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Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise

Posted by ESC on November 15, 2003

In Reply to: Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise posted by John on November 15, 2003

: Hello-

: My Great Grandmother says this all the time. It's become sort of her catch phrase, and while we can all understand what it means, she herself doesn't know where it came from, her mother used to say it. We're old Virginians, I don't know if this is regional, but it has puzzled me for years. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

: Thank you.

I am from southern West Virginia, near Beckley, and we said it too. If there was a flood and the creek rose, you couldn't wade across. Or jump across. (Near my home is a community called "Jumping Branch" where people did just that.) There weren't many bridges of any substance. So nobody could go to town or visit friends.

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