I have a redneck side. I’ve always been in touch with my roots, but they weren’t something I truly became comfortable with until I started working my current job at the hardware store. It took about 20 years, but now I’m proud to outwardly identify myself with my hard-working, farming forebears.

I’ve always been proud to be a Foster. We were never big-time farmers. When my dad was growing up they were sharecroppers, meaning they would farm other peoples’ land in addition to their own for a portion of the profits. They kept cows, pigs and chickens. But farming became so unprofitable that my grandpa, and later my dad, had to spend more of their time working as plumbers and pipefitters instead of working on the farm. And when I was a baby, my grandpa got rid of the last pig on the farm after coming home to find my mom trying to get Petunia, my uncle’s pet, back home while carrying me in a belly pack.

My grandpa died when I was five. I absolutely idolized him. I can even remember picking up soybeans to use for collages while he was harvesting them with the combine. After he died, most of the farming stopped altogether. We put up hay on our property and on one that was nearby, which means I learned to drive when I was 11 so I could help my dad pick up the hay before stacking it in my grandma’s barn.

But I was still out of touch with that side of my upbringing. For years I was uncomfortable with being lower-middle class. It wasn’t really a big deal at school – I went to school in a small-town community where almost everyone was at our income level, if not below it – but at church, dance classes and other events in Lawrence I felt awkward, as if I didn’t belong or fit in. Being hired at Westlake Ace Hardware was the biggest blessing to me. I finally learned to be comfortable with myself no matter where I am.

So now I usually carry a pocketknife. I love wearing my Levi’s, plaid shirts and occasionally a baseball cap. I drive a pickup truck that’s about as close to being a broken-down piece of crap as it can get. I like guns and my best friend taught me how to shoot his 410 shotgun and 20-gauge rifle last year. And I love my country music.

If people think I’m weird, that’s fine with me. If you have a problem we can take it outside. (Just kidding – I’m not really that confrontational, although my Westlake boys have taught me to be tough when necessary.) I like being me, redneck side and all.

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