From Wikipedia,
Good ol' boy is an American slang term that can have both positive and negative meanings, depending on context and usage.
Complimentary slang:
The term can be used for well socialized men who live in rural and generally Southern areas. If a man is humble and well thought of, he can be referred to as a "good old boy," regardless of his age. It is commonly applied to men with a family or generational wealth or prestige.
Pejorative slang:
It can be used as a pejorative term, referring someone who engages in cronyism among men who have known each other for a long period of time. Collectively these people are referred to using the slang term, Good ol' boy network.
Cultural references:
- The song "American Pie" refers to "them good old boys" driving to a dry levee where they loitered "drinkin' whiskey and rye".
- Good Old Boys is an album by Randy Newman.
- The term was also used in the theme song of the popular television show, The Dukes of Hazzard, performed by Country singer Waylon Jennings.
- In the movie My Cousin Vinny, Vinny states, "Hey Stan, you're in Ala-Fuckin-Bama. You come from New York. You killed a good old boy. There is no way this is not going to trial."
Now, when I first came to Wakulla county, I heard many stories of the good ol' boys and immediately had visions of men hanging around the local gas station chewing tobacco and talking about the old days and hunting. So I went on a quest to find them. Where do I look for these good ol' boys? Well duh, lets try the local gas stations…..
I was disappointed to learn that today’s mega gas stations are really not the gathering ground for anyone these days, let alone the elusive good ol' boys. Well, heck what about the old gas stations??
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Fill'er up?
Needless to say my first impression of good ol' boy hangouts were all wrong.
So this is 2010 right? why not take my search to Google! So I Google Wakulla County Good ol' boys…….
I get that pic………..
And the very first item on the search list is entitled “ Wakulla County Solid Waste Ordinance: PROPOSED”
Holy Crap! (pun intended). Was this a sign from above?
Well I guess the good ol' boys are not internet savvy, they are not on Facebook, although Facebook has a good old boys account here I don’t think that is them.
Not on twitter either: But I must say, that if i did get a tweet from a good ol' boy account, I think it would be a must follow.
A local once told me that “there aint such a thing as good ol boys round here” and I was beginning to believe him. I could not find any.
Until one day………………..
It hit me like a ton of bricks!
Recently, I was talking to a well known political figure in the county, he has held office for over thirty years, I was mentioning to him that one day, I may run for local office. He looked really perplexed at that statement and said to me immediately “Now, why would you want to do a thing like that? You won’t get elected, you didn’t grow up with anybody around here”
There it was, as plain as day. I think I got the “you aint from round here” sentiment as well as the feeling that there was a network of people who will vote for someone just because they grew up here. Good ole boys? Could be. Makes sense that in this day and age they are not like the old good old boys (See what I did there?)
Nowadays good ol' boys are pretty much behind the scenes:
They are there, they have gatherings (I am just not invited)
They discuss things, like the future of the county or who they should vote for in the coming elections. Or small trivial things like what candidate can they run to take a away votes from the guy they don’t want to win in a three way race, oh and pass me the fried gator.
It’s like the old county families are akin to mafia families, they once controlled everything but time and county expansion has withered away most of their power.
I really think the good ol boys are closely related to the group up north we call the Mayors machine.....
But with a huge difference, Just like mostly everything down South, good ol boys are not loud or abrasive. They can tell you off without even realizing it, until a few days later and there is a more relaxed approach to even the age old sport of politics. Just don't go looking for them, you won't find them out and about, just in casual conversation.
