Saturday, December 05, 2015

Another Book Faire: A Book Review


Every spring and fall for the past five years or so, an organization called, "Books Are Fun" visits my job and sets up all of their wonderful items in our large lunchroom. Discounted books, unique gifts including assorted cards, toys, candles, and more make great home and holiday gifts, most especially at this time of the year.

As you all know, my hubby and I were born and raised in Pennsylvania (more specifically, Berks County). One thing I always look forward to is the newest collection of reading material which they always have  in stock regarding Pennsylvania i.e. haunted places, ghost stories, recreational spots through out Pennsylvania, and so forth.

This year, I picked up a neat little book for hubby called, "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader: Plunges Into Pennsylvania." This book is fairly complete and tells all about PA's history, inventions, famous people who hail from PA, delicious recipes, interesting facts about each town and/or county, and even includes one of my favorite sections: "You Know You're a Pennsylvanian When ..."

Although some parts of this book are actually area specific and therefore I am not familiar with certain phrases used and such. For instance, the folks in/or around the Pittsburgh area are very, very different in various aspects from where I come from. Example? Well, in Pittsburgh, they call a rubber band a "gumband" and they say, "I must rudd up the living room" instead of "straighten up or tidy up" the living room. 

Allow me to share a little more of this chapter of the book with all of you:

"You Know You're a Pennsylvanian When ..."
 
1) You drink pop, eat hoagies and chipped ham, and play at the crick as a kid.
2)  You stuff your Thanksgiving turkey with "filling," not stuffing or dressing.
3)  You tell people you are from PA, not Pennsylvania.
4)  You have only three spices in your house: pepper, salt, and Heinz ketchup.
5)  You're used to hearing horses' hooves on the street.
6)  You pronounce Lancaster, Wilkes-Barre, and Lebanon correctly.
7)  You know that the summer street fairs signal the beginning of funnel cake season.
8)  You eat dinner for lunch.
9)  You can spell Bryn Mawr, Schuylkill, and Monongahela without looking them up.
10) You use the term "it's all" instead of "all gone."
      Example: After you request chipped ham (thinly sliced ham), the guy at the deli counter tells you, "Sorry, but it's all."
11) "What for" is used in place of the word "which."
       Example: "What for golf club are you gonna use on this shot?"
12) Instead of saying, "shut off the light," you say "outen (or close) the light."


I am sure that by now you get the idea. LOL!! In any case, hubby and I found this book to be quite fun and amusing as well as factually interesting. I even bought one for my MIL!

at

2 comments: