Washingtonians have a unique term of art to describe migrants from the rural South-or possessors of the migrant mindset-who don’t quite get urban living. They are known as “Bamas.” Remarkably, decades after the last major wave of migration, rural ways of life continue to persist in the heart of the city. George Pelacanos, Washington’s great crime novelist, has occasionally evoked this in his vast oeuvre. Characters will travel through a neighborhood and notice chickens in a front yard. A piece in the WaPost’s local weekly insert describes how large chunks of the city continue to rely on gardens for fresh vegetables. In part, the explanation is troubling. Supermarkets simply don’t exist in certain poorer sections of the city. Although the piece doesn’t get into the cultural history of the city, it also yields a charming conclusion. People grow their own greens, because old ways die hard.
posted by Frank.
The Dish 