I love this job -- Southern explained
I know I have mentioned that I truly have the best job in the world. Usually it is about the people that I get to work and interact with across the state. Generous, passionate, smart folks. But today it is also about the food.
Truth be told, I get to have some great food in this job. Last night it was grass-fed beef sliders, and they were delicious. I was with the Harnett County Community Foundation at the lovely Talbot Creek Farms, owned by Dal Snipes, who is vice president of the board and our gracious host.
The event was held to reach out to some of the professional advisors in the community to ensure they are aware of the community foundation and how we could help support their clients’ charitable interests.
NCCF statewide Board Chairman James Narron was there, and told one of his famous stories. Many foundation friends were in attendance, including Senator Robert Morgan, who talked a couple of minutes about the impact the community foundation has had on him and his community. And then in a way that only he could, he told us that his “tail was in a crack,” and he had to leave. He then went on to explain that was “farmer-speak” for having another meeting and needing to go early.
I realized that there have been many times when my tail is in a crack, so I later asked Mr. Narron to tell me more about what this saying means, and did this saying mean “ass” as in mule, or another meaning…
He began by basically saying “bless your heart.” In the Beatitudes, there is probably a provision, not included in the King James version, which goes something like: “Blessed are the Yankees and those not Southern, as they shall suffer ignorance through eternity.”
He carefully explained to me that this has nothing to do with “ass,” but with “tail,” and an altogether different part of a mule’s anatomy. The traces are hitched to a single tree, which is a part of the wagon. Especially where the traces are short, the single tree is not far from the mule’s back legs. Most wagons had a foot rest or plate forward of the seat, over the turning mechanism, to which the single tree was affixed. That kick plate or foot rest suffered from the weather and, just like any other wood, would develop cracks. As the mule would switch her tail, it would come across a crack in the wood and get caught. Hence, her “tail is stuck in a crack.”
This is why I love my job today!
Reader Comments
Mary Anne Howard
June 01, 2012 11:56 AM | Permalink
As always, thanks for sharing your thoughts and so glad you could join us!!Mary Morgan
June 01, 2012 3:34 PM | Permalink
When I was with my father at lunch today, I verified that he truly was referring to the dangly thing on the back of an animal and did not use a word I have never heard him say! He explained the saying about the same way as Jimmy Narron. Dad said that he and his father would load up cotton on the back of their wagon hitched to two mules to take over to Lillington to the cotton (mill? gin?) on prison camp road. There, a big machine would suck the cotton up off the back of the wagon. (He said they at that time his family did have a 2 door Chrysler but that it was during the Hoover administration and they didn't have any gas to put in it! ) He said that on the front of the wagon there were two boards and if one of the mules switched her tail wrong, it would caught in the crack between the two boards. And the harder the mule pulled to try and get her tail unstuck, the tighter it would get. Thus, the mule "got her tail stuck in a crack."Bob Saunders
June 01, 2012 4:07 PM | Permalink
Now that the mystery of the origins of "getting your tail stuck in a crack" has been solved, I need help solving another mystery. My good friend, Dickson Phillips III, wants to know the origins of the phrase "Buddy Row". His father, who was born and reared in Laurinburg, uses it all the time and I have been on a 15 year mission to discover its etymology. The phrase is often used as a way of saying hello, such as "Hey Buddy Row". It has been suggested to me by others that "Buddy Row" was a chorus from a WWI soldier's tune as well as a phrase used by farmers when planting crops.Any help out there? Jimmy Narron, have you ever heard the phrase "Buddy Row"?
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated and responses will be kept confidential upon request.
Bob Saunders
csrroll leggett
June 02, 2012 5:14 PM | Permalink
Have heard the "Buddy Row" expression but no idea what it means.Joe Giles
June 04, 2012 9:11 AM | Permalink
My friend, Robert Morgan, a great story teller and one of the best friends I have ever had mixes his many "tales" with truths he has experienced over his long life. He is a tremendous ambassador for the N.C. Community Fund. Jimmy Narron also fits that same mold and I enjoy listening to his stories as well. The event at Dal's Farm was fun and the food was delicious. We hope to have another event at the farm located in Harnett County on the Cape Fear River again very soon. JoeLeave a Comment