Charactor Judge?.....was: Re: [Shotimes] (OT) Bogus Chevy vs Ford show

[Donald Mallinson]

Ron,

To those of us from around Champaign, "Downstate" is a good 
description.  The "FAR SOUTH" is what John Stout territory 
is!  :)

I went to school and lived/worked in Carbondale for several 
years, and to most in the state, northern Illinois starts 
about I-80.

Central illinois runs from about I-80 to Effingham.

South of Effingham you have Southern Illinois.

Of course to those from Chicago, everything south of Joliet 
is the "south".  :)

Still love the column by Peter Egan where he describes the 
first time (as a teen) that he and a friend decided to drive 
to the 12 hours of Sebring (or was it Daytona?) Florida in 
any case.  Peter then and now lives somewhere in southern or 
central Wisconsin.

They got out the map, and apparently studying Illinois for 
the first time, (having no need to know anything other than 
Road America and Green Bay to get around their part of the 
world), they made the comment:

"might be shorter to get to florida by going over the north 
pole than through Illinois!".

As for accents, most people in far south Illinois don't have 
much of an accent.  I had a roommate in college from 
Roseclaire Illinois (near Cave-In-Rock).  He and his 
girlfriend were the only two people in their town, including 
their parents that had a true southern accent.  After living 
with him for most of a year, my parents had a hard time 
understanding me when I went home to visit!

Don Mallinson

Ron Porter wrote:

> Oh, you mean you DOWNSTATE people??
> 
> Ron Porter (former resident of Olympia Fields and Lake Zurich!)