On Friday night, I attended a performance at our clubhouse by a Beatle's cover band. I have loved the Beatles since I first heard "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in 1964. I was supposed to sit with friends, but somehow that didn't happen. The seating was arranged, and I guess I forgot to mention who I wanted to sit with when I registered for the performance. Anyway.....
After the group started, a woman pulled her chair up next to me, and at intermission, we started talking. I asked her where she moved from, and she said NYC, via NJ, and that she had lived in many major cities; Boston, Dallas, San Francisco, Chicago, Cincinnati and DC. As she finished her list, she asked me where I am from. I answered "Charleston, WV" and her reply was "I'm not sure I know where that is." I was so dumbstruck that I said nothing, all the while wanting to scream...."Were you never taught geography? Have you ever studied a map of the United States? Aren't you curious?
Much of the time, when I mention Charleston, West Virginia, people say "Is that near Richmond? Or "I've been to Charlottesville." It is infuriating to native West Virginians and a bit of an insult. When I was in school, we studied geography quite a bit; I think it was 6th grade. We had to be able to name all the states from a map, studied the whole world geography (although it has changed quite a bit since I was in school.)
There are so many people from the northern US who have no idea of (southern) geography that I wonder what they have been taught, if anything. If you happen to be one of them - do yourself a favor and get a US map to study. Learn the location of all 50 states so you won't look so uneducated the next time you are asked about one.
5 comments:
That's really good advice Judy and I find as one is older it makes life more interesting to know a bit of geography. Trouble is at this age remembering it. :)
My grandkids study geography but they are in a parent co-op homeschool. Sigh. Maps are one of my favorite things.
You mean your not from South Carolina :)
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I studied Geography, but I will admit as I near 80 much of it is no longer in my memory. Along with many other misplaced itesm.
It’s amazing how many people, even those wewill-travelled around the world are unfamiliar with our own country. Someone I knew well who grew up solely on the West Coast became exasperated with me one time when I didn’t identify as she thought I should with her describing childhood time spent at the beach. She suddenly said, “We’ll, didn't you go to the beach when you were a kid?” I said, “Think about it ... where was the beach when I was living in Midwest Great Lakes state and later a middle America southern state?” She just hadn’t stopped to think about it. I still laugh when I think about it. We take so much for granted about what others should know that is second nature to us. I expect I could get tripped up on the many cities in this country. Family and good friends were in Huntington. He was the sports announcer for Marshall Univ. for many years and think during the time of that horrendous plane crash taking the lives of one of their sports team.
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