Why everyone should be more like Kentuckians.

Welcome to Kentucky Week! (aka "Get Your Bourb On Week!") here at K&G! Let's start with a joke!

Q: How many Kentuckians does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: None. You gotta have electricity first.


It's easy to make fun of Kentucky. But I just got back from a weekend in Bluegrass Bourbonland and man oh man is it easy to love. You think I'm being ironic here, don't you? Well, friends, I gotta tell you I am completely sincere about this. You might say I'm as sincere as Neil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman."  

You may have already heard about some of the things that are cool about KY, like: 

Bourbon & moonshinin'.

Horses (I'm seriously anti-horse-racing, but the horses themselves, and the history of horse-farming dazzles me. Here's an article about  how KY got to be so horsey.)

KY played a fascinating role in the civil war. 

Birthplace of your homeboy Abe Lincoln.

The blueness of the grass.

The plucky, happy goodness of bluegrass music.


All pure gold. But here's the one cool thing that I was totally unprepared for, and still can't quite get over: the niceness of Kentuckians. I've lived in five states and visited lots more and I don't think I've ever encountered such pleasant people. I mean, holy crap are Kentuckians nice!  Here's what I mean:

*Drivers let us in in traffic. No one almost killed us with their cars. Not even almost once. And we were driving a lot.

*I held the door for someone. She didn't say "thanks." She said, emphatically, "thank you very much." 

*Some men were jump starting someone else's dead car by the sidewalk. When we walked by, they said "Hello."

*The campground people gave us a garbage bag and drove us to our site, after waiting up for us to arrive. I know a garbage bag isn't that exciting, but still, they gave it to us. And they were really friendly. And they didn't have to do, or be, either.

*The lady at the Subway called me "baby" and was so glad to be making my deluxe Subway salad. I have never seen anyone so happy to be making my salad.

*The dude at the Dairy Queen (don't judge!) said "Howdy" with the same enthusiasm you'd give "It's a girl!" or "That rash has finally and magically disappeared overnight!" He could not wait to add cheese to our breakfast biscuits. Adding cheese to our breakfast biscuits was the best idea he had ever heard. I have never seen anyone so happy to take my breakfast biscuit (with cheese!) order.

*The lady at the Mapco gas station chit-chatted with me about how horrible breast cancer is. It wasn't weird the way it might sound like it could have been. It was totally natural. And, guess what,  friendly. And when I paid for my Advil and a breast cancer awareness pin she called me "honey" and wished me well.


I've never heard anyone talk about how nice Kentuckians are, but I'm telling you, they're nice. Like, super duper "Am I hallucinating?" NICE. 

So, I guess I think more people should be like Kentuckians. Or, maybe more states (and/or commonwealths) should require that the municipal water supply be laced with bourbon.