TALKING PENNSYLVANIAN

As our out of state relatives know . . . Once a Pennsylvanian, ALWAYS a Pennsylvanian!

About Pennsylvanians:

You've never referred to Philadelphia as anything but 'Philly' and New Jersey has always been ' Jersey .'

We don't go to the beach, we go 'down the shore.'

You refer to Pennsylvania as 'PA' (pronounced Pee-Ay). How many other states do that??

"You guys" (or even "youze guys" or "yinz" in some places) is a perfectly acceptable reference to a group of people.

You know how to respond to the question 'Djeetyet?' ( "No, Djou?)

You learned to pronounce Bryn Mawr, Wilkes-Barre, Schuylkill, the Poconos, Tamaqua, Kutztown, Tunkahannock, Bala Cynwyd, Duquesne, Monongahela, and even Conshohocken.

And we know Lancaster is pronounced Lank-ister, not Lan-kaster.

You know what a 'Mummer' is, and are disappointed if you can't catch at least highlights of the parade.

You know what 'Punxsutawney Phil' is, and what it means if he sees his shadow.

The first day of buck and the first day of doe season are school holidays.

At least five people on your block have electric 'candles' in all or most of their windows all year long.

You know what a 'State Store' is, and your out-of-state friends find it incredulous that you can't purchase liquor at the mini-mart.

Words like 'hoagie,' 'crick,' 'chipped ham,' 'dippy eggs', 'sticky buns,' 'sho o-fly pie,' 'lemon sponge pie', 'pierogies' and 'pocketbook' actually mean something to you. ( By the way, that last one's PA slang for a purse!)

You can eat cold pizza (even for breakfast!) and know others who do the same. Those from NY find this 'barbaric.'

You not only have heard of Birch Beer, but you know it comes in several colors.

You know the difference between a cheese steak and a pizza steak sandwich, and you know that you also can't get a really good one anywhere outside of the Philly area.

You live for summer, when street and county fairs signal the beginning of funnel cake season.

You know that Blue Ball, Intercourse, Paradise, Climax, Bird-in-Hand, Beaver, Moon, Virginville, Mars, Bethlehem, Hershey, Indiana, Sinking Spring, Jersey Shore, State College, Washington Crossing, Jim Thorpe, King of Prussia, Wind Gap, and Slippery Rock are all PA towns ... and the first three were consecutive stops on the old Reading RR! (PS - That's pronounced Redd-ing.)

You know what a township, borough, and commonwealth are.

You can identify drivers from New York , New Jersey , Maryland or other neighboring states by their unique and irritating driving habits and their front license plates!

A traffic jam is 10 cars waiting to pass a horse-drawn carriage on the highway in Lancaster County. (And remember .... that's Lank-ister!)

You know several people who have hit deer more than once.

You carry jumper cables in your car and your female passengers know how to use them.

Driving is always better in winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

As a kid you built snow forts and leaf piles that were taller than you were..

You know beer doesn't grow in a garden, but you know where to find a beer garden.

You also know someone who lives ' down the lane'.

YEAH! THAT'S GOOD OL' 'PA' AND WE LOVE IT!