Proper use of the term “y’all”…

OK, all you native Texans out there help me out on this one! When we were kids, most of the people you met were from Fort Worth or nearby…. a few were from Dallas, but they didn’t really count. I mean, there was a reason for that bumper sticker that said “If you love New York, take I-35E”. It was all over Fort Worth. Anyway, back then there was no need to explain what “y’all” meant. As transplanted Texans began to move in, they began to complain that ’sometimes youse-guys say “y’all” when you are talking to only one person….why is that?’ Nope, sorry, that’s only in the south. Maybe East Texans use “y’all” like someone from Georgia (or Dallas??!!??), but in Fort Worth if you say “y’all” when you are talking to one person it is only because it would be rude to exclude the rest of their group or family. “Hi, Johnny, how are y’all doin’?” is a inquiry about the whole family, not just John-boy.

After a few years went by, the transplants “got it” and started to sound a little more like they belonged here. Then more and more of you Yankee-types decided, August heat or not, Texas was the place to be. Whoa! Not only do we have to explain about ‘y’all’ again, but now we gotta explain ‘fixin’ ta’….. as in, “Hey, what’re y’all gonna do for dinner tonight?” The proper answer in Fort Worth is, “Oh, we’re just fixin’ ta go over to Reata Rooftop for a martini and some calf fries. Y’all wanna come along?” That’s called Fort Worth hospitality!

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Security in the building…

When the Tower first opened, a friend asked me about the security in the building because he was working on plans to write a novel set in downtown Fort Worth and he wanted to have reliable information on how things operated here for the plot. I had explained that we have 24-hour concierge service and other amenities, with quasi-New York City style greeters at a desk (they don’t open the door for us like the doorman does …. yet anyway) and electronic key fobs that are required to unlock the doors to the building. You can’t get around easily anymore without one of those fobs to allow access — not just to outside doors, but to a different floor on the elevator. (This has caused a few moments of concern for many who have dropped their keys down the elevator shaft and couldn’t get to their floor and couldn’t get in their condos once they found someone to scan them up to their floor.) In the midst of telling my friend about the security in the building, I began to feel concerned that if he put too much information into the book it might urge a security breach by local ‘bad men’.

As time went on, I realized that it is only through elementary error that we have had any problems of this sort. All the common areas going from the elevator to the condo doors look exactly alike by design, as we are prevented in our condo agreements to place anything outside the door (like a doormat, maybe?), so it has happened on more than one occasion that a misguided resident would get off on the wrong floor, go to his door, find it unlocked, open it and then realize, ‘OMG this is not my condo!!!’ So far nothing detrimental has come from this, but I try to remember to keep the door locked, not because it is unsafe, but because there might be a surprise visitor otherwise! http://www.PrudentialTexas.com/MarieFerguson