Gentleman or No

My favorite magazine is Southern Living. I've subscribed to it for years. One year I took a break and found myself buying it every month at the store. It's my favorite. I always start from the back and work my way to the front. The back is where the recipes and cooking articles are. Then on to the decorating and gardening and then travel. I loooove it. It's a good day when my new issue hits the mailbox.

In the July issue, they had an interesting article about what makes a southern gentleman. I thought it'd be fun to see how my hubby compares.

Here's what makes a southern gentleman, according to Southern Living.

1. STAND UP FOR A LADY. Jeff always gives up his seat for me. Any lady actually. I really hate to see a healthy guy sitting when a lady is standing. How rude. Where is the chivalry? JEFF PASSES THIS ONE.
2. KNOW THAT THE SEC HAS THE BEST FOOTBALL TEAMS IN THE NATION. Duh, HE ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, WITHOUT A DOUBT PASSES THIS ONE.
3. KILL BUGS. To quote Delta Burke as Southern belle Suzanne Sugarbaker on Designing Women, "Ya know, . . .when men use Women's Liberation as an excuse not to kill bugs for you. Oh, I just hate that! I don't care what anybody says, I think the man should have to kill the bug!" And I agree with her. MEN SHOULD ALWAYS KILL THE BUG. Sadly, JEFF FAILS THIS ONE. More often than not, he tells me, just get a paper towel and kill it. Ugh.
4. HOLD DOORS OPEN. My hubby always holds the doors open for me. Always. Sometimes even the car door. Not as much as when we were dating though. I hardly ever see a man go in before a woman. I think most men are pretty good about this JEFF PASSES THIS ONE.
5. FIX THINGS OR BUILD STUFF. JEFF NEITHER PASSES OR FAILS THIS ONE. HE GETS AN "N" FOR NEEDS IMPROVEMENT and AN "E" FOR EFFORT.
6. WEAR BOOTS OCCASIONALLY. Not the fancy, l-paid-$l,000-for-these kind. We're talking about slightly mud-crusted, I-could-have-just-come-in-from-the-field boots. I like boots with the proper attire. Jeff doesn't really have occasion to wear boots. He's more of a worn out, holes in the back Nike Free kinda guy. HE PASSES THIS ONE BECAUSE -- WELL, JUST BECAUSE.
7.TAKE OFF YOUR HAT INSIDE. This one is a pet peeve of mine. I try to teach my boys to take off their hat inside. Most times they don't. That's definitely a must. I just think it goes back to my southern roots. My grandmother Kimball would cringe at the thought of coming to the table wearing a hat. Big no-no. Jeff doesn't wear a hat. And really, why would I want him to? I love his salt and pepper hair. JEFF PASSES THIS ONE.
8. GRILL STUFF. He's the only one in our house that grills. He's excellent at it too. HE PASSES THIS ONE FOR SURE. Now, keeping it real. I wouldn't mind if he did wear a hat on this one. Maybe one of the big chef's hats. I HATE THE SMELL OF THE GRILL IN HIS HAIR!
9. CALL US. He'd much rather call me than text or e-mail. JEFF PASSES THIS ONE.
10.STAND WHEN WE COME BACK TO THE DINNER TABLE. Just a little half stand would make my heart melt. NOPE, HE FAILS THIS ONE.
11. PULL OUT OUR CHAIRS. HE PASSES THIS ONE. It's always good, too, if they don't grimace or appear to be lifting 12,000 pounds when they scoot us back in.
12.PAY THE TAB ON THE FIRST FEW DATES. He always paid when we were dating. He always pays now. Only now he might ask me if I have the money to pay. We have been married 22 years, you know. HE PASSES THIS ONE.
13.DON'T SHOW UP IN A WRINKLED, UNTUCKED SHIRT. Well, he doesn't like to tuck his shirt in when he's not at work. But he's never wrinkled. I mean, how wrinkled can a Georgia bulldog T-shirt be? When he wears something other than a T-shirt, he's tucked in and unwrinkled. HE PASSES THIS ONE.
14.NEVER GET IN BAR FIGHTS. Uh, yeah, right. If Jeff were to get in a bar fight, I'd be right beside him duking it out. That is as soon as I came to from passing out. He doesn't have a temper bad enough to even think about getting in a bar fight. He will play the occasional game of thumb war with me though. HE PASSES THIS ONE.
15.KNOW HOW TO MIX OUR FAVORITE COCKTAIL JUST THE WAY WE LIKE IT. We don't MAKE cocktails, but he does know how to make my coffee just the way I like it. When I make it, it's never as good as when he does. HE PASSES THIS ONE.

These are ways to be a southern gentleman, according to Southern Living.

It was funny because when I googled southern gentleman, Colonel Sanders kept coming up. Ha!

So tell me, how did your hubby fare?

Till tomorrow.