It's a challenge, and I don't think I'm being overly harsh, especially given the locals' answers to the question, "what do you love about this town?":
"My husband and my job!" (From my hairdresser, Shelley.)
"It's a great place to raise a family" (In my experience, a lot of people say that about Canberra in the absence of anything else positive to say.)
"It's so close to ..." (What's not to love about a place whose most redeeming feature is its proximity to everywhere else?!!)
A question, I've had more than once, but with subtly different emphasises and wordings, is,
"What on God's earth has brought you here?!" (My favourite wording, also from Shelley)
That one's easy to answer, but the question that I'm finding tricky to answer with a poker face, and I'm a hopeless liar, is the next one, "... and how are you finding it?"
"It's quiet!", and, "The people are very friendly!", seems to satisfy most of them.
Customer service is outstanding here, with every sales person, public servant and waitstaff prepared to bend over backwards to make sure you're happy. I haven't seen "tood" here, as I would in some shops or cafes in Melbourne, for example, and I don't think it's just because of tipping. Americans seem very service-oriented and that's been quite an eye opener for us.
Free coffee vouchers were given to us at Starbucks in Atlanta, just because someone had forgotten one of our drinks, and in Gap, I had one staff member stand in attendance offering me about 10 different styles, sizes and lengths of jeans, until I found a pair that didn't emphasize my muffintop! (The Gap Jeans Episode took one hour - "poor Dave!!", I can hear you say, but you need to appreciate that prior to that weekend, I'd been cooped up in the apartment with two kids and no husband for more than a week!!)
Shopping is a much more enjoyable experience here, because of this ... If only the quality of the food was the same. We've sampled a couple more local joints: a Japanese place, and I only identify it as such, due to the name - the food was a very poor rendition of Japanese food, with our meals resembling something you'd find in an old cafeteria style place, where you have a plate of fried rice covered in sweet "teriyaki" meat, with soggy julienned zucchini. I tried not to be depressed, but Dave reminded me of my own lament in such circumstances, WFO - wasted food opportunity!! Perhaps I've already lowered my expectations, if not my standards ... depressing or just a healthy survival response!?
One kind of food that is pretty plentiful and more authentic than our Japanese encounter, is the BBQ restaurant. We've sampled Shane's Rib Shack, which has very tasty ribs - but I still don't get why chicken wings are served with "ranch sauce" - and Dickey's BBQ Pit, where children are served free on Sundays. Visitor tip: get there between 11.30-11.45am to beat the post-service rush ; ) We'd been to the park with Mel, Damien, and their boys, in the morning so weren't really dressed the part, if you know what I mean ... But it was fun to people watch!!
With all this Southern cooking, I decided it was time to buy my first pair of runners ... for walking. I was referred to a proper running shoe shop, by a local, and had a fitting done with electronic sensors, etc. The shoes I ended up buying were the ugliest in the shop, but the most comfy - not a choice easily made, but Erin did tell me about a walking track near where we've been staying, and we checked it out on the weekend ... the cavorting squirrels were particularly cute but far too quick and twitchy for me to capture on my device.
Yes, I was intrigued too ... The Hello Kitty selection was cute, too!
The locals are very patriotic, not in a tattoo of the Southern Cross kind of way, but more in the way they have flags flying everywhere and the kids swear allegiance to said flag every morning.
Also, being a town with quite a military presence, it's interesting to note that the local motto is EDMGMAD - Every Day in Middle Georgia is Military Appreciation Day(!!) - no wonder they abbreviate it!! Even the local post office has a rolling digital sign that shouts in red LED "Thank you to our troops!"
On another note, Isabella came home from school on Monday with a new song she'd learned that goes something like this:
"Contractions,
Contractions,
When two words join together with an apostrophe
It makes it easier for us to read!"
She sang it all the way to Mercer University, Macon, 1/2 an hour away, with Daniel enthusiastically demanding "moh!" every time she'd finish. We'd met friends up there for a free children's opera of The Magic Flute ... the opera was pretty good for a student performance, but I think I preferred Isabella's ode to English grammar!! Here's hoping there's more where the Contractions song came from!!
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