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One of the first lessons I learned upon arriving in Texas is that there is a different way of talking. It is not just the slower way they talk; there are new words, phrases and names too. However, after a while they become so common that it is difficult to remember what you learned here or there.

Perhaps the first word that caught me off guard days after I arrived was the word pallet. Now like me about half of you pictured one of those wooden things they stack stuff on. Only that was not the case here. I wanted to put my little girl down for a nap and my soon-to-be mother-in-law suggested that I "build her a pallet on the floor."

Now why would I want to build something out of wood just to nap a child on? What is wrong with laying her on the couch or bed? That is when it was explained to me between gulps of laughter. She meant for me to lay some bedding on the floor for her to nap on.

So now, a pallet is a makeshift bed placed in any vacant floor space for anyone to sleep on. Moreover, to think, we just told people to stretch out anywhere. Another change I quickly learned to make in my vocabulary involved my favorite drink. All my life I had run to the store for a pop.

Fair warning ... saying pop is a dead Yankee give-away. So now, I run to the store for a soda. My most memorable "pop" moment came at work. As a server at the local Pizza Hut, it was my job to keep customers happy. On one rather slow afternoon, I stopped by my only occupied table to check on things.

All they needed was drink refills. We chatted for a moment before I turned to get the dishes on the table. That is when it happened.

"I'll just get this out of your way and I'll be right back with your pop". There it was, I had said it now.

"Oh ... you're a Yankee." came the startled response.

"Yes I am." I replied meekly, cringing in anticipation of the coming jokes. However, to my amazement none came. Instead, they expressed a sincere interest in Michigan. Seems they had visited once on vacation. Still, now it is soda or Pepsi instead of pop. After moving to the East Texas countryside, I was introduced to phrases that are even more new.

One that seems to stick out from the rest is "pine straw". What is pine straw you might ask? Well, it is the blanket of pine needles on a house roof or the ground. Not that I have found a use for pine straw other than killing grass and weeds. I guess it might make good mulch for acid loving plants, but mostly it is just a nuisance. So why give it a special name then? Not everything in Texas can be explained.

Learn more about this author, Kathryn Kirby.
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