New Kid On the Block

I was just commenting to my son this morning about how sometimes it’s difficult to get your foot in the door when you’re the “new kid” on the block.

I came here from Oklahoma where everyone waves – sometimes for no reason at all. In fact, Okies can get quite offended if you don’t wave back. We lived on the main street of a very small town in Oklahoma – 250 people and 200 dogs -- so everyone “purty much” (how’s that for an Okie expression) knew everyone. I loved to sit on my upper deck and have breakfast, but so many people drove by and waved on their way to the Coop, that often the flies got more of my breakfast that I did because, of course, I had to wave back. Sometimes they would holler “Good Morning” (the people, not the flies) or even stop by and chat for a moment. So I guess what I am saying is Oklahoma is still a “tip your hat” “Morning Ilene” kind of place, and I didn’t feel that same familiarity here when I first arrived in North Carolina. I even felt that people here were a little “stand offish.” I would smile and speak and more often than not get no response. It was like they had to check me out first – the expression denoted the feeling – “Why are you smiling or speaking to me? -- I don’t know you!” That didn’t stop me though. I kept smiling at, speaking to, and occasionally waving at complete strangers.

So the day I started my new job in this foreign land of North Carolina, it was with a bit of trepidation. How would I be accepted? One thing I knew for certain though, I was going to be me. I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly people really were at the job site, but there was still an underlying feeling of being the “new kid on the block.” I was different. I don’t drink sweet tea. That is probably the number one thing that sets me apart from everyone here in North Carolina, but that is another story. So, I began to make a concerted effort to learn names and acknowledge everyone with a cheerful “Good Morning” as I passed by. I did refrain from waving for which I am sure they are thankful. And guess what – these North Carolinians began to welcome me to the block. A “Come play with us,” “Happy Birthday,” “Join us for dinner,” attitude began to develop. And so, little by little, the new kid on the block began to be accepted.

There remains, however, that familiarity among the locals that makes this new kid remember she was not born here -- which I wasn’t; and although I love it here and North Carolina feels like and is my home now, I am still an Okie, born and bred. So “ya’ll,” I want to thank you for accepting me for who I am and welcoming me, the new kid, to your block; but just know I will be still “tippin’ my hat and waving” when you invite me to your house to play.

©2005 Ilene Madrigal