Austin Hamm (hammbone78@yahoo.com) from 10.100.8.131 at 10/24/01 03:38PM
comment
    I suppose that I can somewhat speak about the differences between the Southern family and families from elsewhere around the country, being that that my father is from Tennessee and my mother is originally from Michigan. I grew up in the same small, rural town that my father, grand father, and great grandfather were born in. All in all, my close paternal relatives all live within a few counties, if not a few minutes away. I suppose that points to the ties between the members of a Southern family in that they are not willing to sacrifice relationships with loved ones for a change of scenery and to the fact that perhaps Southerners attribute their own indentity in a large part to their heritage. Relatives on my maternal side, however, are spead out from state to state and relocate frequently. I have cousins that I haven't seen for years. So in comparison, I suppose one could deduce that southern families remain somewhat close-knit in an everchanging society.