Do you think a river named "French Broad" is kind of funny or am I just being immature to laugh at the name?
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Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog.
The co-hosts for the April 7 posting of the IWSG are PK Hrezo, Pat Garcia, SE White, Lisa Buie Collard, and Diane Burton!
April 7 question - Are you a risk-taker when writing? Do you try something radically different in style/POV/etc. or add controversial topics to your work?
As the name of this blog is supposed to imply, I like to introduce controversy into my writing when I see a reason to do so. Due to an uncertainty about the response of social media platforms to certain controversy I've been steering away from much of it lately.
Being somewhat of a traditionalist I don't usually deviate much from the norm and avoid radical styles, approaches, or whatever. However I can lean toward the quirky sometimes and I'm a fan of surrealism and outright weirdness so I can head off in odd directions at times.
Blogging allows me to experiment more than I might if I were trying to publish for wider audiences, but most of the time I play it pretty safe. The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge was kind of a risk for me and I think it payed off. Now every year for the past over a decade hundreds of bloggers have taken the same writing risk to play along in this crazy blog event.
French Broad River
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| Recreation on the French Broad River (Craftbeer.com) |
There's this French Broad River in North Carolina and Tennessee. I used to see it outside of Knoxville where it empties into the Holston River. Who was that French broad to whom this river name refers?
Actually there was no person referred to in the name French Broad. The nationality in the name was used merely to distinguish one Broad River from another nearby Broad River in North Carolina. The latter was called the English Broad River while the other was labeled as the French Broad. Over time "English" was dropped from one name and that river is now known as only the Broad River. The racy sounding French Broad was retained giving the river the somewhat quirky name it now bears.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has chuckled at the moniker French Broad River. Maybe it's not very politically correct to laugh at that, but you can blame the teenage boy in me I suppose.
What is the funniest river name that you've heard? Have you been river rafting? Are you a risk taker in writing or otherwise?
Lokks a wonderful river Lee. Never heard of that one before.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
Yvonne, most people in the United States probably haven't heard of this river so not surprised that in the U.K. hardly anyone would know it.
DeleteLee
Go ahead and chuckle - the name is funny. Surprised I've never heard of it.
ReplyDeleteThe Challenge was a risk to begin but it paid off, just like the IWSG. Amazing what we started, huh?
Alex, yes, these blog Challenges develop a life of their own. And they're pretty worthwhile for bloggers who want to extend their reach and correspond with other bloggers.
DeleteLee
Rivers are fun and scary. I have been river rafting, lost my X husband over the side and I single handedly rescued him and pulled him back into the raft. Should have left him in the river (just kidding). Let's see the funnies river name I've ever heard.... I guess it would have to be Stillwater River in Orono Maine.... funny because rivers aren't usually still, know what I mean?
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Crackerberries
CB, your X needs to be thankful to you. I'd probably have fallen over too. Stillwater River might be ironic though I have seen some stretches of rivers that looked very still and calm.
DeleteLee
My mother was a French broad. My dad called her a broad often. But that was their generation. I don't have any funny names right now. I'll have to come back.
ReplyDeleteJoylene, broad was a pretty common term back in time. I've heard it in a lot of older movies.
DeleteLee
Rafting down that river looks like so much fun!
ReplyDeleteEllen, looks like the kind of river that would be relaxing to float on. Probably minimal rapids if any.
DeleteLee
The name French Broad immediately sent my mind to an off-color place as well.
ReplyDeleteI went white-water rafting (such as it were) on the Jordan River during my first trip to Israel in June 2005, and may have gone down the river again on one of my other two trips. Despite what all the songs say, it's more like a little creek than a huge, wild, roaring river. There was only one drop-down, and it was just a few feet instead of ten feet or more.
Carrie-Anne, glad to hear I'm not the only one who would make a risque connection to this river name.
DeleteI've heard that the Jordan was not all that immense and what I've seen in documentaries and such seems to confirm this. Still, based on the historical significance etc, I'd still like to float on that river.
Lee
Hi Arlee. What a fun post. being half French, no offence taken.
ReplyDeletehave a great A to Z. Congratulations on your long years of faithful blogging.
Susan B, never can tell who might be offended by what these days so I just say things anyway. I'm always offending someone it seems.
DeleteYes, it's been a long blog haul since 2009.
Lee
Well, thinking about it, maybe the name comes from the fact that the river was the frontier between French-owned Louisiana and the other (British-owned) colonies of North America. And as it was so wide, it was a natural and easy frontier to defend.
DeleteWe all know how much the English and French hated each other (they are far more alike than you may think, but the misunderstanding goes back to William the Conqueror 1066); and they still do, hate each other, that is, hence .... BREXIT !
Being Franco-British is a very tiring task.... like living the Hundred Years War of the Middle Ages.... every day..... Oh, well !
Life is life .... and you have to be born somewhere to someone....
Susan B, I think you might be correct about the frontier or border or whatever. The powers who had come into the New World struggled to establish their territories. The ongoing struggle...
DeleteLee
The French Broad river is the third oldest river in the world! I crossed it hundreds of times while I lived in Asheville, NC for a while. For about the first month I was there I thought the name was French Bread ;-)
ReplyDeleteDiedre, I remember crossing the French Broad when I've taken the "old" route to Asheville before I-40 was completed through the mountains. I think I like the river name "Broad" rather than "Bread"--that one could get a little soggy I think.
DeleteLee
No, you aren't being immature! I can imagine all sorts of things that could be said about the river, about visiting "her." I am not a risk taker physically. I go out of my comfort zone writing, which is risky to me!
ReplyDeleteLisa, it's funny--I've never used the term "broad" but I've heard it used in hundreds of movies. I think the term must have fallen out of favor after or during the fifties.
DeleteLee
Is Broad means Large? Fun river's name ;))
ReplyDeleteQuilting Patchwork & Appliqué
Frederique, yes, large as in wide.
DeleteLee
Oh yes...I thought up the name Fifi for this river since she is a French broad. I think there are many rivers with funny names and I know I came across a couple but can't remember now. I would love to go river rafting and hope to one day soon.
ReplyDeleteBirgit, the Fifi River? Hmmm--Could have been under different circumstances.
DeleteLee
I've tried to keep the controversy on Facebook to a minimum but sometimes I just can't help it.
ReplyDeleteFrench Broad - *giggle*
L.Diane, I've also been trying to hold back on FB, but sometimes I just gotta say something!
DeleteLee
I saw the French Broad River while living in Tennessee. I assumed it meant the river was broad, as in wide. My son was a teenager at that time, so, as you can well relate, he viewed it otherwise. :-)
ReplyDeleteTrudy, by comparison to other rivers the French Broad doesn't seem particularly wide, but I guess if you want to cross it without a bridge it does start looking kind of wide.
DeleteLee
I'm going to speculate that the first implication of "French Broad" river indicates something that might run past Archie Bunker's place on the Riviera...
ReplyDeleteCW, Archie Bunker had a place on the Riviera? I guess he likely used the term "broad" but I don't really rememember.
DeleteLee
Glad that the A to Z challenge paid off! It's good to challenge ourselves. I don't take risks in the sense of style, but I do push myself to write things I'm scared of or seem hard.
ReplyDeleteFunny about the river!
Jenni, A to Z started as a bit of a personal whim, but now it's been embraced by bloggers around the world.
DeleteLee
A damn good post
ReplyDeleteJo-Anne, Thank you!
DeleteLee
I've seen the French Broad in (or near) Asheville, North Carolina. Haven't been there since 2012 - hope to return one day. The funniest river name? That one may be close. And Asheville is located in Bumcombe County, a sort of historic name of its own.
ReplyDeleteAlana, Asheville is a nice city. Though I've passed by it many times on the interstate, I've only actually been inside the city a few times. Someday I'd like to at least visit the Biltmore Mansion Estate.
DeleteLee
Lee,
ReplyDeleteWe often make fun of the French Broad River when we drive across it on our way toward Asheville or the Blue Ridge Parkway. I had wondered if it was referencing a woman but I guess not. I have taken photos similar to the one of the rafters in yours. I have never been rafting nor do I have any interest. I'm afraid of deep or fast moving water not to mention the thoughts of the filth. I'll pass on that activity thank you.
Foghorn Leghorn Looney Tunes A-Z Art Sketch
Cathy, rafting down something like the Little River isn't too bad because the water isn't very deep or wide or rapid. I'd have greater reservations about a larger river like the French Broad.
DeleteLee