• By SMILEY ANDERS
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Oct 13, 2009 - Page: 1B

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I just can’t seem to stop running stories about misunderstandings caused by Southern accents.

As C.F. points out, this can occur even when both parties are from the South:

“Not all Southern accents are created equal. For example, people from certain parts of Alabama, such as my friend and Harley-Davidson lover Frank, have accents so thick even a born and bred in a briar patch, steel magnolia such as myself finds it hard to understand.

“One night Frank asked me for a ride home from, uh, church because his bike was in the shop.

“I said, ‘Sure, where do you live?’

“And he replies, ‘Biker.’

“I asked for clarification and again he says, ‘Biker.’

“So I think to myself, ‘Man! They have their own town now, these motorcyclists.’

“When I asked him where exactly is ‘Biker,’ he exclaims in exasperation, ‘Down Plank Road, before you get to Zachary!’ ”

Heck on wheels
Mike Haley, of Sterrett, Ala., sends over an article from the Birmingham (Ala.) News:

“A Jefferson County convenience store was robbed Wednesday night by a gun-wielding man wearing a skeleton mask. The robber, authorities said, made his getaway on a skateboard.

“ ‘It seems like Halloween is getting here early,’ said sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Randy Christian.”

Mike adds, “When I saw this article about high-tech crime in the Birmingham area, I could not help but wonder if the culprit is a Bama or an Auburn fan.