The Saga, Part 18 -- "Jimmin" It

Dinner out! With Fred! What a treat! Fred and I climbed in his truck and went to a different Italian restaurant, in another direction. As we walked in, he said, They have an excellent veal scaloppini!

Uh, I said, Fred, that sounds great, but I hope they have something else. I dont eat veal. I hadnt eaten veal since I had bottle-raised a calf, named Ferdinand, and my ex had sold it for veal just to hurt me. Heartbroken, I had sworn off dining on all babies We found a table and sat down. He looked at me in surprise. Im sorry, Fred, I dont mean to disappoint you, or sound strange, but I dont eat babies.

Babies? he asked.

No, Fred, I explained, I dont eat babies. I dont eat calves, I dont eat lambs, and I dont eat suckling pigs, either. I dont eat babies-- I cant bear it.

He laughed, Oh, thats okI thought you meant for religious reasons or something! I would have suspected that eating babies would be something you wouldnt want to do! But, policemen? Well, thats something different!

What do you mean? I asked, truly puzzled.

I heard you pretty well gave it to the Queens Police Department last night, he laughed.

Queens? They were from Queens? Arent they mean and tough? I asked. Oh, no! I didnt know they were from Queens! If Id known, I would have been really scared!

May be, Fred said, but, you werent about to be put in the pokey!

Uh, I asked hesitantly, Where did you hear all this?

Danny told us all this morning, while the guys were down in the hole, fixing the break. He said you were ready to fight them, and he wouldnt want to tangle with you! He said in a fight, he would put his money on you. He said that he knew you were Irish, but that you proved it last night! Fred laughed, You! I cant imagine it!

Well, Fred, they were rude to me! I said, indignant, They wanted to put me in a police car! In the back! Like I was some kind of criminal!

Now, he said, I want to know what a pokey is.

The pokey is jail, Fred, I said, they wanted to put me in jail, and I wasnt about to go! I hadnt done anything wrong! They couldnt make me, either!

Danny said he could barely understand you, you were so upset, and that you said things he had never heard before. He wondered if the way you talk here is the way you talk at home. Something about Adam or his brother, and a whole lot of things that he had never heard before, Fred said, looking at me speculatively.

Now, do you really think that Im the only one around here with an accent? Have ye heared Danny lately? I asked. OK, Fred, I guess it is about time I come clean, I said, reluctantly. While Ive been here, Ive tried to be very careful about what I say, so that people would understand me. Ive been really cautious to keep from Jimmin it. Ive tried to sound more intelligentto channel Grace Kelly-- so to speak. I put my thumbs on my temples, and waved my fingers around like an antenna.

He chuckled, Grace Kelly? What do you mean? he asked. What is Jimmin it?

I said, Grace Kelly is about the only person I know that says both Ts in butter. She pronounces words very clearly. A lot of people up here equate southern with dumb. Im intelligent, I am just southernI talk with an accentand I use idiomatic English at home, just like everybody else. Up here, Ive tried very hard to sound more like the people around me, so no one would think I was stupid. Fred nodded his head in understanding. I havent talked naturally, as I would at home. If I talked as I do at home, you probably wouldnt understand anything I say, I said.

Fred was listening carefully. I said, We all try to speak the same way as the people around us, so that they are comfortable with us. Everyone does, for the most part everyone here, too. Here, though, the Greek people speak Greek, the Irish people speak Gaelic, and the Italian people speak Italian. I have made a real effort here to tone down my accenteven though I slip up at times-- and to choose words that the people here are more likely to understand. At home, were all about the same, so it isnt different languages, but it is a different way in which you were reared. At home, when we are together, as a group of friends, or with my parents, or at work, we speak in a form of English that is a little more like what you speak here. At least in many ways, I qualified, but just out and about, we speak like everyone else, and that is what no one here would understandit would sound, at best, quaint. At worst, you would probably check to make sure I have shoes on my feet.

I understand that, I think, Fred said. But what is Jimmin it?

The term Jimmin it is just what we call itthat isnt an official linguistic term, I explained. One of our friends is named JimmyJimmy Boswell. Jimmy is a summa cum laude graduate of the School of Agriculture at the University of Kentucky, one of the best agricultural schools in the country. Well, Jimmy and his father own about 4000 acres in the county, so they are not poor by any means -- but they work with a lot of hired hands, and Jimmy practices talking like they do."

"Jimmy is always coming up with some cute expression or way of speaking that his hired hands have said. Weve all found that if we speak a little more like the hired hands, we fit in better-- out and about in real life. At home, amongst ourselves, we all just speak to one anotherbut out and about, at the garage, or at the feed store, or the barbeque festival, it is best if we are Jimmin it... Nobody would wait on us at the restaurant. Nobody would fix our car. But, if were Jimmin it we fit in better, and we get along better with our neighbors.

Fred looked at me blankly. We call it, Jimmin it because Jimmy Boswell is past master of the art, I said. Please, were not making fun of anyone; were just trying to sound like everyone else. Lots of people wont have much to do with us, unless were Jimmin itthey dont like city folk, even though we all live in the same place and were all neighbors. They think we are being uppity. It is like were putting on airs or something. Do you understand what I mean?

Why dont you show me, Fred suggested.

Wayell, ah reckon ah could but ahm not reeahlly sure youd be catchin m dri-uft, yknow. Ah jess don know ifn you kin unnerstand what ahm tryin to say. Its jess a diffrent way of sayin what y kin say, but mos folks in these parts jess don hold with it, I said, apologetically.

What? Fred asked, in disbelief.

I said, See? You wouldnt have any idea what I meant!" I said more clearly, "'well, I reckon I could but Im not really sure you would be catching my drift. I just dont know if you could understand what Im trying to say. Its just a different way of saying what you can say, but most folks in these parts just dont hold with it. Not only is the accent more pronounced, but the word choice is very different-- more regionally idiomatic.

Fred looked stunned. I said, I find it to be very difficult to sound intelligent all the time, when I just want to talk. It is becoming very difficult with you and the other fellows, as I know you better and become more comfortable around you, to keep from Jimmin it to your ears. You hear my accent, but you wont understand me if I talk normally, using the words I use at home. Even trying with all my might, I say things that people dont really understand. When I speak, I cant just drawl it out; I have to speak, to me, in a way that is clearly more distinctive.

Fred said, Why dont you just talk, and if I dont understand it, Ill ask.

All right, if you say so, I said, doubtfully. Then, I spoke with the accent up full, Last night, I was upset, and couldnt speak in a way that I could make people understand me. I cant just jaw with anyone here. To me, this is like a foreign countrya foreign language. My brain wasnt working last night, because I was upset. Even in the light of day, when Im able to think about what I say, its hard for yall to understand. But I said, Ah for I, night to rhyme with Naaaht, and upset was up-sayet.

Fred thought a moment, and said, I knew what you just said. Just talk, and if I get confused, Ill ask.

Thanks, Fred, I said, youve just made my life a lot easier up herejust to have a friend around where I dont have to sound smart all the time!

What else is different here? he asked, curious.

Can we eat first? I asked. Im afraid we wont get any food if we dont bestir ourselves. Food first, then jawin.

Fred laughed, and we caught the eye of the waiter, who had been patiently ignoring us until we were ready. We ordered, and, as we were waiting for our food, I asked, Fred, can someone come out and watch the wells for a bit tomorrow so that I can go shopping?

Shopping? What do you need? he asked. I dug my list out of my purse, and showed it to him.

If I can find a Laundromat to wash my coat, Ill feel like a new human being. Not to mention that I really need to find some regular graph paper, and all these other little things, I said. And peanut butterIm desperate for some peanut butter!

Sure, he said. Ill get Charlie to come up tomorrow. I never thought about it, but of course you need to Shop! He grinned, All women, especially little southern women from Kentucky, need to Shop!

Well, I said, it is comforting to know that Im just like everybody else here in one way, at least!

We laughed and ate our supper, which was wonderful-- just wonderful! It just wasnt a huge chunk of meat, which is what I was craving. We drove back to the well field, and Fred stayed with me through the night, helping me to adjust the valve and the pumping rate until the night crew came.

Thanks for coming by!