My wife's folks were both tolerant, but enigmatic both at the same time. Hoosiers, I never really knew exactly what they meant. Her Dad, helping us while building our home outside Phoenix, was working on ceiling drywall in the living room. I was in the bedroom. My wife was at work. I overheard the pointed, loud (she was always, still is, very loud), question blurted out by Deb's Mother: "What'er Ya Doin' Now?" She knew perfectly well, I thought, drywall; it all sounded like a joke, for sure. Her Dad's gruff and loud answer: "What the hell's it look like 'um doin'?" Later, eating dinner, I repeated those two phrases, the question and answer, imitating as best I could, their voices and inflections. Thought it the laugh of the evening. WRONG! They looked at each other as though mortally wounded, I figured that was also part of the act, so repeated the phrases again. Mistake. They had NOT been kidding around, dead serious! I had had no idea folks communicated in this way except in jest. My wife was caught in the middle of this one. There was no "mopping it up". She later told me they don't understand me, and I don't understand them, so best shut up. I thought, what's to understand? We all speak English, all raised here, all exposed to similar childhoods and growing up and learning, but........Hoosiers. A breed set apart. Frank
Lol @Frank Sanoica ...don't think it's just Hoosiers..maybe families in general. I always dreaded visiting my parents with my husband. They just didn't get him. At the beginning I'd ask him not to talk about certain things but noticed that if I did that, he'd be sure to bring it up. So, I would kick him under the table....that didn't work either because then he would ask loudly why I was kicking him...he did this other places also. Sometimes I ask myself why I loved him so, lol.....I just did.
I got along with my wife's family fairly good. What I mean by that is that I really couldn't talk about rodeo that much around them. They just weren't that interested. Whenever we go to a family function, we'd most always have Western clothes on and, most of the time, I'd have my cowboy hat on. Just the way we dressed. The rest of the family didn't dress this way, unless our niece and great niece were in a Horse Show. However, I do remember telling my MIL how good her daughter was getting with rodeo "lingo" and understanding each event. She said to me "why does she have to learn all this stuff? Why can't they just accept her for the way she is?" I told her, "they just won't. Like many things, mom, you act, and look, the part, you are accepted and that's what's happening with her. She wanted to be accepted and she is being accepted."