I’m a Hick

Yes, I admit it I am a hick; a small-town country boy through and through. Today I was reminded of this when I read a passage from the book The Godward Gaze, by Steve McVey. I found myself in complete agreement with Jed Clampett as quoted by McVey.

This conversation between Jed Clampett and Cousin Pearl took place in the television program The Beverly Hillbillies right after Jed discovered he had struck oil on his land.

Jed: Pearl, what d’ya think? Think I oughta move?

Pearl: Jed, how can ya even ask? Look around ya. yore eight miles from yore nearest neighbor. Yore overrun with skunks, possums, coyotes, and bobcats. You use kerosene lamps for light and you cook on a wood stove summer and winter. Yore drinkin’ homemade moonshine and washin’ with homemade lye soap. And yore bathroom is 50 feet from the house, and you ask, “Should I move?”

Jed: I reckon yore right. A man’d be a dang fool to leave all this!

On those days when I spend four or five hours sitting in Dallas traffic commuting to and from work I sure feel like, well, to put it in the vernacular of Jed Clampett, a dang fool.