mums the word

It amazes me sometimes how diverse the culture can be just within our country. Last night I was on the phone with Jodi(a friend from North Dakota), and this was our conversation:
"So, I'm really sad because this week is Jamestown's homecoming and everyone is going but me and Kaila" (Jamestown is the college she went to)
"Oh, that sucks"
"Are you going to aTm's homecoming?"
"Honestly, I don't even know when it is...I know they have one, cause I remember Reveille wearing a mum, but I don't think its a big deal...or maybe I just never heard about it"
"You remember who wearing a what?"
"Oh- Reveille...that's our mascot. wearing a mum"
"oh ok. what's a mum?"
"You don't know what a mum is?"

So when she arrived at my house 10 minutes later I bombarded her with pictures from high school Homecomings, and the mums that me and my friends so proudly wore. Her reply?
"Wow, those are absolutely hideous"

I had told her that to the normal person, they aren't what you would call "pretty" but we loved them and it was always a big deal on how pretty every one's mums were, we hung them on our walls all through high school...just a huge deal. Then it dawned on me...Jodi and I are from the same country and there are so many things that we are both clueless to about each other's background.

That's all - just thought it was odd that what was such a big deal to us in high school, and is all over the state of Texas (maybe all over the south, i don't know) is completely unknown to people only 1500 miles away in the same nation.

And if you too don't know what mums are, go rent "Hope Floats" and when Sandra Bullock is sleeping in her old bedroom, she has mums hanging on the wall. That was my dream, to have all my mums hanging on my wall when I went home 10 years after moving out, but...they were all gone when I went home 10 days after moving out.