Col. Frank I Elam Wrote: > Dr. Rice - I am sure sorry that I offended you or >anyone else with Kentucky humor. I was born and raised in >East Kentucky as were my > parents. <Snip...Snip> I quite understand that no malice was intended. However, the very fact that those outside the Commonwealth saw more humor in the jokes than those living here, should give reason to pause. We are capable of laughing at ourselves here; in fact, in the past we laughed right along with everyone else. But, we now understand how the region has been harmed by these very unflattering jokes, ...albeit unintentionally. While others were having a laugh at our expense, our children were dealing with crippled self-esteem. So, dear friends, it's not a matter of being "serious minded" as Buck suggested, we are some of the best story tellers and liars in the world, it's a matter of characterizing an entire region in a very, very undesirable light. Perhaps you have to live here in order to understand that. Thin skinned, you say ? Perhaps, a little of that too. However, these type jokes have, undeniably, produced prejudice against this region. Folks, those of us that live here, live with those very unflattering labels. And, good folks, it's much easier to "laugh at yourself", if you don't happen to live here... My last word, ...again I apologize to the List and to the List Owner for this thread. Dr. Bill Rice Wolfe County