Another reason ...

I had to go to the "Tag office" this morning to get the sticker for the company Explorer. Oh dear, dread, dang it I thought on my way ... having memories of going to do such things in Orlando and it turning into a day's worth of frustration and anxiety. So I started into this errand with angst, to say the very least. I always wait until it is a necessity to do these things ... Paul is not really the only procrastinator in our house!

So, when I handed over the notification to the clerk she smiled, said "good morning" and put the info into her database. (WOW! A smile! Hmmmm .... might not be so bad after all!) OH ... "honey, y'all owe property tax on this vehicle. You'll have to go to the tax collector and pay this first. It's $2.24, interest on your account." Oh boy! Where do I go? "You just go right to the court house, walk in the front door, down the main hall. Turn right where you see the sign for the tax collector". Alrighty then! Upon my exit from the tag office, a very nice man held the door open for me AND tipped his baseball cap while wishing me a good morning. (you know, people here are so nice ... open faced, happy campers!) So, I drove the 1/2 mile to the court house (go to the first "red light" and turn left. Courthouse is up on the right) ... turns out it was just right there! But it was raining and freezing, so driving was the way to go! So, I went in the big oak door at the front of the court house. There was a sign about no cell phones in the court room, but no armed guard, no metal detector, nothing scary or otherwise out of the ordinary. Actually not an employee in site! (guess no court in session?) Anyway, after a very nice man opened the door for me and politely nodded, I went down the corridor, turned left at the "tax collector" sign and was greeted by 3 clerks all with big smiles and willing to please. Good grief! I am DEFINITELY not in a city any more - this is GREAT! I handed the piece of paper to who I think is Ms. Daniels and we completed the entire transaction in less than 2 minutes! Then we exchanged "I wish the sun would come out" kinds of things. I passed one other fella in the hallway who nodded and smiled. He was one of the latino folks that come up here to do landscaping work and he had on a FABULOUS tweed hat that my dad would've worn in the late 50's. So dapper! Then, a very young contractor fella in jeans and a t-shirt opened the door for me and off I skipped. You know, living in Mayberry has some drawbacks but visiting government buildings is NOT one of them. True, I can't get to Starbucks for a latte, but they do have coffee shops here (The Ugly Mug, for example!) and they make lattes and they don't cost a fortune. I can't go shopping for clothes without driving an hour, but there is always the internet and I do not like to shop at all anyway. I'm always thinking we're in the right place for us. We can always just hold the sunshine in our hearts when it isn't physically shining (but as Ms. Daniels said, "you won't get much of a tan that way") and we are happy here. Who could ask for anything more?

To further the "people are nice here" thing, the Club has a "snack stand" at the 10th tee for the golfers when they round the corner. Bea worked at the 10th tee (for a long time now) but this winter she worked for the Club in the mail room, handing out mail to members instead of making their egg salad sandwiches and hot dogs as the golf course closes in October and reopens in April. Today was Bea's last day in the mail room and the women who work for the Club fixed a little "good bye" party with cake and ice cream. Bea, who is from Roan Mountain, TN (4 miles from our house) was absolutely flabbergasted that all the hoopla for was her. Mountain folks are HARD workers, humble people and loyal friends and employees. They deserve big THANK YOUs at every turn. It was so sweet to see Bea so tickled and grateful.

Hope it turns out that someone is nice to every one of you today too! It sure does feels good!

Happy Trails!

Paul & Cheri