What I Love About Missouri... (St. Louis, Independence: home, buy, theatres)

[Lake Junkie]

A couple of thoughts...among many!
I love the wildness. Missouri is not manicured, cropped, clipped and hedged. The people, like the land, are gutsy, lusty and wild...any question grass roots stock car racing found it's start here?
Creek parties...beer and a big pot boilin' some fish 'n taters (oh, yea) and somebody has a Creedence CD on with the truck doors open...
Dirt track racing on a Saturday night...kids in the front row hopin' to catch a T shirt of a local favorite. Local guys acting like heroes in front of the little kids.
Freedom.
It's why I love the lakes.
When I'm in the lake, I'm in something alive. Yea, yea, I have girlfriends who wouldn't jump in a lake if they were on fire. Not moi.
The lake is alive...with fish and turtles and snakes and crawdads and good clean dirt. You prefer dead sterile swimming pools? That's okay too, like my grandma used to say, "To each his own, said the old lady as she kissed her cow..."
But for me the wilds of Missouri...the wildflowers and weeds and fiddles and fried stuff and yehaaaas...
How about you'ns...name ONE thing...

[sunshine girl]

Ah yes...lake living. Totally understand your joy. Another thing to love about MO is the greenness of it, if that's a word, and the beauty of the bluffs and hills.

[Northwoods Voyager]

The 'four' seasons. Experienced in all of their glory. Flat land, hills, lakes, streams, rivers, pasture, prairie, wildflowers, big cities, medium cities, big towns, little dots on some maps, strange place names, major highways, windy, hilly, gravely back roads, which one son called the 'bumpy road', Colorado blue skies at times, sudden storms, hot, humid, hazy daze, snow drifts up to you know where, cool breezes late on a summer night, woods with small paths to meander along, birds singing their melodious tunes at daybreak, the sudden glimpse of a deer or turkey along the road, the laughter of a child in a neighbors pool, a distant radio playing notes softly while you relax outdoors, and then so much more. The lights of the theatres, the squeal of children at the Forest Park Zoo, the whoops of joy and sheer fright at Six Flags, the almost forgotten 'whoo-whoo' of a distant train, the sun's rays catching a plane on it's way to some unknown destination...this is Missouri

[2beamissourian]

So much to do

Nature - every season offers something new

Wineries - umm don't get me started here!

Rivers and lakes

Catfish fritters

Home town feel

The Arch - scared to death to go up in it again!

river boats

Openness ...freeness... Living life

Price of living

[gptaz]

What I love about MO. I grew up in a small (1000 + or - people.) I left with my wife, (12 miles away,same high school) whose home town population was less than 20 people, mostly aunts, uncles, and lots of cousins, when we were in our early 20's.
We are both pushing the H... out of 70 now and when we go back for a short vacation it's like we had never left. During the last 50 some years we have lived on the West Coast and while my immediate neighbors are loved like family I have never felt the closeness as in MO.


gptaz

[MOHIllbillyWoman]

The beauty and wildness of MO is what we love. We are going to be coming home soon enough. We have been gone for about a decade now and we have missed the "show me" state all the while. I mostly miss the trees and water everywhere. I was raised in the general St. Louis area, the county that is, and my husband was raised in Independence. We met many moons ago in St. Louis and we ended up moving out of state. That was the biggest mistake we ever made. We are planning on coming back very soon now and I am proud to say that I am an goold old MO redneck gal.

[Northwoods Voyager]

MORedneckWoman A big somewhat premature welcome back to ya...
In my previous post I neglected to mention the County Fairs as well as the State fair.
the farm auctions
the many Saturday or Sunday Church picnics...yummm the home made ice creams, the home made pies.. the roast beef sandwiches and the seeing people ya haven't seen for awhile
the trips to the local hardware stores where ya can still buy 2-3-5 screws at a time of different sizes (no prepackaged 20-30 that ya may never use)
The fishing or floating in the Gasconade, Bourbeuse, Missouri rivers to name just a tiny few.
the stopping at a mom and pop restaurant on a Sunday drive (may not be able to afford that anymore)
The trips in and out of our beautiful, diverse state and noticing the vast difference.
Yep, we are fortunate to live here. Don't ya love it?

[minpinmom]

Where could I start on why I love my Missouri? So many things! The friendliness of my neighbors and strangers, the wonderful nature all around, lots of hills and trees and beautiful countryside! I could go on and on but I won't!

[ajf131]

Originally Posted by MORedneckWoman

The beauty and wildness of MO is what we love. We are going to be coming home soon enough. We have been gone for about a decade now and we have missed the "show me" state all the while. I mostly miss the trees and water everywhere. I was raised in the general St. Louis area, the county that is, and my husband was raised in Independence. We met many moons ago in St. Louis and we ended up moving out of state. That was the biggest mistake we ever made. We are planning on coming back very soon now and I am proud to say that I am an goold old MO redneck gal.

If you were raised in the St. Louis area you are about the farthest thing there is from a redneck Oh well...guess redneck means different things to different people...and they exist in every state, so....I guess why not call yourself a redneck? I too was born and raised in the St. Louis area and I sure as hell know that I am the farthest thing from a redneck there is, as are all the people I know and have basically ever encountered here who are St. Louis natives.

[Lake Junkie]

Originally Posted by ajf131

If you were raised in the St. Louis area you are about the farthest thing there is from a redneck Oh well...guess redneck means different things to different people...and they exist in every state, so....I guess why not call yourself a redneck? I too was born and raised in the St. Louis area and I sure as hell know that I am the farthest thing from a redneck there is, as are all the people I know and have basically ever encountered here who are St. Louis natives.

Well I have lots of friends originally from St Louis so I know what you're saying is true...they would never consider themselves rednecks.
But what is redneck-edness?
I know when I first moved from CA to small town MO, it was explained to me, "You can call us hillbillies, but don't call us hicks!"
So...any thoughts on the diff?