family

I do not have any interesting stories of how my family arrived here or any crazy family members. I sort of know how my family got here, since I have asked before, but I am not sure, and do not feel like I could give good detail. I am though, going to talk about my great-grandma, and her son, which would be my great-uncle. They are both from backwoods rural Tennessee, and to this day, you can tell. They are very hillbilly, and aren't afraid to show it. My uncle wears flannel like it is the hottest fashion style, and my grandma, well she is grandma. She is not afraid to say anything, and always thinks she knows whats best for her, which isn't always the case since she is 95 years old. My grandma has lost some of hillbillyness due to her age, but before that she used to make homemade cornbread, and fry everything in bacon grease, which as unhealthy as that was, tasted so good. My uncle is the same way, he used to own a small farm, mainly used for keeping chickens and pigs, that I used to go and visit the farm with my grandma.

They are not crazy by any means, but I do feel like they are probably the most interesting of my family members, based solely on the fact on where they grew up. My great-grandma and great-uncle both are still alive today, both have a whole list of health problems, and are a walking medical miracle to the rest of the family. That is about all there is to know, on a very brief summary of my great-grandma and great-uncle.

glossary

bum- to get a cigarette off somebody when you are out or don't have yours.

Can I bum a cigarette?

light- to borrow a lighter to light your cigarette with.

Hey man, you got a light?

hit- to take a drag or puff off of a cigarette.

Hey, let me get a hit of that cigarette.

pack- to tap the pack of cigarettes towards the filter, as to compact the loose tobacco in the cigarette, this helps with the burn of the cigarette, and it also leaves more paper at the end for an easier light.

Have you packed these yet?

have a smoke- to go outside and have a cigarette.

You want to go outside and have a smoke?

pg.306...3 Questions

In the scene my informant and I, are outside in the smoking area next to Clevenger hall. We are having a casual conversation as people from all over Lafollette complex come out to smoke at the smoking area. The day was a particulary nice one, it was probably about 55 or 6o degrees out, so we were both just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. My informant and I are friends from high school, and he also happens to be my roommate. Needless to say, my informant and I have a good standing friendship, I have known him for about 5 years now, and we have developed a good friendship over that time.

My informant and I come from the same high school, we both grew up for the most part in rural Indiana, and we both have the same views on topics like smoking. We have the same view on almost everything that we talk about. Us having lived in rural Indiana, in my opinion, is the reason he and I have such a laxed view of smoking. Tobacco use among teenagers where we come from is not that frowned upon, so the use of it is everywhere. There isn't a power struggle with us, we are both equal parts of the interview.

My informant, Tyler, and I come from the same area, so he and I have the same southern Indiana draw. When he speaks, he will talk for a little bit, then stop, pause, think for a second or two, then continue, usually during this pause him and I will take a drag off the cigarettes that we are usually smoking.

week 9...posting 9

The hardest things so far, has been finding quality sources to use for my paper. The easiest part so far, has been doing the field site observations, it is really easy to go outside and get observations, there is always something happening outside, and there are always people outside to observe. If I could start over, the only thing I may do, is do a bigger, more inclusive survey. A more simple way to say this, is I would have asked more questions. Other than that though, there is really nothing that I would have changed from the way I have done things so far. My blog has kept me on track with deadlines, and things that I need to get done. I think my blog will help me with my mini ethnography, because I can go back and get little clips and parts from my blog to put into my ethnography.

week 8...posting 8

My theme so far in this project, from what I can tell so far, is I want to find out why people smoke. Why they started in the first place, and why they continue to smoke, even after knowing all of the dangers of smoking. I want to take a look at both the physical and social sides of smoking addiction, because I think they both play a big part in addiction. After talking to some of the people in the smoking community, without asking them direct questions, I can see that social factors play a sizable role in smoking addiction. Everyone knows that cigarettes are physically addicting, but I do not think that people realize that social factors can play into it as well. Eight weeks ago, I was still a smoker myself, so I have changed quite a bit. Now I do not smoke, but I still visit the cultural site every once in a while to see if anything has changed. Nothing about the smoking subculture has really changed that much, but my involvement is what has changed the most.