What is your definition of Americana? (celebrate, state, family, music)
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Carleton Fisk willing that home run in game 6 of the '75 World Series, RocknRoll, a Ford Mustang, go-go dancers, the 2nd Amendment, Sunday School, the Alamo, hamburgers on an open grill (Linda Rhonstadt Living in the USA), Halloween, whistling Yankee Doodle, corn rows, the Fourth of July, the Stars n Bars, Johnny Unitas & Joe Namath in the Superbowl, the Mercury Space Program, Kitty Hawk, NC,,, Pepsi Cola, the Brown Bomber
I am a foreigner living in this country and I think it is the best thing to hit the Planet.
It's SO MUCH, I'm just glad to have been born in the U.S.A., that my grandparents left Europe and landed in NY.
And I should add the fact that my ex and I could drive across 66 to California and not have to have visa/passports. Open boarders and freedom to stop/stay where one chose.
Last edited by jaminhealth; 02-23-2018 at 03:54 PM..
The first time I attended the Waxhaw Fourth of July Parade, I looked down the street and thought, "Can anything be more like an Americana picture than this?" It still happens every year and families plan times together and spend the time celebrating with a trip to Mom's for a family barbecue right after the parade then back to the streets for the dance in the evening and who knows what else?
LOL. Community "fairs," national holidays, barbecues, etc are all celebrated around the world. Of course the names of the holidays are different, but a foreign visitor would recognize the essential nature of the celebration.
Celebrated, yes, but not in the same way. You'd recognize the essential nature of Bastille Day or Holi, but those would be experiences that I think most would classify as quintessentially French or Indian (respectively).
I am going with the Wikipedia definition: "Americana are artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States.[1][2] Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects, tools and weapons; flags, plaques and statues, and so on. Patriotism and nostalgia play defining roles in the subject. The things involved need not be old, but need to have the appropriate associations. The Atlantic described the term as "slang for the comforting, middle-class ephemera at your average antique store—things like needle-pointed pillows, Civil War daguerreotypes, and engraved silverware sets".[3]
Americana music is contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound.[4][5]"
While I loved growing up in IN, its meth labs rival the ones in Tennessee. Look at a meth lab map. Our much loved first house on the river in IN was used as a meth lab during the downturn, so sad. Anyplace without neighborhood interaction or oversight can have a meth lab. A homeless couple was living and cooking up a batch of meth near the pond and woods by our library in FL. Pond+alliagator+tweakers had all the makings for disaster, luckily for them they were arrested before they were eaten. Drugs are everywhere and are the answer to income inequality for many.
I think you have an idealized idea of Indiana after living near an affluent suburb of Indianapolis. The innocence of years past is not today. Indiana can be a great place to live, but your are seeing it through your preoccupation of all that is wrong with Tennessee. Perfect anything doesn’t exist.
I've traveled every mile of interstate in Indiana end to end. I've done the same for many of the state highways. I live in far northeast TN. I grew up about fifteen minutes from the VA line, and about an hour from the NC line. I rarely go past Knoxville. For anything other than the bare essentials, I go to Asheville, NC or Greenville, SC. I'm "culturally oriented" far more to the Carolinas than I am toward Nashville, even down to my preference of BBQ sauces.
Having grown up in a smaller town, many of our big events were centered around our fire hall. The summer field days the second week in July, Memorial Day Parades, Bingo every Friday night, chicken barbeques, chowder sales, Halloween parties where half-dollars and silver-dollars were given out for the best costume. And all of us kids got the king size candy bars that we never got by trick or treating. Our parents went there to vote, as that was our polling station. Us kids even told time by the fire hall, as they'd test the fire whistle every day at 12 noon, signaling that it was time to stop whatever game or sport we were playing and head home for lunch. Telephone poles and streetlights were decorated for the various holidays. Scarecrows for Halloween, Flags for Memorial Day and Independence Day, snowflake lights for Christmas. It was a great place to grow up and still is a great place to live.
DH & I relocated to a town in late 2016 that we often call "Americana". To us that means we sit on our front porch and watch people walk/ride by on their way to work or school, they smile and wave; the post office, library, courthouse, police station, as well as many churches, restaurants and bars are all downtown and within walking distance; people care about politics and turn out for political events, there are many festivals and parades through out the year.
DH & I relocated to a town in late 2016 that we often call "Americana". To us that means we sit on our front porch and watch people walk/ride by on their way to work or school, they smile and wave; the post office, library, courthouse, police station, as well as many churches, restaurants and bars are all downtown and within walking distance; people care about politics and turn out for political events, there are many festivals and parades through out the year.
I like that idea of Americana. I'll admit it's not one I partake in. When I hear the term I think about music and building/ decorating style. Honestly though as in most things it all goes back to music for me. So when someone says "Americana" I immediately think of music and nothing else.
Carleton Fisk willing that home run in game 6 of the '75 World Series, RocknRoll, a Ford Mustang, go-go dancers, the 2nd Amendment, Sunday School, the Alamo, hamburgers on an open grill (Linda Rhonstadt Living in the USA), Halloween, whistling Yankee Doodle, corn rows, the Fourth of July, the Stars n Bars, Johnny Unitas & Joe Namath in the Superbowl, the Mercury Space Program, Kitty Hawk, NC,,, Pepsi Cola, the Brown Bomber
I am a foreigner living in this country and I think it is the best thing to hit the Planet.
Not sure you understand that the "Stars and Bars" was a Confederate flag. Do you mean the Stars and Stripes instead?
Of course, the Confederacy was also American...
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