Small-Town Saskatchewan

I am from a small town in Saskatchewan called 'Leader'. When I say where I'm from, I have to be careful to enunciate succinctly because I am in metric Canada and sometimes people think I'm from 'Litre'. That's so hilarious. Litre, Saskatchewan. And what are people from Litre called - millilitres?

Anyway, small-town Saskatchewan is fascinating. My husband is a city-squirrel and he thinks I'm very refined and urbane too. Occasionally he hears something come out of my mouth, though, and says "My god, where did you ever learn to say something as filthy as that??" For this reason, Leader has attained a sort of mystical quality for him, as a place where people say appalling things. But it's not Leader, it's small-town Saskatchewan. Or maybe it's small-town anywhere.

Here's a sample of small-town Saskatchewan speak. Not for the faint-of-heart, mind you. And often with a tinge of mysogyny. But, even the distasteful must be discussed somewhere, don't you think, in a world where we strive for minimal censorship.

Riding bitch.

"Riding bitch" is when a woman sits right next to the man driving a truck (usually a truck), even though there's a whole lot of room in the cab to sit spaciously. Have you ever done this? I usually couldn't get a boyfriend in high school, but when I did, I must admit, I rode bitch. I rode bitch before I knew that it had a name.