The "How You Know You're From Lancaster" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just opened my Facebook page and saw a post that my daughter Brynn and her friend Marie had made. A list of "20 Things You Know If You're From Lancaster County."  Pretty neat list so I thought I would pass it along to all those who will always have 717 as their area code and love Lancaster County as well as to those who enjoy reading about the part of the world that I call home.  So ... here you go.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

1.  You always leave the house 10 minutes early on Sunday's because you know you will get stuck behind an Amish buggy.
2.  You know exactly what the foods sweet bologna, scrapple, birch beer and Long Johns are.
   
3.  Blue Ball, Intercourse, and Bird-In-Hand are all just town names to you.
4.  You were excused from high school for the Pennsylvania Farm Show and the first week of deer hunting season.
5.  It really gets under your skin when people say "Lan-cas-ter or Lang-cas-ter" when it should be "Lang-cas-ter."
6.  You live within a mile of an Amish farm and are used to the smell of manure.
   
7.  You are used to not being able to buy beer and wine from the same store.
8.  You know that Wilbur buds are 100 times better than Hershey Kisses.
   
9.  County Fair season is your favorite season.
10.  You ate dippy eggs more often that not as a child and had no trouble ordering them in any restaurant in Lancaster County.
11.  You aren't surprised when you see things are cooked in lard.
12.  Your heart broke when the Freez-and-Friz across from the Lancaster Airport closed its doors.
    
13.  In the summers you probably meet up with your high school classmates at Marion Court.
14.  You get a free birthday breakfast from Shady Maple every year.
15.  Root's Country Market and Auction and the Green Dragon are two of you favorite places to shop.
16.  All family gatherings aren't complete without whoopie pies and shoofly pie.
    
17.  You buy your produce from Amish stands, not the grocery store.
    
18.  You drive winding roads so often you can no longer drive in a straight line.
19.  You've been asked if you're Amish.
20.  And even though strange things happen in Lancaster, you will always call Lancaster home.