Where's the beef?

I was in Hawaii during spring break and I told someone I was from Indiana. She said, "Oh, you're from the East Coast." Maybe she was too busy eating poi and hula dancing to study geography. But if you're in the Pacific, the entire mainland United States seems like the East Coast.\nLast summer, I lived in New York City. My roommate was from New Jersey. One of the first things she said to me was, "If you were to buy a Chanel handbag, what color would you get?"\nIf I were to spend $1,000 on a bag, I'd probably pick out a color to match hell freezing over.\nShe was from the East Coast, but her cell phone ring tone was Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman." Even though I'm from the heartland, I died a little inside every time her phone rang. Regardless, we became friends.\nStereotypes have threads of truth but are never 100 percent reliable. \nSo if some rich East Coast person is paying you 50 bucks to make sure his collar stays popped, take the opportunity to make a new friend. And if some hick makes fun of your Ugg boots, don't assume she's jealous because she can't afford them. She might genuinely think your boots are ugly.