before I moved to Indiana.
1. Pasta in chili
2. Noodles over mashed potatoes; beef and noodles, chicken and noodles, noodles.
3. Deep fried paper-thin breaded tenderloin (pork) sandwich. Just say "the tenderloin with . . ."1
4. The terminal "a" in a place-name pronounced as though it were a "y".2
5. Pineys3
6. Persimmon pudding. Why didn't I know about this sooner?!
7. Sugar cream pie. Really? Where's the fruit?
Although I had heard of basketball, I did not know it was a religion until I moved to Indiana. There are two altars at which the devotees may worship. Some are converts to the religion if they were born elsewhere, but most are born to the sect they follow. Failure to worship at one of the shrines can get your Hoosier citizenship revoked.
The "Indy 500" I had heard of it of course but was not aware that the entire state and all its activities were given over to it for an entire month every year. It is billed as "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" and every Hoosier pitches in in the attempt to make it so.
To our immediate south is Louisville, Not Indiana. There the first Saturday in May is given to the Kentucky Derby which is denoted "The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports." I could say that thousands of people gathered in one place to show off their sartorial finery and drink mint juleps seems considerably more genteel than thousands of people gathered inside a two-and-one-half mile oval to engage in a day-long beer bash. But to say it could well get my Hoosier citizenship revoked, for sure, and I have kept my nose clean as an Indiana resident for sixty years. I like it here and don't want to jeopardize my standing.
1The battle rages. Whose eatery in the State serves "the best" tenderloin? What condiments may be eaten on it? Lettuce and tomato? Mustard and dill pickle? and so on.
2This is widespread within the state. "Jalapa" = Jalapy; "Vienna" = Vi-enny; "Plevna" = Plevny; among others.
3I am not referring to piney woods I refer to Indiana's
state flower: the peony, which is pronounced "piney." Well, by some
people, anyway.
6 comments:
I first encountered a breaded pork tenderloin sammich in Western Illinois. Add a couple of pickles...maybe some ketchup and you've got yourself a yummy meal. I like it when they are extra large and the chop hangs way beyond the bun.
Joe lived in Indy for a few years before we were married. We used to enjoy the time trials, which was a little less "show us your boobies" and more of the higher speeds and less crowds. Never been to the race, but I have been to many time trials. Welcome Race Fans!
If you get a chance, take a trip to Churchill Downs on the off season for a lovely tour. What a GREAT museum and tour! There is so much to see and learn about the race and horse racing in general. We all loved it in our family.
I've lived in Indiana all my life and I've never, ever, heard someone call a peony a "piney." Or someone say "Vienny" for Vienna.
I was in my early 20s before I heard of sugar cream pie, and that's only because one of my closest friend's dad worked for Wick's Pies in Winchester, the world's leading producer of sugar cream pie. I did not eat sugar cream pie for the first time until I was in my 40s.
Now I doubt my authenticity as a Hoosier.
I used to put rice in my chili. Now it's more Tabasco sauce. (The capsaicin helps reduce arthritis pain.)
As to basketball and religion, I learned in two decades of life in Connecticut that U-Conn women's basketball is the official, recognized state religion.
Lin, I like a good tenderloin also pickle and mustard. A good tenderloin should be approximately 3 and 1/2 to 4 times the surface area of the bone on which it rests.
Jim, no, no. Surely your citizenship would not be revoked for failure to have encountered a few little quirks. And I do like Wick's sugar cream pie but eat it rarely.
Chuck, it is funny in a tragic sort of way how Americans have come to worship at the altar of Athletics.
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