Talking Pennsylvanian

Once a Pennsylvanian, ALWAYS a Pennsylvanian!

• You've never referred to Philadelphia as anything but 'Philly' and New Jersey has always been ' Jersey'
• You refer to Pennsylvania as 'PA' (pronounced Pee-ay). How many other states do that?
• 'You guys' is a perfectly acceptable reference to a group of men and women.  
• You know how to respond to the question 'Djeetyet?' (Did you eat yet?)
• You learned to pronounce Bryn Mawr, Wilkes-Barre, Schuylkill, the Poconos, Tamaqua, Tunkannock, Bala Cynwyd, Duquesne and Monongahela. And we know Lancaster is pronounced Lank aster, 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,' 'shoo-fly pie,' 'lemon sponge pie', 'pierogies' and 'pocketbook' actually mean something to you. (That's PA slang for 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:Red, White, Blue, and Brown
• You know the difference between a cheese steak and a pizza steak sandwich, and know that you can't get a really good one out side PA, except Atlantic City on the boardwalk.
• 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, and Slippery Rock are PA towns. (and the first three were consecutive stops on the Reading RR).
• You know what a township, borough, and commonwealth is.
• You can identify drivers from New York, New Jersey, Maryland or other neighboring states by their unique and irritating driving habits.
•  A traffic jam is 10 cars waiting to pass a horse-drawn carriage on the highway in Lancaster County
• 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 beergarden. You also know someone who lives 'down the lane'.
• You actually understand all this and send it on to other Pennsylvanians For former Pennsylvanians!