Linda-
 
Unfortunately you are right in stating that in the South far more
people are interested in who a person is related to than where they
are going to school.  Many schools seem lucky to have master's level
programs (last time I checked, a person with one of those could be a
degreed professional).  In Louisiana, the lack of interest on the
part of the state legislature when it comes to higher education is
appalling.  I tried to explain it to someone from Michigan by saying
that most of the legislators worked in the cane fields or on daddy's
farm and never finished high school.   Therefore, they see college
education as a waste of money since they made it to the state
government without a fancy education.
 
Also, folks in their 40s are older than me, but I'm not implying that
folks in this age bracket are one foot in the grave.  Glad you saw
some humor in that, Linda.  My mom is in her early 50s and grew up on
a farm, and she does not understand my interest in stuff that she
grew up using everyday.  Who knows, in another 100 years or so,
people may wonder why all of the late 19th/early 20th century
farmsteads were wiped out and not studied.
 
Elizabeth