It's a Southern Thing

What is it with Southerners and money? Having lived below the Mason-Dixon line for about a year now, I've had time to study a perculiar quirk of the Southern species. They count out exact change. Every time. Now, if a purchase of mine comes to $1.02, well then I'm going to dig through my bag for the two pennies. But, a Southerner doesn't just root around for pennies. Oh no. If the change is .84 they'll still search for it and spend 10 minutes doing so. Doesn't matter if five people are in line behind them. They'll look. Maybe it's the smaller town that allows more elbow room for finding exact change. I come from a place where if you tried to dig out that .84, you'd definitely hear angry rumblings behind you. In a big city, you slap down a Lincoln and be grateful for the change. Southerns are also all about the Benjamins. I've never seen so many $50's and $100's in circulation. And it's a deliberate thing too. If you go to the bank to cash a check or withdraw money, they'll give you $20's so people are specifically asking for the bigger bills. I will admit to a certain thrill of knowing that there's a crisp $100 bill in my wallet (not that this has happened in a really long time), but when it comes to money, I'm modest. You won't see me tossing a Ullyses S. Grant on the counter to pay for a newspaper. That's just ridiculous.