New Friends

Coffee is Better with a Friend

/ cigarman501 / 5 Comments

Coffee is Better with a Friend

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”

― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Many years ago, my best friend and I would meet on Fridays before the sun rose and walk and jog the Swamp Rabbit trail while attempting to solve all the world’s ills. Many heated discussions occurred but after many years we agree our efforts have come for naught.

We are an unlikely pair. He, the staunch Christian conservative and I, the left leaning, possible agnostic, ordained Dudeist priest. I will let you look up Dudeism on your own.

While staunch, he isn’t MAGA or Christian Nationalist. He cares little for politics or any kind. He would best be described as an old timey Christian singing “Give Me That Old Time Religion” but is more a Reagan Republican than an Eisenhower Republican. While we sit on different sides of the center, we find more to agree on than disagree.

Just off the Swamp Rabbit is a small coffee and art café, The Tree House. Originally it was Leopard Forrest before changing owners along with its name and we stumbled upon it one very cold winter’s morning. We decided to warm ourselves with a cup of coffee and continue to discuss and debate.

The Tree House is cheerful, welcoming and adorned with colorful artwork. The aroma of coffee greets you at the door, and the owners and their working staff greet you inside. They have become the family everyone wishes to have. My brother and cousins should not take offense; they would fit right in with the dysfunctional group we have assembled.

Over the years our duo has grown into a small group. One of the owners, the artist, sat down with us one day, striking up a conversation. Instead of running her off we were introduced to her friends, an English lady who was born during The Blitz, literally born in a bomb shelter. She sits farther to the left than I. Her husband, retired military, sits farther right than my friend. They are an unlikely duo but have managed to make it work for sixty-eight years. She calls us her Muppet men, the grouchy old Muppets that sit in the balcony. Grouchy but just as humorous.

This is the core group, but we welcome nearby diners, attracted by our loud stories and even louder laughter. There are others who are part-time members. We welcome all comers and their contributions. We are a woke, equal opportunity group.

I look forward to Fridays. It is as if the ills of the world that we cannot erase are somehow washed clean. For a bit of time, I don’t worry about what is happening in Washington or Columbia. We don’t worry if we are a red state or if New York has elected a Muslim. All the divisiveness ends. It is fun stories and laughter. It is learning about different backgrounds. Laughter is truly good for the heart as are friends. Friends do make survival worth it. It certainly brings value to mine.

Like Don Miller’s stories? Try “Pig Trails and Rabbit Holes.” Download or purchase from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/5n8uzuwp

Eclectic…Meat Day in Floyd, Va.

/ cigarman501 / 5 Comments

Eclectic: deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources

My brother, son-in-law, and I made the trek to Floyd, Virginia for the seventh or eighth edition of my cousin’s annual “meat day.” The reason for the lack of clarity as to whether it was the seventh or eighth edition will become clearer later. I am clear about this; it was my first time.

Meat day has three simple rules: no women, no vegetables, and no chicken bones thrown into the yard. Other than that, it was an epicurean’s delight sans females. Food in the form of many different proteins, slowly cooked or smoked to perfection, and plenty of libations to wash it down with. I think the “plenty of libations” was why my cousin was a bit unclear as to whether it was the seventh or eighth episode. Did I mention my cousin is also the long-time mayor of Floyd?

Floyd is a small, sometimes sedate, sometimes bustling, sometimes crazy town some thirty miles past the equally small town of Hillsville off Interstate 77. Located near the Blue Ridge Parkway, there is a vibrant culture of music, arts, local foods and wines, and outdoor recreation. It is a key stop on The Crooked Road, Virginia’s heritage music trail and is known in some circles for the famous Friday Night Jamboree at the Floyd Country Store. Floyd is the home of the annual world music festival called FloydFest. If you like country, blue grass, or alternative music you should schedule a stop. Music lovers from forty-seven states enjoyed FloydFest’s five day event.

None of that really matters as far as our trek is concerned and the information was taken from the Floyd, Virginia Tourist Site. One bit of information that does matter is the statement from the same site, “Running on Floyd time. Floyd is as much a state of mind as it is a destination.”

It became apparent that meat day could have been just as easily named “meet day.” As I questioned my kin folk as we traveled the four hours to Floyd I asked, “How many people will be attending this…whatever it is?” Answers varied between twenty-five to fifty. They were off by about a hundred or more. The town of Floyd boast some four hundred and fifty inhabitants, and I venture to guess that most of the drinking age males came by at one time or another along with the fifty or so hardcore attendees there for the duration.

While I did pig out on barbecued ribs, pulled pork barbecue, smoked meatloaf, pig candy, and another half dozen proteins, (nothing was bad) I remained mostly sober despite the vast choices of distilled spirits and herbal remedies available. I’m glad I did because being a people watcher, I was able to enjoy the diverse folk who attended.

Diverse in race but more than that. Floyd was a destination for the counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s. It became apparent that the counterculture attitude was still in effect with the diversity of thought and actions of the men in attendance. I can only describe it as the most eclectic group of people I had been around since my engagement party, and that was way eclectic. Meat Day was eclectic on steroids.

An undercover cop joined former felons, along with legal and illegal pot growers and moonshiners. There was a PhD who worked for the government, motorcycle gang members, a major book publisher, all who joined the “salt of the earth” types wearing tie-dyed tee shirts under Oskos by Gosh overalls. The retired football coach of Floyd High School spent his entire forty-two-year career at that one school and enjoyed the day with us. Even my cousin’s political rival dropped by to enjoy the fun. Hardcore men who left but not before saying, “I’ll see you in church tomorrow.” There is a fine line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

I tried to listen more than I talked. You learn better by listening. There was no talk of politics despite the many Trump and Harris signs I saw posted along main street. No disparaging the women who weren’t in attendance to defend themselves. Not one “pull my finger joke” but plenty of laughter, backslapping and hugs. There were stories from the past, good natured ribbing, and some “whatever happened to old so and so” questions.

They reminded me of the kids I loved to teach. Those that walked to their own drummer. The round pegs too many teachers attempted to fit into square holes. With today’s political climate, they made me hopeful.

Now that I’ve been I will go again but I will pace myself a little better. I figure it will take my system several days to recover from the protein blitz I subjected my body to. I also am attempting to produce descriptors to use other than eclectic. How ‘bout fun. A fun and educational evening in the eclectic small town of Floyd.