Yesterday I found myself in a bit of a surreal situation. I was traveling to a little town out in the country that I had not been to before. This little town which essentially consists of one main street with some houses built around it, has a children's consignment store where people come and sell off the clothing their children either no longer fit in or no longer want. And in this consignment store there is a soda shop that sells glass bottles of soda. The town is only a short drive away so I decided to go and check it out.
On the way I passed by two interesting landmarks. The first was a sign that pointed towards a State Park. At this point something jogged my memories. I think maybe five or six years ago I had been at that State Park. I remember it for two reasons, the good company and the water snake I saw which I didn't like very much at all. Being in a situation where you think you've been somewhere but aren't exactly sure is always interesting. It takes on one of those odd qualities where it feels familiar but you aren't entirely sure why. Maybe a bit like the twist in 'The Shining'. Well I wasn't here to start wielding an axe, I was on a mission for fancy pops so I kept driving on.
As I approached the town I passed by what only could be described as a shack made out of metal rather than wood. The building was essentially a rectangle with a roof, with a gravel 5 car parking lot, with no driveway, right off the 55 MPH road. It had a sign that said 'Fine Quality Meats'. Driving by I noticed there was one car in the parking lot, and I figured despite the appearance of the building maybe it actually is open for business. Now don't get me wrong here, I like the old run down restaurants. The Mom and Pop restaurants that only care about how your food tastes. It's just that this place looked so run down that had there been no cars there I would have thought it was long out of business.
Driving on I found my pop shop. And sure enough, the clerk had pops covering an entire side of the shop. Many I recognized either from local grocery stores or Friar Tucks but there were several I had never seen before. For example, there was one called Mary Jane which is made from passionflower. I bought one but haven't tried it yet. So I spent a good bit of time walking up and down and looking around. I noticed I was the only one in the store, but it was also only 3:00 so I am hoping the business picks up at other hours.
I ended up with 6 bottles and asked the clerk if she ever got Pepsi products. She said she's tried but it's not easy. She thinks there are laws in effect that prevent it from being shipped from Mexico where it is glass bottled to here in the states. I'm not too sure about that though. I know, for example, that there is a gas station in North Carolina that sells Mountain Dew in glass bottles. She thinks the people selling it must have connections. It makes me laugh though, I had no idea a glass bottle of Pepsi could create such a fuss.
Leaving the little town I drove by that shack again. This time, ten minutes later, their little parking lot was nearly full with people walking in with empty coolers. So I had to do a U-ie and stop on in. The place is how you're probably imagining it. A few refrigerators, a big wooden table, and a guy wearing an apron that was white but now is red. I picked up 2 lbs of shredded BBQ pork and a pound of ground round. The BBQ pork was $7, and the beef was about $2.50. I was very happy with the prices. The butcher said all the meat comes from local farmers, and so I was doubly happy to be directly supporting them. When I got home I tried the BBQ pork. It was great.
The question remains however, soda, pop, or soda pop, which is it? I like pop and grew up with pop. As kids there was one guy who said soda, and it really irked me. Everyone else was saying pop, and I kept thinking he was only saying soda in order to sound more like a grown up and thereby more like a leader in order to have some sway over the rest of us. Where I'm at now it's sort of a mixed bag but I think most people tend towards soda. I use soda pop when I'm feeling especially childish or purposely want to make myself sound less adult like. It has it's uses, but generally I stick with soda or pop.
On the way I passed by two interesting landmarks. The first was a sign that pointed towards a State Park. At this point something jogged my memories. I think maybe five or six years ago I had been at that State Park. I remember it for two reasons, the good company and the water snake I saw which I didn't like very much at all. Being in a situation where you think you've been somewhere but aren't exactly sure is always interesting. It takes on one of those odd qualities where it feels familiar but you aren't entirely sure why. Maybe a bit like the twist in 'The Shining'. Well I wasn't here to start wielding an axe, I was on a mission for fancy pops so I kept driving on.
As I approached the town I passed by what only could be described as a shack made out of metal rather than wood. The building was essentially a rectangle with a roof, with a gravel 5 car parking lot, with no driveway, right off the 55 MPH road. It had a sign that said 'Fine Quality Meats'. Driving by I noticed there was one car in the parking lot, and I figured despite the appearance of the building maybe it actually is open for business. Now don't get me wrong here, I like the old run down restaurants. The Mom and Pop restaurants that only care about how your food tastes. It's just that this place looked so run down that had there been no cars there I would have thought it was long out of business.
Driving on I found my pop shop. And sure enough, the clerk had pops covering an entire side of the shop. Many I recognized either from local grocery stores or Friar Tucks but there were several I had never seen before. For example, there was one called Mary Jane which is made from passionflower. I bought one but haven't tried it yet. So I spent a good bit of time walking up and down and looking around. I noticed I was the only one in the store, but it was also only 3:00 so I am hoping the business picks up at other hours.
I ended up with 6 bottles and asked the clerk if she ever got Pepsi products. She said she's tried but it's not easy. She thinks there are laws in effect that prevent it from being shipped from Mexico where it is glass bottled to here in the states. I'm not too sure about that though. I know, for example, that there is a gas station in North Carolina that sells Mountain Dew in glass bottles. She thinks the people selling it must have connections. It makes me laugh though, I had no idea a glass bottle of Pepsi could create such a fuss.
Leaving the little town I drove by that shack again. This time, ten minutes later, their little parking lot was nearly full with people walking in with empty coolers. So I had to do a U-ie and stop on in. The place is how you're probably imagining it. A few refrigerators, a big wooden table, and a guy wearing an apron that was white but now is red. I picked up 2 lbs of shredded BBQ pork and a pound of ground round. The BBQ pork was $7, and the beef was about $2.50. I was very happy with the prices. The butcher said all the meat comes from local farmers, and so I was doubly happy to be directly supporting them. When I got home I tried the BBQ pork. It was great.
The question remains however, soda, pop, or soda pop, which is it? I like pop and grew up with pop. As kids there was one guy who said soda, and it really irked me. Everyone else was saying pop, and I kept thinking he was only saying soda in order to sound more like a grown up and thereby more like a leader in order to have some sway over the rest of us. Where I'm at now it's sort of a mixed bag but I think most people tend towards soda. I use soda pop when I'm feeling especially childish or purposely want to make myself sound less adult like. It has it's uses, but generally I stick with soda or pop.
1 comments:
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