Hey Bubba......

In Key West, which is part of the South, the word "bubba" can be taken a number of ways, sometimes as a term of endearment and sometimes not.  Since I have been addressed as "bubba" a few times in the last couple of weeks, I have decided to accept it as a friendly term. The word , bubba, has been used in other countries, such as New Zealand and Australia, and means "baby." Before I came here from Illinois, I often associated bubba as negative, a white trash connotation. But, there have been some very good bubbas, President Bill Clinton, for one, and Bubba in Forrest Gump.

President Clinton

Bubba Gump

Bubba Watson

What else do we know about bubbas?  Bubba Watson is known for winning a Master cup in 2012 and is originally from Bagdad, Florida. President Clinton has won world acclaim for being one of our best presidents. Bubba The Love Sponge sounds like a complete jerk, but with a name like "Love Sponge" what would you expect?

Bubba The Love Spong

The unknown bubba is someone I would associate as "good ol' boy bubba" from my frame of reference.

Generic Bubba

So what do I have in common with these bubbas and what does it have to with prostate cancer?  A very good question. Bubbas seem to span the scale of taste and achievements. I do know President Clinton had very serious heart problems which I believe was from eating such bubba foods as cheeseburgers and fries, probably grits and gravy, and spareribs. 

My conclusion is that: being called bubba in Florida is a good thing. It means I have acclimated to some degree to a new environment, one must (not really) learn to blend in. I think I am more relaxed and a bit tanner, which means I am less stressed. Stress inflames body tissue and decreases the ability of the immune system to fight disease. Therefore, being called bubba is healthy and endearing (if you live in the South).  So, c'mon down and join the Bubba Revolution.