November 12, 2009
“Is your accent real?” asked the sales clerk in the mall when she heard me talk.
“Uh, yes” I said.
I didn’t know whether she was complimenting my twang or insulting it, but the conversation revealed that we are originally from neighboring southern WV counties. I therefore decided it was a compliment.
November 9, 2009
The other evening I noticed that one of my headlights was out. After becoming more and more agitated with a certain neighbor over the past few weeks, I was pleased to see that not everyone in my building is annoying: one of the other tenants kindly pointed out the burnt out bulb when I pulled up to the building.
Random acts of kindness continued when I tried to get the bulb replaced at a local garage. “We’re not allowed to put in other companies’ parts,” explained the clerk when I presented the bulb I’d already purchased elsewhere. However, he did it himself anyway for a small tip. Perhaps he sensed my ineptitude regarding the inner workings of an automobile.
Leave it to car trouble to renew my faith in the kindness of people!
November 2, 2009
For my money, Mountain Stage is the best music venue around these parts. I dig the folkie, singer-songwriter, and alt-country genres and have seen many of my favorites take the stage over the years (Rosanne Cash, Joan Osborne, Jakob Dylan, Jill Sobule, Patty Griffin) and typically fall in love with at least one other act that I’d had no previous exposure to before the show. Prefacing the evening with dinner at nearby Tricky Fish is becoming a welcome tradition.
But I’m sorry to say that two recent trips to the Mountain Stage have been marred by the most unwelcome of sights: drunk people in the audience! The first happened at the recent Indigo Girls show at the Clay Center when a group of rowdy women were eventually escorted out of the theatre. I attributed their embarassing behavior to the fact that the show had ventured beyond the typical WV Culture Center venue to the larger Clay Center – figuring that may attract some folks not familiar with the intimate setting – and also that the Clay Center sells liquor in its lobby (a business practice that I find cheapens the experience of the classy center; I’m all for a drink, believe me, but not in that particular arena).
Then, after winning free tickets to last night’s show, back at the Culture Center and headlined by Nellie McKay, I was disgusted by the drunken father-son duo who flirted with my female friends and talked loudly throughout the entire show. At least one couple moved to the other side of the venue. An old man in front of them finally turned around and told them to shut up, at which point the drunkards got up and left. Unfortunately this happened during the last set when the show was nearly over anyway.
I plan to attend a couple more Mountain Stage shows in the near future. Here’s hoping the drunk folks stay away! Have some decorum, people!
October 6, 2009
In my last post, I shared a voicemail message left by a stunned coworker watching a pig run loose on I-64. Shortly after that I witnessed a cow trotting down the Interstate, which began a debate as to who’s sighting was more alarming: her pig or my cow.
Yesterday evening I received another call from my colleague. This time she saw multiple cows loose on the freeway.
This morning, yet ANOTHER call came in: a cow was lying dead in the median.
Has something happened? Have animals been granted traveling privileges on our roadways? I’m seeing more dead squirrels than ever before and now we’ve got livestock running rampant along the Interstate.
September 14, 2009
The following is a voicemail message left on my phone by a coworker trying her best to drive home:
“Between the office and Hurricane I’ve passed four wrecks and a 300 pound pig running loose on the Interstate!”
Sounds like one of those days when I feel blessed to live two miles from work!
September 6, 2009
Coloring is such a stress reliever. Adults should do it more often. Kudos to Chili’s for giving my friend Kim and me the opportunity with their St. Jude’s fundraiser.
August 20, 2009
Fair Log, Day 5.
Before my shift at the State Fair of WV today, I was sitting alone in the hotel breakfast area when a lady at a nearby table took notice of my Grateful Dead tee shirt. “You’re the only person other than my son I’ve ever seen wear one of those,” she said. Her husband looked up from his Raisin Bran briefly.
We then launched into a conversation that took many twists and turns in its 10 minute length. Subjects included but are not limited to: when Jerry Garcia died, whether or not the Dead still tours, a “Who Farted?” tee shirt, my former coworker’s mother, my brief stint as a snare drummer in the junior high marching band, tacky window decor involving a stuffed monkey, and some rare behind-the-scenes scoop on the annual West Virginia Strawberry Festival in Buckhannon.
What I had anticipated would be a dull breakfast with a hard-as-a-rock biscuit and lousy coffee became a pleasant chat with a friendly stranger. People are nice!
August 13, 2009
It’s fair time, folks, and I’m working my organization’s exhibit for the fourth year running. There is plenty of fun to be had at the fair so I thought I’d share a few of my favorite things. In random order:
1. People watching! Some of the best mullets you’ll ever come across are roaming the fairgrounds daily.
2. Local flavor. Veer from the fair and take in Lewisburg. It’s very charming and has some excellent shops and eateries. You simply must visit Food & Friends, as well as the Greenbrier Valley Baking Co. for the best pizza south of Graziano’s.
3. Cinnamon rolls. Of all the awesome fair food, I never thought I’d be most excited about a cinnamon roll. However, I do believe I would slap my best friend in the face for one. Then I’d give them a bite and all would be forgiven.
4. The rabbit barn. I don’t venture into the barns all that much, but they do have some of the biggest darn rabbits I ever did see. Kind of like when Bugs Bunny drank that potion and turned into a monster rabbit. Yeah.
5. Quite simply, where else are you going to see a sign like this on every corner trash can:
So head on down to Lewisburg this week and take in the State Fair of West Virginia! You may even get to meet Kenny Rogers!
August 10, 2009
This is my mother attempting to embarrass my nephew at his 16th birthday party…and succeeding with flying colors. In fact, I think it may top the Cyndi Lauper impersonation she did at my niece’s 16th.
August 7, 2009
Pizza sauce. Dough. Mozzarella cheese. Pepperoni.
Essential items for any pie joint, right? So you can imagine my momentary expression of shock when the South Charleston Graziano’s staff told me they were out of pepperoni. Yes, it was late evening. Yes, they were closing soon. But a pizzeria running out of pepperoni? Surely you jest! That’s the kind of thing you don’t keep in short supply.
Now I’m not dissing Graziano’s. It’s simply the best pizza in the valley, barnone. And the waitress who magically appears next to your head to rave about various menu items, that she herself didn’t expect to taste as good as they do, is a hoot. (Yes, I have tried the eggplant, and yes it is delicious; and I’ll get to the Sicilian pizza eventually, already!)
All was not lost on this most upsetting of visits. I finally ventured beyond the pepperoni pizza (a staple I’ve never been able to veer from) and tried the Italian sausage, which according to the waitress is flown in from New York and much better than “that old pork sausage.”
It was good, of course, but maybe next time I’ll bring a stick of pepperoni with me just in case.
