Living in Balsam, NC comes with a set of responsibilities...sort of. When
we have "winterish" weather here in Jackson County, NC it isn't unusual to get messages on my cell phone similar to "did you get snow at Balsam?". Don't ask me why there would be a question of snow being "at" Balsam instead of "in" Balsam, you would never hear someone say "snow at Detroit" or "snow at Denver", but here things occur "at" Balsam, Caney Fork, Greens Creek or occasionally things happen "up Caney Fork" or "up Bradley Branch", etc. The only thing I can think of is that people think in terms of roads or crossroads, such as "did you get snow "at" the point where 74 crests "at" the sign for the Balsam entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway?". Not that it really matters, I know what they are talking about.
we have "winterish" weather here in Jackson County, NC it isn't unusual to get messages on my cell phone similar to "did you get snow at Balsam?". Don't ask me why there would be a question of snow being "at" Balsam instead of "in" Balsam, you would never hear someone say "snow at Detroit" or "snow at Denver", but here things occur "at" Balsam, Caney Fork, Greens Creek or occasionally things happen "up Caney Fork" or "up Bradley Branch", etc. The only thing I can think of is that people think in terms of roads or crossroads, such as "did you get snow "at" the point where 74 crests "at" the sign for the Balsam entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway?". Not that it really matters, I know what they are talking about.
It wasn't always like that though. When we first moved here, there were many times when upon seeing an acquaintance in town the greeting from them would be "you okay?". Our initial reaction was usually, "why...what have you heard?". Then there were instances in working environments when some sort of malfunction happened with equipment and we were informed with deadly seriousness that the problem was that the object "tore up". Don't even get Leslie started on the time she went to the doctor so sick she could hardly stand and while in the waiting room a young girl approached the nurse at the window to tell her she was getting married soon and was there for her annual "pubical". Leslie says that as sick as she was, she could barely contain her mirth.
Local idioms are fascinating and tracing their origins would probably be better than reality tv...big duh there! It took me forever to understand what Leslie meant when she said she was going to "red up the dishes"...huh? or pass her a "gum band". These are things she grew up saying in western Pennsylvania.
Do you have phrases spoken in your community unique to your location?
Back to did it snow at Balsam. Yep. Only the highest elevations in Jackson County got any snow worth reporting. Balsam, NC is the midway point between Sylva and Waynesville on Hwy 74, and at 3400 feet elevation, it is also the highest point on the main thoroughfare. In order to travel to Waynesville or Asheville from Sylva, Cherokee, Bryson City or Franklin the only route that makes sense is 74 over Balsam. Naturally, people are concerned about traffic conditions when weather weirds them out. There are two choices for accurate highway conditions at Balsam...Local Yokel Weather or us!
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