<< I'm from Portland--thirty years--and I resisted this place rubbing off on
me, but people now say I even have a hint of an accent.  No pickup truck or
cowboy hat  yet, though.>>

Mr. Handy,

Why did you resist having Texas "rub off" on you?  Go ahead, embrace the area
you are working in.  You certainly do not have to give up your attachment to
Oregon to do it.   If there is one thing that Southerners believe in, it is a
sense of belonging -- a lifelong connection to your home.  That does not
disappear every time you say "Ya'll."

Sincerely,
Paul Davis

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Paul R. Davis
Interpreter/Historian
Redcliffe State Historic Site
181 Redcliffe Rd.
Beech Island, SC  29842