>About "New England"; you are probably not aware of it but I'm from Texas. Around these parts the phrase "New England" is a generic term meaning "up north somewhere" usually referring to anyplace north of Tennessee and East of Illinois. For instance, in the sentence "Bubba's done moved to New England", the speaker means that Bubba moved up north somewhere in which case polite society will no longer mention Bubba's name in mixed company.
LOL!
>The local Indians also use the phrase as a generic term meaning "land of cold" and they shiver when ever they say it.
Well, that's true enough, at least sometimes. Since I've moved to Phoenix, when it drops below 80 I think it's chilly, so, it's all a relative thing. :)
>If you have ever had problems with mail delivery from down south, you can see were the problem gets it's origins. If Dell, for instance, is sending a computer to New Jersey, the southern postal worker will see the New Jersey address and, realizing that it is going "up north somewhere", will put it in the bin marked "New England".
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Thanks, Ed. That explains a lot! < BG >