On Donder, On Blitzen - All Girls!

Don D · November 2003

In honor of the women among us!

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December.

Female reindeer retain their antlers
till after they give birth in the spring.

Therefore, contrary to every historical rendition
depicting Santa's reindeer, every single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen- had to be a girl.

We should've known. Only women, while pregnant, would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.

x:-)

Don D · November 2003

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 11-14-03 AT 09:21AM (CST)[/font][br][br]......and shame on you if you don't believe.

HRgalME · November 2003

Oh Don, you're just tryin to make up for the "little woman" post. I'm onta your tricks!
x;-)

Cyndy

rad · November 2003

That is brilliant.

mjindra · November 2003

The women on the forum have known for quite some time the truth to this post. We just don't like to rub it in the faces of the guys. x;)

Thanks Don for the smile today.

Parabeagle · November 2003

So now Don's trying to suck up to the women to make up for all the snide, leg-pulling, sexist remarks over the thousands of posts. I declare, now I have seen it all. x;-)

Don D · November 2003

I swanee. Some guys just can't stand a chivalrous gentleman.

San Francisco · November 2003

"I swanee"! I haven't heard that phrase since I lived in Georgia, but I remember it as just, "I swan".

Elizabeth

Don D · November 2003

Thanks Elizabeth! I figured nobody would know what it meant. My grandmothers, both of them, one from Alabama aristocracy and the other coming from Missouri, used to say "I swannee", which I think, in today's Southerneze means, "Wellll, I do reckon." I think the womenfolk used to say that just before they made the men a mint julep and gave them a footrub. Children followed nine months later. x:-) x:-) And here I am.

San Francisco · November 2003

I remember it more as a pronuncement after a juicy bit of gossip meaning, "No kidding, she didn't!" Well, since I was a teenager, it was more, "No kidding, they didn't!"

Elizabeth

Parabeagle · November 2003

So... this is an expression of some sort? When I saw Don's post I thought it was a typo, or he was having problems with sentence structure or deleted something he was going to write about the Swanee river. Learn something new every day. Of course, out West where we speak pure, unaccented King's English, we don't have any such regional colloquialisms. x;-)

ray a · November 2003

A typo from Don???? Shame on you Beagle for thinking such a thing. I have to admit, I had no idea what they were talking about. And I think we just learned more about Don's ancestry than we cared to know.

Parabeagle · November 2003

I know. First of all, I didn't know Alabama HAD an aristocracy, unless it's Auburn University. x;-)

WOCO Frank · November 2003

>>Of course, out West where we speak pure,
>>unaccented King's English, we don't have
>>any such regional colloquialisms.

Dude! That is like, soooo totally tubular of you!

FunHRBanker · November 2003

I swan?? Pronounced like the bird? I may have to bring that one to rural WI :DD (I hope that emoticon worked, it was my first try...dancing)

Don D · November 2003

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 11-19-03 AT 02:01PM (CST)[/font][br][br]The gentle lady from California remembers it as 'I Swan'. I've lived here all my life and have older family members members who still use the phrase. It's 'I Swaneee'. Yes, pronounced like swan-ee. And the 'I' takes on it's own life with at least five syllables in that one letter. It's an exclamation of disbelief, or even amazement and sometimes congratulations. Here are examples: "I swaneee, yonder comes Luther and he's got his momma in the truck with him, ya'll run hide (exlaimed with a big grin). or "I swaneee Lucy. That pretty speckled momma sure has a fine batch of baby puppies, now don't she?" or "I swaneee Bobbie Ruth, I know for a fact this is the third time that girl's been pregnant and I've never seen a man over there at her house yet." or "Well, I swaneee Uncle Josh. I never woulda thought you coulda carved that duck out of that block of wood. How'd ya do that?" You'll find it a popular phrase from Missouri, over to Kentucky, maybe into West Virginia, then downward through the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and the most northern portion of Florida (just maybe). "I swaneee, I can't believe we're still talking 'bout this."

WOCO Frank · November 2003

>> You'll find it a popular phrase from Missouri

Maybe in the bootheel.

San Francisco · November 2003

Well, we pronounce it the same, I just never saw it spelled out with the "e's" silent.

Elizabeth

Whirlwind2 · November 2003

I've heard "I swan" all my life, the usual context being something along the lines of "I swan, if that don't beat all!" Or, "I swan, Billy Bob don't have the brains God gave a chicken, bless his heart." I heard a hilarious essay once on All Things Considered about southerners' use of "bless (somebody's) heart." It's used in two distinctly different ways: One, to convey a sympathetic tone, as in "Wanda's poor husband got laid off again, bless his heart." Two, to take the sting out of an insulting remark, as in Billy Bob's IQ.

I swan, if I had a nickel for every time I heard one of grandparents say, "Bless his heart, he's as ugly as a tub of guts" ....

Don D · November 2003

..."I swan, them boys in Brentwood seem to be doin' bout good as the Lord allows, based on what he give 'em to work with in the mental department. The gal at the top of the page, bless her heart, they didn't give her hardly any time at all to clean up 'fore that picture takin' man came along and tricked her into posin'. Pass that sweet-tea will ya Whirlwind, and tell your granmomma them biscuits was 'bout good as I ever had".

Whirlwind2 · November 2003

You're right, Don. My granmomma did make the best biscuits this side of the Mississippi**. She also drove a T-Bird, dressed like a million bucks, and had the biggest hair in Dallas.

**Note that I'm on the other side from you, so I'll leave the biscuit honors east of the Miss. to your family -- deservedly, I'm sure.

On Donder, On Blitzen - All Girls!

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