Friday, July 5th, 2013
Good times with good friends. Even though the fireworks show got rained out last night, no one seemed to notice. Such is the case when you are reconnecting with good friends. It was nice to have some time to relax and wind down from the hectic schedule we’ve been on. Things definitely move at a different pace here in Fayetteville, TN. Our good friend Jimmy opened his door and shared some of that “southern hospitality" with us. He has a beautiful home here up on a hill high above Fayetteville. Ordinarily this would afford us a great view of the fireworks, but after 6.5 inches of rain falling in the area over the last 36 hours, the outdoor fireworks display was postponed to Saturday evening. A welcome benefit to the weather front that moved through here is that the usual 95 degree weather with 90% humidity is strangely absent. Instead the temperatures have been at an unseasonably cool mid-70 degree level. Elisa had to bundle up this morning with a sweatshirt and another rain coat.
In the morning we had a hearty southern breakfast (meaning grits, biscuits and lots of gravy) and sweet tea. After that Elisa was ready to hit the many antique shops that line the quaint town square of Fayetteville. She came across several nice finds that were reasonably priced. Many of the finds were cute, but not necessarily antique toys that could make their way into the museum. There were also some nice older toys that we were able to negotiate a great price on. She found an early 1960’s marching band toy made by Marx called Big Parade. This toy features toy soldiers that resemble the one in our Logo design. This was a good find as it is a rare toy and we got it at a good price.
The towns people were happy to see us come. We weren’t just looking – we were buying. It was fun and everyone we met was so nice.
A little bit about Fayetteville, it was incorporated in 1809 and takes its name from Fayetteville, NC which is from where many of the founders migrated. Today, the town boast about 6,900 residents but more importantly a Super Walmart, a brand new 120 room Hampton Inn, 4 mexican restaurants and 2 Chinese restaurants. However, one unfortunate side affect of the Super Walmart is that the town square is no longer occupied by local merchants and businesses and instead with antique shops, real estate offices, banks and the Lincoln Cinema. Proudly standing in the middle of the square is the County Administration building. This building is adorned with canons that were cast in 1865 and placed in the square in 1905.
Fayetteville is a pretty popular stopping place for “Gentlemen Biker Groups" (aka – old guys and gals on Harley’s) who like to make their way to nearby Lynchburg, TN which is where the Jack Daniels whisky distillery is located. If they are not going to Lynchburg they are merely cruising the scenic backroads of rural Tennessee.
The weather was kind enough to improve for us – meaning minimal rain. Everyone knows that it is no fun to be lugging around bags of antiques in the rain. After we were done exhausting this small town of most of their relics we thought it best to leave some for the next set of visitors, so we set of for lunch. Jimmy was intrigued by my quest to find the worlds best ribs, so he stopped by the Chuck Wagon in Fayetteville to pick up some of their slow smoked ribs so that we could taste them along side some ribs that a nephew of his had smoked. While both sets of ribs were tasty I must say that the quest continues.
After lunch we got to spend some time with our good friend Rosemary. I’m sure that everyone knows that Mother Teresa is a Saint. Well, I’m equally sure that anyone who knows Rosemary, believes that she is a saint of a person. She is the warmest, sweetest person we know. A teacher of kindergarten and 3rd graders for 20 plus years who loved her job and even more so, loved the kids she taught. She recently retired and she misses her job and the kids every day. She still attends every high school graduation so that she can see her former students graduate and she is as proud of each one as if they were one of her own two kids. God Bless the Teachers!
That evening we went to nearby Tullahoma, TN which in comparison to Fayetteville is a big city with 20,000 residents. As we made the 30 mile trek out there on the rural road, Elisa asked Jimmy, “is this the only way to get here – where is the freeway?“ To wit Jimmy said this is the freeway – of the 2 lane variety. While at the restaurant, we got to meet some really sweet folks. Our waitress, bless her heart, for some reason decided we were the kind of people that she could share her complete medical history with and how after the birth of her second child she has never been the same and how she has been plagued with chronic heart burn since, which is torture because she is originally from Louisiana, and che can’t even eat red beans and rice or jambalaya without getting ill. She is hoping that now that she has had gall bladder surgery she will start to improve. And for some reason, we really enjoyed the fact that this woman who was a stranger to us, is no longer a stranger. Another example of the southern charm is the gentlemen I met in the restroom while washing my hands. After a quick exchange of “hellos” he was quick to comment, “hey, you’re not from around here – where you from.“
To which I replied, “California.”
“Oh really – how far out in California” he inquired.
“All the way out in San Diego”, I said.
He then proceeds to tell me that he is originally from Nashville and he is here tonight with a friend of his because he doesn’t drive any more. You see he had a real bad car accident a long time ago – “don’t feel bad, I can’t remember a thing" – he was in a coma for 6 months and ne can’t drive now. Six years ago, he came out here to check up on his Mom, who lives in Winchester, its just down the road there, and when he got there – there she was -dead on the floor – God Rest her Soul – and he hasn’t left since.
All of that over a simple “hello"
Toto, we’re not in Poway anymore – I love it, people actually converse.
More later.
Comentários