I'm (Not) a Little Bit Country

Confession: I hate country music, at least that's what my parents, my sister, my husband, my friends, my...well...everyone thinks. See, I don't really dislike country music. I've even been known to have country stations programmed on my car radio.

(G: Is this a country station? When did you start listening to country music?

Me: Oh, they, uh, they changed the station format yesterday, and I, uh, can't figure out how to program a new station... So, how was your day?)

(Yes, I've really had that conversation with my husband - more than once. Yes, I've actually played dumb, pretending I don't know how to change the radio programming. Yes, he really believed it. Love you, honey!)

This charade started in the fifth grade. It was my first exposure to peer pressure, and I gave in.

SCENE: Typical fifth grade classroom. Enter Robin, the popular girl. She had dark hair, styled in a Farrah Facett-type, feathered style. She wore Jordache jeans and left the buttons on her polo shirt undone. She was cool. On the other hand, I refused to wear jeans; I'd only wear pleated skirts, ruffled pastel blouses, and ballet flats. I straightened my hair, had really crooked teeth, and sported Coke-bottle glasses.

Robin: Hey, Jilt! We were just talking about that new song, you know, the one with the phone number?

Me: I don't know it.

Robin: Of course you do! It goes, "867-5..." I can't remember the last few numbers. Do you know?

Me: I've never heard that song.

Robin: Sure you have. It's all over the radio. You do listen to the radio, right?

Me: Yeah, but I don't really listen to rock music.

Robin (laughing): What do you listen to?

Me: I listen to what my parents have on the radio - usually country or oldies...

Robin (rolling on the floor laughing): That's so dumb!

From that day forward, Robin and the cool kids made fun of me - everyday. They called me "Country."

I tried changing my wardrobe - gone were the skirts, replaced by Izod polos and Jordache jeans. I asked my parents to listen to rock stations whenever we were in the car. I asked for and received my first rock album (Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger"). I stopped listening to country music - at least as far as anyone knew.

Today, I grabbed one of the CDs I received in my BlogHer swag bag. Song two: Dolly Parton's "Nine to Five." I cranked that puppy. I sang proudly and loudly (and badly). I loved it.

Fuck Robin from the fifth grade. I'm loving me some Dolly. I might even add a country station to my car radio - and I might not even deny that I did it on purpose.