Attacked, Allegations of screaming, northeast dialect

For any newcomer to the northeast of The Old North State, there are several indicators that you are "not in Kansas anymore." The floor-flat land, swamps, bears, red wolves, and most importantly - the accent - are a few things that may be new to piedmont'ers. Being from Alabama, I have always been accused of having an accent, but nevertheless, the accent in this portion of North Carolina is paralleled by none. Why is this important? Yesterday, I was approached/attacked by a "myse" (mouse to the rest of us). While I hold that I have few fears in life, a shifty little mouse is something I don't want crawling down my shirt or in my hair. And like every place out in the country, occassionaly a mouse will sneak into the "in of doors." Now, nobody in their right mind would believe that I am scared of a mouse...I'm not scared of snakes or gators! The only things that frighten me are:

(1)Someone hiding under my desk (which happens twice a summer, always by David Bornfleth).
(2)Running out of gasoline.
(3)My girlfriend.

Here's the story:

Yesterday, during a staff meeting (which was the fastest on record), a small mouse appeared in the corner. Lee and I tried to catch the critter. As the mouse crept into hiding, he reappearred very close to my skin like a bolt of lightning. ALLEGEDLY, I released a scream that would not be considered masculine in front of the entire staff. Terri, our housekeeper said..."Luke et Chayse, heez skeered uhva leetle myse!" The English translation is "Look at Chase, he is scared of a little mouse!" Terri has a very unique accent that portrays her link to the land and history of our region.

While many regions of the country have their own special accents, I regard the Inner Banks accent as the most endearing. Unlike deep south or appalachian accents, which are regarded as "slow", the Inner Banks accent is a result of extreme isolation fro the outside world. If you really want to hear this accent, visit Ocracoke Island or any beach town between Ocracoke and Frisco. The accent, when spoken fluently, is reminiscent of a British "tongue." The accent has been trapped in this region, which has little outside influence with the exception of tourists. Unfortunately, the accent is beginning to disappear, and with it, its charm. Terri and her husband Glenn (who also has the accent), have yet to pass it on to their son. Most young children in the entire Inner/Outer Banks region have neglected the accent in today's global society. But, we can still have fun learning the language/accent.

Since the accent is pretty commonplace around these parts, I, too, have picked up some of the words. I now have replaced the common word "county" with "caynty"... the "ow" sound is replaced with the "ay" sound. There is a common phrase that is uttered when wanting to replicate the Inner Banks Brogue...give it a try: "It's hoy toyd on the saynd soyd" is the Inner Banks version of "It's high tide on the sound side".

There are also some intersting variations in phrases - In Ocracoke, the mail "calls over", where as in other arts of North Carolina, the mail is "put in the mailbox".

There are also other words that are used...below is a reference/glossary that you should print out and take with yo the next time you visit the Inner/Outer Banks. You can speak the words to blend in, or at least understand them!

"Addled" means confused...here's a sentence - "Lee's hairdo looks addled."
"Begombed" means dirty or greasy...here's a sentence..."Chase's shirt is begombed with barbecue"
"Buck" is a term that means male friend..."Charles Midgette is a buck."
"Catawampus" means not in straight order or disorganized..."Bud parked his motorcycle catawampus."
"Doast" means sick, or being sick..."I glad that Ms. Mittie isn't doast, she's nearly healed from her cold."
"Goaty" means stinky..."After a summer camp day, Chase is goaty."
"Mommucking" means irritating. "The brightness of Lee's shirt is mommucking me."
"Pizer" translates to porch..."Teresa's pizer overlooks Bulls Bay."
"Scud" means to ride or give a ride in a vehicle. "Sara and Nikki have a short scud to work."
"Young'uns" are young children, or young one's..."Camp is full of young'uns."

Also, "meehonkey" is a game of hide-and-seek, "fatback" is a type of fish, and a "wampus cat" is a fictitious (allegedly) cat that frequents the swamps.

Back to the mouse...I was only startled by the mouse's rapid appearance. The "screaming" I did was actually purposeful...I was trying to duplicate the sound of a soaring bald eagle...mice and eagles are mortal enemies. The mouse is still on the prowl. Below is a picture of the mouse that did not scare me.


Also - only 51 days until "Dock of the Bay", and my streak over Lee stretches to 3 days in a row.