I know that it's common courtesy to pull over for all of the above, but it just rarely seemed to happen when I lived in California. It was really strange having to pull over and stop for a school bus that stopped on the opposite side of the road... until I noticed that children usually darted across the street after exiting the bus.

4.CLIMATE CHANGE (no, not “global warming”) – I always joked that southern California's four seasons were riots, wildfires, floods and earthquakes. Amusing as it is, it's mostly true (riots are a rare occasion these days). I've learned to appreciate seasons here in Tennessee, especially Spring and Fall. Mostly because they are a much welcome change following the harsher seasons of Winter and Summer. Lisa and I really enjoy spending a brisk Autumn evening sitting around the fire pit with our friends. One good night in front of a fire pit and you'll begin to understand why it was the focal point of any family gathering back before television and electricity. If we did something like that in California, we'd probably end up violating fourteen city and county ordinances.

5. BISCUITS & GRAVY – Seems a rather odd one to end the five reasons as to why I don't feel like a California transplant anymore, but if you've ever had real biscuits and gravy, you'd all know why it's on my list. Made from scratch biscuits and homemade sausage gravy are one of the many highlights of living in the south. It never sounded appetizing the first time I'd heard of it, but I highly doubt that there are many places you can find it back in my home town.

I know that I'll never be a true southerner. I wasn't born here, nor was I raised here, but there's something about the hospitality here that can't be replicated. There are, of course, many things that I miss about California: family & friends, the Pacific Ocean and In-N-Out Burger amongst many other little things. But they're little things and I don't miss California enough to honestly ever want to live there again. That's why Tennessee will now, and probably always will be, my home.