Tips for Driving in W. Virginia

1. If you run your car into a ditch, don't panic.

Four men in a four-wheel drive pickup and a tow chain will be along shortly.

Don't try to help them, just stay out of their way. This is what they live for.

2. Don't be surprised to find movie rentals and fish bait in the same store.

3. Remember: "Y'all" is singular, "All y'all" is plural, and "Ally'alls'" is plural possessive.

4. Get used to hearing, "You ain't from around here, are ya?"

5. Don't be worried at not understanding what people are saying:

They can't understand you either.

6. "Mama'n'em" is not one person.

When someone asks, "How's your Mama'n'em?"

They are referring to the whole family.

7. Be advised that "He needed killin'" is a valid defense here.

8. If you hear a West Virginian exclaim, "Hey, y'all watch this,"stay out of the way.

These are likely the last words he'll ever say.

9. When you come up on a person driving 15 mph down the middle of the road, remember that most folks learn to drive on a John Deere and the rest learned to drive while road hunting in the back roads.

In both cases, this is the proper speed and position for that vehicle.

10. Do not be surprised to find that 10 year olds own their own shotguns and are proficient marksmen.

Or that their mammas taught them how to aim.

11. Shakespeare is a rod or a reel, not a writer.

12. Duct tape is not only part of every survival kit, it is the whole kit.

13. Rasslin' is not fake.

Don't dare whisper otherwise unless you want a kind-hearted West Virginian to fix your busted head with duct tape.

14. Grapefruit is not a substitute for biscuits and gravy.

15. Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Elvis are good ole boys. Jeff Gordon isn't.

16. Turkey hunters actually curse Noah for letting coyotes and armadillos on the Ark.

17. If you hear a turkey gobble, get out of the way.

Some West Virginians view that sound like pay-off bells at a slot machine.

18. Don't be surprised if an obituary mentions that the deceased requested to be buried in his four-wheel drive truck because, "It ain't never been in a hole it couldn't get out of."

19. "Y'all come back now, ya here," is a temporary statement.

We love Yankees to visit, but darn (or worse)Yankees are those who decide to stay.

20. If you decide to stay in West Virginia and bear children, don't think we will accept them as West Virginians.

After all, if the cat had kittens in the oven, we wouldn't call 'em biscuits.

21. If you hear some use the word FIX or FIXIN',and it isn't in the sense that they are repairing something.

Example: I'm FIXIN' to go to the store.... or "Y'all FIX me a coke in there will ya!"

This is a valid part of West Virginia grammar and is taught regularly in our English classes at school.