Much has been made in the past 20 years on Southern culture and life. I got news for Foxworthy and the rest. We are not rednecks.
The true Southern Gentlemen is as follows:
A devout man of faith. First and foremost our people (either Jewish, Catholic, or Protestant) are religious people. He prays often for his family, his employees or his boss even, and his community. He regularly attends church. He may not be a theologian but he knows what he believes and it effects his life and his practices. He’s involved and he cares about those in his church.
Full of love. He loves his wife and children. He cares deeply for them. Is involved with them and shows his affection thru his interactions with them. He goes to his girl's dance rehearsals etc. The boys baseball and football games. All the various activities children have in their lives he does his best to be at and to show his support. He stands by and cherishes his wife. He is faithful and loving. Kind and caring. He helps in any way he can.
He’s an outdoors man. Now not all fall into this category but most of us Southerners have a deep connection to the land. We love it. We love to be outside. We fish and hunt. Garden. Walk. Hike. We love nature. Most of us dream of one day owning our own version of Tara. Land to love and nurture and that will provide for our family. We hunt because we love the sound of the woods in the early morning. Gobblers on the roost in the spring and deer walking thru the leaves in November. Hunting is passed down thru the generations. Father to child, grandfather to grandchild, uncles and best friends. The hunter/gatherer lifestyle is a way to connect to our forefathers. To the grand idea of the early South.
He smells of gun oil, tobacco, and brown liquor. Guns are a part of our daily lives. We think about them, dream on them, have strong family connections to them. We hunt with our Grandfathers rifle. It connects our day to his. Our adventures to those of his youth. Guns have history, place and meaning. A Southern Gentlemen may often smoke a pipe or cigars. In the old days maybe Bull Durham roll your own cigarettes. The scent clinging to his clothes and in his study. He occasionally enjoys a nip or two from a good bottle of bourbon or whiskey. Nothing is finer than a bourbon on the porch on a sunny Sunday afternoon. He might even have a little shine laying around somewhere… It’s good for the soul you know.
He is well dressed. This does not mean the most expensive clothes or accessories. This means he dresses appropriately for where he is. A Southern Gentlemen does not go out to dinner in a sleeveless t-shirt or cutoffs. He isn’t at church in ragged jeans and beat up clothes. Even if poor he wears a sport coat over his overalls to church. He sees his attire as his way of being respectful to those he comes in contact with. He carries with him a handkerchief and a pocket knife (maybe one his grandfather or dad gave him long ago). He is usually known to wear one particular item. For instance I knew a man when I was young who if you went to see him at his house in the middle of the day unexpected he had on an ascot… For me it’s a bow tie. For some it’s a fedora or a panama hat. It’s part of his attire and he wears it well. It is his signature. We are eclectic and eccentric people.
He has a sense of history and place. He may not live in the town of his birth anymore but he identifies strongly with it. He is proudly from there. Social Circle for me was a great place to grow up. Again I find myself living in a small southern town. Someplace where the lady at the post office knows my name and helps with my mail. We connect strongly to our home states and the history they contain. There is no need to re-invent the South as some have done. We are proud of the people we come from no matter what. The soldiers, the statesmen, the lawyers, the preachers, and the crooks and moonshiners. The bible salesman and the fortune teller in my case… They make up who we are today. The stories, the places they lived and died. Fought and loved. Tamed and wandered. We love where we are from.
The Southern Gentlemen is becoming a thing of the past. Kept alive by only a few. You can find them on Sunday’s in the local church. Sitting quietly with their families. Everyone neatly dressed and in line. He’s loved by those who take the time to get to know him. Respected and admired. A pillar of the community.
This to set the record straight as to who we are. This is who I want to be when I grow up. These fine men are the men whom I admire and who I am proud to be from.
James Pressley
Eatonton, Georgia
Father, Husband and Southern Gentleman
Contributing Blogger
A devout man of faith. First and foremost our people (either Jewish, Catholic, or Protestant) are religious people. He prays often for his family, his employees or his boss even, and his community. He regularly attends church. He may not be a theologian but he knows what he believes and it effects his life and his practices. He’s involved and he cares about those in his church.
Full of love. He loves his wife and children. He cares deeply for them. Is involved with them and shows his affection thru his interactions with them. He goes to his girl's dance rehearsals etc. The boys baseball and football games. All the various activities children have in their lives he does his best to be at and to show his support. He stands by and cherishes his wife. He is faithful and loving. Kind and caring. He helps in any way he can.
He’s an outdoors man. Now not all fall into this category but most of us Southerners have a deep connection to the land. We love it. We love to be outside. We fish and hunt. Garden. Walk. Hike. We love nature. Most of us dream of one day owning our own version of Tara. Land to love and nurture and that will provide for our family. We hunt because we love the sound of the woods in the early morning. Gobblers on the roost in the spring and deer walking thru the leaves in November. Hunting is passed down thru the generations. Father to child, grandfather to grandchild, uncles and best friends. The hunter/gatherer lifestyle is a way to connect to our forefathers. To the grand idea of the early South.
He smells of gun oil, tobacco, and brown liquor. Guns are a part of our daily lives. We think about them, dream on them, have strong family connections to them. We hunt with our Grandfathers rifle. It connects our day to his. Our adventures to those of his youth. Guns have history, place and meaning. A Southern Gentlemen may often smoke a pipe or cigars. In the old days maybe Bull Durham roll your own cigarettes. The scent clinging to his clothes and in his study. He occasionally enjoys a nip or two from a good bottle of bourbon or whiskey. Nothing is finer than a bourbon on the porch on a sunny Sunday afternoon. He might even have a little shine laying around somewhere… It’s good for the soul you know.
He is well dressed. This does not mean the most expensive clothes or accessories. This means he dresses appropriately for where he is. A Southern Gentlemen does not go out to dinner in a sleeveless t-shirt or cutoffs. He isn’t at church in ragged jeans and beat up clothes. Even if poor he wears a sport coat over his overalls to church. He sees his attire as his way of being respectful to those he comes in contact with. He carries with him a handkerchief and a pocket knife (maybe one his grandfather or dad gave him long ago). He is usually known to wear one particular item. For instance I knew a man when I was young who if you went to see him at his house in the middle of the day unexpected he had on an ascot… For me it’s a bow tie. For some it’s a fedora or a panama hat. It’s part of his attire and he wears it well. It is his signature. We are eclectic and eccentric people.
He has a sense of history and place. He may not live in the town of his birth anymore but he identifies strongly with it. He is proudly from there. Social Circle for me was a great place to grow up. Again I find myself living in a small southern town. Someplace where the lady at the post office knows my name and helps with my mail. We connect strongly to our home states and the history they contain. There is no need to re-invent the South as some have done. We are proud of the people we come from no matter what. The soldiers, the statesmen, the lawyers, the preachers, and the crooks and moonshiners. The bible salesman and the fortune teller in my case… They make up who we are today. The stories, the places they lived and died. Fought and loved. Tamed and wandered. We love where we are from.
The Southern Gentlemen is becoming a thing of the past. Kept alive by only a few. You can find them on Sunday’s in the local church. Sitting quietly with their families. Everyone neatly dressed and in line. He’s loved by those who take the time to get to know him. Respected and admired. A pillar of the community.
This to set the record straight as to who we are. This is who I want to be when I grow up. These fine men are the men whom I admire and who I am proud to be from.
James Pressley
Eatonton, Georgia
Father, Husband and Southern Gentleman
Contributing Blogger
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