More a philosophy than a list of do’s and don’t, the notion was to avoid standing out or appearing to be putting on airs, while at the same time still achieving a modicum of style and neatness.

Seems like I learned how to do lots of things growing up in Southern Indiana that have no practical application in the big city. Like communicating with semaphore flags or extracting fish hooks.

Asking for what you wanted wasn’t a common talent among folks where I grew up. This led to many a dilemma, from receiving unwanted birthday gifts to waiting a long time for someone to help you get out of a hole you’d fallen into. If only the snail telegraph invention from the 19th century had fulfilled its promise.

High on the list of situations that might have made folks anxious in Southern Indiana when I grew up there, was the fear of all the potential social pitfalls that accompanied fine dining. Here are some tips to ease the social pressure of dinner etiquette.

Where I grew up in Southern Indiana, even the words “public displays of affection” would make folks nervous and in need of an immediate conversation about sports or hunting to wash the memory of those words from their brains. Here is a guide to acceptable forms of public displays of affection where I grew up in Mitchell Indiana in the 1960’s.

Tales about the drunken monkey who lived at the end of the street and his colorful and sometimes dangerous owner.

The neighborhood monkey goes visiting.

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Keeping expectations down took some of the sting out of life in Hoosier hill country. You could expect to have a nice car if you didn’t mind having it get stolen, or have a nice hobby if you weren’t all that good at it. Sometimes just average was a comfortable place to be.

The annual stealing of the Christmas trees, favorite memories of Christmas in Mitchell Indiana.

Back in the day, Mitchell was a real small town with a Main Street filled with a variety of stores and businesses that seemed endlessly fascinating when I was a kid. Come on a visit with me to Main Street, Mitchell Indiana, circa 1964.