Have you ever heard the expression that “it’s better to laugh than cry”? Those of us who live in Upstate New York just KNOW that this expression was coined by a native Upstate New Yorker because Upstate New York is one of the few places in the world where you can experience all four seasons- Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall- in a single day. As we enter the hectic holiday season and as I look out the window at 6 inches of snow on the ground (with rain in the weather forecast), I thought a little Upstate humor might be good for all of us! Keep reading for comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s hilarious poke at Upstate New Yorkers!
If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 36 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you might live in Upstate New York…..
If you’re proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights a year because Saranac Lake is the coldest spot in the nation, and Syracuse gets more snow than any other major city in the US , you might live in Upstate, NY.
If your local Dairy Queen is closed from October through May, you might live in Upstate New York .
If you get 131 inches of snow in a week and you comment that ‘winter’s finally here’, you might live near Oswego in Upstate New York.
If you instinctively walk like a penguin for six months out of the year, you might live, bundled up, in Upstate New York.
If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance, and they don’t work there, you might live in Upstate NY.
If your dad’s suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Upstate New York.
If you have worn shorts and a parka on the same day, you might live in Upstate New York.
If you have had a lengthy phone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might live in Upstate New York.
YOU KNOW YOU ARE A TRUE UPSTATE NEW YORKER WHEN:
“Vacation” means going South past Syracuse for the weekend.
You measure distance in hours.
You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.
You often switch from “heat” to “A/C” in the same day and back again.
You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.
You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend/wife knows how to use them.
You design your kid’s Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction.
You can identify a southern or eastern accent.
Down South to you means Corning .
Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new shed.
You go out for a fish fry every Friday .
Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.
You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
You find 10 degrees “a little chilly.” and 55 is shorts weather.
You actually understand these jokes, and you forward them to all your Upstate New York friends and to those who used to live here and left. (We call them “chickens”!).
I once had a humorous narrative similar to the above, talking about how tough upstate New Yorkers are in cold weather. I have lost it and would like to get it back again. As I remember, one line referred to what Floridians did when it got cold there, while upstaters just put on a long sleeve shirt. It was about a page long, very funny. Can you help?
I don’t have a copy of the narrative you are referring to but if I ever come across it I will be sure to post it!
Thanks for reading,
Jim Reed
NY & PA Injury & Malpractice Lawyer
You know your from Upstate NY when your on your way home from Tennessee
and the Dept of Motor Vehicles in Virgina forgot to plow I-88. Your dodging cars and trucks left and right like your in a nascar race. Mean while you look down and your doing the speed limit while everyone is going 10 miles per hour.
You know your a Yankee when theres an half an inch of snow on the ground and you show up for schools and its closed for a snow day because there plow trucks. LOL
you know you’re from upstate new york when you have to drive at least an hour to get to a grocery store.