The Yonder Paper
Robert Brady
ENGL 1100.46

Literacy or the lack thereof plays a large part in everybody’s life. I know there are parts of speech in my family that may not be familiar to other people that are not from around Belvoir, North Carolina. The speech I use in my everyday life also affects what I read and how I perceive things I have read. A lot of what I have read has helped me with my career decision in the veterinary field as well as helped me realize that my Belvoir voice and my school voice are two completely different styles. Around my house, you may hear me use words such as "yonder", or the infamous "stutton," which are all great everyday words in my opinion. If you have no idea what either of those two words are, in any way shape or form, trust me, by the end of this paper you will.

First off, some of the language in my family, such as the word "yonder," can cause a lot of confusion for other people. All anyone has to do is listen to me and my father talk for about five minutes and they will hear the word "yonder" about three times. For those who do not know the word, "yonder" refers to distance and direction. For example, if I say "the tractor is parked way over yonder," it means that the tractor is parked "way over there," but in using the word "yonder" we can get a general sense of direction and distance. A lot of times, when I am talking to people that I meet here at ECU, and they ask me, for example, where the library is, I will say something to the effect of, "over yonder." And oftentimes, I will get a funny look, as if they are like, "what the hell is yonder?" especially when speaking with a Yankee. No offense to all you Yankees out there. I guess you could say that all the stereotypical redneck words are used on a regular basis in the vocabulary of my family. "Yonder" is just one of many examples. Anyone who would like a lesson in Southern language is welcome to follow me around for a day and take notes.

Another famous word in my family is "stutton." I know that is a new one to a lot of people because even people who went to high school with me are like, "Excuse me, what did you just say?" I guess I should explain what I mean. If there is a football game on that I do not particularly care to watch, like if the Minnesota Vikings are playing the New Orleans Saints, and my father asked me if I wanted to watch that game at a particular time, I would say, "I ain’t stutton that game." Most other people may something like, "I do not want to watch that game," or "No, I do not particularly care to watch that game." In my family, we just "ain’t stutton that game."

But other than the way my family talks, literacy in itself has affected me in everything that I have done up to this point in my life. Being literate has allowed me to be successful in school and in my job. Everyone in my family, with the exception of my older sister Missy, who has Downs Syndrome, is literate. So, until I started my job at Tarboro Animal Clinic, the best vets’ office in the country, I might add, I never had to deal with illiterate people, people who have made a career out of bagging groceries at Piggly Wiggly and cannot read the directions on their pets’ medications. When their pets get sick or just need a monthly pill, such as a heartworm pill, we have to take extra time with people of that nature in explaining slowly and clearly and not using words like "Ivermectin Pyrantal," which is the main ingredient in Tri-Heart, our brand of heartworm preventative. We have to just say things like, "This medicine will keep your dog from getting heartworms."

Also, in dealing with clients not fortunate enough to be able to read or write, we may have to fill out a check for them, which actually bothers me because if they can’t even read or write, then it is really easy for someone to take advantage of them in such a situation. Just this past Saturday, September 17, an older man, who could not read or write, or even talk for that matter, came into the clinic. He had a really heavy Southern accent and could not grasp the simple concept that we needed to put his phone number in our system so we can have a record if we ever need it. Also, I had to fill out the new client form for him and, instead of him doing it in ten minutes, it took us twenty minutes to fill it out. I just had to keep repeating the question and he couldn’t spell his last name which was something to the effect of Surtain or Cutain, I am not sure but in our system he is Jim Surtain. And he had a check that I needed to fill out because he couldn’t write the dollar amount, not to mention his signature was a scribble.

I have never enjoyed reading in my lifetime. My mother says that she used to read to me all the time and I seemed so happy when she did, but now I just have a hard time finding time to sit down and read, or even to just concentrate on my reading and not allowing my mind wander about all the other stresses in my life, like participating in track and field for ECU and being in the weight room at 6:30 in the morning. The only times I actually seem to get what I read the first time I read it is, as I said in class, cereal boxes. I actually enjoy reading cereal boxes. I read the ingredients, play the games on the back, read about the proof of purchase and how sending in five thousand proofs of purchase will get me a free key chain.

My mother used to read Mother Goose stories to me like "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Farmer in the Dell." My mother says that I was "a little ripper" as she read "Little Red Riding Hood" to me. When she got to the wolf parts, she says I would growl and act like a wolf and howl at the ceiling. She also says that I would run around and attack her leg or arm as well when she was reading to me. My other favorite was "The Farmer in the Dell." Evidently, I was an animal lover even back then because I would make pig noises when she got to the pig parts. I don’t really care for pigs now, but I guess I enjoyed going, "oink," when I was smaller. I was just the cutest youngin’ on earth. Not much has changed right? If you don’t agree, keep your comments to yourself.

But as with anything, it is easier to read things for oneself instead of plays or novels, or boring, long, deeper-meaning types of material. I actually do enjoy reading things such as 4x4 magazines, which give me a lot of ideas of things I would like to do with my own vehicle, which is a 2001 Chevy ZR2 with a two inch body lift with the 15x8 Mickey Thompson’s with three point two five inch backspacing. A lot of people may not know what I just said, but I am used to people not understanding what I am talking about. Reading magazines related to trucks and four wheeling gives me something to talk about with my buddies who are interested in the same sort of things.

Now, to the big points, such as things that will influence the rest of my life, and those are the veterinary magazines that I enjoy reading. One magazine in particular that I enjoy reading, which my veterinarian and boss, Dr. M, gives to me is called Veterinary Practice News, which is a magazine about innovations in the veterinary world. I enjoy reading about the special surgeries, new techniques, exotic animals, and large animals. In the most recent issue of Veterinary Practice News I enjoyed an article on the laser removal of a large abscess of an iguana’s mandible. With a lot of the things I have read in this magazine have made me curious about other areas of veterinary medicine that I hope to be able to explore in more detail once I get into vet school. Those areas include exotic animals, large animals, and honestly, anything else that I may be able to study to broaden my horizons in the area of veterinary medicine.

I have always been around the domestic small animals, such as dogs and cats, and the occasional ferret. We did actually have a Savannah Monitor come in this past summer for a nail trim, but that is about as close to exotic as I have been exposed to. One of the coolest things I have done is help Dr. M with her own personal horse, collecting fat to be used in stem cell research, which, in a nut shell, is where fat is taken from an animal in areas such as the shoulder or rump, and it is sent off to collect the stem cells that are then re-injected into a problem area of that animal. Dr. M’s horse Jaime had gone lame (non weight bearing) in her left leg due to it starting to roll, which is a very big deal for a horse. So, we collected fat from the rump area and sent it off to have the stem cells collected and once we got them back we re-injected Jaime’s knee joint with the stem cells, and within hours, she was good as new, for the most part.

So, due to the fact of my literacy it has allowed me to explore new things and interest me in certain areas, such as trucks and veterinary medicine. Also, I know that given the time, place, and the people around me, literacy level has an effect on the way I carry myself and speak. I use a different language with my family and countrymen as opposed to my friends, and my employer.