folksy???

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

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Mar 22, 2006
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As I've read through the past posts on this forum,,I've seen this term used alot..I like it alot it conjures images of bare feet surrounded by willow shavings, carelessly tapping away the rythm of a summer afternoon on a wooden porch.. What does this term mean on a personal level? (just trying to understand the groove of it ) Thanks.
 
Pretty much what you think.;) There are a lot of us old geezers here who remember when every man carried a pocketknife. They weren't thought of as weapons, they were tools. They didn't have pocket clips, and mostly took two hands to open, so we learned to plan ahead. We remember simpler times and believe they can live on through us.
 
FrontPorch.jpg
 
Overalls, Case XX Trapper and a Hoe Handle.
Fried Taters, Cornbread, Onion and Buttermilk for lunch.
100 degree summer days.
 
When I think folksy, I think of people that lead a fairly simple life.

The kind of person that gives you their word and a handshake on something and they will always stay true to what they said...

The kind of person that is always willing to help others when things aren't going well for them, but at the same time won't ask and doesn't expect things from others....

I guess for me its the way I was raised, and I tend to choose friends that have the same values that I do.. Maybe thats why I only have a few very close friends, the rest are just people I know. My best friend and I grew up together since grade school and still talk a few times a week and go hunting and camping together.

I think a lot of the people here in Traditional are as I described..
Honest, Caring and simple folks.
 
Folksy to me is a plank floored hardware store where the smell of fresh linseed oil greets you at the door. A big ole potbellied stove in the corner, bins of cut nails and showcases of Case and Buck knives. It's the local gas station where you can still get your hunting or fishing license and at least 5 men are arguing the fact that the white rabbit population is all but gone, and who's fault it is.
 
For me...
Folksy gets translated in to Yiddish as a 'Mench'.
Somebody who is true to themselves.
Who is not afraid.
And who is not afraid to be kind to people.
 
I think of a front porch on an old country store by the river. A bunch of men sharing hunting and fishing stories, arguing about wether a Ka-bar little finn is better than a Case little finn. The smell of pipe tobacco, the pot of coffee on the stove, and the art of cursing done well by experts.

A chilly fall morning with the ground still white with frost, and the flat report of a shotgun and the sweet smell of the powder smoke as you break it open to reload the single barrel.

The feel of a razor sharp pocket knife slicing through the rabit fur and hide as you clean it. The sharp fizzle sound of a old fashioned barn burner match being struck as grandad lights his old beat up brier pipe.

Rounding up pop bottles alongside the road and carrying them down to the store for the deposit money, and using the money for a box of .22 long rifle shells.

Sitting around a campfire after dinner, listening to ghost stories being told by an elder.
 
Folksy is people who do things, and do for each other.

It's a wonderful lady in her kitchen making cornbread for dinner on the stovetop in a cast iron skillet because the oven burner is broken. And you can't tell the difference, because her grandma taught her how to do it over a fire, woodstove, gas oven, fireplace, or electric heating element. And she's got a Browning Baby on top of the fridge, and a Case Peanut in her apron pocket.

It's a fence getting built by a dad and a son. It's dad teaching "slights" that make doing hand work easier, whether with knife, hammer, saw, or whatever. It's a mom or dad teaching a kid how a .22 single shot rifle can keep a family fed.

It's heat. It's cold. It's real life being lived by real people.
 
It is getting up real early on a Saturday morning to head off into the woods for a day or two with your dad when you were a kid.

It is also fishing with a cane pole with a cork bobber from the bank or maybe an oar powered flat bottomed boat.

Quail hunting on a logging road and saving the spent shotgun shells so you would have something to plink at with your .22 back at camp.

Its frog gigging.

It is dressing the quail, cleaning the fish, cutting the frog legs and cooking up a great meal over the fire then settin' back listening to the lores of the elders who took you out of the city to spend a weekend in the outdoors, or help you uncle on his farm.


Using the outhouse near the barn after feeding the critters and before cranking up the tractor instead of going all the way back to your house. ;)
 
It's getting together with your neighbors to help out the Ziegfelders down the road who are having a hard time of it.

It's a barn dance.

It's a jar of penny pretzels at the general store, far enough away that you and your sister hitched a ride with the Fergusons in their truck, since they happened to be heading into town, too.

It's that church social you really didn't want to go to, but you went anyway because you weren't going to let someone else's chili steal the show.

It's having to tell your dad and mom what you did before someone else did, and "taking your medicine" so the family name didn't get tarnished.

All that and much more.

It's a gentle innocence, a hard honesty, and a deeply-felt humility.

It's a genteel manner and man's handshake.

It's a twinkle in grampa's eye as he tells of his boyhood.

I could go on, but I'm startin' to cloud up.

Anyway.

That's folksy.

 
Its selflessly giving of yourself to others:

><> Be it helping all day long with a neighbor's barn-raising.

><> Handing over some of your prized possessions to folks cause you have several and they haven't any.

><> Pulling over off the highway to help a perfect stranger who's car is broken down.

><> Giving a 5.00er in the Sunday-go-to-meeting collection basket when you only have 8.00 dollars to your name.

><> Volunteering your time and effort to any worthy cause knowing full well you will get nothing in return.

><> Checking on the neighborhoods elderly folks to make sure they are all doing alright and just to visit for a spell.

><> Giving half your stringer of largemouth bass for supper to your buddy cause you had all the luck today and he had none.

><> Paying the grocery tab forward for another without letting on that it was you who did it or why, just because they needed it.

Just a few folksy examples above.
 
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It as simple as waving "howdy" to everyone that you pass on a two lane road and small talkin with anyone you meet like you've known them forever. Folksy isn't something you set out to do, it just IS. :)

Don't get it confused with terms like rednecks and pluggers. Those can be used in a derogatory manner to put down some honest folksy activities. Whatever :rolleyes:
 
Great stuff guys....thanks for clarifying....I was away from this forum for a bit but I'm glad to be back....this place is awesome.
 
Greg,
I am glad you posted that Norman Rockwell!

I think he knew what "folksy" was in a BIG way!

Ken
 
Yes he did. The "Art Elite" despised him because of his portrayal of everyday Americans until his paintings became so popular and worth fortunes. He really does sum it up visually and straight to the heart. Even if you have never experienced what his paintings depict you can still feel what he is saying. Kinda like us and our knives.
Greg
 
I'll pull this one out when someone needs a bit of guidance. Sometimes it's easier to understand when you can see it rather than listen to it. We've all been there at least once.
Greg

orig.jpg
 
Greg, thanks for posting these. Isnt this picture you posted 'The Runaway'? I good friend of mine has a print in his office.

Peter
 
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